[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Aroy

It will be wiser to invest money in wiring and relocate the batteries to a well ventilated area, if such an area available. SMF is just not economic for home use, as yet.

Mine is a 3BHK apartment and there simply is nowhere else to place the inverter, short of locating it in some common area.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Inverter batteries last as long as 5-7 years easily provided water level is checked & topped up once in every six month.

I was doing it once a month for Prestolite and once in three months for the Amaron shield!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Can anyone using IT 500 tell me what is the frequency of Distilled Water topping up needed ?

We have the IT550 165AH and it needs topping up every 3-4 months in the summer and 4-5 months in the monsoon/winter. When I say topping up means I don't let it go down beyond 3/4ths of the max level on the floats (I am a bit particular about battery maintenance)

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Any comments/advice anyone?

hey Raccoon..long time no see. My experience with tubular says it is worth it. I had flat plate batteries on the inverter earlier and it sucked big time. The Exide IT550 is nearly 2 years old and going strong. With a 48 month warranty I am covered. Point is not about Exide - go in for the tubular from Amaron.

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Where do we set this charging current on inverter, say sukam smiley sine wave inverter?

You cannot change the charging current on inverters voltage/amps are controlled by a microcontroller. ARoy has given good advice on the charging current v/s capacity.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by R2D2

hey Raccoon..long time no see. My experience with tubular says it is worth it. I had flat plate batteries on the inverter earlier and it sucked big time. The Exide IT550 is nearly 2 years old and going strong. With a 48 month warranty I am covered. Point is not about Exide - go in for the tubular from Amaron.

You cannot change the charging current on inverters voltage/amps are controlled by a microcontroller. ARoy has given good advice on the charging current v/s capacity.

Hey! Sorry, just not been getting time to log in like before. :(

We finally got an Amaron short tubular 150 Ah. The "model" is labelled as "Current". I could not find mention of this variant anywhere on the Amaron/Amara Raja site. The dealer did not have stock of Tall tubular. He said the demand outstripped supply. Cost was Rs. 8,500 after returning the old Amaron Shield 160 Ah. The Amaron Shield, tho a thick plate battery, lasted over 5 years. And the last 2 years or so it was much neglected and water not checked and the +ve terminal was covered with lots of CuSO4. When it was given away, water was found to be well below the plates. Else I'm sure it would have lasted longer. It was running on a Su-Kam 800 VA inverter.

Interestingly, Exide costs significantly more! Now how is that justified, I don't know. Anyway, there was no question about going for Exide, even if it was cheaper, since you know - the name itself makes me see red (a VERY bright red). Though to be fair, I have only SUFFERED their automotive batteries and not inverter batteries.

The guy from the dealer seemed real disappointed that the battery lasted over 5 years. Lol!! Its pretty clear that these guys don't want batts to last so long. Hurts their business!

The battery is no eye candy. In fact the Shield looked better in all black. The Current has a white body and light green top. The exterior has scratches and all. Manufacturing date is June 2011, and that ticked me off the most. Does it take that long to reach the dealers?? Somehow, the earlier dealer opp. Police Ground seemed much better. But since they gave up on Amaron (as you already know), didn't have much choice. Given the power cuts here, it was urgently required, so I let that pass.Three of the 6 floats were damaged when they got the battery. Made them replace them. The Don't seem to be of good quality. Don't know if other batters have the same quality. If the Shield had these floats, it may have lived longer. They can be life-savers for the battery for obvious reasons.

I'm still not sure what are the advantage of tall tubular over short tubular. Can somebody throw light on this please?

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

I'm still not sure what are the advantage of tall tubular over short tubular. Can somebody throw light on this please?
Attachment 829739Attachment 829740

The volume of electrolyte per cell is more - much more, as compared to the short batteries.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Lol!! Its pretty clear that these guys don't want batts to last so long. Hurts their business!

Manufacturing date is June 2011, and that ticked me off the most. Does it take that long to reach the dealers?? Three of the 6 floats were damaged when they got the battery. Made them replace them. If the Shield had these floats, it may have lived longer. They can be life-savers for the battery for obvious reasons.

I'm still not sure what are the advantage of tall tubular over short tubular. Can somebody throw light on this please?

A June 2011 mfred battery didnt take 4 months to reach the dealer - it would have taken about 1 week to reach the dealer but it took possibly 4 months for them to sell it. I think you just got it in the nick of time as plates would have started sulphating due to lack of use unless the dealer kept it on float charge. Inverter batteries are slow moving items and you may find slightly older units for sale. It is this fact that makes the dealers unhappy. Though I must add these guys and the battery mfrs have been making a killing on selling new inverter batts due to the perenial load shedding in most parts of this country.

Let me hazard a guess about the short tubular - advantage is it takes less vertical space so can be stored more easily under shelves/tables etc common in most homes. Disadvantage is it probably has less electrolyte compared with the taller model which means more topping up to do. Don't believe there is any other difference.

Also, the Exide comes with caps fitted which need to be taken off and floats fitted in their place - this prevents breakages during transport. I am sure Amaron would have done the same, it is the dealer who probably made the mistake of installing the floats before installing the batt at your place

[Aroy]

Though floats are a good idea, I found them of no use, as the batteries were covered up in the cabinet and there was no inclination to open it up and check the level. On top of that the floats have glass bodies which tend to break easily. So after two years of service and two more broken floats, I put the normal caps back.

What I do is to open the trolley once in a while, visually check the electrolyte level and top up.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

We finally got an Amaron short tubular 150 Ah. The "model" is labelled as "Current". I could not find mention of this variant anywhere on the Amaron/Amara Raja site.

I don't think this is an Amaron battery. Is Amararaja name mentioned anywhere on the battery or the warranty card?

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by R2D2

A June 2011 mfred battery didnt take 4 months to reach the dealer - it would have taken about 1 week to reach the dealer but it took possibly 4 months for them to sell it. I think you just got it in the nick of time as plates would have started sulphating due to lack of use unless the dealer kept it on float charge. Inverter batteries are slow moving items and you may find slightly older units for sale. It is this fact that makes the dealers unhappy. Though I must add these guys and the battery mfrs have been making a killing on selling new inverter batts due to the perenial load shedding in most parts of this country.

Let me hazard a guess about the short tubular - advantage is it takes less vertical space so can be stored more easily under shelves/tables etc common in most homes. Disadvantage is it probably has less electrolyte compared with the taller model which means more topping up to do. Don't believe there is any other difference.

Also, the Exide comes with caps fitted which need to be taken off and floats fitted in their place - this prevents breakages during transport. I am sure Amaron would have done the same, it is the dealer who probably made the mistake of installing the floats before installing the batt at your place

Hmmm, maybe I should have refused it. Don't know how fast inverter batts lose charge, but in any case, would stand to loose 4 months of battery life. :( I really doubt if inverter batteries are slow moving RIGHT NOW... so I doubt the dealer is lying. You know about the power cuts in Poona. Besides Amaron's reputation, the price itself makes for an attractive buy. But still, that does not explain how he has a 4 month old battery in stock.

As for the floats, yes they placed separately in the box., but apparently the dealer or his delivery guys managed to crack half of them in transit.

Originally Posted by Aroy

Though floats are a good idea, I found them of no use, as the batteries were covered up in the cabinet and there was no inclination to open it up and check the level. On top of that the floats have glass bodies which tend to break easily. So after two years of service and two more broken floats, I put the normal caps back.

What I do is to open the trolley once in a while, visually check the electrolyte level and top up.

Ours is on the loft. And I feel the floats will definitely help to save the battery. And the tubes are made of plastic, at least in our battery. Are you sure yours are glass? I'd feel glass would be a much better option. The look cheap and poor quality, but if handled carefully, I don't see them breaking anytime soon. Anyway, only time will tell.

Originally Posted by Gansan

I don't think this is an Amaron battery. Is Amararaja name mentioned anywhere on the battery or the warranty card?

Its definitely Amaron. The battery as far as I recall has "Amaron Current" mentioned on it. The box and warranty card have "Amaron Current" and "Amara Raja" written on it. I even asked the dealer why I can't see it on the website. He said its a new variant, so website is probably not updated. Anyway, I never believe what they say, but after looking at the box and warranty card, I have no way to dispute what he said, as of now.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Ours is on the loft. And I feel the floats will definitely help to save the battery. And the tubes are made of plastic, at least in our battery. Are you sure yours are glass? I'd feel glass would be a much better option. The look cheap and poor quality, but if handled carefully, I don't see them breaking anytime soon. Anyway, only time will tell.

The base with screw is plastic. The clear tube is glass. The break is at the joint between the glass and the base. The float can still be used, but as there is no sealing due to missing glass tube, gas would leak, and the cell would dry out faster.

The regular caps are better designed. They have a breather hole, which is "spring loaded" (a thin rubber) and the neck has a rubber gasket for sealing against spill.

[Raccoon]

^^^In my case, the transparent tube is definitely plastic. The base is of course plastic along with a rubber tube. And yes, the 2 that were broken in the poly pack were broken at the joint! I guess its a weak spot. But anyway, one should only screw/unscrew and handle it by the base. So I doubt they would break if carefully handled. You could consider sourcing the floats from Amaron, if they fit on your battery (in case the quality of your floats is worse).

[manim]

Here is my new setup: APC + Exide tubular:

UPS cost 7,000; battery cost 12,500.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The charging current for maximum life is 20 hour rate, that is it should be 1/20 of the AH capacity. So for
. 100AH it should be 5A
. 150 AH it should be 7.5A
. for 200 AH it should be 10A

Many chargers are voltage controlled, hence charge at excessive rates initially. Better chargers have
. Constant rate tuned to the battery capacity
. Reduce the current to "Trickle Charge" once the battery is fully charged.
. Cut off should be at 2.3V/Cell, that is below 14V, ideally at 13.2V (2.2V/cell)

All the complaints of battery overheating and giving up for ghost in two years can be traced to high charging rate, both before and after the battery is fully charged.

Can you please mention which inverter brand in the market conforms to the above criteria? I think I may change the inverter.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by manim

Here is my new setup: APC + Exide tubular:

UPS cost 7,000; battery cost 12,500.

Hey ,I think that APC inverter is actually not a APC original .Is this a new model ?

Here is how a APC original should be .

Back-UPS HI - Product Information

[arsudarsan]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Hey ,I think that APC inverter is actually not a APC original .Is this a new model ?

Here is how a APC original should be .

Back-UPS HI - Product Information

I have a APC UPS that was purchased in May, it looks the same.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by arsudarsan

I have a APC UPS that was purchased in May, it looks the same.

They why is this not listed on the website ?
I think these replicas are being spread to all the southern states.