[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by quadra

A correction here - the batter is from APC only.

You can log a support ticket with APC on their website and they will share the info of the dealer nearest to you. I don't recall the breakup.

I know the dealer here and he has quoted 7.5k for the 850VA Sinewave model, but I am sure it is cheaper in Chennai which is why I want someone to confirm the individual prices for the inverter and the battery. Bangalore rates also would be welcome.

[quadra]

Balu - +919632371000 APC blr dealer

[khoj]

Last week I bought two nos. of Amaron batteries @ Rs. 9200/- e.a. less 2200/- for each of the old SMF battery case = INR 7000/- nett e.a. tax paid with bill. There was yet another dealer offering the same at 6800/- nett e.a. however he was like 30 kms from my place at the other end of the city and the one I bought from is like 3 kms away, a no brainer really.

The model is called 'Current', rating is 170 AH and while it is not a SMF, it is a flat battery as in one does not need to check the water levels. Company claims it has paste/gel in lieu of water.

Looking at the prices below, it seems Dilli is the place to buy this stuff from.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Power cuts has started once again and I am starting my search once more. Can someone tell me the price of APC 850VA Inverter and Amaron 150ah Tubular battery in Chennai ? In Pondy, the Amaron costs 14k while the APC costs 7.5k.

The Amaron 170ah flat battery costs only 10.7k, is it worth it ?

[kartikeyanP]

I have a SuKam 800VA Invertor with standard furukawa (SF) thick plate battery 150Ah, which i bought exactly 4 years back, till now it has worked with almost zero troubles, but for the past 2-3, I dont get a backup for 1hr, i used to consistently get a back up of 4-5 hrs. Just want to know does the battery die instantaneously. I mean i expected the back up come down slowly i.e 3 hrs --> 2 hrs -->1 hr etc. Recommended life by manufacturer was in fact 4yrs

[automachine]

I have just purchased APC BI850 Sine wave home ups which cost me Rs 6000 + 300 = Rs 6300 for my home in Ahmedabad. Though Ahmedabad Torrent power is good and there is no such thing as power cut, I live on outskirts and the power supply is from UGVCL which is quite worse sometimes with frequent power cuts.
I am looking for battery with around 130 to 150 AH. Exide dealer is quoting 16K for 150 AH tubular. The APC dealer has Rocket 150 AH tubular battery which is around Rs 8500 + taxes. I want to restrict the budget for battery to max 14K. Which other battery is economical and reliable too?

[tj123]

Originally Posted by automachine

I have just purchased APC BI850 Sine wave home ups which cost me Rs 6000 + 300 = Rs 6300 for my home in Ahmedabad. Though Ahmedabad Torrent power is good and there is no such thing as power cut, I live on outskirts and the power supply is from UGVCL which is quite worse sometimes with frequent power cuts.
I am looking for battery with around 130 to 150 AH. Exide dealer is quoting 16K for 150 AH tubular. The APC dealer has Rocket 150 AH tubular battery which is around Rs 8500 + taxes. I want to restrict the budget for battery to max 14K. Which other battery is economical and reliable too?

Go for any tubular battery, as per my past experience even the local brands also do quite well. At my parents place we have a Powermann local brand tubular battery its still going strong after 6 years.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by khoj

Last week I bought two nos. of Amaron batteries @ Rs. 9200/- e.a.

The model is called 'Current', rating is 170 AH and while it is not a SMF, it is a flat battery as in one does not need to check the water levels. Company claims it has paste/gel in lieu of water.

Yes, the flat batteries are so much cheaper and there must be a reason for it. I was quoted 8-9k for Amaron 180 ah flat battery and 15k for 150 ah tubular.

Originally Posted by tj123

Go for any tubular battery, as per my past experience even the local brands also do quite well. At my parents place we have a Powermann local brand tubular battery its still going strong after 6 years.

How much and what ah ?

[R2D2]

We had an extended power cut beginning at 10:08 pm on 23/6 and yesterday due to an underground cable fault/short that affected some areas of Pune.

The power was restored at 11:42 pm last night..25.5 hours later.

We had 3 large fans switched on continously, with 2 11W CFLs, a 40W flourescent tube lamp doing duty at night and after sunset yesterday.

The Exide InvaTubular 165 AH lasted exactly 22 hours before the microtek inverter switched off due to low battery voltage. I am quite happy as the battery certainly exceeded my expectations. It is now being charged by the inverter. Would take about 24-36 hours to be fully charged again.

[Guite]

22 hours is a long time, that's great performance.

My APC inverter is 24V so it needs two batteries. So I am using 2 nos of 100 AH batteries. So is the capacity of my setup 100 AH or 200 AH?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Guite

22 hours is a long time, that's great performance.

My APC inverter is 24V so it needs two batteries. So I am using 2 nos of 100 AH batteries. So is the capacity of my setup 100 AH or 200 AH?

Your batteries are connected in series so it is 24V 100 AH. If they were connected in parallel (series or parallel is dictated by the inverter specs, so not possible with your unit) the it would be 12V 200AH.

Yes I am happy with the Exide..we bought it in Dec 2009. This is the 2nd time it was tested right down to the point where the inverter switched off. I didn't note down the run times during the 1st extended power failure. But now I know how long this battery will run given a certain load.

Luckily don't have too many power failures where I stay..ranging from 2 to 6 hours a week max and only on Thursdays which is the so called maintenance day for the MH Elec distribution company. This Exide has certainly stood the test of time and performed well.

At some point we may go in for a dual battery system like yours, an APC sine wave. I have extended experience with APC UPSes but not inverters. How are you finding the performance of your APC inverter?

[Guite]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Your batteries are connected in series so it is 24V 100 AH. If they were connected in parallel (series or parallel is dictated by the inverter specs, so not possible with your unit) the it would be 12V 200AH.

Yes I am happy with the Exide..we bought it in Dec 2009. This is the 2nd time it was tested right down to the point where the inverter switched off. I didn't note down the run times during the 1st extended power failure. But now I know how long this battery will run given a certain load.

At some point we may go in for a dual battery system like yours, an APC sine wave. I have extended experience with APC UPSes but not inverters. How are you finding the performance of your APC inverter?

I thought, for same load, current drawn from battery will be less by half compared to a 12V inverter and accordingly longer run from the battery charge.

My experience with Exide has been good too. I used MHD1000 which is for LCVs. It lasted three and half years until I changed it recently. Note that usage in Noida is very heavy due to constant power cut.

My APC inverter experience has been good except for a bad choice of point of purchase. It was not from an authorised dealer so I got refurbished piece. It failed wihin few months of purchase. it was replaced with a piece which leaked current from the metal enclosure. I complained and it got replaced by the originally purchased piece, which has since been repaired. Quite a coincidence. After that it has been keeping duty for the past 3+ years.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Guite

I thought, for same load, current drawn from battery will be less by half compared to a 12V inverter and accordingly longer run from the battery charge.

My experience with Exide has been good too. I used MHD1000 which is for LCVs. It lasted three and half years until I changed it recently. Note that usage in Noida is very heavy due to constant power cut..

A 12V battery pack i.e. 2 batteries in parallel are preferable for longer run times. A suggestion, the next time you change batteries go in for deep cycle tubular ones like the Exide Invatubular or their equivalent in Amaron. Don't use automotive batteries - they are not designed for deep cycle operation.

Run time is always decided by the capacity of the battery. A 24V pack 2 batteries in series are good for higher loads but not longer run times as the overall capacity remains the same which would be 100AH in your case. The biggest disadvantage of series connection is one failing battery will affect the performance of the good unit as well.

Also, in series configuration 1/2 the amps (@ higher 2x voltage) the wiring can also be of thinner gauge (higher AWG #). For e.g. if you have a 100W load on the inverter and assuming an inverter efficiency of 66% the total power draw from the battery would be approx 130W - ~10.8A at 12V or 5.3A @ 24V

Originally Posted by Guite

My APC inverter experience has been good except for a bad choice of point of purchase. It was not from an authorised dealer so I got refurbished piece. It failed wihin few months of purchase. it was replaced with a piece which leaked current from the metal enclosure. I complained and it got replaced by the originally purchased piece, which has since been repaired. Quite a coincidence. After that it has been keeping duty for the past 3+ years.

It is always best to buy from an APC authorised dealer. Been buying APC for the past 12-13 years now starting from a 500VA single battery UPS, 2 x 1.5KVAs & a 2.2KVA sine wave UPS. Their service and support has improved considerably as I experienced in Feb this year. Also, always make sure your inverter is earthed. That way you won't experience dangerous voltages when touching the cabinet, should there be any leaks.

[alto99]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Run time is always decided by the capacity of the battery. A 24V pack 2 batteries in series are good for higher loads but not longer run times as the overall capacity remains the same which would be 100AH in your case. The biggest disadvantage of series connection is one failing battery will affect the performance of the good unit as well.

Also, in series configuration 1/2 the amps (@ higher 2x voltage) the wiring can also be of thinner gauge (higher AWG #). For e.g. if you have a 100W load on the inverter and assuming an inverter efficiency of 66% the total power draw from the battery would be approx 130W - ~10.8A at 12V or 5.3A @ 24V

For a given load, backup time or run time will be similar irrespective of whether the batteries are in series or in parallel for the same reason you have mentioned for thinner gauge wires, i.e. half the current will be drawn from series configuration for given load compared to parallel configuration.

So to estimate the backup time for a given load one will have to add the capcities of individual identical batteries irrespective of series/parallel.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by alto99

So to estimate the backup time for a given load one will have to add the capcities of individual identical batteries irrespective of series/parallel.

That's right. Mathematically it should be that way when V & AH of multiple battery units is identical. If you look at it from the A=W/V angle it is a halving in amps due to the 2x the voltage.

There are always advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Provided there's not too much of a Amp demand which is required in very high power inverter packs used for running ACs, freezers/fridges and other induction loads, I would prefer the batteries in parallel for normal domestic use (w/o induction loads) due to the advantages mentioned below.

To get advantages of both - string batteries in a series + parallel configuration as some UPSes do.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by R2D2

A 12V battery pack i.e. 2 batteries in parallel are preferable for longer run times. A suggestion, the next time you change batteries go in for deep cycle tubular ones like the Exide Invatubular or their equivalent in Amaron. Don't use automotive batteries - they are not designed for deep cycle operation.

Thanks a lot for bringing up deep cycle operation. If only your advise came one and half months earlier :-)