I need some suggestions for power trolleys or plug and play systems pls

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Yellowmargarine

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I know nothing about this type of thing and need suggestions. What plug-and-play systems would you recommend for a small home, maybe keeping a few lights on, the router, tv, a PC, the fridge and maybe the kettle for a coffee once or twice a day? I know one can get trolleys like Mecer (also saw somewhere on MBB that the Mecer is actually something else rebranded as Mecer?) for under R10k that keeps the tv, decoder and few lights going for a few hours. I can spend up to R50k or even more but obviously want the best and cheapest solution available. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Yellowmargarine said:
I know nothing about this type of thing and need suggestions. What plug-and-play systems would you recommend for a small home, maybe keeping a few lights on, the router, tv, a PC, the fridge and maybe the kettle for a coffee once or twice a day?
Click to expand...

Kettle is a bit of an outlier here - 10 times the power requirement of the rest.

If you set that aside you can get a ~500 W / 500 Wh portable power station for ~R 8k.

Or a ~1 kW / 1 kWh lithium kit or trolley for ~R15k. These tend to be more suitable for keeping plugged in all the time - with UPS functionality.

If you must power the kettle you'll need 3 kW+ which would be R 25k+

At 50k+ you could get a 5 kW / 5 kWh system but then you'd probably want it permanently installed and wired into the DB.
 
Spend R2.5k on a small two plate gas stove with gas bottle(and kettle for gas stove) and a mini ups for your router. Then that is sorted and then you can worry about a battery and inverter for the rest.
 
I've got one of those Mecer SOL-I-BB-M1L trolleys, and it's working fantastic. There are some display calibration issues, as mentioned in some threads but I have not yet had any outage.
 
Yellowmargarine said:
I know nothing about this type of thing and need suggestions. What plug-and-play systems would you recommend for a small home, maybe keeping a few lights on, the router, tv, a PC, the fridge and maybe the kettle for a coffee once or twice a day? I know one can get trolleys like Mecer (also saw somewhere on MBB that the Mecer is actually something else rebranded as Mecer?) for under R10k that keeps the tv, decoder and few lights going for a few hours. I can spend up to R50k or even more but obviously want the best and cheapest solution available. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Portable Power Stations

I know of brands like Jackery, Ecoflow, Bluetti, Flexopower and even the Ellies/Sunsynk Cubes. Does anybody know anything of the following brand/unit? G1000 - 1100Wh(300000mah/3.7V)Pure Sine Wave ,Lithium-Ion High quality-Portable Power Station...
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
Yellowmargarine said:
What plug-and-play systems would you recommend for a small home, maybe keeping a few lights on, the router, tv, a PC, the fridge and maybe the kettle for a coffee once or twice a day?
Click to expand...

To keep things simple:

Ecoflow Delta 2 (arrive in the country in May) - Supports 1800W devices, such as most kettles. Expected to cost about R25k.

Ecoflow Delta 1 1300 - I own one of these and you can find them for about R22k if you shop around, but they are about R25k atm due to stage 6 loadshedding. Also they are NMC lithium ion, so shorter lifespan than LFP lithium ion devices

Bluetti AC200Max - Supports devices up to 2200W, 2kwh, about R30k atm on Takealot.

You can probably cut your price in half if you don't want to use the kettle.
 
Yellowmargarine said:
What plug-and-play systems would you recommend for a small home, maybe keeping a few lights on, the router, tv, a PC, the fridge and maybe the kettle for a coffee once or twice a day? I
Click to expand...

Also, these are a lot of devices. You may want to consider splitting things up.

Get something like an Ultralan MicroUPS or Gizzu for your router. These can be found for between R1k and R1.5k.

For the TV, pc, fridge, you can probably find a mid-range power station to cover most of your needs, but it also depends on the surge rating of your fridge.
 
Apologies in advance, I know this has been discussed to death, but I don't follow the Ecoflow threads.

Do they have UPS functionality also? So you leave them plugged in?
 
Bliksis said:
Apologies in advance, I know this has been discussed to death, but I don't follow the Ecoflow threads.

Do they have UPS functionality also? So you leave them plugged in?
Click to expand...

Some of them have an EPS. This has a 30ms switch over time, so not always good enough for some pcs. But yes, on some of these units you can leave them plugged in. According to the support team on FB it is recommended to completely cycle the unit once a month to properly calibrate the unit if you do.
 
Thanks for all the replies I appreciate the help. Not sure if I should respond to each individual message or if all that answered will see this but thanks again.
 
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Bliksis said:
Apologies in advance, I know this has been discussed to death, but I don't follow the Ecoflow threads.

Do they have UPS functionality also? So you leave them plugged in?
Click to expand...
Those mecer inverters I linked have uninterrupted switchover.
 
fresh_tech said:
Check out www.elecaenta.co.za

Depending on your needs, these are my faves..
www.elecaenta.co.za

ELECAENTA Mars EM200 Portable Power Station

Looking for a reliable and versatile portable power station that can keep your devices powered up when you're on the go? Look no further than the Elecaenta Mars EM 200. With a powerful 200W AC outlet and a whopping 222Wh capacity, this lightweight and compact power station packs a punch when it...
www.elecaenta.co.za www.elecaenta.co.za
www.elecaenta.co.za

ELECAENTA S1500 Portable Power Station

Introducing the Elecaenta S1500 - the ultimate solution to loadshedding and power outages. With a massive 1280Wh capacity and 1500W power output, this powerhouse can keep all your essential appliances running for hours on end. Perfect for South Africans who want a reliable and long-lasting...
www.elecaenta.co.za www.elecaenta.co.za
www.elecaenta.co.za

ELECAENTA S740W Portable Power Station

Introducing the Elecaenta S740W Portable Power Station, your ultimate power solution for loadshedding.As the need for reliable backup power increases in South Africa, the Elecaenta S600W provides an ideal solution to keep your home or business running during power outages. With a powerful 740Wh...
www.elecaenta.co.za www.elecaenta.co.za

And here are some articles comparing them to other brands..
www.elecaenta.co.za

EcoFlow Delta vs Elecaenta S1500 - which is the better investment?

EcoFlow Delta vs Elecaenta S1500 - which is the better investment?
www.elecaenta.co.za www.elecaenta.co.za
www.elecaenta.co.za

EcoFlow Delta vs Elecaenta CS2000 - which is the smarter investment?

EcoFlow Delta vs Elecaenta CS2000 - which is the smarter investment?
www.elecaenta.co.za www.elecaenta.co.za
Click to expand...
Your "article" fails to mention that the Delta can output 1800w. It also fails to mention that this product only has a 1 year warranty vs 2 years on the EcoFlow. You can claim 10 000 cycles, it would not matter because this unit will be out of warranty in 1 year.
 
My thinking on these devices is

Start with what you will use

ie a kettle uses about 1800-2000w so time the kettle
If it boils in 5min

5/60 x 1800w =150wh ie only throw in what you need 4cups only boil 4 cups

Count the other things watts up
X 4 for 4hrs shedding
Add 150w per cup of coffee you want to have in shedding session

This total is the Wh rating if the battery you need
to convert to Ah divide by the volts , if you buy deep cycle lead acid double it

Now work backwards
ie find one that can at least charge that back in 4hrs

ie if all your load is 2000wh for shedding /4 to see what you need to charge per hour minimum

You want an item that can charge back at least 500w per hour in this example
So divide that by its voltage

ie 500w/12.8v on a 12v trolley you would need 40a charge to meet that need

On a 24v trolley you would need half the amps
ie 500w/25.6 =20a

This is normally the hardest requirement to meet

Once you have that met most likely the other requirements will be met

Inverter size minimum = add all the watts together of all the devices that have to run at the same time

Always add a bit of headroom
For losses

If you can afford lithium do it

imo if you have the money for a 48v inverter go that route

The bigger devices tend to have bigger solar charge controllers

So later you can recoup these costs by adding solar panels

Rule of thumb the 12v trolleys tend to limit you to 500w of panels

The 24v ones to about 1000w

The 48v ones can handle more cheaper devices tend to be around 4000w growatts about 5000w
More expensive models more
 
See i was actually a bit stupid the rule of thumb gets easier

Since 4 off 4 on

You can just make calculations for an hour

And see if charge rate matches that

Except for the coffee, unless you are gonna have a cup an hour
 
Spend R7k on a gas stove, you will never look back. Buy a 3kW inverter, with a lithium 24v/100Ah battery. No need to install that, you can do a trolley type setup with those. I built one like this for myself that I can use in my workshop, or where ever I need it. I recommend against trolley setups, they normally use gel batteries, which don't last, and in reality only 50% of their capacity is usable (unless you planning to replace it in a few months).
 
Yellowmargarine said:
I know nothing about this type of thing and need suggestions. What plug-and-play systems would you recommend for a small home, maybe keeping a few lights on, the router, tv, a PC, the fridge and maybe the kettle for a coffee once or twice a day? I know one can get trolleys like Mecer (also saw somewhere on MBB that the Mecer is actually something else rebranded as Mecer?) for under R10k that keeps the tv, decoder and few lights going for a few hours. I can spend up to R50k or even more but obviously want the best and cheapest solution available. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Take this from someone who currently got no Eskom power, cause you know em street transformers are "the bomb" Seems like its now a monthly thing as well.....

1st priority beg, borrow or steal a Kill-A-Watt

If you low on cash:
Depending on your load
12V or
24V Trolly
for PC, TV & lights
You can then later expand with a MPPT/PWM and a solar panel or 2
Preferably MPPT as they are more efficient.

For cooking & coffee
2 Burner Gas stove + 9KG

For fridge/freezer you only need to worry if power is out for more than 8 hours, here I would recommend a 2.8Kva Generator for the fridge if the power (2.8 is also big enough to charge up the Trolly at night)

I also have a mini UPS for my Fibre/Wifi sothat I can turn off my Mecer when/if I want.

The nice thing about above is that you can buy over time.

If you have cash and able to install
Go for a 3 or 5KW inverter and wire it into DB can also do the solar thing as time goes. They normally come with MPPT as part of the unit. They also Pure Sine so should be able to run the fridge as well.

Whatever option you go for avoid Lead acid like its the plague cause they dont last on our stages.
 
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Can also get an idea of your usage and each device watts ,if you have a prepaid meter ,ie tap in the code get momentary use

Switch on the device do again
Then after switch off
I tend to double check use again to make sure something else hasn't popped on

Bit more cumbersome, you have to determine idle usage and math every time

But cuts out the money for a onetime device

ie that way i could determine which stove plates or oven element combos i could switch on while in loadshedding not to overload the inverter
I have a conlog prepaid meter

#70# gives in kw format

And #71# gives amps

If you have 3 phase repress the hash to jump
ie total then phase 1 then phase 2 then phase 3 and back to total
 
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