Team-BHP - Inverter Batteries

I am looking for a battery for my UPS.

Confused whether to go for

Exide EL+ Battery (C10) 100 Ah, Amaron Tall Tubular(C20) 150 Ah or APC Tall Tubular(C20) 150 Ah.
Price for all of them is more or less same- just 500 difference here and there.

Exide guys are telling me that EL+ battery can be used only for online UPS(!) or else warranty cannot be claimed! The APC tall tubular seems to have heavier plates (37 kg dry weight).

Amaron has no details availabe on the website - So most probably the choice is EL+ 100Ah vs APC 150 Ah

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sedate (Post 3441524)

Looks like the heavier APC batteries are the best choice.

One thing you must determine is the warranty conditions. It is usually split
. X months of unconditional warranty with free replacement.
. Y months of conditional warranty with replacement after paying proportionate costs.

Evaluate all the options and decide which warranty costs you the least in terms of premature failure. Higher figures of "X" makes the most sense, but if that is coupled with low or zero "Y", then you take a major hit if the battery fails.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sedate (Post 3441524)

Exide says the EL+ is meant for UPS be it online or lineinteractive.But they want know what equipment you have at home.

The EL+ battery is the heaviest battery in India and is the best out there period.

APC don't manufacture Batteries ,they just rebadge some OEM battery maker.

Exide EL/EL+ plus battery comes with no warranty if the installtion is for home UPS/Inverter. Confirmed from Exide cochin office! The warranty form are signed after onsite visit by Exide engineer. For warranty settlement also, the engineer will visit home! Some process from exide!

Settled for APC UPS - BI850 SINE-IN and also going for APC battery 150Ah short tubular. The APC short tubular battery weighs more than tall tubular one as per their manual!:eek:

Most probably the battery may be coming from luminous plant(white labeled) as both APC and Luminos are now owned by Schneider.

Went for the APC UPS for its looks and brand value - It was the only manufacturer that returned a call when I gave my details on their website. Su-Kam and Luminos never responded!

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf_lone (Post 3428902)

Whats the difference between Tall tubular & regular size tubular batteries in terms of life & backup capabilities..

I am looking for a new battery since my AMARON died last week. Power situation is not bleak in my area with minor power cuts 4-5 times a week for ~20-30 mins at the most.

Sometimes during routine maintenance power goes off for 6-7 years but this generally happens 3-4 times a year only...

Which battery is recommended...

How is LUMINOUS LT500 150Ah Battery. It seems to be smaller than other tall tubular batteries. Any long term users with any experience on this....

From the research I did in the last 1 week, technically I do not find any difference in Tubular and Tall Tubular batteries except for the latter one being tall and Tall Tubular batteries have 48 month warranty as compared to 36 month of tubular battery.
Looking at the price difference, I prefer going for Tall Tubular as for additional small cost (2k max), you get approx 2 more years of performance.

Luminous LT500 battery seems to be selling good and is compared with Exide Inva Tubular (IT) 500 albeit 36 months of warranty. My recommendation would be to go with Exide IT 500 with 48 months of warranty or LTT18048 from Luminous which is Tall Tubular battery with 48 months of warranty.
Cost benefit is more in 48 months warranty battery

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cooltronics (Post 3449606)

Got myself LT500... Its also a tall tubular battery but slightly smaller in height then IT500 of EXIDE...

As for warranty, its mostly 3 year replacement + Prorata 1 year on a 48 months warranty.. Some companies may offer 2yr replacement & then 2 years prorata for a 48 months warranty.

I beleive Prorata is useless since its applicable on MRP & not on the prevalent market price. I got LT500 since power situation is not bleak in my locality. Even thought there are outrages 3-4 times a day but they usually last 15-20 mins...

Also I got the battery for Rs. 6800/- after deducting value of my existing AMARON SHIELD 160Ah for Rs. 80/kg... The battery (LT500) was available for Rs, 10300/- locally.... It easily fitted my regular flat plate trolley without any problem.. so that was an added BONUS... :)

I just installed Exide IT500 battery and Luminous Eco Volt 900VA inverter but i am facing a problem with the inverter. When electricity supply is down and inverter turns on the ceiling fans work at a slower speed. This is my first experience with an inverter so wanted to know if this is normal. Fans run at slow speed even if there is no other load on the inverter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorhead666 (Post 3458372)

This is normal. Your mains voltage is probably 230+ Volts and the inverter gives out between 200-220 Volts. You'll see a reduction in fan speed when the inverter turns on due to the lower voltage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorhead666 (Post 3458372)

Just get the Inverter output voltage checked. If it is within the 210-230V band, it is fine. If it is less than 210V, get it adjusted to 230V.

Mains supply in India is nominal 230V, but in reality varies between 210V and 250V. This fluctuation is due to voltage drop due to excessive load on the conductors. Some fans are well designed and do not vary the speed much with voltage, while others are very sensitive to the voltage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorhead666 (Post 3458984)

I checked with a DMM. The mains supply is 240V while inverter is 220V. Any idea how to change inverter voltage to 240V ?

No idea, as each model is different. Either get hold of their technical guys, or ask for adjustments from the manufacturer.

Normally there is an adjustment pot on the circuit board, but I would not mess with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolclouds (Post 3468367)

I'm looking for a home UPS to power three laptops with three to four hours backup. We decided on 800 VA ups and looking for a suitable battery. How many AH and other specifications I may require?

As you have not stated what laptops you are using, I cannot comment on the actual power consumption, but a normal laptop should last 3-4 hours on its own battery.

Assuming that each laptop has a peak requirement of 100VA, 3 laptops are 300VA, so for 4 hours you need 300x4=1200VA which comes to 100AH for a 12V battery. As the capacity for 4 hours is about 50% (full capacity is for 10 hours discharge rate), the rating goes up to 200AH.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sedate (Post 3442636)

Settled for APC UPS - BI850 SINE-IN and also going for APC battery 150Ah short tubular. The APC short tubular battery weighs more than tall tubular one as per their manual!:eek:

I had seen one APC square wave inverter with EXIDE 150AH battery at friend's home. Somehow the APC inverter has high charging current, it was 13 Amps in friends case. It shortens battery life and the water runs out quickly. He refilled his EXIDE battery 6 times a year.

Now he uses a SWASTIK brand SINE WAVE inverter (900VA) with a local made (ESCORT) battery 180AH and results are quite good. Good thing is charging current is configurable, 6 Amps and 8 Amps. He has kept it at 6 Amps. Takes more time to charge but its good for life of battery.