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Thread: Inverters

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    Gold Member Sparks's Avatar
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    Inverters

    Can anyone shed light on these products? Are they Fong Kong?

    http://www.gbssolar.co.za/product_pa..._cat=Inverters

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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    You pays your money, you takes your chance. The problem with all these inverters that are flooding the market is that many of them have no history to judge them on so it's down to the suppler you purchase from whether or not spares will be available and whether or not they'll be answering their phone in six months time when they've sold their container load of stock.

    Your guess is as good as mine I'm afraid Sparks.
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    Gold Member Sparks's Avatar
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    Thank you Andy, if nobody could post a favourable comment I was hoping a recommendation might get posted. I have been requested by a pharmacist with a small load and a salon with a bigger load to provide backup power systems. Being within shopping centres they prefer to not have generators.

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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    My formula so far with the numerous small (1-10kW) load shedding back-up installations we've been doing is to stick to known good brands and known good wholesalers. I can't afford the time and expense of warranty claims even if the wholesaler is providing a replacement unit so I've only used the Victron for the high end installs and the Axpert for those on a lesser budget. There was one job where the customer specifically requested an 'Outback' inverter and it seemed okay as well but it wasn't a cheap option. I've drawn a line at that and any request on a very low budget and looking for small camping type inverters I've declined to get involved. There are lots of cheaper Far-East rebranded options literally flooding the market but I've avoided them like the plague and will continue to do so I'm afraid until such a time in maybe a year or two when it's possible to judge them on their past performances. If you do install it lets us know how it goes, it's always great to get first-hand info on products from guys in the field rather than salesmen with a vested interest in moving them.
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    Gold Member Sparks's Avatar
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    Thanks Andy. Here in PE the load shedding has not been that severe that the suppliers have jumped onto the inverter bandwagon. Voltex is the 1st one to make the move and has decided to start off with a 1.5KVA @ R8 000excl. I have been googling and have sent off numerous emails countrywide for catalogues' but, any feedback from guys already using specific brands and recommending them will help deciding what to go with, especially if known duds are exposed.

    BTW since its inception I have only been without power 2 or 3 times the longest of which was maybe 15minutes.

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    I am getting a sample of a new range of 600W, 1000W, 2000W and 3000W of pure sine wave inverters in about a week , and will be putting it to a good soak test to get a feel of the units.

    If I am comfortable with the outcome, I will post here.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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    Andy would you then recommend these and what do think about this supplier service and price. Thanks in advance.

    ps. also which deep cycle batteries has a good reputation? Raylite? Willard?

    I know we are not here yet but like elon said...batteries suck. :-)

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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ACEsterhuizen View Post
    Andy would you then recommend these and what do think about this supplier service and price. Thanks in advance.

    ps. also which deep cycle batteries has a good reputation? Raylite? Willard?

    I know we are not here yet but like elon said...batteries suck. :-)
    The inverter you've linked to is the brand I've been installing as our budget option. I haven't had any issues with them yet, all our installs have been reliable and the inverters have performed as they're supposed to.

    I can't comment on the supplier but the issues I would have with an online supplier is whether or not they can provide technical backup. The problem is that these things aren't like a toaster or kettle where you unbox it, press a button and voila there's toast and tea. These things have a program menu that's fairy extensive, you have to set up perameters that are dependant on the system configuration, the specific type of batteries used and so on. There's almost an infinite number of ways an inverter installation can be specified with different battery types, different solar string arrangements etc so I'd say aftersales and tach support is a must. Maybe phone the supplier with a few tech questions and see how convincing they are before you take the plunge with them.

    I've been using Trojan deep cycle flooded lead acid batteries and they always performed well even on installations where the load has evolved to push the system to the max.
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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sparks View Post
    ....BTW since its inception I have only been without power 2 or 3 times the longest of which was maybe 15minutes.
    Maybe one of your neighbours isa politician who's got some sway over the load shedding schedule

    My home inverter system had its twenty eighth load shedding birthday yesterday at 6.01pm - 8.14pm. It's been installed since 14th Feb and it's given me 3863 minutes of back-up power (63.93 hours) so far. To be honest it's been worth every cent it cost me. I believe there's some areas of JHB that are far worse off as well sometimes getting loadshedding twice a day or 4 hour periods instead of the 2 hours we're getting in Cape Town..
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    Thanks Andy, can you please recommend a supplier? pm if you want pse.






    My inverter sometimes works happily, sometimes it screams, but mostly it just sits there depressed, I think it is bipolar....
    Last edited by ACEsterhuizen; 29-May-15 at 07:04 AM. Reason: format

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