My Home Solar Panels

Frequently Asked Questions

1. QUESTION:
   What kind of battery do I need to power an inverter and can it be charged by a gas generator?
   New to this system. I recently bought a gas powered generator for outdoor use—wanting to use it sparingly, I would like to purchase a battery and inverter that will provide necessary power for my low-watt tools and appliances—with the generator being used to charge the battery when it runs out, and power more watt-heavy equipment—like my power tools.

   I am looking for battery/inverter options and the wiring that would go with them to 1) charge the battery, and 2) connect the battery to the inverter.

   Thanks in advance!

   • ANSWER:
     This sort of installation would work well with solar or wind battery chargers. The gas powered generator could be used to power a battery as needed.
     I have some information on one of my web pages which may help.
     http://members.rennlist.org/warren/wind.html

2. QUESTION:
   Can I produce ion wind using a 9 volt battery, inverter and step up transformer?
   I want to make a lifter using a 9 volt battery like this video;
   http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM7B12s-4PU

   I don't know how it exactly works in that video but could I get similar fresults using an inverter and transformer?

   • ANSWER:
     I doubt it. The losses would overcome the limited power available in your little batttery.

3. QUESTION:
   What are the implications of charging a battery with inverter?
   I have a 3000watts inverter that runs on 12volts, 200AH. I have another battery of 12volts, 200AH and a charger of 14volts, 8amps. It takes 6hours to discharge the battery, i want to know if i can connect the second battery to charge while the inverter is running. If its possible, what are the effects? How can i calculate the energy loss?

   • ANSWER:
     Yikes, it sounds complicated. I would call Batteries Plus and ask them this question, maybe there is a store near you - http://www.batteriesplus.com

4. QUESTION:
   Can you build your own uninterruptible power supply with a car battery, an inverter, and a battery charger?
   The point is to create a UPS with a very long run time when the main power goes out.

   Can you hook the charger to the car battery terminals and then attach an inverter to the same terminals (in parallel they call it?). You then plug your computer or whatever to the inverter.

   The whole setup would have to automatic. For instance, the charger can sense when the battery is fully charged and turn itself off automatically. With the setup, you shouldn't have to plug or unplug things manually based on what you're doing. It should be automatic, transparent, and operate in the background like any UPS.

   Is this at all possible, or is it much more complex to get something like this working? Is this a fire or electrocution hazard? Will the equipment burn out the moment you hook everything together?

   • ANSWER:
     A battery charger that will do what you want will cost a very pretty penny. I would stick with the toys that are made to do that. And I agree with the posting above. A car battery has thin lead plates and would not hold up very long at all to the task.

     Read this link, it will tell you how to do it just don't put the solar panels or charge controller on it. It is all in the Inverter.

     http://www.oynot.com/solar-power.html

     Buy this kind of batteries Deep Cycle.

     http://store.oynot.com/concorde-sun-xtender-batteries.html

     Get one of these types of inverters because most modified sine wave inverters are cheapies and will not allow a power strip or a desktop computer because they use a neutral ground. This makes the inverter switch off till the ground is removed. These work great. And they are true sine wave like normal house electric. Modified sine wave inverters will make motors hammer and shorten their lifes. Some make radios and TV sets buzz. I said some not all. There are some high grade modified sinewave inverters but if paying that much money may as well get a good one with a built in battery charger.

     http://store.oynot.com/statpower-prosine.html

     But it is going to cost a little cash. I have a backup electric system setup but it is solar powered.

5. QUESTION:
   Can i charge another auto battery with inverter?
   My inverter produces light with battery, i want to know if i could connect auto battery charger and use it to charge the battery. What are the effects and implications?

   • ANSWER:
     Yes, you can use an inverter to charge another car battery: if you've got an inverter plugged into your car, and your car is running (thus preventing your car's battery from going low), and you charge a second battery from that inverter, it will work fine.

     However, you can't ever get a battery to charge itself: while it is true that the electricity will run in "circles" from the battery terminals to the inverter to the charger and back to the battery terminals, new energy will never go IN to the battery because the only energy that is available in the circuit is leaving the battery in order to be wasted by the inefficiencies of the charging system (fans, lights, meters, control circuits, transistors, relays, etc).

     - Kipp

6. QUESTION:
   Hi, I want to know whether it is safe to recharge a laptop battery using inverter?
   I have a compaq 6425TU notebook computer, and I use it with an inverter. Is it safe for the laptop battery?

   • ANSWER:
     Yes, this will be fine. In fact, if anything was going to be an issue it would be the power supply in the laptop. But, laptop power supplies are generally designed to be used with inverters and other odd power sources. In short, your laptop won't really care at all.

7. QUESTION:
   how big of a pump can i run with a 12 v deep cycle battery and inverter?
   digging a shallow well for occasional intermittent water use, will be likely 20-25 ft deep, with 1 1/4" pipe pumping to a cistern. i have a 12v marine battery on a solar panel, and a 2500 watt generator available. do i need a true sine wave inverter for the pump with either of these? can i use modified sine? how many hp pump can i run? do i need more batteries?

   • ANSWER:
     Here is another idea you may want to consider. DC solar submersible pumps are available from Grundfos, Shurflo, and SunPumps. They work directly off of the solar panels. No batteries, no inverters. Just a small controller. When the sun comes up, it pumps. You are using a cistern, so you have a reserve for nighttime and cloudy days. These pumps are pricey, but between inverters, batteries, switchgear and efficiency issues, you are usually cheaper going this way. A little research is required to match pump sizes to your panel, and how many GPM you will get. Also look at warranties and availability.

8. QUESTION:
   Pls can i run a 50ft 12 gauge battery cable from 12v Battery to inverter and still get same power like a 2ft?
   Am thinking of running a 50feet 12 gauge battery cable to the inverter in my Travel trailer to run the TV and am wondering if i'll still get same power as using the 2feet cable?? Please will appreciate any advise.. Thanks guys

   • ANSWER:
     >running a 50feet 12 gauge battery cable to the inverter in my Travel trailer to run the TV and am wondering if i'll still get same power as using the 2feet cable?

     No. You will have a voltage/power loss because of the long cable.

     Whether it will work depends on how much power (watts) you draw off the inverter and how sensitive the inverter is to low voltage on it's input.

     For example, if you have a little TV that only uses 20 watts, it's not an issue. But if the TV uses 100 watts you might have a problem. At 100 watts the cable will have about 10 amps ruining through it. This will cause a voltage drop of about 1.6 volts. At what input voltage does the inverter drop out?

     The voltage drop is linear with amperage. If you tried to run 200 watts the voltage drop would be about 3.2 volts, which would cause most inverters to trip out.

9. QUESTION:
   car battery and inverter to operate circular saw ?
   I want to run outdoors a circular saw for longer periods, can I use a car battery with an inverter ?

   • ANSWER:
     You can....here is some useful information for oyu.

     Most inverter designs are of the ‘Modified Sine or Square Wave’ type, these generally give good performance together with lower cost, but due to the output waveform shape can cause interference with some equipment and do not give maximum efficiency in the power conversion from D.C. to A.C. Most mains powered equipment is designed to operate from and work at its most efficient when supplied with a pure sine wave A.C. voltage which a ‘True Sine Wave’ type inverter provides. The absence of sharp rising edges found in modified sine wave and square wave outputs eliminates interference in audio, video and electronic equipment. Motor loads start easier and run cooler and quieter without the extra harmonic distortion from modified sine wave inverters. Until recently these inverters have been very expensive, used mainly in commercial and utility applications.

     Many of the inverters are for general purpose use, however there are also inverters for specific applications, such inverters are tailored to equipment such as satellite receivers, televisions and portable computers, tools etc.

     Determining Battery Size

     To obtain the time allowed from a given battery before recharging is necessary divide the power of the appliance connected to the inverter by 10 to give the load current of the inverter. Divide the Ampere-hour(Ah) rating of the battery by the load current. The answer is the time allowed in hours. e.g. An inverter is running a 60 Watt television and requires a load current of 60 divided by 10 = 6 Amps. The battery is 75 Ah and the time allowed is 75 divided by 6 = 12.5 hours.

     Below are some useful equations:

     Time (hours) allowed =
     battery capacity (Ah) divided by load current (A)

     Battery (Ah) capacity =
     time (hours) required multiplied by load (A) current

     Load (A) current =
     power rating of appliance (W) divided by
     ((10 for 12 volt) or (20 for 24 volt))

10. QUESTION:
    How to connect two deep cycle / car battery to inverter?( Solar project)?
    I have a storage and want to power it w solar power and battery and connect them to inverter and power a 10 w light and a fan 25 w. Any idea or suggestions ?
    THX

    • ANSWER:
      First off keep in mind that solar can be powerful enough to kill. It can shortout and over heat wires and cause a fire if not hooked up correctly. I have a small 810 watt solar array with 10,800 watts in battery power. It all runs through a 2000 watt inverter. Just to give you an idea of how much power that is there it will run a 5000 BTU A/C unit, My 32 inch TV set, a 13 inch tv in the dinning room, a desk top computer and the computer network and a couple of fans. All at the same time all day long. So these things put out a lot of power.. It is more like having a jar of dollars not pennies.

      Go to this page and check out the how to for a grid tie or a grid tie with battery backup or even the off grid system how to's. And then read a lot more if you plan to do the install your self. Play it safe and learn what you are dealing with.

      http://www.oynot.com/solar-info.html

11. QUESTION:
    How to Increase the battery charging capacity of my 1000wt inverter?
    In my inverter it is written 10A charger.But in meter I can see 3.54A.And My battery is not giving me good backup.How to Increase the battery charging capacity of my 1000wt inverter? My battery is 200ah.how can I full charge the battery in max 6 hrs?

    • ANSWER:

12. QUESTION:
    Is there a battery powered inverter that exists?
    I'm looking for something like a regular car inverter for my AC appliances... a lamp, laptop, radio, etc...

    But is there something like an inverter that can be plugged into the wall at night, charged up like a laptop battery, then removed and placed where you need it? Basically a battery powered inverter. Or if anyone knows how I could somehow hook up several laptop batteries to an inverter and make my own.

    Thanks!

    • ANSWER:
      sure!

      check out Sam's Club, Costco, WalMart, NAPA, AutoZone, Advanced Auto for a 12v battery "jumper kit".

      Some come with a small 150w inverter. I bought mine at Sam's Club. It has a 12v 17AH Gel Cell inside, jumper cables, and an inverter.

      You can put 12v batteries inside a 50cal ammo can with an inverter and have the same thing.

13. QUESTION:
    Could i make a homemade alternator out of a power inverter and battery charger?
    Building a custom golf cart, could I use an inverter and battery charger to use the batterys power to recharge itself?

    • ANSWER:
      Im sorry but no the power demands of the inverter and battery charge are going to be higher than the output of the charger itself and in turn run the battery dead in a matter of minutes. So like i said im sorry but no thats not how it works if that was true hybrid cars woulda been built a long long time ago.

14. QUESTION:
    Can I charge inverter battery from ac generated by inverter using small motor with alternator?
    just bought an inverter. is it possible to connect a small motor with alternator to the AC generated by the inverter, and then use as a charger to charge the battery connected to the inverter so that as the battery is giving power to the appliances connected to the inverter, the charger is charging the battery thus ensuring that the battery wount go down?

    • ANSWER:
      yes and no
      it all depends on the size of the inverter and the appliance you are using.

      simple math, volts X amps= watts

      so lets assume that u are using a appliance that draws 30 amps you would multiply that by normal house hold current 110, which equals 3300 watts. that is the size of inverter you are going to need. keep in mind that all electric motors require more energy for entail start up and once they are running require less. that is why inverters are sold with a peak or surge rating. make sure your inverter is big enough to run your appliance.

      now for your alternator, we have heavy equipment, they are all 24 volt systems, and i know that they are all 100 amp alternators. so 24 multiplied by 100 equals 2400 watts. i have a 4000 watt 24 volt inverter it peaks at 6000 watts and can run just about any thing with it(short of a welder). So how big is your alternator? usually 100 amps, check a parts store, and i am assuming u have a 12 volt inverter and battery, so 12X100=1200 watts. now make sure your alternator has a built in voltage regulator or you may over charge your battery's and that's bad(explosion bad) it think older Chev's have regulators in them, one again ask at the parts store, or a alternator re builder. you would also have find out how fast the alternator should spin, and make sure your gas engine is turning the alternator fast enough, but not too fast, try using a belt between them, then you can just change pulleys till you get the right ratio.

      now for your battery's,
      they will have to be deep cycle, normal battery's aren't made to drain and re- charge. deep cycle battery's run form 0 and up, try Canadian Tire. battery's are rated by amps usually cold cranking amps or cca. lets say yours is 800cca and 12 volts so i all ways drop this some, i don't trust that little sticker 500 amps X 12 volts = 6000 watts, the battery is big enough, but 2 wired in series is easier on them. (hook positive to positive and negative to negative, then hook one battery to inverter)

      hope this helps and isn't too long winded

15. QUESTION:
    Battery of Inverter get low even it is not loaded. What is happened & What to do?
    Our inverter is Designed to withstand in 5Tubes & 4 Fans for 3-4 Hrs. But as time goes Battery get LOW even when single tube or fan is not on. Battery show low signal within 1 Hr.

    • ANSWER:
      Sounds like either the battery is almost dead, or the inverter is defective and drawing too much current.

      Charge up the battery with the inverter disconnected and see if it holds it's charge for a lots of hours. If it does, the inverter is probably bad.

      But my bet is on the battery. Depending on the type, some batteries don't last long. If this is an auto battery, it can only take a few discharges before it is dead.

16. QUESTION:
    How long would it last battery on power inverter?
    I have a trip coming up and the vehicle I'm using does not have a 12 volt plug and I cannot plug into the vehicles batteries (company vehicle).

    I have an 800 watt power inverter that I plan on using connected to at least one 12V 7AH battery. I will be powering a laptop with a power consumption from 85-100 watts. My question is: how long will 1 battery last on a 100 watt draw.
    They are valve regulated sealed lead acid batteries with a 13.3-13.5 volt output. I can have up to 6 of these batteries in parallel. I can't take a car battery or deep cycle battery with me.

    What link for the fuel cell?

    • ANSWER:
      Your actual load is 100W...
      With no losses the current is 100W/12V = 8.33A
      This means you need 8.33Ah capacity for each hour of running, with provisos as below.

      WIth a 7Ah battery that implies 8.33A/7Ah = 0.84 hours
      The nominal voltage of a 12V battery is 12.6V, but you will be lucky to have 12V at the inverter terminals.

      Battery ratings..
      The battery will be rated at the 10 or even 20 hour rate, so that is a current of 0.7A or 0.35A for a 7Ah battery. The current you are drawing is 10 times that, in reality too much for this battery. The battery capacity is derated considerably, so the implied 100W running time of 50 minutes becomes maybe less than half an hour.

      In practice the losses due to the inverter must be added as part of the load. As this is a low load for an 800W inverter it would just be a stab in the dark to say what its losses are, unless you can measure the actual current drawn from the battery when running under that load. My feeling anything from a few watts to 150W losses. It could more than double the load. You could be down to 10 minutes if the battery doesn't get overheated. Batteries are also less capable in cold conditions. A 7Ah battery is more suitable for loads about 10W.

      Get the drift? You need a larger battery. The load is more consistent with an 80Ah size deep cycle battery. This would run more like expected, up to 9h, perhaps somewhat less due to inverter losses.

      If you want to run the Laptop only, it makes more sense to use an external battery pack that plugs in more directly. This will be more efficient at least. Most laptops run from an 18V battery. Look into the solutions for converting 12V to 18V (Laptop car adaptors), that will run on your battery as well. A solution that might be available, or soon will be, is a fuel cell for laptops. See the link. We are talking about something like 200ml of Methanol for 20h for a notebook. Sounds attractive.

17. QUESTION:
    Can i connect an external charger to my battery bank that is being charged by my inverter.if possible how?
    the batteries is connected to a 2.5KVA/48V INVERTER.The batteries are charged by the inverter but i want to increase my battery bank so that i will have enough back-up time.due to that it will take the inverter more time to charge so i want to connect that external charger to reduced the charging time.

    • ANSWER:
      We seem to have different definitions of "inverter".

      An inverter is a device that converts low voltage DC, usually 12 or 24 volts, to 120 or 240 VAC at 50 or 60 Hz. It is used to power devices that require AC line voltages when all you have available is battery voltages.

      An inverter will not charge batteries, rather it takes power out of them.

      Perhaps you mean UPS, Uninterruptible power supply, which includes an inverter internal to it, but also includes a battery and a charger?

      So you want to add an external charger to the UPS and connect it to the battery in addition to the one that is there now? This may work, or it may result in one of the chargers being burned out. It depends on exactly how they are designed.

      .

18. QUESTION:
    Can you run a gas cook top ignition on a battery with and inverter?
    I just purchased a home and the island has a gas stove, but no power run to the island. The previous owners were lighting the stove with matches. Is there any way to get power to the stove without damaging the floor or breaking the slab? I was thinking about trying a car battery with an inverter plugged to the stove. Any idea if this will work or any other ideas?

    • ANSWER:
      My outdoor BBQ uses a AA battery to make a spark to light the gas. Can your cook top be modified to add something like that?

      You still need power to recharge the battery. Plus the issue of hydrogen gas from the battery.

      If you have to do more than lighting the stove, it would be better to cut a trench and run power to the island. They can replace the tiles to cover the trench so you won't even know the cut what there.

19. QUESTION:
    How long did your inverter's battery last?
    I have a SuKam 1400VA Pure Sine Wave inverter. The batteries (Sukam) have died out in merely 2 yrs flat, and I am told by the battery dealer that this is normal, as since last 2 years battery manufacturers have reduced quality of the batteries! Have you experienced a reduction in battery life as well?

    • ANSWER:
      I have found that a lot of battery dealers really don't know much about batteries. It almost sounds like the one you are dealing with either don't know much about batteries or he is smarter then I give him credit for. His goal might be to make money and if he can keep you killing batteries every couple of years he makes money. Batteries of good name brand and even those that are not of good name brand normally last 5 years easy and 10 years for most.

      A battery life depends on how long they are left at a discharged status and how much they are discharged between full charges. If you discharge a batter by 20% it will last a lot longer then a battery that is discharged by 50%. I have 9 batteries on my solar power system and it has been over two years now and they are doing great.

      One other thing is you should be using a deep cycle battery with an inverter. A car battery is for cranking amps not for deep discharging.

      A car battery has thin lead plates in them which allows the battery to give a large boost of voltage all at once and needs to be charged back up right after the cranking is finished.

      A deep cycle battery has thick plates and is made for slow discharging. It does not make a good cranking battery.

      So chances are you were sold the wrong battery to start with. Or you are discharging them too deep. If you run the batteries all the way down before you recharge them I am suprised they lasted 2 years.

20. QUESTION:
    what is calculation for the Inverter rating to battery Ah using and backup hours?
    Example : I have use 850va inverter @ 150Ah battery for 2*40wa bulb, 2*60wa fan & 1*300wa TV. how many hours i will get backup to use

    • ANSWER:
      How to calculate ups battery backup

      Found out that calculating ups batter back up is not such a big deal as I might have thought in the first place. In order to make everything as clear as I can, I will use a small example. Let us assume the following ideas:

      Inverter efficiency of UPS battery is 90% (the norm is somewhere between 90% and 98%)
      Battery end point voltage 1.67 (usually specified on the UPS itself, or in its manual)
      Environmental temperature 77F
      Assuming that we know the following things about our UPS : one string of batteries, 30 each, UPS rating 40kW and 6 cells per unit, we can break down the calculations in three steps:

      1.) Actual battery load for 40kW

      40kW … 90% efficiency means an actual 44.4kW load

      (you can calculate this by dividing the rating of the UPS by inverter efficiency – 40/0.9 = 44.4kW)

      2.) Watts per Battery

      44.4kw (previously calculated) will be divided by the number of batteries we have available, and the result will lead to 1481 watts per battery.

      (you can calculate this using the equation: 44.4Kw/30 = 1481W)

      3.) Watts per each Cell

      Giving the necessary data we will deduct that each cell needs 247W.

      (calculate this using the equation: 1481W / 6 (the number of cells per unit) = 247 watts per each cell)

      Now we can easily estimate the run-time of your UPS battery back up system. Giving the fact that we know that each batter has about 247W per each cell, and we have a battery end point voltage of 1.67V your run time should be somewhere between 45 minutes and 60 minutes.

21. QUESTION:
    How can we Regulate the Charging of a battery by an Inverter?
    I have an Inverter which continuously goes on charging the battery without any stop to its process of charging even when the battery is fully charged. Can I get any such inverter which automatically stops its charging when the battery is fully charged? what is the mechanism to this type of Process? How can such a system be developed?

    • ANSWER:
      Hi i d ont know if i am misunderstanding or plane ignorant but as far as i know an INVERTER changes DC power to AC power and then the battery will need constant charging as you are using an appliance that requires AC power so by buying aproper battery charger operating from AC power and converting it to DC power will fix your problem cheers

22. QUESTION:
    Can I run a gaming system off a car battery with an inverter connected to it?
    The end of the inverter would be stripped off and wrapped around the end of the car battery. It is a 750 watt with a 1500 watt peak inverter. Would it work and if not what could I do?

    • ANSWER:
      It depends on how much power the gaming system requires. If it needs lass than 750 watts, your inverter should be OK. If it needs more, you need a bigger inverter. You probably can't get 1500 watts out of your inverter for more than a very brief time like one second. You probably can't get more than 750 watts for any useful time. At 750 watts, the battery will be discharged fairly quickly. If you completely discharge an ordinary car battery very many times, it will wear out.

      Does "The end of the inverter would be stripped off and wrapped around the end of the car battery." refer to the method of connecting the inverter to the battery? Inverters that are designed to operate from care batteries usually have a plug that fits into a car's cigarette lighter socket. You can buy a socket for that plug with clips to connect to the battery. They should be available at a lot of places where car accessories are sold. I think Radio Shack may have them.

23. QUESTION:
    I gave my inverter battery to a local electrician to get it fixed?
    But he didnt turn up for last one month. I only know his mobile number, how to get my battery back
    This guy is now not picking the call and switching off the mobile.

    • ANSWER:
      If he doesnt answer ur phone calls, that means that he's an a** !
      Sue him !

      ;]

24. QUESTION:
    I'm thinking of buying a leisure battery, what type of battery & inverter do I need for best performance?
    I will be using the battery to run a lap top and a small light and to recharge batteries for lamps and cameras. Any advice for where to purchase in Liverpool, England or online would be appreciated. Thanks

    • ANSWER:

25. QUESTION:
    Will I be able to get a battery and an inverter that runs for 18 hours or more using a 600w item?
    I want a rechargeable battery and a inverter that will be able to run a 600w item for 18 hours constant or maybe a little more. I don't really care how much it will cost.

    • ANSWER:
      There are certainly battery inverter systems that large or larger. Have you done web search for such systems?

26. QUESTION:
    Can you run an inverter off a battery charger assuming the charger puts out enough amperes for watts?
    Can you run an inverter off a battery charger assuming the charger puts out enough amperes to watts for the inverter, or do you need to have a battery in between. I want to change frequency of the hertz ie 120v 60hz to 230v 50hz. I know you can buy machine that do this but isn't this essentially what it does convert to 12vdc then back again.

    • ANSWER:
      It is best if you have the charger connected to a battery.
      The battery acts like a filter. Battery chargers have a high AC ripple content and is not generally well suited to directly power dc inputs. But if it is across a battery, the battery will take care of the AC ripple and provide a more stable input to the inverter.

27. QUESTION:
    My inverter cuts off do to my battery bank voltage being too high.?
    Q how do I lower my voltage from the batterys to the inverter? This battery bank is being charged by solar panels.
    my solar panels charge at a max of about 16.5 volts and the inverter trips at 15 so I need to reduce it down some how....

    • ANSWER:
      You lower the voltage output from your solar panels to the batteries.

      A solar controller/charger can be set for maximum voltage to be sent to the battery.

      Never run the wires directly from the panel to the battery unless the panel has a built in controller.

      All good solar systems will have a controller set for 14.05 volts maximum input to the batteries.

      I live full time in an RV and I get all my electric from the sun.

      A good controller/charger is the key to all successful solar system no matter how many panels or batteries one has.

      Here is a link to one of the better ones.

      http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/products/details/solar_boost_2000e/

28. QUESTION:
    What should be cut out voltage set in the inverter for a battery(12v,150AH) connected to an inverter?
    What should be the actual cut out voltage set in the trickle card of the inverter so as to fully charge the battery & also maintain the specific gravity to around 12-12.5?

    • ANSWER:
      When batteries are at less than 12 Volts they start to become problematic and critically at 11.5 Volts. I would set it for 12 Volts for cut out and maintain charge at 12.5 Volts.

29. QUESTION:
    can an inverter battery be recharged?
    I have two inverter batteries(servo make) which have given me good service with my sukam chic inverter.Of late its performance is not too good so could someone tell me if I can get it recharged like the car batteries.The electrician is ready to give me Rs 800 per battery so I feel that it could be done.Someone please help me.

    • ANSWER:
      INverters don't have batteries. Possibly you mean a UPS, which includes a battery, charger, and inverter?

      The UPS will automatically recharge the battery as needed. But all batteries wear out, they have only so many charge-discharge cycles in them, and have to be replaced after that. Be sure you replace it with the exact model, as the charger may not correctly charge some other model.

      .

30. QUESTION:
    Can you get an inverter and rechargeable battery that will last at least 18 hours on full charge?
    I want to get an inverter and rechargeable battery but it needs to run for around 18 hours constant until I change the battery.

    • ANSWER:

31. QUESTION:
    How can i hook up the 3000 watt inverter to car battery?
    i got a jumper cable thats hookd up to the inverter and the inverter manual says to take the negative end of inverter connect to negative end of battery and take the positive end of inverter and hook it up to the battery main fuse box. I have a 92 toyota previa. i found where the fuse box is and i dont know where and how to hook the positive end of inverter cable to the positive battery end in main fuse box.

    • ANSWER:
      You have to get a connecting clip that has to be attached at the other end of the jumper. Connect the clip with the help of screw at the terminal of the fuse box (the mains fuse has to be rating of more than your consumption i,e, more than 300 amps). Negative end has to be connected with the chasis (car body) at any suitable point

32. QUESTION:
    If I use 1 set of 12v battery and inverter and charger to charge another 12v battery?
    That is running my home power, will the battery eventually go dead?
    This battery will in turn run another inverter, while being charge, can this work to give me continous pwr?

    • ANSWER:
      I do not understand Your question .....
      and it does not sound good neither.

      sorry to sound rude but,do not play with batteries,if they explode they will kill You.
      I have seen that in a motor home park. ,not a good picture.

33. QUESTION:
    How long will a 12v car battery last using an inverter to power a set of speakers?
    I am planning to go camping but want to bring my speaker with me. I plan to buy an inverter to power them.

    I was wondering how long a 12v car battery will last by using the inverter and speakers. My speakers are 60W.

    Thanks.

    • ANSWER:
      A typical new, fully charged, car battery has about 35 Ah (amp hours) of capacity. You can calculate the rated capacity of your battery by converting the "reserve minutes" number to hours and multiplying by 25.

      Multiplying 35 by 12 gives you 420 watt hours of energy storage. If your speakers actually use 60 watts continuously, that would imply about 7 hours of use. The number would be slightly less once you take into account the inefficiencies associated with the inverter.

      Car batteries aren't intended to be deep cycled in this way and won't last long if you go camping frequently. You may want to get a type intended for deep cycle marine use instead.

      Don

34. QUESTION:
    Is it safe to use a power inverter in a battery bank cupboard?
    i have a battery bank cupboard and i wanted to put the inverter in there but the batterys give off gases and the inverter is electrics is it safe to pu them in there

    • ANSWER:
      Even if the batteries are sealed lead-acid, it will have to be forced-air ventilated or your inverter will cook to death.

35. QUESTION:
    Will an inverter drain the car battery if operated while the engine is running?
    Example.... 1000W inverter, converting 12V car battery to a 120V outlet. As long as I only operate/utilize the inverter while the engine is running, I shouldn't have to worry about running down my battery, correct?

    • ANSWER:
      In most cases, you are correct.
      A 90A alternator at 13 volts puts out almost 1200 watts - as long as you don't have a bunch of other components drawing power (headlamps, wipers, heater blower, etc..) you will have no concern.

36. QUESTION:
    How long it will last; 24V, 100Ah Lead Acid Battery powering 350W load at 220V AC through an inverter.?
    Assume any reasonable efficency for the battery and inverter.

    How about if I make it 12V and 200Ah?

    Please take some time to explain. Thanks in advance

    • ANSWER:
      Lets call he inverter 90% efficient

      that's
      350 watts /0.90 =about 390 watts (counted the waste)

      390 watts will last
      12v*200ah=2400watts a hour
      2400watts/390(used watts)=6.1 hours

      24volt at 100ah would math mathematically last the same.

      24 volt system would be a little more efficient and would require smaller gauge wire. At 30 amps for the 12 volt system this would require a 7 gauge wire. 24 volt sytem would only need a 10gauge.(both could be smaller if they are short runs)

      That is at it's best. It i bet on 5 hours because you couldn't run the battery bone dry the inverter would power it self off before that but that is only a guess.

37. QUESTION:
    can i power a medium size airconditioner from a power inverter using a 12v 96 ah battery and a 1000w inverter
    i want to power my 1000w medium size air conditioner which is in my loungeroom that faces east from a 1000w power inverter using 1 or 2 12v 96ah batterys to save on electricity will this work ok and how long will the batterys last? because i am thinking of buying a solar panel to keep the battery topped up.

    • ANSWER:
      NO.
      Do the math. A medium size AC will be approx 5000 BTU's and draw approximately 10 amps at 120V. That is 1,200 watts of power used not including the start surge current. 12 v battery at 96 AH rating is the equivalent of 12 V x 8 amps over one hr period which equals 96 AH.

      So the inverter may burn out on overload and if not it will not supply proper voltage to AC and the AC may burn out. Either way the answer remains no it will not work nor save electricity

38. QUESTION:
    How long could i power a 50 watt light with a 110v power inverter using a 12v battery rated at 10AH?
    I'm planning on running a medium sized fluorescent tube with a 110v power inverter i have. I want to power the inverter with a 12v battery rated at 10 AH. I'm using 50 watts just to be safe but i think the fixture uses less. could you calculate an estimate of how long i could run the light for? thanks in advance

    • ANSWER:
      watts = amps times volts

      10 amp hours is too small for a car or boat sized lead acid battery. I'm going to assume you mean a 10 amp draw for 20 hours, which is the standard length of time they measure draw on a 12v battery. So that's a 200 amp hour battery.

      We'll do this in 12 volts first and then talk about the inverter loss

      You need 50 watts, which we divide by 12 volts to get 4.2 amps to light up the light. This is within the 10 amp hour rating, so we expect our full 200 total amp hours. Dividing 200 by 4.2 we could get as much as 47 hours from the battery according to that math. But we know the battery will lose voltage as it is discharged, so lets assume we run out of enough voltage at 35 hours. Then apply an 80% efficiency rating for your inverter. If its higher than that, just adjust it here. 35 * .8 = 28

      So, depending on how far you get with the battery before the voltage drops below what the light requires, you could get 28 or more hours on that battery, if my assumption is correct about it's size.

39. QUESTION:
    Can I run a single phase motor off a car battery & inverter?
    I am thinking of buying a 240-volt, 250-watt single-phase motor, which I would like to run off a 300W inverter connected to a car battery. The inverter will produce the necessary voltage but am I likely to have any problems?
    Here is a picture of the information plate on the motor in question. I hope this helps with your answers:
    http://tiny.cc/TA8CJ

    • ANSWER:
      You need to determine if the 250 W motor rating is the electrical input power or the mechanical output power. Motors that are manufactured to international standards have power ratings marked on the nameplate that are the mechanical power that the motor can deliver to a load for continuous operation. Small single phase motors are not very efficient, The input power is likely to be twice the output power.

      An AC motor's current is input watts / (volts X power factor). The full load power factor is likely to be between 0.6 and 0.8.

      The motor will likely require 20 to 25 amps for a second or so during starting. The inverter will not be able to supply that much current even for a fraction of a second unless it is designed for a motor load.

      Re Additional Details
      The motor in question is a three-phase motor. The nameplate marking “Delta/Y 230/400 V” means that the motor is rated for 230 volts for the 3-phase delta connection and 400 V for the 3-ph Y connection. I doubt that you will find an inverter with 12 V DC input and 230 V three phase output.

      You can easily find a variable frequency drive (VFD) inverter that will operate the motor. It should be fairly easy to find a VFD with 230 V single-phase input and 0-230 V, 0 – 50 Hz, three-phase output. You may be able to find a VFD that will accept a 325 V DC input. A VFD will start the motor at a low frequency so that the starting current can be limited to 1.37 to 2.1 amps.

      The 0.25 kW marking on the nameplate is the mechanical power output rating. The rated input current is 1.37 A for the 230 V connection. The input VA rating is 230 X 1.37 X 1.732 = 546 VA. That is the apparent power. The real power is 546 X .75 = 410 watts. The power factor, 0.75, is marked after the Greek letter Phi on the nameplate.

40. QUESTION:
    how to to use a microwave in a truck without using an inverter with trucks battery?
    my husband is a long distance truck driver-his company does not allow the use of inverters that run off his truck's battery-he would like to run his small microwave-would a deep cell battery be good for this if he had one in his truck?

    • ANSWER:
      See http://www.microwavewizard.com/12voltmicrowaveovens.html
      However, make sure his truck has a 12V power tap. I am not sure, but I think diesels run 24 volt, though what is delivered to the cab I am not sure.
      Also, 550W at 12V means at least 45.3 amps, which is a LOT of current, more like a jumper cable than a lamp cord.

41. QUESTION:
    Will a RV solar panel inverter be compatible with breaker panel that has a battery charger?
    We are hooking solar panels up in our RV. However, in order to get the outlets to work, we have to plug our inverter into our breaker panel. The breaker panel has a battery charger and we're afraid of creating a giant "circle" of power that will fry our system.

    Wondering if it's safe to connect the inverter to this panel/battery charger, if we can somehow install a shutoff switch on the charger or if there is some other option we're not seeing?

    • ANSWER:
      Hey Sister, great idea. I'm not sure exactly what you're doing there. We have a home that is powered by the wind and sun, and a small camper with solar as well, but ours might be set up a little different.

      The solar panels you are using do not need an inverter to charge the battery, they should simply hook to the battery bank directly, or by way of a charge controller. If you are also adding an inverter to use the battery power to run your AC outlets, that is a separate problem. Most boats I've come in contact with have a selector switch that selects between the battery charger or the inverter. So when you are on shore power, it stays in the charger position, which allows the battery charger to keep the battery's at float, and does not allow the inverter to power the AC system. Away from shore power, it is selected to the inverter, which allows the batteries to power the inverter, which powers the AC system, and the battery charger is then locked out. This is why most RV and marine inverters today have both the charger and inverter built into one unit, and it switches for you whenever you plug in the shore power cord.

      If you are installing the solar panels yourself, see what the, "short circuit current," rating is on the panels. If it's 3 amps for example, and you're hooking two of them up in parallel, then you can have as much as 6 amps of charge current on a sunny day. Then see if you can find out what the amp hour capacity of your battery bank is. As a rule of thumb, if the maximum charge current of the solar array is less than 2% of the amp hour capacity of the battery, then you don't need a charge controller, the panels will never over charge the battery. All you need then is a diode between the panels and battery. A diode is an electrical check valve, allowing the panel to charge the battery, but not allowing the battery to feed back into the panel at night. There's a good book on charging batteries at the library, and a magazine you might consider looking into. I will list them below. Good luck, and take care...Rudydoo

42. QUESTION:
    How much watts of current an inverter takes to charge its battery to run an electric appliance.?
    How much current an inverter consumes to charge the battery to run a 100W home appliance for one hour. I would like to know is it economical to use inverters instead of electricity supplied by government, at peak times. To be precise, if an inverter works for 500 w equipments conteneously for 8 hours, the total output is 4 KW, whether the current required to charge the battery will be 4kw or more?

    • ANSWER:
      This is a 4 part question.

      Your Batteries:
      The german scientist Peukert had the same question. So he came up with an answer, and now we use this set of equations to determine the efficiency of batteries on the market today. Your common flooded battery is 40-60% efficient at high amperage rates. An AGM flooded lead acid battery is 80-90% efficient. Use this link to understand the equations, and the math involved.
      http://www.bdbatteries.com/peukert.php

      Your inverter:
      If the DC-AC inverter is a pure sine wave inverter, is probably 90% - 95% efficient. These are usually grid tie inverters, starting in the Thousands of dollar range. If the DC-AC inverter is a modified sine wave inverter, it is only 60% - 85% efficient, but available at places like Wal Mart.

      Your Charger:
      A battery charger reloads the power into the battery, or power tank for the inverter to use. The chargers today are usually 80-95% efficient again. As a battery approaches fully charged state, the efficiency drastically reduces.

      Then we multply it all:
      Charger x Battery x Inverter = total efficiency
      Assuming AGM batteries, grid inverter, and a good charger.
      90% x 90% x 90% = 73%
      To push 8KW through a 73% efficient system, you need 127% of the power.
      4KWH x 1.27 = 5.08KWH

      Conclusion, Batteries are the only electrical device that can actually store power.
      They are not as efficient as using the power directly from the generator or panel.
      However batteries can store and clean that power. Flipping power from AC to DC (battery Charging), storing the power (in the battery), and then converting power back from DC to AC (in the inverter) is a series of 3 steps. Each step has loss involved.

      This loss is reasonable if it serves a purpose. For instance this process insulates sensitive electronics like computers, scientific instruments, LCD Big screen televisions, and stereos from the inconsistencies in the power grid. By switching AC to DC you remove all spikes, sags, transients, and lags. When the inverter pushes the computer from the DC power, it is a perfect power source. For lag, sag, spike, and transient information click on this link.
      http://www.bdbatteries.com/lagsagspike.php

      You have a battery backup for your laptop onboard. The battery backup for your desktop is in a little black box under your desk for the same reason.

      Another reasonable place for loss, applications where power can not go down. For instance, in a hospital or records room, the batteries allow the load to be powered when the power goes out. The batteries must have sufficient capacity to drive the load for an hour or so. This time frame is long enough for maintenance to turn on the generators and switch over. The generators power the load, and recharge the batteries for the ensuing switch back to grid power.

43. QUESTION:
    Can i use a power inverter to charge a12 volt battery while using it?
    I have a party barge with a boat motor that doesn't have a generator. Can I hook up a power inverter to charge the 12 volt battery via a battery charger at the same time I am using the inverter for 110 volt usage? Would the 100 amp inverter use more power to run the charger, than the charger would be able to charge the battery?

    • ANSWER:
      The answer to your actual question is NO!
      That would constitute perputal motion, which everyone should know is impossible. If you could charge a battery from its self, we would not need generators/alternators at all.

44. QUESTION:
    For a 850kw inverter, what is the optimum capacity of battery to be used?
    One technician said that for 850kw inverter 150amp battery should be used and NOT 130AMP.

    • ANSWER:
      Are you sure of that 850 kW ? at 12 volts, that is 71 000 amps. plus losses

      you will need several thousand batteries. Actually, at that power level, 12 volts is not workable, you would need a much higher voltage system, to keep the current down to a manageable number. At 192 volts, 16 batteries in series, that is still 4000 amps.

      PS, batteries are rated in amp-hours, not amps.

      .

45. QUESTION:
    How do you hook up a poer inverter directly to the car battery and drive at the same time?
    The only way an xbox 360 can be played in a car is if the power inverter is hooked up directly to the battery using the clamps (red and black). As far as I knew, i thought you could only do this by lifting up the hood, but I'm no mechanic. Anyway, me and my brother want to be able to play the 360 in the backseat of the car while my dad drives. Any suggestions?

    • ANSWER:
      dude why are you hooking this up directly to the battery?

      if you really want to hook this thing up (use a fuse first of all), and just wire it to the accessory wire at the ignition if you really want to use some larger power, but that is un needed really

      just go behind a cigarette lighter, solder on the connections and run your inverter wire from there (cut the inverter chord open right, dont just plug it into the plug, run it behind the dash)

46. QUESTION:
    Will a power inverter run down my car battery?
    I'm going on a small trip tomorrow and I'd like to be able to play movies on my laptop for the kids. I have a power inverter, but I'm afraid of my battery dying in the middle of nowhere. Is the inverter safe for me to use with my laptop?

    • ANSWER:
      Ignore the previous poster. The answer is yes, it will run down your battery, BUT it's not as bad as you think, because:

      1. If your inverter is a cheap one from china or hong kong like mine is, it will automatically cut off once it reaches 10V (it's a built-in safety feature actually). At 10V a car battery is half-dead (it shortens the life of the battery), but will still have more than enough power to start the car. More expensive inverters will probably have the same cutoff but I've never used one so I can't be 100% sure The instruction book should tell you though

      2. It takes a while to run down a car battery with a laptop. Unless you have a DC clamp meter, you won't be able to calculate exactly HOW long it would take, but here's how it is in my case (to give you an idea):

      My laptop is a large and power hungry gaming laptop. Using my clamp meter, I measured 5 Amps flowing into the inverter when the laptop was playing a DVD (with the screen on normal brightness). Your laptop likely consumes less than this. Now, my car battery is a pretty small one (since my car has a 1.4 litre petrol engine) - it's got a capacity of 43Ah (that's Amp-hours). Remember what I said about car batteries being damaged if you discharge them too much? Well, a safe level of discharge is 20%. So in my case, I can discharge 20% of 43Ah, which equals (20/100)*43 = 8.6Ah

      8.6 Ah of charge will power a 5 Amp load for... 8.6 / 5 = 1.72 hours (or 1 hour and 43 minutes). Your car battery is probably bigger than mine. So you can safely run the laptop for over 1 hour 45 minutes without damaging your battery at all.

      3. You might have a voltmeter. In that case, measure the battery voltage periodically and power off when it falls to between 11.8 and 12V (your car battery would initially at about 12.6 to 13.3V before you power on the inverter if it's anything like my car battery)

      4. Last but not least, you can always start the engine and let the alternator power the inverter (that gives you unlimited power for as long as you have fuel in the tank .

      So you could start by recharging the laptop's battery and using that until it runs out. Then take out the laptop battery (so that you don't waste electricity recharging it) and use the inverter for 2 hours. Then put the laptop battery back in the laptop, and start the car and leave it running until the laptop battery has reached 80% charge (because after this point the laptop battery starts recharging very slowly but the car engine is still burning fuel at the same rate, so you'll be wasting fuel for nothing after this point).

47. QUESTION:
    is it ok to charge your car battery with inverter at home?
    will there be any problem doing so?

    • ANSWER:
      Sure. No problem at all. Only remember that it will charge very fast, so you may only have to do it a couple of hours at the most, unlike charging shops where they put on a slow charge for about 12-16 hours.

48. QUESTION:
    I have a Usha Zentra home inverter and my original battery has given me good service, time to replace battery?
    ( 12v input) ,( 750 - 800 volts ), Home use, good for 6 fans, Old battery Exide 150APH.
    Is solar chargeable battery available from reputed brands for this type of inverters, who are they...?, is is good to go for solar type battery, please advise.

    • ANSWER:
      That's 750 - 800 watts, of course...

      I'd say, if the old battery gave good service, get the same kind again. I'm not sure what is meant when a battery is advertised as "solar" - maybe that just means deep cycle.

49. QUESTION:
    For an indoor inverter which type of battery I should select? to avoid stain & fumes?
    For an indoor inverter which type of battery I should select? Flour is vitrified tile, I want to avoid lead fumes and flour staining. Is tubular battery has this problem? Will inverter trolley avoid this problem?

    • ANSWER:

50. QUESTION:
    is it possible to hook a battery charger directly to an inverter?
    when i have 110 power that will be hooked to a battery charger then it will be hooked directly to an inverter to increase my amps a charger uses about 20 amps to run say you have a 10000 wt inverter it will put out 87 amps at 110.Why cant the power be stepped up with an inverter?. is this impossible?

    • ANSWER: