[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by RajeswaranK7

My APC 1KVA BI sine wave inverter in the ground floor is down with a burnt board. Its a 24V 2 battery system. Called up the APC guy nearby and he said 1KVA is not available anymore and the only model available is 850VA sine wave model(12 V single battery). I am thinking of going with Su-kam Shiny Pure sine wave 1500VA 24V model, is it a good choice or is there any other models I should look for.

I have 1400VA Sukam Smiley model for almost 5+ years coupled with luminous batteries as 24V system. No issues as of now. One of the better brand/model in sine wave inverters.

[RajeswaranK7]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

I have 1400VA Sukam Smiley model for almost 5+ years coupled with luminous batteries as 24V system. No issues as of now. One of the better brand/model in sine wave inverters.

@JMaruru
Thanks for the assurance. The only reason i am a bit hesitant to move to any other brand than APC is their service, it's topnotch. If the 1KVA model is still availabe, I would blindly go for it(Mine was running good for the past 5 years and any issues we faced were sorted out quickly). How is Su-kam's service? just in case if anything goes wrong.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by RajeswaranK7

@JMaruru. How is Su-kam's service? just in case if anything goes wrong.

They have outsourced their service in B'lore. Once, i had to bring them to change the cut-off voltage settings. You can either opt for AMC model, else you might have to pay them for each visit (around 200 bucks) + spares. I haven't gone for AMC as i do not expect much to go wrong in this model.

[lurker]

You can opt for Numeric also. 1.4 kva with 24V/2 batteries. It's as good as APC, and HQed in Chennai. They have a tie-up with Legrand of France (they are also the new owners), they used to have tie-up with MGE of France before MGE was taken over by APC. Numeric is quite reliable and if you have burnt boards and stuff, they will usually change it within a day or two.

I also searched around for APC, but it seems they have down-sized a bit (right-sized?) and cut down on their inverter models and are now left with only 1 home UPS model. Also they have down-sized their service support in various states and it is no longer what it used to be in those places.

[deetjohn]

How is V-Guard Inverter? Anyone using them for a long time? And do I source the battery from them or outside?

[RajeswaranK7]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

They have outsourced their service in B'lore. Once, i had to bring them to change the cut-off voltage settings. You can either opt for AMC model, else you might have to pay them for each visit (around 200 bucks) + spares. I haven't gone for AMC as i do not expect much to go wrong in this model.

@JMaruru
Went ahead with Su-kam Shiny 1500VA model.

Originally Posted by lurker

You can opt for Numeric also. 1.4 kva with 24V/2 batteries. It's as good as APC, and HQed in Chennai.

@Lurker
I got the inverter installed just when you had posted about numeric. Numeric didn't crooss my mind, else would have considered it too.

I paid Rs7300 totally (7200 for inverter and 100 for the installer).

There are two things that i am observing

1. There is a contant humming noise(kind of high pitched irritating one) comming from the inverter. Others too have reported simillar ones in the following links

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...ml#post1846855

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...ml#post1847368

Our FM Chipz has stated that this is due to the trickle charge, but i want to make sure this is not because of anything else.

2. The charge light is always on( I haven't seen this off since yesterday).

Are these things normal or a cause for concern???

Actual test for this inverter will be in another 45 mins where we have our scheduled 2 hours power cut, will update the experience after that.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

How is V-Guard Inverter? Anyone using them for a long time? And do I source the battery from them or outside?

have heard a lot of complaints on the 800va V-Guard unit, but the 1.4 kva unit seems to be fine.

Originally Posted by RajeswaranK7

I got the inverter installed just when you had posted about numeric. Numeric didn't crooss my mind, else would have considered it too.

You are based in Chennai, right ! So is Numeric. I get the feeling that APC's was the best power management board, Numeric is close second though. SuKam seems to be more industrial. A friend is using SuKam to convert his solar power unit.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by lurker

... SuKam seems to be more industrial. ...

What could be the difference?

[sourav9385]

Hiya Fellas!

We will be going out of town for about a week. So, as usual, all electrical appliances will be switched off during this time period.
So what do you recommend about the inverter? Our setup is Su-Kam 800VA + Su-Kam 180AH. It's used rarely as we are never home during power outages, except on weekends.

Is it a good idea to switch off the whole thing? Or do we need to keep it connected to the mains, with the inverter's power button switched off?
Any recommendations would be helpful Thanks. Cheers!

[R2D2]

We had a 3.5 year old Microtek 850 Sine Wave Inverter with an Exide IT550 165AH battery. It used to consistently over charge the battery till I had the service centre reduce the output float voltage to about 13.5VDC instead of the 14.4 earlier. This led to the battery consuming a lot of water.

What was shocking though is some years ago the inverter almost caught fire due to a short circuit in the AC circuitry. Fortunately I was at home and able to disconnect the system before further damage was done. That really put paid to my trust in this particular brand even though the circuit board was replaced under warranty.

It was replaced today with a Su-kam Shiny 1.5 KVA with 2 Exide IT750 200AH batteries.

These Indian inverter brands do look a little crude, as if made in a village workshop, but I understand APC has stopped making the 1KVA Sine wave inverter.

Let us see how this combo works out. Su kam has pretty decent reports so far.

[Guite]

Most likely I will have to replace my 24v APC inverter. I am inclined to continue with APC. If I get the 850va model which has been stated in a previous post as 12V, I suppose I can connect my two existing batteries in parallel and still gain maximum benefit from it, right?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Guite

Most likely I will have to replace my 24v APC inverter. I am inclined to continue with APC. If I get the 850va model which has been stated in a previous post as 12V, I suppose I can connect my two existing batteries in parallel and still gain maximum benefit from it, right?

In theory you can connect the batteries in parallel and continue to use them.

But check the capacity of the charger circuit, it needs to be able to charge a battery pack at that is effectively double the capacity when connected in parallel. Since charging proceeds at a non linear rate, all things being equal it will take 2x-3x the time to charge the pack. Most charging circuits have a battery capacity/AH range that is recommended for use.

You may want to consult the manufacturer of the new inverter (APC?) if a parallel connection is advisable.

[aim120]

Yes you can connect the batteries in parallel,but unlike your older 24v APC 1000VA , the 12v models like the 850VA are less efficient compared to 24v models.A ups or inverter with higher DC input voltage are always more efficient which is why for Solar power they typically connect Solar panels in series rather then in parallel.

The APC 850VA sine model has charge current from as low as 5A all the way upto 15A so it can comfortably charge batteries even of a total of 150AH to 200Ah, it will only take longer to charge batteries of higher capacity of more then 150AH.

@R2D2
APC still makes the 1000va model.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by R2D2

In theory you can connect the batteries in parallel and continue to use them.

But check the capacity of the charger circuit, it needs to be able to charge a battery pack at that is effectively double the capacity when connected in parallel. Since charging proceeds at a non linear rate, all things being equal it will take 2x-3x the time to charge the pack. Most charging circuits have a battery capacity/AH range that is recommended for use.

You may want to consult the manufacturer of the new inverter (APC?) if a parallel connection is advisable.

Originally Posted by aim120

The APC 850VA sine model has charge current from as low as 5A all the way upto 15A so it can comfortably charge batteries even of a total of 150AH to 200Ah, it will only take longer to charge batteries of higher capacity of more then 150AH.

Thanks for the responses.

A few hours back I chatted with APC representative through their website. His knowledge wasn't exactly astounding. He said BI850SINE is 12V so only one battery should be used. I told him I will connect two batteries in parallel, it will be 12V, so can I use two batteries? He repeated same answer that BI850SINE is designed only for one battery. I prodded further saying the brochure shows charger output selector on the rear panel, so can I connect, use and charge two batteries. His response was still the same; no technical insight whatsoever, unlike the responses I am getting here.

Alternatively I asked for 24V model, still no lead. He took my number, saying their sales team will get intouch.

By the way, I currently have 2 nos 100AH batteries. So as per input from aim120 I can still use it with APC BI850SINE. Will wait for response from APC sales for alternate models.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by aim120

@R2D2 APC still makes the 1000va model.

According to my dealer here they have stopped making the 1000VA model. This is as of 15/4 when I finalised the Su Kam much against my wishes as the APC was my 1st choice.

I think Rajeswaran7 also reported the same thing after his APC 1000VA board was burned. Check post # 660.

Strangely enough this model is still listed their site.

Originally Posted by Guite

A few hours back I chatted with APC representative through their website. His knowledge wasn't exactly astounding. He said BI850SINE is 12V so only one battery should be used. I told him I will connect two batteries in parallel, it will be 12V, so can I use two batteries? He repeated same answer that BI850SINE is designed only for one battery. I prodded further saying the brochure shows charger output selector on the rear panel, so can I connect, use and charge two batteries. His response was still the same; no technical insight whatsoever, unlike the responses I am getting here.

Alternatively I asked for 24V model, still no lead. He took my number, saying their sales team will get intouch.

By the way, I currently have 2 nos 100AH batteries. So as per input from aim120 I can still use it with APC BI850SINE. Will wait for response from APC sales for alternate models.

These guys will always read from the book because they are required to possibly due to compulsions of the job. Even though their (so called) technical knowledge/education and training should tell them that 2 batteries in parallel function as a large higher AH battery at the same voltage.

I had a bit of an issue with the brand new Su Kam today. I moved it around a bit and noticed there was a screw or some other object loose inside the chassis. Having had an experience with the previous Microtek nearly catching fire, I went ballistic and called the dealer asking for a replacement and providing feedback on QA among other things. This is a potentially dangerous situation especially if the object touches the high voltage AC inverter side of the PCB.

He reported it to the Su Kam service centre and within hours a service engineer came in, opened the case and found a screw/fastener that had fallen off the front bezel, probably due to impact on shipment though no damage was visible. The engineer was appreciative that I switched off the inverter unit.

He took out the offending part, closed the case and proceeded to check the inverter float voltage at my insistence. Voltage was 27.5V (13.75V/battery) close to Exide's recommendations of 13.5V/battery.

Sometimes Indian manufacturers are simply nowhere close to their foreign counterparts in QA or QC. Disappointing!