[aim120]

Most if not all inverters including apc have a higher charge voltage and float voltage typically meant for flooded batteries.

SMF batteries on the other hand are used mostly in UPS which have a lower charge voltage and float voltage .In APC Back UPS and Smart UPS one can also adjust the float voltage.Even in APC UPS it has been reported that SMF batteries have bulged due to improperly set charge voltage.

So i would suggest you to check the voltage of batteries and see if its within the battery manufacturer rated specs.

[sourav9385]

Hey fellas!

Need suggestions for an inverter for home.
At the max, we will be using one light, one fan, and one computer.
The inverter needs to be plugged into the entire house, so we can use the lights & fans wherever required.

I was thinking of a su-kam 800 VA, with a 150 AH battery. Preferably a SMF battery.
Would like to know the junta's opinion and the relevant pricing for these thingy's.

Let me know your choices, gents.
Thanks.

Cheers!

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by sourav9385

Hey fellas!

At the max, we will be using one light, one fan, and one computer.
The inverter needs to be plugged into the entire house, so we can use the lights & fans wherever required.

What happens when all the lights and a couple of fans in your house are ON along with the computer and then suddenly there is a power failure.
If all the load is shifted to the inverter, then the inverter has to have the capacity to take this load. You will have to consider that as well, though you would generally want just one fan and one light along with the computer to be used via the inverter.
Also, using computer with sine wave inverter is fine, but with other types like trapezoidal or square is not a good idea.

How much would you like to spend is another factor.

[sourav9385]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

What happens when all the lights and a couple of fans in your house are ON along with the computer and then suddenly there is a power failure.

How much would you like to spend is another factor.

An excellent point there mate! Well spotted!

Well, during the evening, we mostly have 3-4 lights running along with 1 fan.
Even if the power shuts down suddenly, shouldn't an 800 VA inverter be able to cope with that for a few seconds?

Budget should be within 20k preferably. The idea is to have a backup available in all rooms, so it can power the necessary component for atleast 4-6 hours without breaking a sweat.
Mostly, we will need one light, one fan, and a computer plus a couple of laptops at the maximum.

I asked around locally, and some people have quoted 7k for a su-kam 800 VA inverter.
A 150 AH exide battery was quoted for 11.5k - regular battery.
A 150 AH Exide SMF battery was quoted as 14k thereabouts.

Are the prices reasonable?
Lemme know.
Thanks again! Cheers!

[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by sourav9385

A 150 AH exide battery was quoted for 11.5k - regular battery.
A 150 AH Exide SMF battery was quoted as 14k thereabouts.

I would suggest going the normal battery route or better still, try buying a tubular battery which will have lesser maintenance than normal batteries and are more reliable than SMF batteries.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by NPV

We have a Su-kam 800VA inverter with a local built (unbranded) 120Ah tubular battery which is now going kaput so looking to replace this with a 150Ah branded tubular battery...
1. Exide INVA TUBULAR 500i - Price ~16.5k (one dealer mentioned this model has been problematic and best avoided)
2. Exide INVA TUBULAR IT500 Super - Price ~20k
3. Amaron Tubular CRST - 150 (Short) - Price ~12k
3. Amaron Tubular CRTT - 150 (Tall) - Price ~14k

Originally Posted by sourav9385

I was thinking of a su-kam 800 VA, with a 150 AH battery. Preferably a SMF battery....
Let me know your choices, gents.

Originally Posted by sourav9385

I asked around locally, and some people have quoted 7k for a su-kam 800 VA inverter.
A 150 AH exide battery was quoted for 11.5k - regular battery.
A 150 AH Exide SMF battery was quoted as 14k thereabouts.

Are the prices reasonable?

Seems to be a situation similar to mine (I already have a 2 year old Su-Kam 800VA inverter. I think I paid 6.5k)
Going for Tubular battery makes sense compared to regular batteries and SMF batteries (chance of exploding, gas leask, etc). I was recommended the Amaron by folks here as well some other friends so I've decided to go with the Amaron CRTT 150 Tall (better since it supports deep discharge, longer life, also VFM at the price point compared to Exide).

[sourav9385]

Originally Posted by NPV

Seems to be a situation similar to mine (I already have a 2 year old Su-Kam 800VA inverter. I think I paid 6.5k)
Going for Tubular battery makes sense compared to regular batteries and SMF batteries (chance of exploding, gas leask, etc). I was recommended the Amaron by folks here as well some other friends so I've decided to go with the Amaron CRTT 150 Tall (better since it supports deep discharge, longer life, also VFM at the price point compared to Exide).

Thanks for the clarification mate!
Much appreciated

So, Tubular battery you say?
Does that mean we will have to get distilled water bottles and will have to keep topping up the water levels every now and then?
As far as I know, this is not required in SMF batteries. I may be wrong though

What about fumes and stuff? I've read in this thread, that SMF batteries don't produce fumes, but regular tubular ones do.
I am quite concerned about this as my wife is extremely asthmatic. I wouldn't want any kinds of fumes making her condition worse, in any way.

[khoj]

When buying an inverter follow the golden rule

1. Inverter and battery should be of the same make &

2. Both should be bought from the same vendor

Whether to buy a SMF or wet battery & whether to get a trolley or not are just corollaries to the rule above.

Since you are in Chennai you will do well to go with Amaron inverter and battery combination. These are made in Tirupati and sold out of Chennai(national sales H O). I use this combination (800VA + 1 x 150 Ah) in one of my offices and it has worked perfectly, especially on the after sales service side. The response from this company to customer's purchase queries has always been sluggish but if you persist you can lay your hands on a high quality product.

http://www.amaron.in/homeups.php


I also have a Sukam inverter which originally was bought with Sukam SMF batteries (1400 VA + 2 x 150 Ah). After 5 long years, the batteries had to be replaced. Sukam however is making these now only for 100% exports and have stopped offering them in the local market. So I had to opt for the next best thing and that is the Current battery(used to be called Shield earlier) from Amaron.

It is for the above reason that I would not recommend Sukam inverter unless one is happy to go with a Sukam make wet battery. If fumes and topping up are not an issue then again this is a good combo to spend your money on.

Originally Posted by sourav9385

Need suggestions for an inverter for home.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by khoj

If fumes and topping up are not an issue then again this is a good combo to spend your money on.

My first inverter battery was an Exide SMF. The battery hardly lasted for a year and a half. All the inverter vendors and battery vendors say that SMF is not good for inverters - it very rarely do the batteries last. From that time on I have only gone for regular (topping up) kind of batteries. My regular Exide battery lasted for around 4 years - and I think it croaked because the I forgot to top up for 8-9 months.


None of the batteries were tubular.

[khoj]

I am not surprised. It is only now that Exide has started to actually offer Automotive SMF batteries (Matrix), that too 'cause every other manufacturer has several offerings be it Amaron, AC Delco, Base, Rahima Farooz or even Inphynyt.

Inverter batteries are a different segment and practically the sheer size of the wet battery market far out numbers the SMF requirement so even if they do not offer a half decent product it really makes no difference to their sale numbers.

Traditionally Exide has never reacted proactively to changes in technology other than jugaad (they followed Microtek's lead in to tubular design). That however should not stop informed customers from stepping up and putting their decisions in favour of new technology that has stabilized itself over the last decade or so. In the end it is an individual decision whether to let a bad product effect future purchases or take a fresh look at stuff.

Originally Posted by carboy

My first inverter battery was an Exide SMF.

PS : Not boasting but just realized that at slightly over 5 years, the Sukam SMF batteries outlasted the regular Exide in your system and that too when I never looked at them ever or smelt them for that matter.

As for the battery dealers and distributors, they always promote the product with better margins. Per Sukam's marketing manager the margins on the SMF are negligible compared to the regular wet batteries and the dealers never really took to these. This was during my interactions with the gentleman while I was trying to get a couple of batteries to replace the dead ones. BTW I got 1200 bucks as the exchange price for each of the dead Sukam battery, so better returns there too.

@aim120
I am not seeking anyone's concurrence.
Forums are meant for sharing information, experiences & knowledge not to have 'for' & against 'debates' LOL

[aim120]

Originally Posted by khoj

When buying an inverter follow the golden rule

1. Inverter and battery should be of the same make &

2. Both should be bought from the same vendor

Sorry i don't agree with that.
One can buy a battery from any make which in most cases is actually better then whats supplied by the dealer or inverter company.The EXIDE tubular batteries like the EL and EL+ range are unmatched and they will outlast any other battery in india.

You can buy it from the same vendor but getting a good deal isn't feasible in this method.Since a UPS or inverter dealer will probably give good prices for them but he would sell the batteries at a higher price.
When i bought my UPS i bought it from a APC authorized dealer.I then bought the battery from a wholesale battery dealer and his prices where just unmatched by others,the inverter dealers make a hefty profit in selling batteries.I saved around 2.5k just on batteries vs if i had bought it from inverter dealer.

[sourav9385]

Originally Posted by khoj

When buying an inverter follow the golden rule

1. Inverter and battery should be of the same make &

2. Both should be bought from the same vendor

Whether to buy a SMF or wet battery & whether to get a trolley or not are just corollaries to the rule above.

Wow! A response from THE expert in this field! Thank you sir

Well, as per your recommendation, I am guessing Exide is out as they don't make any inverters that I know of.
So Amaron and Su-Kam are the only choices then?
What about stuff like Luminous & APC? Are they worth considering?

Regarding batteries, if I choose to go with Su-Kam, will Su-Kam branded batteries be just as good as the stuff from say Amaron/Exide?
Any ideas on that?

All shops and dealers are closed on Sunday sadly :(.
So I guess I'll have to go inverter hunting on a weekday for dealers and batteries. Shucks.

[khoj]

I am not qualified to say whether Luminous or APC are worth considering or not. I merely base my comments on real life experiences, simple as that. I have used APC's UPS and have not had a problem till the time I required support and nearly a decade down the line the two UPS's are still sitting in our godown somewhere. As for Luminous let's say their marketing strategy of using a cricketer as the brand ambassador seems like overkill to me and I would rather go with a manufacturer who would spend the extra revenue on better production facilities, better components, R&D etc etc. It may not make sense to some but then one is not seeking concurrence only expressing one's own views.

Look at the Sukam web site, it has a wealth of information regarding their products including a dealer locater. An Indian manufacturer with this detailed a web site is rare but then Sukam as a company too is like this, approachable and responsive. I must say that along with Amaron's plant in Tirupati, Sukam's manufacturing plants in Baddi are amongst the better ones in our country as far as batteries are concerned.

Pick up your phone, I am sure that in this day and age there will be a pro active dealer in your city if not your immediate area who will be happy to make a sale on a Sunday.

http://www.su-kam.com/Power-Solution...s/Batteries/27

Disclaimer : I am not connected in any which way with any of the cos. mentioned above but have had the opportunity to visit most major battery manufacturing facilities in the country as a part of my work requirements.

Originally Posted by sourav9385

Well, as per your recommendation, I am guessing Exide is out as they don't make any inverters that I know of.
So Amaron and Su-Kam are the only choices then?
What about stuff like Luminous & APC? Are they worth considering?

Regarding batteries, if I choose to go with Su-Kam, will Su-Kam branded batteries be just as good as the stuff from say Amaron/Exide?
Any ideas on that?

[carboy]

Originally Posted by khoj

Pick up your phone, I am sure that in this day and age there will be a pro active dealer in your city if not your immediate area who will be happy to make a sale on a Sunday.

http://www.su-kam.com/Power-Solution...s/Batteries/27

When I had to buy a battery 8-9 months back, I tried the Sukam website. Their Dealer locator page doesn't have Mumbai as one of the cities in Maharashtra - so I couldn't go that route.

So I called up one of their numbers and no one seemed interested. I was told I would get a call back, but I never did. Finally I purchased an Amaron.

One feature I liked with the Exide Battery was the water level indicator thingies on the cap of each of the holes. My current Amaron doesn't have it - so I have to keep filling water till it overflows :-(

[sourav9385]

Originally Posted by khoj

Pick up your phone, I am sure that in this day and age there will be a pro active dealer in your city if not your immediate area who will be happy to make a sale on a Sunday.

My thoughts exactly!

So, just after replying to your post earlier, we looked up on justdial for some inverter dealers near our place.
Called up quite a few of them. Most of them said they are closed.
One was open, and it was pretty close to our house.

Me and the missus hopped in the car and hobbled over to the shop.
They deal primarily in Inverters and batteries.
We were not looking into Luminous or any other local brands.
Sadly, they didn't have relation to Amaron.

They did however, have a good deal of stock of Su-Kam Stuff.
So here's the deal that we got from them:

1. Su-kam 800 VA Pure Sine Wave(Falcon) - with Sukam 180 AH Tall Tubular battery: Rs 21k.

2. Su-Kam 800 VA Pure Sine Wave(Falcon) - with EXIDE 150 AH Tall Tubular battery: Rs 20k.

Both are the regular battery types, where distilled water needs to be added once every 4-6 months.
At least, that's what the dealer said.
I wanted to check their response towards SMF batteries.
The dealer happily quoted, that SMF batteries are prone to bloating and explosions as they are very sensitive towards voltage fluctuations.
I was surprised by that response, but then I remembered your post that dealers will not plug a product that has a low margin

Anyways, inverters carry 2 years standard warranty.
Both batteries carry 4 years warranty. Installation and configuration would be 300-400 bucks.
Installation in a few hours as we are located pretty close.

So what do you think? Are the prices decent?
And should I go for Su-Kam + Su-Kam? or Su-Kam + Exide?
I will be checking up on Amaron stuff tomorrow evening.
Hope to find some Amaron dealers near our locality.

Thanks again for the prompt response mate!
Cheers!