Inverter nightmare

[RedViking]

These are the sort of inverters you want if you want to hook it up with your DB.

RCT Inverters

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www.geewiz.co.za

Wiring wise it is not an easy job and you will need someone experienced with inverters and electricians and they need to explain to you how it works.

 

[PsyWulf]

more like 3 or 4 gaming PC's.

"gaming" pc ie. I3 with RGB lights?

 

[RedViking]

"gaming" pc ie. I3 with RGB lights?

Well I have a Core i7, GTX1070, 27" monitor and 24" minute and a 60W led and it uses about 200W under light use and maybe 300-350W during gaming.

But yes, it all depends on how big your system is. The average user will easily be able to run 3-4 computers if not more.

 

[PsyWulf]

Well I have a Core i7, GTX1070, 27" monitor and 24" minute and a 60W led and it uses about 200W under light use and maybe 300-350W during gaming.

But yes, it all depends on how big your system is. The average user will easily be able to run 3-4 computers if not more.

Yeah no you won't be getting 40minutes let alone 3 hours

 

[RedViking]

Yeah no you won't be getting 40minutes let alone 3 hours

What you talking about? That depends on the batteries you have, how many, and how big.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Where do I find a reputable guy who knows inverters to install it?

Seems what you need is to find a reputable reseller to sell you what you need.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Yeah no you won't be getting 40minutes let alone 3 hours

LOL... what RV said. You can get more or less depending on your battery backup.

 

[PsyWulf]

Hmm lost half a post there
*On my rig

Using 2x105mah and get 40min on a good day,but I know she's a thirsty gal

Did a quick math though, with your 350w gamestation x4 as the template for 3hour runtime:

Inverter VA Rating - 2500 VA
Battery Capacity - 135 Ah at C20
Number of batteries - 3

 

[Willie Trombone]

I told the electrician before he started that I only wanted 3 lights and maybe the TV, but he just connected the whole lot.

Good grief... you definitely need another electrician then.

 

[RedViking]

Hmm lost half a post there
*On my rig

Using 2x105mah and get 40min on a good day,but I know she's a thirsty gal

Did a quick math though, with your 350w gamestation x4 as the template for 3hour runtime:

Inverter VA Rating - 2500 VA
Battery Capacity - 135 Ah at C20
Number of batteries - 3

I'm bad at maths, but for 350W you should easily be able to get 3-4 hours on two 105mah batteries to 30% SOC. Add another two batteries and you have double the time.

Running 1400W on only two batteries won't be very helpful.

But with only a TV, Decoder and a light OP will easily go 8 hours if not more on two batteries.

Hooking it up to the DB is a bad idea.

One must also consider the time it takes for the batteries to charge. But with load shedding only once a day, this should not be a problem.... Yet.

 

[dunkyd]

Read more books on inverters !!!!

 

[RedViking]

Read more forums on inverters !!!!

FTFY

 

[TheChamp]

This load shedding is turning out to be a boon for con artists, sorry OP, hope you come right, no one deserves to be taken for a ride like that. Hope you come right.

 

[Dairyfarmer]

A quick and fairly accurate method of working out how long to run you batteries is:

battery aH x battery voltage x no. of batteries / load in watts / power factor / depth of discharge

2 x 100Ah 12 volt battery = 2400
Load of 1000watts = 2.4
Power factor of 85% (80-85% for modified sine wave and 90-95% for pure sine wave) = 2.04 hours or 122 minutes

If you only want to run your batteries down by just 30% = 37 minutes, or down to 50% = 61 minutes

The higher the depth of discharge of batteries the lower the number of recharge cycles. The decrease is exponential. Less than 50% depth of discharge the Rands per cycle decreases (is favorable) but the capital outlay is higher. After 50% the ratio or Rands per cycles is too high to justify because the cycle life is just too low.

Example if you run your batteries down to 30% remaining the cycles drop down as low as 20 cycles. Where as dropping your batteries down to 70% remaining you are talking 1000+ cycles. Say a battery costs R2000, you either pay R100 per cycle or R2 per cycle. At 50% you may get 500 cycles so R4 per cycle. There is a smaller difference between R2 and R4 per cycle as opposed to R4 and R100 per cycle.

 

[KleinBoontjie]

Like a huge wave of new forumites, asking the strangest of questions. From inverter pulling washing machines to jobless wife over burdening husband with debt....... What gives?

 

[Dairyfarmer]

As far as wiring up an inverter to the DB. @RedViking posted a link to the thread I started when I installed an inverter. Long story short: it can be done regardless of the size of the inverter as long as you have worked out the capacity of your inverter and batteries.

If you don't understand what a neutral bus bar and a isolator is, better you keep your fingers out of the DB. Otherwise it is fairly straightforward if your house was wired correctly. Your just have to split your DB into Eskom and Inverter. Both need isolators and earth leakages.

 

[Steamy Tom]

As far as wiring up an inverter to the DB. @RedViking posted a link to the thread I started when I installed an inverter. Long story short: it can be done regardless of the size of the inverter as long as you have worked out the capacity of your inverter and batteries.

If you don't understand what a neutral bus bar and a isolator is, better you keep your fingers out of the DB. Otherwise it is fairly straightforward if your house was wired correctly. Your just have to split your DB into Eskom and Inverter. Both need isolators and earth leakages.

your battery configuration looks very weird, is that a 24V system?

I don't mean to be funny but is this actually compliant?

 

[Dairyfarmer]

your battery configuration looks very weird, is that a 24V system?

I don't mean to be funny but is this actually compliant?

Yes 24v.
2 x 100aH 12v batteries in series to create 1 x 100aH 24v battery.
Then 2 x 100aH 24v batteries connected in parallel to create 200aH 24v.

 

[Ivan Leon]

This is how those Ellies inverters should be installed:

Step 1 - unplug the multi-plug from the wall socket that powers your smart TV & LED lights
Step 2 - plug in the inverter (with its batteries) to the wall socket
Step 3 - plug the multi-plug into the power outlet socket of the inverter

There is NO requirement for an 'electrician' to wire up an Ellies inverter into your DB board AT ALL!

This means that the inverter is now inline & downstream of the AC mains power - so if the mains power fails, the inverter seamlessly provides any devices plugged into the power outlet of the inverter with fail-over AC power - until such time as the inverter batteries are depleted or mains power is restored to allow the batteries to be charged once again.

It's not rocket science - it's a similar principle for a smaller UPS to power a desktop PC with emergency AC power as well, allowing you to shut down properly before the UPS battery is depleted - but a PC UPS is NOT designed to keep your PC powered up in the interim until AC mains power is restored - unlike the Ellies inverter, which IS designed to REPLACE mains power until it is available once again.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

I'm bad at maths, but for 350W you should easily be able to get 3-4 hours on two 105mah batteries to 30% SOC. Add another two batteries and you have double the time.

Running 1400W on only two batteries won't be very helpful.

But with only a TV, Decoder and a light OP will easily go 8 hours if not more on two batteries.

Hooking it up to the DB is a bad idea.

One must also consider the time it takes for the batteries to charge. But with load shedding only once a day, this should not be a problem.... Yet.

sounds about right, my entire lounge consumes that power and i have 2x105aH batteries , after 4hrs the batteries read 12.2v each