Stage 6 load shedding

[Isetech]

A fewe tips:

An inverter with lead acid batteries (especially the mobile units) which cannot control the cutout voltage for the battery (min of 11.5 VDC) is a burden not a solution. If you are subborn and dont want to upgrade to lithium, make sure the inverter is way over spec'd and the has the abilty to adjust the cutout voltage to not less than 11.5VDC ( they will last around for around 3 years).

A lead acid battery in the gate, alarm or electric fence, will only last 3-6 months, they are not designed for stage 6 load shedding. They have trickle chargers for the odd power failure. There are lithium chager/battery replacements and they do work, we have been installing a few of them.

Why do people recommend lithium:

The charge current can be a lot higher, reducing the charge time.

Can drop to a lower SOC, without damaging the battery.

They voltage stays consistant and drops and a much slower rate.

I dont recomend using a lithium drop lead acid drop in battery, I can t say I have had any success with them, it could just be the brand I used. Unless you use a add on lithium charge with a relay, I personally wouldnt sugest it.

[Derlyn]

If you are subborn and dont want to upgrade to lithium, make sure the inverter is way over spec'd and the has the abilty to adjust the cutout voltage to not less than 11.5VDC ( they will last around for around 3 years).

I do not know one person who presently uses lead acid batteries who doesn't want to change to lithium. They all do.

The fact is they cannot afford to, not because they are stubborn. They are making do with what they can afford.

[Isetech]

We are slowly educating people on the benefits of lithium, however as you pointed out, it has a lot to do with the cost. I am busy in the office today, doing quote because of stage 6 load shedding, The calls havent stopped since yestrday. The lead acids have been doin their job, until the stage 6 hit. We replaced a lot of the lead acid batteries during the last stage 6 roll out, but many of those batteries are already dead or reduced the backup down to less than an hour, thanks to units which cant adjust the cutout voltage.

I am one of those stubborn people I still dont have a lithium battery in any of my home backup systems, it has a lot to do with the budget, I cant justfy the cost yet. I dont pay R1200 for an armed response company to replace batteries, spending R2000 on a lithium upgrade will take years to justify? My lead acidf battery finaly gave in during the last lot of stage 6 load shedding and I can tbring myslef to replace it with another lead acid, so for now I use my 12 VDC sytem for lights and stuff, gas for cooking and we take 2 hour break from the internet. I have laptops and routers which plug into the usb port of the laptop, I have 2 spare laptops just in case the battery goes flat.

I do not know one person who presently uses lead acid batteries who doesn't want to change to lithium. They all do.

The fact is they cannot afford to, not because they are stubborn. They are making do with what they can afford.