My New Exide Inverter Set Up - Initial Review

[D.J.D.]

For the last couple of days I was in the process of replacing my existing inverter set up with a new one. Finally, today I got the new set up installed in my home. Detail of the new set up:

1. Inverter: Exide Home UPS pure Sine Wave 850 VA (warranty 2 years)
2. Battery: Exide IT500 (3 years replacement warranty, and 1 year prorated warranty)
3. Inverter trolley.

Total cost of the whole set up is Rs.21,500. After trading off my old Invaqueen 100 AH battery (Pl note battery is in non-working condition) I paid Rs.20,300.

I wanted to share pros and cons of this new set up and here it is:

Pros:
The inverter has some extra features compared to the other popular brands like microtek, Luminous, Su-kam etc. The inverter has a nice small LCD panel which shows information like
1. Main input voltage.
2. Whether main is on or off.
3. Battery charging voltage.
4. Battery voltage.
5. Load on the inverter in %.

This inverter has a provision for electrolyte level sensor input, which can be used to monitor the electrolyte level of the battery. For this we need one electrolyte level sensor which can be connected to the battery and the inverter. If the electrolyte level goes down, the LED in front panel of the inverter blinks.

Normally other inverters have only 2 modes of charging i.e. normal current and High current. But this Exide home UPS has 3 modes of charging normal, enhanced and high current. Also this inverter has one additional output socket for emergency use.

Cons:
Sometimes I can hear the noise of fan running inside the inverter, it is not continuous. It rarely comes.

The input voltage range is 100 – 280 V. whereas other inverters have input voltage range 100-300 V. So, this inverter is not ideal if you are facing high incoming voltage problem.

Now, some pics of the set up:

1. Whole setup


2. Front panel of the inverter.


3. LCD panel shows main input voltage.


4. LCD panel showing mains cut during EB power cut.


5. LCD panel showing battery voltage while running on battery.


6. LCD panel showing load on UPS


7. LCD panel showing battery charging voltage


8. Water level low indicator

 

[sethumurugan]

Good one bro. Hope you can have bright future . Are you facing this power cut phenomena in your area also (Thanks to TN CM and Windmill Energy)

Pls give your feed back on consumption. Cos still I believe, huge current consumption at my home could be due to this inverter concept only (i have different one which I got in 2006. Once changed battery in last May 2012.)

 

[D.J.D.]

Good one bro. Hope you can have bright future . Are you facing this power cut phenomena in your area also (Thanks to TN CM and Windmill Energy)

Pls give your feed back on consumption. Cos still I believe, huge current consumption at my home could be due to this inverter concept only (i have different one which I got in 2006. Once changed battery in last May 2012.)

Thank you Sir . Yes in trichy also we are facing the power cut. Daily almost 8 - 9 hrs.

Yesterday only i installed this inverter. So, regarding power consumption i can comment only after 1 or 2 months of usage.

 

[srinivas_gs]

Hi

What should be the stock life of a new invertor battery? Can we purchase a new invertor battery that is one year old and kept in shelf (not used)? May I know the pros and cons of this?

Thanks
Srinivas

 

[D.J.D.]

Hi

What should be the stock life of a new invertor battery? Can we purchase a new invertor battery that is one year old and kept in shelf (not used)? May I know the pros and cons of this?

Thanks
Srinivas

Honestly speaking i have no knowledge on technicality of inverter battery. I think no vendor will keep a battery for one year in his shop. Also warranty starts from the date of purchase. But i cant say about pros and cons. Sorry.

Experts may comment.

 

[Arijitb]

Is it possible to run Desktop Computer with this inverter without using computer UPS ?

 

[D.J.D.]

Is it possible to run Desktop Computer with this inverter without using computer UPS ?

Yes it is possible. You will not be able to notice the changeover time.

 

[sethumurugan]

Is it possible to run Desktop Computer with this inverter without using computer UPS ?

Yes it is possible. You will not be able to notice the changeover time.

In my invertor I cant, It will start screaming. Might be old technology or low power (500 KVA I believe) Bought in 2007.

 

[D.J.D.]

In my invertor I cant, It will start screaming. Might be old technology or low power (500 KVA I believe) Bought in 2007.

hello sir, mine is 850 KVA and pure sine wave. No issue in running PC or laptop.

 

[sethumurugan]

hello sir, mine is 850 KVA and pure sine wave. No issue in running PC or laptop.

I think at the time when I got it, this was the highest I think (not sure) and still it is doing the job perfectly so do not want to change it as of now.

 

[bhvm]

Nice Crisp review mate. A few Tips I would recommend to keep it running for ages-
>Buy a 5 LTr can of Distilled water can replenish Battery as needed. This is VERY important for the Life of Battery
>Once a Month, BLOW hard using a Vacum Cleaner/Blower the Inverter Vents,Fans and Circuits if possible. Dust reduces the Heat exchange and also jams up fans as a result Inverter could overheat
>Place battery on A Acrylic or Plastic Plate. Otherwise Spilt acid will slowly eat your flooring.

As the benefit of a above, My Exide 165AH Tubular Batteries are going strong since 7 years and perhaps more!

P.S-
Yes I could run a High end RAID'ed Desktop PC over my Microtek 800VA Sinewave Inverter. Never required UPS.
It can also run 5~8 laptops simultaneously.

 

[D.J.D.]

Nice Crisp review mate. A few Tips I would recommend to keep it running for ages-
>Buy a 5 LTr can of Distilled water can replenish Battery as needed. This is VERY important for the Life of Battery
>Once a Month, BLOW hard using a Vacum Cleaner/Blower the Inverter Vents,Fans and Circuits if possible. Dust reduces the Heat exchange and also jams up fans as a result Inverter could overheat
>Place battery on A Acrylic or Plastic Plate. Otherwise Spilt acid will slowly eat your flooring.

thank you mate for the tips.

1. I always keep a 1 ltr distilled water bottle. i guess i will have to increase the storage capacity .

2. So far i have not used vacuum cleaner / blower. I will try this for sure.

3. Yah already i have purchased a stand as you can see in my review pics.