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Well, if it were just checking low voltage circuits like batteries those cheapo Chinese built meters would do. But when it comes to mains and higher voltage I prefer Fluke or other well known brands like Extech, Mastech, Metravi, Sanwa among many others. Fluke makes some basic meters, the Fluke 101/106/107 for e.g., that you may want to consider. There are lots of YT videos that can help you select a meter and why you should take the CAT II/III/IV categories seriously. Some reading - Measurement categories

Thanks, I'll keep this brand in mind whenever I replace my batteries.

:OT
@R2D2, Aroy, Prowler, Thad
This is not about Lead acid batteries, but I'd like your inputs nonetheless :
I noticed that li-ion batteries come with a protective circuit, does this mean that I can use any old 5V supply to charge the battery, correction, not battery but a single cell? I'm hoping to replace all my 3V gadget's batteries with a single li-ion cell and use a simple 5V charger. Is this a good idea?

No, Li-ion batteries/cells have specific charging circuits tailored to that battery. Protective circuit prevents very low discharge of the battery, or high charge voltage, short circuits among other features that can cause the battery to either get damaged itself or damage the device it is attached to.

So the jinx broke R2D2 san. Batteries went into deep discharge and controller module just couldn't do anything. Out of four batteries, 2 were at about 4v and other 2 were at 7v. Because of which there was no feedback at all.

The third phase from main line caused some voltage problem and lot of homes in our area were affected. Thus, all appliances that we connected in that phase line were drawing the deficit voltage from inverter. Slowly but steadily this went on for 2 days and finally controller shut down. To add to this, we were on vacation and our neighbors did not even have the bother to call us and inform the incessant beeps. Such is the society today.

After we returned and narrowed down to 3rd phase, I was shocked to see this mammoth sleeping peacefully with no response to my actions. Got the Mextech multimeter and Bosch c7 from Amazon. Both arrived pretty quickly and helped me last weekend.

Charging for very deep discharged took about 45 min with R generation mode in C7, and I used the direct charge mode for about 10 min just to entice battery voltage. Didn't observe much heating in battery, but C7 was getting warmer. Kept fingers crossed and carried on. In the melee forgot to unscrew filler caps in batteries, but the float type caps have gas exchange provision (they have the retaining sponge for electrolyte bubbles & pressure equalize).

After all 4 came back to life (12v+), turned on the controller only to see no feedback. The Luminous support engineer chickened out after seeing all four batteries asleep. So, I had to do all this myself. Only good thing he did was that he bypassed the controller which he asked me to switch to online.

Lot of learning in couple of days, but this experience might help others like me to be prepared for the summer times ahead.

Wanted some inputs on what all needs to be considered when choosing the location to keep inverter batteries:

1. What levels of Electro Magnetic Radiations (EMR) are emitted from Inverter + Battery Combinations? Are there any casings that are easily available to avoid the EMR from this?

2. The Battery is also supposed to emit Hydrogen and Acidic Fumes. Any potential health hazards from this?

3. To avoid the above two, if the Inverter is kept in Balcony, what kind of water proofing, Rain-defence should be applied ?

1. The EMR from a typical inverter at a distance of one meter is not enough to cause any potential health hazard. Sine wave inverters feed normal mains type 50 Hz frequency and you will not even hear any sound from its transformer core as Magnetostriction.

I used a Electromagnetic Frequency Radiation Detector like the one shown below.
2. Yes. The Lead acid battery will emit a bit of Hydrogen and Sulfuric Acid fumes. Smoking or open flames near a bank of working Lead acid batteries is prohibited.

3. Use common sense precaution. The area surrounding the Inverter and the Batteries should be dry and free from any water. Make sure that humidity level is not so high that it will affect its operation.

I see that Prowler has already answered your queries, and I can relate to few of your concerns out of my personal experience.

1. EMR is certainly there. But not to the extent of being concerned, most preferable to keep this away from sitting or family dining spots.

2. Yes. Fumes are a concern especially when charging. A friend of mine was complaining of congested nose and watery eye. The culprit was a serial set up that he did within his home and his overzealous battery guy was using spurious concoctions which was causing this issue. After I suggested, he moved the entire set up in well ventilated balcony with immediate health recovery. Same happened in my home when my parents were complaining of strong odor after power outage so I hastily constructed a separate UPS room outside our home to store my set up.

3. Away from direct sunlight and rain is MUST. Do not cover or envelope with any material, there has to be sufficient air circulation. I have seen people covering them with plastic covers, clothes etc. which is highly not recommended. At least 6-7 inches of breathing space is needed in all sides of controller and batteries. Place it out of reach from naughty hands of kids and on a strong base. Keep an eye for Pigeons, Wasps, Bee nest.

A query on distilled water for UPS batteries:

We just realized that our UPS hasn't been serviced for a while and the regular water topping has not been done. Also it is seen in the indicator that the water levels are quite low as far as I understand from reading through the internet.

In the wake of this lock down it doesn't look like a technician would be available. The question is that can we pour normal (RO filtered) water into it or should it be a "distilled water" bought from some outside supplier? I also do not know where to get it and is unlikely available at this point of time.

Any leads?

I checked "distilled water" that I had bought some time ago from a battery shop and found that the TDS reading was quite high. Better go with Kinley brand which shows a TDS of around 10 or so. I didn't like the taste compared to bisleri, so I was curious. Bisleri adds minerals so the TDS is around 150 to 200 IIRC. RO machine may also add minerals at the last stage, so YMMV.

Batteries should be filled with distilled water only, and never drinking water from bottle or machine.

I think our inverter battery needs topping up. I have always used the bottles from battery shops, but whether the contents are really distilled or not, I do not know.

There must be methods of distilling water at home, other than having an actual still. It is probably not that hard to make a still from PVC pipe. I seem to remember that, in Britain, it is illegal, outside recognised laboratories, to even possess an unlicensed still.

I see, noted. Who sells this distilled water by the way?

Now that gave me an idea to google and find how to make it at home which I never thought about.

Youtube threw a nice video and I hope it is real. Let me try this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T5QckyKR1g


In case if I am not successful in finding the distilled water, is it okay to run the UPS in this condition for a while until we are done with this lock down. The indicators on the battery are close to the lower level but not below that.

Got it.
Just went and picked it up from a petrol pump. Rs.30/- per litre.

Oh, thanks! I hadn't thought of that, and I think I will be needing some soon too.

My Exide inverter batteries turned 7 on 14th Apr. One of them is shedding material from the +ve plate (maybe I mentioned this earlier) i.e. it's on the way out to the "Beyond". I expect them to last for another 6-12 months before replacement will be required.

The batteries were cleaned and topped off with about 2.5 litres of DW. I normally stock about 10-20 litres at home just in case and this has been a good practice especially during difficult times like this lock-down.

The Normal/Tubular switch was set to "Normal" to reduce the charging/float voltage by just a little bit i.e. 13.5 instead of 13.7/battery. I use this setting during the hot season to minimise electrolyte loss.

Next top up expected in mid to end July.

Did it. Or rather, got a friendly, local auto driver to do it for me. All the level indicators were at minimum. The 150 amp-hour battery took about 1.25 litres.

Wiped down the battery with Sodium bicarboate solution. There was a small amount of fizz when putting the cloth in the jug.

I noticed that the sides of the battery have some very slight swelling. I'm guessing... this is bad news? The battery was bought in December 2015, after the previous battery and inverter had spent several days under water. It has been run to flat two or three times, due to know realising that the input mcb had tripped.

The inverter display used to say >10 hours of backup duration for computer + a light and fan or two, now it says around 6 hours. We would never use it for that long: we'd start the generator to protect the fridge contents... and get comfort from an AC!