Inverter trolley brand / manufacturer roundup - March 2023

newby_investor said:
My argument though is that a "small setup to keep going" can mostly be accomplished by a Gizzu (or whatever brand) 12V DC UPS (which can keep internet going and let you charge stuff) and the torch on your phone (which you already have, free of charge), this gets you 85% of what these power trollies can do for a fraction of the price.

I can think of a few situations where a power trolley would be helpful. For instance if your work requires more than a laptop but not excessively more. If you're a graphic designer with a desktop and a large screen. That's about 150-200W. Or if you have some kind of equipment that absolutely has to stay running, like a CPAP machine if you've got sleep apnea. Or if you're really paranoid about keeping the fridge cool.* But these are niche, not mainstream.

The stuff that you actually want to do, you can't, because these things can't deliver enough power. Hairdryers, kettles, microwaves, all often over 1kW. Blenders or toasters you might get away with, but it'll be driving it close to the limit.

People who live in flats (that they own) can still get a proper inverter and battery setup, they don't take up a lot of space, even if they can't get solar panels.

People who rent are kind of the most screwed here because they're more or less forced into these portable solutions, and by the time you get one that's actually capable of doing anything worthwhile, the cost gets into the tens of thousands of rands. Which brings me back to my 12V DC UPS and phone-torch solution.

---
* (But based on my own testing, any fridge under 15 years old which is properly insulated will stay cool enough even up to stage 6 load shedding, provided you're being smart about not opening and closing it too much when the power is off.)
Click to expand...
A lot of people also value a TV over "reading a book". I would spend R10k to not read a book. :P.

You see the pool keeps getting bigger ;)
 
The trolleys are useful, depending on what you want from it. As someone who travels a lot, it is useful and works wherever I stay, and there are no other backup solutions, and things like generators are not allowed. It works fine to run a notebook PC, router, and a light. Obviously I don't take it everywhere all the time, only when needed. Mostly I use a 80000mAh bank/UPS.
 
newby_investor said:
My argument though is that a "small setup to keep going" can mostly be accomplished by a Gizzu (or whatever brand) 12V DC UPS (which can keep internet going and let you charge stuff) and the torch on your phone (which you already have, free of charge), this gets you 85% of what these power trollies can do for a fraction of the price.
Click to expand...
Wait so you think a mini UPS and a phone flashlight can do 85% of what an inverter/power station can do? Lol okay.
 
wingnut771 said:
I would spend R10k to not read a book. :p.
Click to expand...
Well then. We have a difference of values it appears. I'm afraid you can't really be helped.

Tell you what, throw that R10k my way and I'll come to your house and remove all the books so that you don't have to deal with them.

Gumdrop said:
Wait so you think a mini UPS and a phone flashlight can do 85% of what an inverter/power station can do? Lol okay.
Click to expand...
I do think so.

No, I'm not stupid. I have a masters in Electronic Engineering. I'm well aware that a 1 kVA inverter and battery trolley technically has orders of magnitude more capability than the mini UPS.

But practically? What is it that a 1kVA trolley can do that my above-mentioned solution can't?

I'm currently sitting through load-shedding now, typing this on my laptop. It's 4 years old and still has enough battery to endure 4-hour blocks (just barely, I'll admit, but it works). So there's practically no difference between the big power trolley and the mini-UPS that I've got powering my router.
It would be nice to boil a kettle to make tea, which I can't do with a mini-UPS but guess what, since kettles are about 1.7-2kW, these inverter trolleys can't do that either.
The main thrust of my argument is that most of what the trolley would let you do, a mini-UPS and phone flashlight would let you do as well, and for much cheaper.

@McRuder actually made a good point that if you're travelling a lot then they can be quite useful, I'll definitely concede that. They definitely have their place.

Yes yes, I'll admit, some people just HAVE to watch the rugby when it airs or whatever, in which case I'll concede that one of these things will have its place in keeping your DSTV decoder and TV running. If you're willing to spend bucks on that kind of thing.
 
newby_investor said:
Well then. We have a difference of values it appears. I'm afraid you can't really be helped.

Tell you what, throw that R10k my way and I'll come to your house and remove all the books so that you don't have to deal with them.


I do think so.

No, I'm not stupid. I have a masters in Electronic Engineering. I'm well aware that a 1 kVA inverter and battery trolley technically has orders of magnitude more capability than the mini UPS.

But practically? What is it that a 1kVA trolley can do that my above-mentioned solution can't?

I'm currently sitting through load-shedding now, typing this on my laptop. It's 4 years old and still has enough battery to endure 4-hour blocks (just barely, I'll admit, but it works). So there's practically no difference between the big power trolley and the mini-UPS that I've got powering my router.
It would be nice to boil a kettle to make tea, which I can't do with a mini-UPS but guess what, since kettles are about 1.7-2kW, these inverter trolleys can't do that either.
The main thrust of my argument is that most of what the trolley would let you do, a mini-UPS and phone flashlight would let you do as well, and for much cheaper.

@McRuder actually made a good point that if you're travelling a lot then they can be quite useful, I'll definitely concede that. They definitely have their place.

Yes yes, I'll admit, some people just HAVE to watch the rugby when it airs or whatever, in which case I'll concede that one of these things will have its place in keeping your DSTV decoder and TV running. If you're willing to spend bucks on that kind of thing.
Click to expand...
We use gas now to boil the kettle. Your solution can't run DSTV.
 
newby_investor said:
Well then. We have a difference of values it appears. I'm afraid you can't really be helped.

Tell you what, throw that R10k my way and I'll come to your house and remove all the books so that you don't have to deal with them.


I do think so.

No, I'm not stupid. I have a masters in Electronic Engineering. I'm well aware that a 1 kVA inverter and battery trolley technically has orders of magnitude more capability than the mini UPS.

But practically? What is it that a 1kVA trolley can do that my above-mentioned solution can't?

I'm currently sitting through load-shedding now, typing this on my laptop. It's 4 years old and still has enough battery to endure 4-hour blocks (just barely, I'll admit, but it works). So there's practically no difference between the big power trolley and the mini-UPS that I've got powering my router.
It would be nice to boil a kettle to make tea, which I can't do with a mini-UPS but guess what, since kettles are about 1.7-2kW, these inverter trolleys can't do that either.
The main thrust of my argument is that most of what the trolley would let you do, a mini-UPS and phone flashlight would let you do as well, and for much cheaper.

@McRuder actually made a good point that if you're travelling a lot then they can be quite useful, I'll definitely concede that. They definitely have their place.

Yes yes, I'll admit, some people just HAVE to watch the rugby when it airs or whatever, in which case I'll concede that one of these things will have its place in keeping your DSTV decoder and TV running. If you're willing to spend bucks on that kind of thing.
Click to expand...
No no no. You said that a mini UPS and a phone torch can do 85% of what a trolley can do. So you've conveniently chucked in a laptop to support your argument. Although it's nice that you got an opportunity to work your degree in there. Nice flex bro. I personally do not have a masters in electrical engineering but you really don't need one to know that even a mini UPS, laptop and a phone torch can do remotely close to 85% of what an inverter can. And if you can't understand that then "I'm afraid you can't really be helped".

Let's ignore that though. In one breath you say you can do everything (or 85%) with a laptop, mini UPS and a phone torch and in the next you say that it has "orders of magnitude more capability". Pick and argument.
 
BuckRogers said:
Mine did that also.
I switched the battery off with that round button, and the wall plug off for half hour. Turned on again and now it charges to 100 again.
Mine stopped at 98 for a few days before doing that reset thing.
All in all it is a good product and at least doesn't look out of place in the lounge
Click to expand...
And it is quiet when compared to my previous Ellies 720w unit... lol
 
Gumdrop said:
No no no. You said that a mini UPS and a phone torch can do 85% of what a trolley can do. So you've conveniently chucked in a laptop to support your argument. Although it's nice that you got an opportunity to work your degree in there. Nice flex bro. I personally do not have a masters in electrical engineering but you really don't need one to know that even a mini UPS, laptop and a phone torch can do remotely close to 85% of what an inverter can. And if you can't understand that then "I'm afraid you can't really be helped".
Click to expand...

Not flexing at all. Just substantiating that I am fully aware that 1kVA/1kWh is much much more than 60W/100Wh. So just on paper, the power trolley is much more capable than a mini-UPS / phone light / laptop combo. (Sure yeah I chucked in the laptop but I was operating under the assumption that most people are using laptops anyway, desktops are a bit niche and have been for at least the last decade. Laptops are much more mainstream.)

Gumdrop said:
Let's ignore that though. In one breath you say you can do everything (or 85%) with a laptop, mini UPS and a phone torch and in the next you say that it has "orders of magnitude more capability". Pick and argument.
Click to expand...

So look at it this way. I drive a Tazz. My neighbour drives a Mercedes AMG. On paper, his is much, much more capable than mine. But in the end of the day, we get to work the same time because he has to sit in the same traffic as me, and listen to the same drive-time presenter as me, even though he spent 20x as much money on his car. So practically there is very little difference. Sure you can argue about quality and user experience, but at the end of the day we both get to work.

So back at you. I've already come up with a few examples:
Things a power trolley can do:
- Allow you to work during load-shedding. (Mini-UPS can do this too, if you have a laptop)
- Keep some light on so that you can put on your pyjamas or brush your teeth (Cellphone flashlight can do this too)
- Keep a fridge cold (but fridges can typically stay cold OK for even up to 4 hours at a time if they're used carefully)

Here, I'll do you a favour and list some things that I can think of which a power trolley can do which my combo can't:
- Run the vacuum cleaner (if it's a very small one)
- Run the electric shaver
- Run the nutribullet for that all-important morning smoothie
Maybe you consider it important to be able to do these things during load-shedding, and that's fine if you do. Personally, I think it's a waste because with a bit of planning you can just rearrange your affairs and get things done when the power is on, rather than spending thousands.

Gumdrop said:
@newby_investor is too enlightened for such things. He's way too busy reading books and getting degrees for peasant activities such as TV.
Click to expand...
If you *want* to take offence, by all means, go ahead. I'm not above TV, I just don't find it essential enough to spend large sums of money. Besides most TV is on-demand streaming these days anyway. I'm under the impression that you can even get this with sports, though since I'm not into sports I've never tried finding out how.

So yes, my mini-UPS and laptop can't keep a normal DSTV decoder and large television unit going, you could still get your fix of soccer or F1 on a laptop during the load-shedding.

If you've *got* R10k lying around and you feel like buying a tiny bit of convenience (and a considerable amount of hassle because as pointed out elsewhere these things typically charge quite slowly and can't be used as a UPS, but we'll leave that aside) then go ahead. By all means.

But let's be honest with ourselves here, this is Massmart or Takealot taking the opportunity created by load-shedding to make you think that you might need something that they just so conveniently happen to be selling, and they hope you won't take the time to really think about what value that it's actually going to add.
 
newby_investor said:
Not flexing at all. Just substantiating that I am fully aware that 1kVA/1kWh is much much more than 60W/100Wh. So just on paper, the power trolley is much more capable than a mini-UPS / phone light / laptop combo. (Sure yeah I chucked in the laptop but I was operating under the assumption that most people are using laptops anyway, desktops are a bit niche and have been for at least the last decade. Laptops are much more mainstream.)



So look at it this way. I drive a Tazz. My neighbour drives a Mercedes AMG. On paper, his is much, much more capable than mine. But in the end of the day, we get to work the same time because he has to sit in the same traffic as me, and listen to the same drive-time presenter as me, even though he spent 20x as much money on his car. So practically there is very little difference. Sure you can argue about quality and user experience, but at the end of the day we both get to work.

So back at you. I've already come up with a few examples:
Things a power trolley can do:
- Allow you to work during load-shedding. (Mini-UPS can do this too, if you have a laptop)
- Keep some light on so that you can put on your pyjamas or brush your teeth (Cellphone flashlight can do this too)
- Keep a fridge cold (but fridges can typically stay cold OK for even up to 4 hours at a time if they're used carefully)

Here, I'll do you a favour and list some things that I can think of which a power trolley can do which my combo can't:
- Run the vacuum cleaner (if it's a very small one)
- Run the electric shaver
- Run the nutribullet for that all-important morning smoothie
Maybe you consider it important to be able to do these things during load-shedding, and that's fine if you do. Personally, I think it's a waste because with a bit of planning you can just rearrange your affairs and get things done when the power is on, rather than spending thousands.


If you *want* to take offence, by all means, go ahead. I'm not above TV, I just don't find it essential enough to spend large sums of money. Besides most TV is on-demand streaming these days anyway. I'm under the impression that you can even get this with sports, though since I'm not into sports I've never tried finding out how.

So yes, my mini-UPS and laptop can't keep a normal DSTV decoder and large television unit going, you could still get your fix of soccer or F1 on a laptop during the load-shedding.

If you've *got* R10k lying around and you feel like buying a tiny bit of convenience (and a considerable amount of hassle because as pointed out elsewhere these things typically charge quite slowly and can't be used as a UPS, but we'll leave that aside) then go ahead. By all means.

But let's be honest with ourselves here, this is Massmart or Takealot taking the opportunity created by load-shedding to make you think that you might need something that they just so conveniently happen to be selling, and they hope you won't take the time to really think about what value that it's actually going to add.
Click to expand...
I've just realised I'm not invested enough in this to respond to this diatribe. Best of luck with your phone torch.
 
We currently have both the 1KVA and 2KVA RCT trolleys at home and they work like a dream. I can run my fridge along with WiFi, some lights and television and laptops on the 2 KVA and even blow dry and flat iron my hair.

Price and quality wise they are 100% worth it.
 
newby_investor said:
I mean that's fair, but you pay an incredible price for a relatively small bit of convenience.

I've got battery-powered lamps, and I can charge things from the same UPS that my fibre modem runs on (it's a relatively beefy one and my router is quite abstemious). I don't really care for TV, and as I said, if I'm really desperate I've got a laptop.

I've looked at this every which way, and there's nothing that a power trolley buys me that I actually want.

My suggestion: if you can (and I realise that there are people who can't), just save your money and put in a proper inverter / battery system. The R10-odd K from one of these is about 1/5 to 1/6 of what you would need. The solar panels can come later if necessary.
Click to expand...
I've been making this same argument frequently the last year or two. If, like me, you have a laptop that lasts through loadshedding, then you only need to the following to take the sting out of loadshedding:
  • Rechargeable flashlight
  • Flask or gas cylinder with cooker for hot water
  • Mini-UPS to keep the internet going
All of the above can be bought for less than R3k. There are some niche cases in which a small trolley inverter is a better option. One use case is to keep a second monitor going. Another is to keep a fan running at night in summer. Some others have been mentioned in this thread too. In those cases, my argument doesn't apply and I'm not trying to convince anyone. But for the vast majority of people, I agree that they're better off spending R3k instead of R15k on an inverter trolley.
 
Last edited:
Anyone with experience and an opinion on the Lalela product line?
I’m considering getting the ‘LAL-600W-Plus’ inverter trolley to run only my electronics i.e. PoE switch with AP’s, fiber ONT, ISP router and my printer.
IMG_0155.png
How good are their lithium ion batteries really?
 
Juledaniels said:
Anyone with experience and an opinion on the Lalela product line?
I’m considering getting the ‘LAL-600W-Plus’ inverter trolley to run only my electronics i.e. PoE switch with AP’s, fiber ONT, ISP router and my printer.
View attachment 1494653
How good are their lithium ion batteries really?
Click to expand...
I don't know about Lalela but for 2k less you can get the new Ecoflow River 2 Max. It has LiFePO4 and charges in an hour. I doubt the Lalela could do that.
za.ecoflow.com

EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Portable Power Station | EcoFlow South Africa

Buy EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Portable Power Station at the lowest price in South Africa. Check reviews and buy EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Portable Power Station today.
za.ecoflow.com za.ecoflow.com
 
Gumdrop said:
I don't know about Lalela but for 2k less you can get the new Ecoflow River 2 Max. It has LiFePO4 and charges in an hour. I doubt the Lalela could do that.
za.ecoflow.com

EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Portable Power Station | EcoFlow South Africa

Buy EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Portable Power Station at the lowest price in South Africa. Check reviews and buy EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Portable Power Station today.
za.ecoflow.com za.ecoflow.com
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice…
Can I run the Eco Flow Pro as my primary power source for my electronics 24hrs a day?

Their marketing seems to point to using the unit in the event of a power failure only. Wondering about our South African use case for rolling nightmares/blackouts.
You get what I’m saying right?, I’d want to keep it plugged in so it’s not a manual process to bring up, switch plugs over, etc.
Is this supported?
 
Juledaniels said:
Thanks for the advice…
Can I run the Eco Flow Pro as my primary power source for my electronics 24hrs a day?

Their marketing seems to point to using the unit in the event of a power failure only. Wondering about our South African use case for rolling nightmares/blackouts.
You get what I’m saying right?, I’d want to keep it plugged in so it’s not a manual process to bring up, switch plugs over, etc.
Is this supported?
Click to expand...
It has EPS switchover so you can use it as a UPS. It's got a 30ms switchover if there's a power failure, so odds are you won't even notice. I'll be getting one myself as soon as one of my UK clients pays me.

Here's an article with some more info.
mybroadband.co.za

EcoFlow’s new DELTA 2 and RIVER 2 Series take the sting out of loadshedding

Having empowered more than 2 million people in over 100 markets across the globe, EcoFlow has arrived in South Africa just in time to help us deal with an electricity crisis.
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
Jan said:
Best inverter trollies to escape load-shedding

South Africans looking to escape load-shedding and not break the bank may want to consider a power trolley over a portable power station. The best brands available locally include Mecer, Ellies, Lalela, RCT, and Kool Energy.

There are several benefits that inverter trolleys offer over portable power stations. For example, power trollies are often cheaper, and their batteries are generally easier to replace.
Click to expand...
I bought the Kool Energy 1kW and LiFePO4 battery and I am totally disgusted. The intent was to use it for a R1.5M scanner for the 40 seconds that it takes the hospital's generator to switch in. The Cool Energy is unstable and reboots at random. That defeats the whole object of protecting the equipment. I believe there is a S/W upgrade, but try to get that out of the Chinese. Good luck. Just buy decent equipment, and not rubbish listed here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X