Building an inverter trolley

LandyMan

LandyMan

Honorary Master
Joined
Feb 28, 2005
Messages
13,363
Reaction score
3,192
Location
Centurion
Not going to go into too many details, and a lot was already shared in other threads, but thought I would create this thread, should someone want to get some inspiration or ideas when it comes to building your own "Inverter Trolley".

History
During the December holidays, my dad and I were discussing options to combat loadshedding, having a little 555W portable unit (which worked remarkable well to keep the TV and DSTV on) as well as a 1440W Ellies trolley with 2 X 105Ah LA batteries (standard pre-assembled). Obviously these two were not enough, so we started toying with the idea of building our own trolleys ... and thus the project started

Design
Building off of the trolley concept, with a couple of changes:
1. 3KW inverter needed - to keep at least the fridge going, and to be able to fire up additional appliances, like coffee machine :) while running the entertainment area.
2. Definitely Lithium batteries, no contest there
3. Increased battery capacity, so we opted for 2 X 200Ah batteries
4. Battery equaliser to make sure everything stays nicely aligned

The Kit (Note: I am in no way associated with Energy Tech Store, or posting this for financial gains/compensation)
The easiest way to get what we wanted, was to go for a "DIY Kit" option from Energy Tech Store (https://energytechstore.co.za/3kw-24v-must-backup-kit-with-5-12kwh-revov-2life-12v-200ah-batteries/)
I initially looked at getting a trolley from the likes of Geewiz, but their trolleys are not big enough for the batteries, so this will be a full-on DIY job :)
REVOV did not have batteries in stock, so we ended up with RAYSTECH 2560S Pro 200Ah batteries (https://energytechstore.co.za/raystech-2-56kwh-lifepo4-battery-12-8v-200ah/)

The Build
Not wanting the inverter to be mounted flat, the trolley would need a "chair style" design.
The trolleys were built using what my dad had in his workshop, including the panels and back that were cut from old Computer/storage boxes

y4mdOr6OASP64qvavN3RldYBhSbt5AhP9ab4skoBu6qNryoDd02eo-65WV2vo1k--1cNcyDouGRXY2r_S-Dxh0ofgUxXJtTQl_3t5N5UVVTbPTO823Cmg466QM0jyRWxX0aEO_PE6C5aKTlwXgoeOtJ75DX-aaSNuLKha42YD_cfh7JNnNQodMgsf9LjV9IBBggbvjVjMfXKiQYbd296hd7dT-0VzxbH_anSE6Amm9M-ZI

The original design was modified slightly, as when you have the parts on the same panel, things are different to what you expected

8be22248441a29b9ca481dd7784dc451.jpg

For the rest I am not going to explain, as it is quite self explanatory how things progressed

62670f17b5742b38b28c9526f4debdf4.jpg


93ee69dd5a58ea7dc61891a2737a0940.jpg


8454752e0a972f3c6978f0143fcdfbae.jpg


23a49e4dc81a47462328284aa583ee24.jpg


3d5e710634dc2342d13e6db1d2d6fb09.jpg


33a2d72ead5218b5e3fb2692114a5dbd.jpg


c8a621495a7b96bb38c8c8c891a802a1.jpg


591559a44b00a12578858ef3aa6b1b9c.jpg


6dfa8497935175d1524e5e8097c93396.jpg


bf6dbe75814aefcaa66b0f6c223bf551.jpg


Last pic shows comparison to the Ellies Trolley
 
Price, time to build and weight?
 
LandyMan said:
Price - to be determined, under R30k (used materials available)
Time to build - difficult to say, but about 20 hours per trolley
Weight - Guessing between 60 and 70 kg
Click to expand...

Thanks :)
 
I thought I would use, @LandyMan's thread and his build to ask my question, sorry for the hijack, suppose you have a similar system as his, massive but still portable, if you get an electrician to wire a changeover facility, similar to the one used with generators, is there anything in the regulations stopping you from plugging your massive but portable inverter battery system in there same way you would with you generator?

Follow up question, if you had a carport or any facility where you can mount your solar and route it towards your massive but portable inverter system what kind of CoC are you going to need for that? Does the system become fixed because of the solar install?
 
Last edited:
TheChamp said:
I thought I would use, @LandyMan's thread and his build to ask my question, sorry for the hijack, suppose you have a similar system as his, massive but still portable, if you get an electrician to wire a changeover facility, similar to the one used with generators, is there anything in the regulations stopping you from plugging your massive but portable inverter battery system in there same way you would with you generator?

Follow up question, if you had a carport or any facility where you can mount your solar and route it towards your massive but portable inverter system what kind of CoC are you going to need for that? Does the system become fixed because of the solar install?
Click to expand...
I don't see why it can't be done, or that there will be regulatory issues. If you take the wheels off and mount it against the wall, it is the same as having a "normal" static installation, so will be wired similarly (well that is what my logic tells me in any case)

For your second question, and again relating to the above, and my own logic which could be wrong :) : If the trolley is plugged into a normal plug, as is the design of the trolley, no matter where/how your panels are installed, I don't think you need a CoC. The minute it gets hardwired into the house's electricals, you need a CoC.

Above is my opinion based on my limited knowledge of said things, hopefully someone more clever can pop in here and help out
 
TheChamp said:
I thought I would use, @LandyMan's thread and his build to ask my question, sorry for the hijack, suppose you have a similar system as his, massive but still portable, if you get an electrician to wire a changeover facility, similar to the one used with generators, is there anything in the regulations stopping you from plugging your massive but portable inverter battery system in there same way you would with you generator?

Follow up question, if you had a carport or any facility where you can mount your solar and route it towards your massive but portable inverter system what kind of CoC are you going to need for that? Does the system become fixed because of the solar install?
Click to expand...
you can plug your house into the inverter but not the inverter into the house ,ie the plug on the cable must plug into the inverter ,it then becomes a temporary supply ,if the panels are fixed to supply the inverter a coc should be acquired .(should) the sockets commonly used on the house are socket outlets and not inlets ,so the plug on the inverter lead will have live pins on it .the socket on the inverter should ideally have a locked switch ,plug cannot be withdrawn unless off .another user sits with the same problem .thats why their are so many illegal installs the red tape is terrible
 
also if you install a combiner it must not be positione in a place where you have to climb on the roof to open it ie easily accessible
 
wingnut771 said:
Does the earth leakage work? Inverter noise levels?
Click to expand...
Fans are quite noisy ... part of the reason moving it to the garage :)
Trying to determine why Earth is kicking out sometimes when power is restored ... thinking aircons rather than inverter
 
LandyMan said:
Fans are quite noisy ... part of the reason moving it to the garage :)
Trying to determine why Earth is kicking out sometimes when power is restored ... thinking aircons rather than inverter
Click to expand...
I'm no expert but isn't this related to the earth neutral bond relay or the lack of one?
 
soulie said:
you can plug your house into the inverter but not the inverter into the house ,ie the plug on the cable must plug into the inverter ,it then becomes a temporary supply ,if the panels are fixed to supply the inverter a coc should be acquired .(should) the sockets commonly used on the house are socket outlets and not inlets ,so the plug on the inverter lead will have live pins on it .the socket on the inverter should ideally have a locked switch ,plug cannot be withdrawn unless off .another user sits with the same problem .thats why their are so many illegal installs the red tape is terrible
Click to expand...
Does it make a difference what plugs into what if it can be unplugged? Is something like this not compliant, that's where they plug the generator, so If you have the same setup with a changeover switch, let's get this part sorted and I will get clarification on panels later.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20230227_100018.jpg
    IMG_20230227_100018.jpg
    262.1 KB · Views: 17
TheChamp said:
I thought I would use, @LandyMan's thread and his build to ask my question, sorry for the hijack, suppose you have a similar system as his, massive but still portable, if you get an electrician to wire a changeover facility, similar to the one used with generators, is there anything in the regulations stopping you from plugging your massive but portable inverter battery system in there same way you would with you generator?

Follow up question, if you had a carport or any facility where you can mount your solar and route it towards your massive but portable inverter system what kind of CoC are you going to need for that? Does the system become fixed because of the solar install?
Click to expand...
I would use the so called welder plug

Welder plug female connection connected to the to transfer switch

Cable to connect inverter trolley to welder plug male.

This way you can connect a generator and or inverter to the transfer switch.
 
TheChamp said:
Does it make a difference what plugs into what if it can be unplugged? Is something like this not compliant, that's where they plug the generator, so If you have the same setup with a changeover switch, let's get this part sorted and I will get clarification on panels later.
Click to expand...
Just saw you had the same idea.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X