Kool energy/mecer is starting to look like a bad buy for me

[leon.davibe]

The pros

I get it is a beautiful package ,with a nice sized mppt controller for a 1kw unit and a lithium battery

The cons

Limits expanding sealed package, locked down interface


I am fine with one offs for bad behaviour , but if many users experience funny switchover shutdown and funny beeps


Then i would say a better use of said cash would be


A 3000w 24v axpert
And a 50ah 25.6v battery would cost almost the same
Or get 100ah batteries if you were going for more expensive 100ah model

Offer slightly bigger mppt
You can use it as if it is a 1.28/2.5kw dependant on battery choice

Later expand the battery and load to take advantage of 3kw
Have smooth switchovers
No Locked down menu

 

[Went_For_Beer]

The pros

I get it is a beautiful package ,with a nice sized mppt controller for a 1kw unit and a lithium battery

The cons

Limits expanding sealed package, locked down interface


I am fine with one offs for bad behaviour , but if many users experience funny switchover shutdown and funny beeps


Then i would say a better use of said cash would be


A 3000w 24v axpert
And a 50ah 25.6v battery would cost almost the same
Or get 100ah batteries if you were going for more expensive 100ah model

Offer slightly bigger mppt
You can use it as if it is a 1.28/2.5kw dependant on battery choice

Later expand the battery and load to take advantage of 3kw
Have smooth switchovers
No Locked down menu

And the fact that no one has stock

 

[10:10]

My Mecer device is a Hybrid Inverter 5Kwh. I can't use it. The software required to use the device cannot be found, and their tech support has ignored me since 2019. Without it, I can't update the charging settings. So it is on default, and I don't know what that default is. That is why I completely abandoned the hardware and the use of it.

Mecer's support is questionable, and it should be considered when you buy an Inverter. I would argue and say if the software doesn't have long term support, why are we paying so much for it? Software is the heart of these devices and I have made a R13k mistake buying Mecer. I will never trust the brand again.

 

[AlphaJohn]

The pros

I get it is a beautiful package ,with a nice sized mppt controller for a 1kw unit and a lithium battery

The cons

Limits expanding sealed package, locked down interface


I am fine with one offs for bad behaviour , but if many users experience funny switchover shutdown and funny beeps


Then i would say a better use of said cash would be

Well Duh
It's a Portable Power Station and not an Inverter per say. It can work as an inverter but not meant for it.

If you use a Bantam to hall 5 Tons of sand you gonna have problems. You need a proper truck for that.

A 3000w 24v axpert
And a 50ah 25.6v battery would cost almost the same
Or get 100ah batteries if you were going for more expensive 100ah model

Offer slightly bigger mppt
You can use it as if it is a 1.28/2.5kw dependant on battery choice

Later expand the battery and load to take advantage of 3kw
Have smooth switchovers
No Locked down menu

Oh hell no!!

Not carting a 3000W trolly to a camp site. Doesn't matter how much cheaper it is.

Same vein as I won't use a 10T truck to move one wheelbarrow's sand. For that "boet" you'll need a Bantam

 

[10:10]

To add to the above, I did find software that someone linked to in another forum. But my computer freaks out when I try to run it. It states that the software isn't signed, and it is a high risk. Normally, windows will give me an option to run it regardless, but not this time around, it simply refuses to do anything. I did scan the hell out of the file to see if any antivirus can see anything and according to multiple scans the software is clean. So I don't even know if that software will work or not, even if I get it to run.

 

[Tomtomtom]

I take it you're referring to SOL-I-BB-M1L.

To my mind these units compete with the EcoFlow type portable power stations, not DIY systems.

Compared to an EcoFlow they're a no-brainer IMO at current prices - assuming you can find stock.

 

[leon.davibe]

My Mecer device is a Hybrid Inverter 5Kwh. I can't use it. The software required to use the device cannot be found, and their tech support has ignored me since 2019. Without it, I can't update the charging settings. So it is on default, and I don't know what that default is. That is why I completely abandoned the hardware and the use of it.

Mecer's support is questionable, and it should be considered when you buy an Inverter. I would argue and say if the software doesn't have long term support, why are we paying so much for it? Software is the heart of these devices and I have made a R13k mistake buying Mecer. I will never trust the brand again.

Most inverters you can access the settings via the four buttons and change settings

There tend to be two ways to navigate from what i have seen

Long press enter/ok gets you into menu

Then 2 options tend to be
Enter/ok jumps to next item
And up/down change items

Or up and down jumps menu items and ok enables change
And up and down changes options in that menu item

So i would try and get into the menu first

And then use the jump function and just take photos of each default setting

ie if you change something
So you know what to change it back to if undesired results

Some devices has a way to set to default
ie mine does
Mine is a synerji so just example ie my voltages are different from most as my battery is a 15s like pylontech while others have other values


You long press escape and there is normally just the 2 items one for reset and one for not long press on power/ok on the desired item gets you out of the menu with not it just goes back to normal
And the reset tends to go with a restart


The abbreviations can be read with imagination

ie attached is an examples
That is Cv charge voltage

Flv float voktage

COv is cut off voltage
If

And the alarm one i think is AoN/AOF

 

[leon.davibe]

Well Duh
It's a Portable Power Station and not an Inverter per say. It can work as an inverter but not meant for it.

If you use a Bantam to hall 5 Tons of sand you gonna have problems. You need a proper truck for that.



Oh hell no!!

Not carting a 3000W trolly to a camp site. Doesn't matter how much cheaper it is.

Same vein as I won't use a 10T truck to move one wheelbarrow's sand. For that "boet" you'll need a Bantam

No i get that
But most are buying a device to cater for load shedding
And to act as ups

Sure the nuisance trips don't exist in camping as you are ofline

But for eskom backup
How many red flags is needed to say this maybe is just that a cheap device made expensive because of lithium and shortages and money is better spent on something that actually works flawlessly

 

[leon.davibe]

I take it you're referring to SOL-I-BB-M1L.

To my mind these units compete with the EcoFlow type portable power stations, not DIY systems.

Compared to an EcoFlow they're a no-brainer IMO at current prices - assuming you can find stock.

Agreed but most aren't buying it for that

So if you buy this not for camping but because it is a good spec plug and play device that can act as a ups

Then money is better spent on a device that can actually act as a reliable ups and offers more bang for buck

ie the ease of use was a pro that many choose with the cons of locked down and limited expandability

But if the cons are more ie
Questionable quality

Maybe buying a slightly more expensive device makes more economical sense

Or sacrifice on the ease of plug and play

How many popped mecers
Show of hands

I know that counts as a dead loss for me (i had Mecer IVR-2400LBKS 1440W/2400VA Inverter) which is one of those devices

Sure now we now you have to modify it to be able to use what is suppose to guaranteed out of the box

This product is still new and the flags are popping up

We have to acknowledge them , as we have been acknowledging the pro's

ie the lithium ,nice mppt for the 1kw bracket etc plug and play

The scale has to be ripped out again, to see does the pros outweigh the cons still
In your use case

 

[B-1]

To add to the above, I did find software that someone linked to in another forum. But my computer freaks out when I try to run it. It states that the software isn't signed, and it is a high risk. Normally, windows will give me an option to run it regardless, but not this time around, it simply refuses to do anything. I did scan the hell out of the file to see if any antivirus can see anything and according to multiple scans the software is clean. So I don't even know if that software will work or not, even if I get it to run.

You can maybe try running win xp in a VM for it. Also maybe talk directly with voltronic the manufacturer and see if they are willing to assist?

 

[zll]

I know that counts as a dead loss for me

This is why I spent more on Bluetti and Ecoflow.

 

[leon.davibe]

This is why I spent more on Bluetti and Ecoflow.

Yes if you can afford the best
You are never sorry for buying the premium product

For the avg guy this device on specs looked like a good buy
The cons are busy adding up
Removing the bias toward it because of the plug and play ease imo

Edit :ie you always expect bad experiences ie few out of 100

But you don't want a product that you buy expecting bad behaviour very likely

Any product where they say

"Hulle maak maar so"

 

[Tomtomtom]

No i get that
But most are buying a device to cater for load shedding
And to act as ups

How many red flags is needed to say this maybe is just that a cheap device made expensive because of lithium and shortages and money is better spent on something that actually works flawlessly

It's hard to know how many people are experiencing issues but the thing is probably most of them are posting on forums, unlike your average EcoFlow buyer.

I for one am running it as a UPS with no issues so far, touch wood. But I agree it's a roll of the dice and they need to fix their QA. If I were buying again I might not want to take the risk. It's a pity.

The EcoFlow / Bluetti are not true UPSes either and have their own compromises.

 

[leon.davibe]

You can maybe try running win xp in a VM for it. Also maybe talk directly with voltronic the manufacturer and see if they are willing to assist?

You can run the software in compatibility mode too

ie right click on the exe
Click on run in compatibility mode , say it worked in previous version and select the os it worked on

 

[leon.davibe]

To add to the above, I did find software that someone linked to in another forum. But my computer freaks out when I try to run it. It states that the software isn't signed, and it is a high risk. Normally, windows will give me an option to run it regardless, but not this time around, it simply refuses to do anything. I did scan the hell out of the file to see if any antivirus can see anything and according to multiple scans the software is clean. So I don't even know if that software will work or not, even if I get it to run.

You can run software that isn't signed

can't remember the steps
It is a slept , ie you need to disable feature reboot use the software

Then revert settings reboot since you don't want to have your pc running unsigned apps all the time

So the vm tip sounds like the best ie all the vulnerability is on a virtual machine that you can just start fresh if worst comes to worst

 

[10:10]

You can run software that isn't signed

can't remember the steps
It is a slept , ie you need to disable feature reboot use the software

Then revert settings reboot since you don't want to have your pc running unsigned apps all the time

So the vm tip sounds like the best ie all the vulnerability is on a virtual machine that you can just start fresh if worst comes to worst

You can maybe try running win xp in a VM for it. Also maybe talk directly with voltronic the manufacturer and see if they are willing to assist?

I will do this today, I know virtual box and know how to get it to talk to the USBs so this shouldn't take to long and then I can maybe ask about the settings.

 

[AlphaJohn]

The EcoFlow / Bluetti are not true UPSes either and have their own compromises.

Don't forget their pricing either.

Why spend R25K for an Ecoflow Delta 2 when R11K Kool can cover my needs?

 

[zll]

Yes if you can afford the best
You are never sorry for buying the premium product

Thing is, it's all about compromises, not necessary buying premium. I bought the Ecoflow Delta in 2021 because I was desperate to ensure I had a backup so I could keep my job and there was very limited choice. At the time it cost 19k.

However, in the last six months there has been an explosion of these products into the market. Bluetti, Ecoflow, Ouiketel, etc. All of these come with different options, even if you are making trade offs, E.G larger inverter vs lower capacity, higher capacity but maybe not such a great inverter etc.

For the avg guy this device on specs looked like a good buy

I spent months researching and educating myself on both of my purchases. For me, it was always an immediate red flag if I couldn't find a lot of info on a unit. This is why I've avoided most of the no-name/rebranded stuff. Simply not enough information to follow up on.

 

[zll]

The EcoFlow / Bluetti are not true UPSes either and have their own compromises.

I never bought either of these thinking they were UPS'. They are and always will be an alternative power supply that you can store away when Eskom isn't available. An actual UPS serves an entirely different purpose from these from what I understand.

 

[leon.davibe]

Don't forget their pricing either.

Why spend R25K for an Ecoflow Delta 2 when R11K Kool can cover my needs?

No i agree with you 100%

ie in your use case ups isn't critical

And you will never need more than the output of this device

ie on the scale the pros and cons of this machine tilts to yes for you

All i am saying is for people that may need more capacity in the future

And need a ups functionality
The money spent in this device will be better spent on a device that can ups reliably

And can expand on output if adding more batteries
And will have bigger mppt

Thus the cons would outweigh the plug and play pro

Cause at the moment for people that will never use the product camping

There is no pros apart from plug and play

So pretty easy for the cons to outweigh it imo