[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

What is the average life of an inverter battery?? Our Exide inverter battery completed its 11 years today, and still going strong

You're lucky coz most inverter batteries last for far less time. However, one thing that needs to be kept in mind is even if your battery is still functional it's capacity continues a slow gradual decline over the years.

So, excluding severe faults such as a short circuit or failed cell which would necessitate an immediate replacement, as a rule of the thumb just replace your battery when you feel the backup power is insufficient.

[diyguy]

Question on inverter wiring. If the DB has been segregated well with separate MCBs for each room's lighting circuit (5 Amp load), can I them wire inverter output to the lighting MCBs directly at the DB itself? I know if too many you are in use during a powercut the inverter will overload but that can be overcome by switching off unimportant devices at that time. Is there any other risk? We had this a few years back at another residence but I am not sure if this is a recommended approach.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Question on inverter wiring. If the DB has been segregated well with separate MCBs for each room's lighting circuit (5 Amp load), can I them wire inverter output to the lighting MCBs directly at the DB itself? I know if too many you are in use during a powercut the inverter will overload but that can be overcome by switching off unimportant devices at that time. Is there any other risk? We had this a few years back at another residence but I am not sure if this is a recommended approach.

Yes, that's what has been done at my home.

The output from the inverter is fed into the lighting and fan circuits for each room. I can control inverter input to each room should the need arise.

The concerned MCBs are all in 1 row within the DB. So the inverter output wire is connected to the inputs of each MCB circuit via a common +ve/hot wire. It is important to note the inverter output does not at any time bypass MCB protection.

[Tanmay K]

Can a 150 AH inverter battery be charged by a car's alternator (when the car is running of course), if the inverter battery is connected in parallel to the car battery? I do know this will wear out the alternator if done on a regular basis. But curious if it is doable once or twice. Assuming the alternator is 95 amp.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Tanmay K

Can a 150 AH inverter battery be charged by a car's alternator (when the car is running of course), if the inverter battery is connected in parallel to the car battery? I do know this will wear out the alternator if done on a regular basis. But curious if it is doable once or twice. Assuming the alternator is 95 amp.

Yes it can, but you will have to monitor the charging current. Assuming that your car battery is 70AH, the total load is 240AH, which means that 90A will charge in about 3 hours

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Tanmay K

Can a 150 AH inverter battery be charged by a car's alternator (when the car is running of course), if the inverter battery is connected in parallel to the car battery? I do know this will wear out the alternator if done on a regular basis. But curious if it is doable once or twice. Assuming the alternator is 95 amp.

It can certainly be done but you'd spend an awful lot of fuel charging what will be a 230AH battery (150AH + an assumed 80AH car battery) not to mention needless wear and tear on the car's engine and alternator especially if done frequently.

If you really need to charge this inverter battery using alternative means, i.e. other than the mains, consider solar panels OR even a small genset which in turn can power a 12V battery charger.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by Tanmay K

Can a 150 AH inverter battery be charged by a car's alternator (when the car is running of course), if the inverter battery is connected in parallel to the car battery? I do know this will wear out the alternator if done on a regular basis. But curious if it is doable once or twice. Assuming the alternator is 95 amp.

95 AMP is more than enough to charge a 150AH battery. Usually I am using 6 amp chargers to charge 50 AH batteries. Usually car manufacturers always give higher rated alternators which can charge a smaller battery even on a short ride or at lower RPM. So there is plenty of redundancy built-in into your stock alternator.

[Sawyer]

Back with a question: are APC inverters for home use available - I don't seem to find them - and if not, what is a good make to buy? By good, I mean one that won't catch fire or are they all of them liable to do that now?

What is the life one may expect for these? Batteries apart, just for the electronics?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Back with a question: are APC inverters for home use available - I don't seem to find them - and if not, what is a good make to buy? By good, I mean one that won't catch fire or are they all of them liable to do that now?

There are a few posts in this thread about APC inverters being out of stock because they have been discontinued. I am not sure if this is true and you may want to check with APC directly.

Other than APC, the major inverter manufacturers are Su-kam, Microtek and Luminous. I've used the first two, they are pretty much the same in construction, performance & reliability i.e. pretty good (say 3 to 3.5/5 if I have to grade them) but have heard mixed reports about Luminous.

My Su-kam sine wave inverter is just under 4.5 years old and has had only 1 service visit for a blown 10A fuse.

What is the life one may expect for these? Batteries apart, just for the electronics?

I'd say indefinite depending on the environment (especially temperature and humidity) in which the unit operates and of course the quality of mains supply, usage cycles and the quality of batteries connected to the unit.

But as a rule of thumb you could expect it to last at least 7 years. In Su-kam units the main board comes with a 1-year warranty while the transformer has a 7-year coverage.

[Sawyer]

What would be the approximate price of a Sukam 3 KVA online version with built in batteries for about 10 minutes back up time? Where would I find it in Pune along with installation, warranty support and service if needed?

[drashkum]

My inverter battery Exide IT500 tall tubular 150 ah has gone dead after 4 years exactly. Planning to get a new battery. Came to know about Exide Gel magic maintenance free 150ah battery. It is 3000rs costlier than IT500 but requires no distilled water top up. Looks like it can be installed in any position not necessarily vertical. It has the same replacement warranty of 48 months.

My inverter is a luminous 650 va sinewave.

Any feedback on the battery appreciated.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by drashkum

Planning to get a new battery. Came to know about Exide Gel magic maintenance free 150ah battery. Any feedback on the battery appreciated.

I've already answered a similar query on this thread, maybe you could use the Search function.

Gel batteries are temperature sensitive. So, in a nutshell, assuming you live in Chennai as per the location on your profile, it's better you buy a new flooded IT500 battery instead.

[drashkum]

Thank you. I had a conversation with couple of dealers here. One dealer deals with Luminous Lifemax tall tubular 150ah battery with 60months replacement warranty and 15 months pro-rata warranty. He is willing to take my old battery for 3k and the whole package costs Rs.13500. I have always used Exide IT500 in my inverters. Any feed back on this battery against IT500?

[ani_meher]

Does anyone have any experience of Luminous Invergel IGSTJ18000? These are tubular batteries, but gel filled rather than water. They can be used in any position, and don't require any topups.

Regular 150Ah tubular batteries costs around 11-12k, whereas this one costs around 15k. Is the difference justified?

http://www.batterymela.com/buy/lumin...18000-battery/

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by drashkum

Thank you. I had a conversation with couple of dealers here. One dealer deals with Luminous Lifemax tall tubular 150ah battery with 60months replacement warranty and 15 months pro-rata warranty. He is willing to take my old battery for 3k and the whole package costs Rs.13500. I have always used Exide IT500 in my inverters. Any feed back on this battery against IT500?

No experience with Luminous batteries but I know for sure Exide Tubular has the best reputation in the market. And I can confirm that via my personal experience. The current set of 2 IT750 batteries (200 AH each) is nearly 4.5 years old, the previous one, an IT500 (150 AH), was 3 years old when it was upgraded to the abovementioned IT750s. There was no drastic drop in performance over the years.

Luminous inverters have an iffy reputation which may or many not extend to that company's other products. I may buy an inverter not the batteries which are far more expensive by comparison.

So, I'd stick to Exide which incidentally also has gel batteries as a product offering.

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Regular 150Ah tubular batteries costs around 11-12k, whereas this one costs around 15k. Is the difference justified?

I'd recommend you stick to a regular flooded tall tubular battery. They are trouble free over the long term.