Hi All,

I would like to get your opinion on different inverter and Lithium batteries brands, models and their capabilities.

At the moment, I'm looking for something that can keep my essentials up and running. (Fridge, internet, sleep apnea machine, lights) and realize that i could get away with a simple trolley system that could do that, but, in future, I would like to be mostly off-grid, so now I would be looking at a bigger inverter, most probably a 5kw that could be added on to and lithium batteries to go with it. 

I've seen quite a few different brands and possibilities available but now its becoming more difficult. In the 5 kw bracket there are so much possibilities that its difficult to make a decision.

From the different forums and chats, I can see that cheap can be expensive in the long run. The inverter that I was looking at now is the Luxpower SNA5000 WPV 5KW 48V. It looks like a decent inverter and has 2 MPPT's which is decent as well.

Please let me know about your experiences with this inverter, or maybe reasons not to go for this one. 

Also, in regards to the batteries, could you add different size batteries in parallel of the same brand or do they need to be the same? (could start off with a smaller Kwh size and later add a bigger to the mix?)

I appreciate all the help already. 

All dependent on your budget.

Your thinking is spot on in terms of getting an Inverter that can handle the future expansion.
My single Growatt has served me well and I am offgrid.
My neighbour got the SNA 5000. He actually expanded it with a second SNA 5000 and has had zero issues so far. So from that perspective it's an "affordable" Inverter that provides what it promises.
The dual MPPT is something I wish I had on my Inverter, but with a 22A MPPT on mine, it provides me with my needs for now.
There are many fair to good 5kW Inverters available. Your guarantee and local support are important too. Rather get an Inverter brand that has local support and repair if ever needed. Kodak, Luxpower, Growatt and I am sure there other models too.
You can of course spend the extra and get the higher graded Inverters like Sunsynk, Deye etc. 
Ideally you would want to stick to the same capacity when using Lithium batteries but if you stick to the same brand and chemistry like i.e. Pylontch then different capacities can be used. 
 

I have been using 2x5kw Mercer inverters since 2018 and I have never had issues (touch wood!!!) but I get the feeling that in the main all inverters are generally good but what matters most is the installer. Some bad installers can messy a very good inverter (it could be wrong sizing, pairing with a wrong battery etc). Just like the other member, if I had to install today I would probably go with an inverter that has multiple MPPTs.

I installed five 455w JA solar panels, 5kw LuxPower inverter and 5 Kw GreenRich battery as suggested by Steve. The installer is from Wartburg in KZN. Just had a little bit of trouble getting the battery to talk to the inverter. However once we had the right cable everything fell into place. The system is working well. Have moved the geyser and stove to Escom otherwise everything else works from the panels and battery. We seem to have hit the right combination as we have not had to change anything. Fridges are running off the system as well as airfryer, microwave, kettle, iron, pressure cooker, TV and lights. Don't even know when there is an outage. The bonus is I saved R300 on my electricity bill last month even though we had a lot of rainy days.

Heinz

How important is the sleep apnea machine? Just normal essential, or life-critical? Just asking because I've seen manufacturer warnings that they do not accept liability if the inverter is used for critical medical machines. Just putting the consideration out there to not skimp on quality and reliability in the inverter, or to build in redundancy through using two parallel inverters, sufficient battery capacity, or a generator as backup. Sorry if this is somewhat stating the obvious.

On a budget it's hard to beat the Axpert type inverters (branded Kodak, mercer or whatever other flavour)

They're pure sine wave and I've been running a whole host of sensitive pc equipment off mine for over a year now, including a Cpap machine, no issues

On 2023/01/09 at 4:31 PM, GreenFields said:

How important is the sleep apnea machine? Just normal essential, or life-critical? Just asking because I've seen manufacturer warnings that they do not accept liability if the inverter is used for critical medical machines. Just putting the consideration out there to not skimp on quality and reliability in the inverter, or to build in redundancy through using two parallel inverters, sufficient battery capacity, or a generator as backup. Sorry if this is somewhat stating the obvious.

I won't say that for me it's completely life critical. Problem is, that sleeping without the mask is of a lot less quality, and, I seem to get quite rumbly so to speak to the people around me, which is not what I want.

Also, since I seem to be cutting down the rain Forrest, I'm sleeping in seperate rooms from my wife so she can also have sleep. Which is not great either.

On 2023/01/09 at 8:10 PM, madness_za said:

On a budget it's hard to beat the Axpert type inverters (branded Kodak, mercer or whatever other flavour)

They're pure sine wave and I've been running a whole host of sensitive pc equipment off mine for over a year now, including a Cpap machine, no issues

The budget is important, but as I said, sometimes it's better to save up a bit more and get what you need straight away. I think the fact that the luxpower had a double mppt is quite a decent bonus I would guess?

Also, at the moment we are living in the east rand but our hope is to move to the coast this year. We're thinking of PE. Since PE is known as the windy city, could I possibly use one of the mppt for a wind turbine?

 

6 hours ago, Benjeepnut said:

I won't say that for me it's completely life critical. Problem is, that sleeping without the mask is of a lot less quality, and, I seem to get quite rumbly so to speak to the people around me, which is not what I want.

Also, since I seem to be cutting down the rain Forrest, I'm sleeping in seperate rooms from my wife so she can also have sleep. Which is not great either.

I think the point that @GreenFieldswas making is that many trolley inverters produce an output that is a bit dirty, and this causes problems for some types of equipment. So will your sleep apnea machine run correctly? Will the warranty be voided? Going with the Luxpower you will be alright as the output is much more like the pure AC signal all your equipment is designed to work with. 

Another issue now arises with your intended relocation. The luxpower will need to be mounted on a wall, and will need some kind of wiring. So you'd have to get the install done, then remove the equipment, patch the walls, undo the wiring changes. 

You say you want to back up lighting in the house. If this is the lighting fixtures on wall/ceiling then even with a trolley system you'll need to have the DB modified, and the modification undone when you move. 

But we've gone to stage 6 in the evenings, so needs must, and you could get a trolley up and running fairly quickly, if you're prepared to have extension leads lying around your home. But remember the caution from Greenfields and try to find out about the sleep apnea machine and if it will run OK. 

 

 

6 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

I think the point that @GreenFieldswas making is that many trolley inverters produce an output that is a bit dirty, and this causes problems for some types of equipment. So will your sleep apnea machine run correctly? Will the warranty be voided? Going with the Luxpower you will be alright as the output is much more like the pure AC signal all your equipment is designed to work with. 

Hi @Bobster., I was actually referring to something like below, which is under Microcare's warranty exclusion even for their pure sine-wave bi-directional inverters when it comes to patient care. I haven't seen it with any other inverters, but I think the point should be the same, if you've got medical devices, be sure to assess the performance, risk and impact of a failure.

1 hour ago, GreenFields said:

Hi @Bobster., I was actually referring to something like below, which is under Microcare's warranty exclusion even for their pure sine-wave bi-directional inverters when it comes to patient care. I haven't seen it with any other inverters, but I think the point should be the same, if you've got medical devices, be sure to assess the performance, risk and impact of a failure.

Well I got that one resoundingly wrong. Apologies to all.

7 hours ago, Benjeepnut said:

The budget is important, but as I said, sometimes it's better to save up a bit more and get what you need straight away. I think the fact that the luxpower had a double mppt is quite a decent bonus I would guess?

Also, at the moment we are living in the east rand but our hope is to move to the coast this year. We're thinking of PE. Since PE is known as the windy city, could I possibly use one of the mppt for a wind turbine?

 

I've yet to see a wind turbine in use

8 hours ago, Benjeepnut said:

Also, at the moment we are living in the east rand but our hope is to move to the coast this year. We're thinking of PE. Since PE is known as the windy city, could I possibly use one of the mppt for a wind turbine?

You CAN. Whether or not your neighbours will be appreciative is another matter. And wind power doesn't work the way we think it does.

See