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Old 19th March 2013, 21:20   #586
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Mod team note: Back to back posts, please use Multi Quote (Quote +) instead. Also please avoid Quoting entire large post for short replied. Thanks.
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Originally Posted by oldmobile View Post
Can anyone recommend reputable APC dealers in Bangalore. I want to get APC 850va and Exide Tubular 150AH.

Thanks
You can buy it here for 7.3k. This is an online store and there is a significant price advantage too.

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Originally Posted by hellmet View Post
Guys, I'm sorry I haven't read the 30+ pages of this thread, so my questions might have already been answered.
=======
What do you guys suggest we go for based on these (horribly long list of) requirements?
This article is a great place for dummies if you are not too technically inclined. There are lot of assumptions but it serves the purpose.

Last edited by Jaggu : 19th March 2013 at 21:33. Reason: Back to back posts, please use Multi Quote (Quote +) instead. Thanks
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Old 6th April 2013, 12:15   #587
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Re: Inverter or generator?

We finally went ahead with a Amara Raja 880VA inverter + 135AH Tribal battery. So far, we're not happy with the experience. The installation of the battery and the inverter into the trolley was sloppy, the installer broke the wheels at the back so the trolley is not sitting level, we discovered this later.

The electricians who came for wiring were frustratingly slow, didn't carry a ladder or a torch with them, neither did they bring enough cable (we had to give them money so they could bring more). They asked for coconut oil for lubrication and messed up our walls with oil and didn't even put back the mains panel properly. We were sooo tired after the power-less 9 hours we didn't notice any of this.

Today, mom wakes up to a fan that has sparks flying from it, weirdly neither did the main breaker nor the inverter breaker switched off. The electrician goofed up majorly somewhere.

Luckily, we chose to not pay them the night of the installation so the electrician is still trying to fix this mess. Had he been paid we'd have had to search for another electrician.

I really don't understand one thing in India. Even if you PAY for something, you get workmanship that almost feels like you're getting for free, as crappy as that. Totally fed up.
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Old 23rd April 2013, 13:10   #588
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Re: Inverter or generator?

After a roughly 2.5 weeks usage we noticed our modem would go off at every power cut and were cursing the performance of the inverter that it wouldn't even backup a modem properly. However, I remembered what someone had said on this thread about a switch between "UPS" mode and "Normal" mode on their inverter so I checked ours and there very well was a switch. I've just changed ours to UPS mode so yet to see how that works out for the modem. Why do they have a "normal" mode when they can very well arrive with the "ups" mode only? Are there any side-effects of using the "UPS" mode?

Btw, we also have a "Quick" charge and a "Normal" charge button at the back which was set in "Quick" when it arrived. According to the manual "Quick" is 12 +/- 1 amps while "Normal" is 9 +/- 1 amps. I'm guessing the words "quick" and "battery" don't go together well from the battery lifespan point of view, and have changed it to "Normal" charging mode. Can someone please confirm? Would there also be a difference in power bills between these modes?

Last edited by hellmet : 23rd April 2013 at 13:12.
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Old 23rd April 2013, 14:26   #589
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Re: Inverter or generator?

Ok, that didn't take that long to test. Power went off 40 minutes after I typed out the last post. The modem works perfectly well in the UPS mode. However, a real pain in the ear seems to be that the inverter now beeps every 6 minutes like a normal computer UPS and is very loud. Would there be a way to turn this off without de-soldering speakers?
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Old 23rd April 2013, 21:28   #590
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Re: Inverter or generator?

Isn't there a way to mute it,apc ups/inverters have this check the manual.

If not you can desolder it or just cut the buzzer/speaker wire.

Regarding the quick charge since your battery is 130ah its safe to charge it at 12amps.

As far as why inverters don't arrive with UPS mode only is because unlike a computer UPS which does Active/auto voltage regulation(AVR) (using the multi tap transformer) when main line voltage goes below 200 or above 250v ,the home inverter simply switches to battery power during this time so it doesn't have a built in AVR circuit and when it detects a high voltage or low voltage it simply switches to battery back up mode .

Last edited by aim120 : 23rd April 2013 at 21:29.
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Old 24th April 2013, 15:10   #591
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Re: Inverter or generator?

Hi all, I need to finalise an inverter-battery option this week, any input would be helpful:

I am in Chennai and am examining options for setting up inverter and battery at home. After reading a few posts here I thought of Su-kam, APC and Numeric.

I enquired about Numeric and got the following quote:

1KVA Numeric Inverter (1000HR) with 2 year warranty + 100Ah tubular battery (Options: Exide Stanred/ Eagan/ Southern Tubular High Power) with 3 year warranty - Net Rs. 16,200 for operating two fans, i tube light and a TV for 3.5 hours

1KVA Numeric Inverter (1000HR) with 2 year warranty + 150Ah tubular battery (Options: Exide Stanred/ Eagan/ Southern Tubular High Power) with 3 year warranty - Net Rs. 21,500 for operating two fans, i tube light and a TV for 6 hours.

Installation Charges, Trolley extra

So any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations from you guys?

Do you think I should go for something else like Su-kam or APC or maybe Microtek. Please share your views.
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Old 1st May 2013, 13:08   #592
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Re: Inverter or generator?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dearmaddy View Post
Hi all, I need to finalise an inverter-battery option this week, any input would be helpful:

I am in Chennai and am examining options for setting up inverter and battery at home. After reading a few posts here I thought of Su-kam, APC and Numeric.

I enquired about Numeric and got the following quote:

1KVA Numeric Inverter (1000HR) with 2 year warranty + 100Ah tubular battery (Options: Exide Stanred/ Eagan/ Southern Tubular High Power) with 3 year warranty - Net Rs. 16,200 for operating two fans, i tube light and a TV for 3.5 hours

1KVA Numeric Inverter (1000HR) with 2 year warranty + 150Ah tubular battery (Options: Exide Stanred/ Eagan/ Southern Tubular High Power) with 3 year warranty - Net Rs. 21,500 for operating two fans, i tube light and a TV for 6 hours.

Installation Charges, Trolley extra

So any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations from you guys?

Do you think I should go for something else like Su-kam or APC or maybe Microtek. Please share your views.
First question is do you really need 1KVA? The requirements of 2 fans, 1 tube light and a TV comes up to hardly 430VA, so a 600VA inverter with 150Ah battery should do the job perfectly. This would reduce the cost as well.

Even I am looking for an inverter and cannot seem to finalize between Luminous or Su-Kam.
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Old 1st May 2013, 15:32   #593
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Re: Inverter or generator?

Quote:
Originally Posted by motomaverick View Post
First question is do you really need 1KVA? The requirements of 2 fans, 1 tube light and a TV comes up to hardly 430VA, so a 600VA inverter with 150Ah battery should do the job perfectly. This would reduce the cost as well.

Even I am looking for an inverter and cannot seem to finalize between Luminous or Su-Kam.
Folks I have been quoted 18500 for Luminous or Su-Kam 800VA inverter with 150Ah maintenance free battery from SF Sonic or Crompton Greeves, is this price as per what I should expect or am I being ripped?
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Old 1st May 2013, 15:39   #594
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Re: Inverter or generator?

If you are in bangalore why not get a APC 850VA sine .This is made in bangalore and cheaper here.

Never heard of Crompton Greeves making batteries.Stick with exide tubular batteries or SF tubular batteries.
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Old 2nd May 2013, 09:13   #595
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Re: Inverter or generator?

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Originally Posted by aim120 View Post
If you are in bangalore why not get a APC 850VA sine .This is made in bangalore and cheaper here.

Never heard of Crompton Greeves making batteries.Stick with exide tubular batteries or SF tubular batteries.
Is APC really worth it, I had a computer UPS, which conked off in a year and when it conked out I had a horrible time even explaining what is happening to the UPS with the customer service, hence, I want to steer clear of APC. Also, is there a dealer who offers better prices here in Bangalore, yesterday I had checked with a local dealer near my area for the previously mentioned prices for the inverter + battery set.

Last edited by motomaverick : 2nd May 2013 at 09:14.
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Old 2nd May 2013, 09:26   #596
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Re: Inverter or generator?

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Originally Posted by motomaverick View Post
Is APC really worth it, I had a computer UPS, which conked off in a year and when it conked out I had a horrible time even explaining what is happening to the UPS with the customer service, hence, I want to steer clear of APC. Also, is there a dealer who offers better prices here in Bangalore, yesterday I had checked with a local dealer near my area for the previously mentioned prices for the inverter + battery set.

APC is very good .But su kam and microtek are also very good sine wave inverters. you should find a responsible dealer with knowledge and experience in installation.And check what brand he offers among the three.

Here at my place, even though Exide Tubular has good reputation, installers prefer Amaron due to 48 hour replacement warranty service.Exide takes 15-20 days.
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Old 2nd May 2013, 11:24   #597
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Re: Inverter or generator?

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Originally Posted by motomaverick View Post
Folks I have been quoted 18500 for Luminous or Su-Kam 800VA inverter with 150Ah maintenance free battery from SF Sonic or Crompton Greeves, is this price as per what I should expect or am I being ripped?
Check Thad's post about Sukam 850 VA Sine wave inverter with 100 AH battery for around Rs.13500/- After reading his post, I bought one in Madras around 13k (without the trolley).
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Old 2nd May 2013, 15:28   #598
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Re: Inverter or generator?

Quote:
Originally Posted by motomaverick View Post
Is APC really worth it, I had a computer UPS, which conked off in a year and when it conked out I had a horrible time even explaining what is happening to the UPS with the customer service, hence, I want to steer clear of APC. Also, is there a dealer who offers better prices here in Bangalore, yesterday I had checked with a local dealer near my area for the previously mentioned prices for the inverter + battery set.
APC products are made by Schneider which is a very old and reputed company.

APC gives 2 years warranty on their UPS if yours conked off within a year they will replace the UPS within 48 hrs.Customer care only needs to know if its gone kaput they will obviously try to do a trouble shooting before taking a complaint.

My advice to anyone buying a inverter and UPS is buy the batteries separately from a whole sale battery store or a big store which only dealers with batteries.You will be surprised about the price difference in batteries.
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Old 2nd May 2013, 15:52   #599
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Re: Inverter or generator?

I have APC and can vouch for it. My neighbour has changed 3 inverters in the last 2 years and has finally settled on CG which is also good.
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Old 7th May 2013, 09:41   #600
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Re: Inverter or generator?

Hi All,

This is my first post on team-bhp. Was going through this thread and wanted to add my 2 cents. I recently purchased an 850VA UPS from APC. The battery make is BICRON.

At the time of purchase I was promised battery backup of 4 hours with Full Load(2-4 lights, 2-3 Fans and 1 TV). The Inverter is from APC however the battery is from Bicron. The battery is supposed to give a backup of atleast 4 to 5 hours on medium load(2 fans and 2 lights), however last week when the power went out, we realised that the backup lasted only for 1 hour, that too only with one fan running. We lodged a complaint with APC on April 24. The APC technician identified the problem to be that of the battery. Now when I try to call the dealer from where I purchased the UPS/Battery (Company: BICRON, Phone: 9844057472, 08025400669, 08025401056), nobody is responding to my calls. When I researched on the internet I found out that this company(BICRON) is a cheat and there are numerous such complaints faced by the innocent/unsuspecting customer.(search on google)

My advice, please stay away from BICRON products. Incidentally one of the first links that comes up when you google for APC battery is a link that is hosted by this fradulent company - BICRON.(http://www.apcindia.co.in/?gclid=CNS...Fc4t6wodexYAMQ)
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