Loadshedding affordable battery setup?

[TheChamp]

Okay cool budget then
Future proof it by ensuring the inverter is Pure Sine Wave (like what ESKOM is) and not the cheaper Modified Sine Wave
Reason is worst-case scenario you can hook up your fridge during the day with a small solar panel later. The AC compressors on fridges do not generally like a modified sine wave power source.

Fridges use anywhere from 100 - 200 watts depending on their size
My small standup 2-door uses 110 Watts
But a fridge needs tons of juice to start up each time the compressor kicks in
This can be up to 1000 Watts for 2 or 3 seconds
So make sure you get a 1000 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter
Something like this is a good start
You can add additional batteries later, and this one already has the solar charge controller built in so add panels later if you want to. Up to 700 Watts

GeeWiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) 1KW PURE Sine Wave Inverter - 60A MPPT (720W) (Hybrid)

Geewiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) Inverter Pure Sine Wave Note: 1) Fan comes on during charging, load shedding and periodically during normal operation 2) If installing in a DB board, please make sure to add a separate Earth & Neutral to the inverter output circuit to mitigate chances of surges

www.geewiz.co.za

and battery

REVOV 100Ah 12.8V 12V Lithium-ion (LiFePO4) Battery - FIRST LIFE / 1.280kWh

Ultra-safe Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) technology Integrated battery management System (BMS) Light weight & compact Water & dust resistant (IP56) Highly durable ABS enclosure Drop-in lead acid replacement (with LI consideration) for static storage Internal BMS for self protecting and...

www.geewiz.co.za

But if the budget is tight or you know you're not going to plug the fridge in then get the Mecer 720W as many many of us started on here. I still use mine

Mecer 1200VA (720W) Inverter Battery Charger (UPS) - Intelligent Fan - GeeWiz

Mecer 1200VA (720W) Inverter Battery Charger (UPS) - Intelligent Fan for sale online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery

www.geewiz.co.za

Cheaper at Builders

Mecer 12V Power Inverter - Black (720W)

Buy Mecer 12V Power Inverter - Black (720W) Online or Locate Your Nearest Builders Warehouse Store. ✓ Secure shopping ✓ 100% Contactless ✓ Reliable Delivery ✓ Many ways to pay!

www.builders.co.za

 

[Francisco2580]

Okay cool budget then
Future proof it by ensuring the inverter is Pure Sine Wave (like what ESKOM is) and not the cheaper Modified Sine Wave
Reason is worst-case scenario you can hook up your fridge during the day with a small solar panel later. The AC compressors on fridges do not generally like a modified sine wave power source.

Fridges use anywhere from 100 - 200 watts depending on their size
My small standup 2-door uses 110 Watts
But a fridge needs tons of juice to start up each time the compressor kicks in
This can be up to 1000 Watts for 2 or 3 seconds
So make sure you get a 1000 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter
Something like this is a good start
You can add additional batteries later, and this one already has the solar charge controller built in so add panels later if you want to. Up to 700 Watts

GeeWiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) 1KW PURE Sine Wave Inverter - 60A MPPT (720W) (Hybrid)

Geewiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) Inverter Pure Sine Wave Note: 1) Fan comes on during charging, load shedding and periodically during normal operation 2) If installing in a DB board, please make sure to add a separate Earth & Neutral to the inverter output circuit to mitigate chances of surges

www.geewiz.co.za

and battery

REVOV 100Ah 12.8V 12V Lithium-ion (LiFePO4) Battery - FIRST LIFE / 1.280kWh

Ultra-safe Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) technology Integrated battery management System (BMS) Light weight & compact Water & dust resistant (IP56) Highly durable ABS enclosure Drop-in lead acid replacement (with LI consideration) for static storage Internal BMS for self protecting and...

www.geewiz.co.za

But if the budget is tight or you know you're not going to plug the fridge in then get the Mecer 720W as many many of us started on here. I still use mine

Mecer 1200VA (720W) Inverter Battery Charger (UPS) - Intelligent Fan - GeeWiz

Mecer 1200VA (720W) Inverter Battery Charger (UPS) - Intelligent Fan for sale online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery

www.geewiz.co.za

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the help.

 

[Brawler]

I have a 500w 518wh Gizzu that has been marvelous. It's either used for my 100w office setup (standing desk, laptop, docking station, monitor) or 180w lounge setup (55inch tv, xbox series s). According to documentation it should be good for 1000 Charging Cycles.

I generally only go through a cycle or two a week as I don't use the lounge setup everyday (maybe 3x a week). Just having the capability is absolutely worth it.
With stage 6 load shedding I am hammering it more (probably 4 cycles a week) but even with that, that is many years of cover. Hopefully by the time it packs up I will have full solar or have emigrated.

 

[Park@82]

Geewiz Inverter Trolleys

Buy Geewiz Inverter Trolleys online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery. Voted the best online store in SA. View Here

www.geewiz.co.za

Is way better for similar price

Any idea how long that will take to recharge?

 

[wingnut771]

Any idea how long that will take to recharge?

Impossible to say without knowing how many amps the charger is. If the usual 10/20A then from empty to full 2.5-5 hours, but you wouldn't be using all the capacity so probably an hour on 20A.

 

[xumwun]

I think Scott is doing another round for the Lifepower batteries.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

Any idea how long that will take to recharge?

Like @wingnut771 said
Also it is only a small 50aH battery so shouldnt take too long to charge up again

 

[Park@82]

Impossible to say without knowing how many amps the charger is. If the usual 10/20A then from empty to full 2.5-5 hours, but you wouldn't be using all the capacity so probably an hour on 20A.

Yeah I could not see the specs of the charger so that is why I asked if someone knows... BTW I suspect the cheapy 20A from TA is not actually charging at 20A.

 

[wingnut771]

Yeah I could not see the specs of the charger so that is why I asked if someone knows...

@RedViking has a line to them, maybe he can find out?

 

[ShloshMalosh]

ok lemme butt in here.

I wanna run my home office during loadshedding

1 24 inch monitor
My PC (300W PSU) - only sometimes, not always
speakers
phone charger
work laptop charger

Will one of those Gizzu 296W jobbies or similar be sufficient and effecient ?

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.

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can i just plug the multi plug into the Gizzu when loadshedding starts?

Not looking to run anything else. Not looking to do any other powerbackups for anything else in the house.

TIA

 

[Park@82]

ok lemme butt in here.

I wanna run my home office during loadshedding

1 24 inch monitor
My PC (300W PSU) - only sometimes, not always
speakers
phone charger
work laptop charger

Will one of those Gizzu 296W jobbies or similar be sufficient and effecient ?

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.

www.takealot.com

can i just plug the multi plug into the Gizzu when loadshedding starts?

Not looking to run anything else. Not looking to do any other powerbackups for anything else in the house.

TIA

It having a 300w psu doesn't meen it will draw 300w.

Here is some guidance on how to size a power station box: https://southafricanconsumer.co.za/2023/02/20/sizing-a-power-station-inverter-trolleys-solutions/

 

[ShloshMalosh]

It having a 300w psu doesn't meen it will draw 300w.

Here is some guidance on how to size a power station box: https://southafricanconsumer.co.za/2023/02/20/sizing-a-power-station-inverter-trolleys-solutions/

thanks, yes im aware that 300 is the max it will draw under max load... its an old 5th gen i5 (100W maybe) and the GPU is drawing from the 75W PCie slot... so probably drawing 200W max even

 

[wingnut771]

ok lemme butt in here.

I wanna run my home office during loadshedding

1 24 inch monitor
My PC (300W PSU) - only sometimes, not always
speakers
phone charger
work laptop charger

Will one of those Gizzu 296W jobbies or similar be sufficient and effecient ?

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.

www.takealot.com

can i just plug the multi plug into the Gizzu when loadshedding starts?

Not looking to run anything else. Not looking to do any other powerbackups for anything else in the house.

TIA

Start with this. Plug in all your stuff you want to run and run it for 2 or 4 hours or whatever your session is. Take note of peak watts (this will be your inverter power output) and your total Wh (this will be the size of your battery).

Take the Wh and double it so you have a little buffer room on your storage and inefficiencies.

Digital Watt Meter (Kill A Watt) - Measure your electricity usage

Measures electricity usage Wattage: 0~3300W (Max 3300 watts) Voltage Current: 0-15A (Max 15A) Power Factor Electricity Cost

www.geewiz.co.za

 

[Brawler]

ok lemme butt in here.

I wanna run my home office during loadshedding

1 24 inch monitor
My PC (300W PSU) - only sometimes, not always
speakers
phone charger
work laptop charger

Will one of those Gizzu 296W jobbies or similar be sufficient and effecient ?

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.

www.takealot.com

can i just plug the multi plug into the Gizzu when loadshedding starts?

Not looking to run anything else. Not looking to do any other powerbackups for anything else in the house.

TIA

I'm sure the 300w gizzu will work but I'd recommend getting the 500w 518wh version.
Some breathing room both in watts and capacity.
A PC might not last through a loadshed with a 296wh battery.

 

[wingnut771]

I would rather go with something that is more modular:
600W 640Wh R8k

Geewiz 1000VA PURE SINE Inverter + 1x 50AH LITHIUM Battery (3 HOUR BATTERY LIFE) KIT - 600W With LITHIUM Battery - 640Wh

GeeWiz PURE SINE 1000VA, 600W, 12V DC-AC Inverter Includes 1x 50Ah Battery + Battery Case All cabling included Intelligent FAN - Fan comes on only when charging and on high load. It then comes on once daily once fully charged. Please note that fan is loud when it operates PLEASE NOTE: The 3-hour...

www.geewiz.co.za

 

[wingnut771]

These questions keep coming up. I did a blog post to help people that are new to this : https://southafricanconsumer.co.za/2023/02/20/sizing-a-power-station-inverter-trolleys-solutions/

bookmarked, will check it out later.

 

[Park@82]

bookmarked, will check it out later.

Thanks. Keen to hear your thoughts.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

ok lemme butt in here.

I wanna run my home office during loadshedding

1 24 inch monitor
My PC (300W PSU) - only sometimes, not always
speakers
phone charger
work laptop charger

Will one of those Gizzu 296W jobbies or similar be sufficient and effecient ?

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.

www.takealot.com

can i just plug the multi plug into the Gizzu when loadshedding starts?

Not looking to run anything else. Not looking to do any other powerbackups for anything else in the house.

TIA

296 Watt Hours
You can use 296 watts for 1 hour
or 148 watts for 2 hours
or 74 watts for 4 hours

 

[ShloshMalosh]

also found this article for reference

https://www.fortressofsolitude.co.za/gizzu-296wh-portable-power-station-review-a-good-solution/

 

[zll]

These questions keep coming up. I did a blog post to help people that are new to this : https://southafricanconsumer.co.za/2023/02/20/sizing-a-power-station-inverter-trolleys-solutions/

You should convert this into a PDF that people can share via whatsapp. Think it will be very helpful.