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Question of the Day: If you were buying a TV today, which brand would you choose?
Axpert invertors
- Thread starter Draganchor
- Start date
name of company...?
Any one know about the powerline inverter systems, will get the stats on monday
Dimpie (JIGSAW)
Honorary Master
DollyAAAA
Well-Known Member
Looking good. 
Who's the supplier? Friend of mine is also looking now.
Who's the supplier? Friend of mine is also looking now.
Dimpie (JIGSAW)
Honorary Master
DollyAAAA
Well-Known Member
Oh, same guys I bought from. Still same price though - according to their website.
Does anybody know where I can get insulating caps for the battery terminals? Typically the part that goes around the cable and covers the exposed metal parts of the terminal.
Dimpie (JIGSAW)
Honorary Master
All lights, TV, Media Player, DVD-player/amp unit
Axpert only registered 165W? ... surprisingly low :erm:
Axpert only registered 165W? ... surprisingly low :erm:
greg_SA
Expert Member
Strange, does seem a bit low... What is the load in VA? Because the "segment graph" shows 2/4 segments, which is 50% load (well somewhere between 25 and 50%)
Dimpie (JIGSAW)
Honorary Master
^ 34% to be exact
with a VA of 322
with a VA of 322
greg_SA
Expert Member
Ah, that makes more sense (332 VA).
Dimpie (JIGSAW)
Honorary Master
Explain? ... isn't that still low?
or does the equipment not pull the full wattage as printed on them ?
Explain? ... isn't that still low?
or does the equipment not pull the full wattage as printed on them ?
Presume you have a 1kVA unit? 332/1000VA = approx 34%.
DollyAAAA
Well-Known Member
Explain? ... isn't that still low?
or does the equipment not pull the full wattage as printed on them ?
The power equipment consume, varies all the time and rarely the maximum rated.
Power factor of 0.5? Quite low.
Dimpie (JIGSAW)
Honorary Master
i don't need to know the maths between P=VI ...
What I am getting at, is the fact that before the install, the calculations for what i want powered during Eksdom time came in at ±417W ... now after the install they're only pulling 165W(252W less than calculated) ... meaning it looks quite low .... meaning I should be able to connect even more?
What I am getting at, is the fact that before the install, the calculations for what i want powered during Eksdom time came in at ±417W ... now after the install they're only pulling 165W(252W less than calculated) ... meaning it looks quite low .... meaning I should be able to connect even more?
If I understand correctly you do your calculations on the "va" value
Just use the VA as if it is equal to watts.
If you are running motors and things (eg. fridge), then be aware that the startup power can be significant.
Last but not least, don't assume the value given by the inverter is accurate and leave a bit of head-room for startup where some devices may use more for a short duration.
Generally I leave headroom as follows:
1000w -> Load no more than 900w
2000w -> No more than 1850w
3000w -> No more than 2800w
etc.
In the case of electric motors I still use the above but ensure that the inverter has a surge rating that can handle startup (eg. quality inverter can do at least 15-30% more than the maximum power for a second, which is enough generally)
The simplest way to be sure is to test ofc
All these calculations don't mean anything in the end. You do them BEFORE you buy to get a feeling for what you need. After you bought you can attach until you get really close to your maximum rating.
Turn everything on at the same time (eg. trip switch) and if the inverter is happy about it, then it should be fine (bar some hard to start loads maybe).
If you are running motors and things (eg. fridge), then be aware that the startup power can be significant.
Last but not least, don't assume the value given by the inverter is accurate and leave a bit of head-room for startup where some devices may use more for a short duration.
Generally I leave headroom as follows:
1000w -> Load no more than 900w
2000w -> No more than 1850w
3000w -> No more than 2800w
etc.
In the case of electric motors I still use the above but ensure that the inverter has a surge rating that can handle startup (eg. quality inverter can do at least 15-30% more than the maximum power for a second, which is enough generally)
The simplest way to be sure is to test ofc
All these calculations don't mean anything in the end. You do them BEFORE you buy to get a feeling for what you need. After you bought you can attach until you get really close to your maximum rating.
Turn everything on at the same time (eg. trip switch) and if the inverter is happy about it, then it should be fine (bar some hard to start loads maybe).
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How did you measure this? Manually or using a meter?
Dimpie (JIGSAW)
Honorary Master
^ The installer used a meter, but I also just added all the watt totals at the back of the units except for the amp(couldn't access label), so we didn't even look at the 417 from calculations and decided to work out the batteries needed for ±2½hrs on a 500Watt load. 
Getafixx
Active Member
Hi All
This thread has been hugely informative, thanks everyone for sharing!
I have the 3KVA Axpert with 2 x 102Ah DC31 batteries. I am very satisfied with it
Here are some of my observations/comments:
This thread has been hugely informative, thanks everyone for sharing!
I have the 3KVA Axpert with 2 x 102Ah DC31 batteries. I am very satisfied with it
Here are some of my observations/comments:
- I can confirm that my neutral floated at 58V when running off batteries. I have subsequently bonded the neutral to earth just before the output EL breaker as was suggested.
- My supply neutral is most certainly bonded in the meter box outside the house. I took a nice picture to show it, but I'm not allowed to upload images yet... <hint hint admins>
- My TV used to go off for about a second when I switched from bypass to battery and back but that has since been rectified by setting option 3 to UPS (the setting name "AC input voltage range" is not very clear IMHO). I can also see the flicker in the lights when switching over is noticeably shorter.
- I found that by default the inverter does indeed not allow you to draw more than the rated power even in bypass mode, BUT this can be overridden by toggling setting 23 (overload bypass) to enabled. I don't plan to run huge loads in bypass, but I don't want the inverter to cut the grid supply if I am marginally over the rated limit for short periods.
- I did use to run my kettle successfully from the inverter supply (in bypass mode) using the setting above, but subsequently rewired the kitchen plugs as to avoid that because the inverter registered 130% load which made me itchy.
- The alarm/beeps are insanely loud but can be switched off for normal operations (button presses and running in UPS mode).
- My system is installed in a storage room because the fan is very noisy when charging or in battery mode.
- I have a huge DB (3 rows), so have dedicated a section for the alternative power (I use EL and a separate neutral bar)
- I am just waiting for ACDC express to get their DIN mounted indicator lights order in (only about R35), then my setup should be completed. I don't use any PV for now.
- I run all my house lights, computer, ADSL, Wifi, cordless, TV, home entertainment system, PS3, all the plugs in the bedrooms (chargers etc), microwave and fridge (yes I know it's not necessary but it shares the microwave plug). Fine for 2h loadshedding but I only use the microwave for quick heating, not cooking.
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