Good day. Any advise on this Fivestar Inverter please (Fivestar Hybrid Inverter 1.2 KVA 1000 Watt 12V-Pure Sinewave R3250). Been told the name should be changed to Firestart!! Can anyone confirm if its a danger or just an isolated case. Very good price though

Chinese Clone of Axpert and/or other makes. From what I've heard, very shitty clone and would avoid

On 2023/02/27 at 10:46 AM, Gary Smith said:

Good day. Any advise on this Fivestar Inverter please (Fivestar Hybrid Inverter 1.2 KVA 1000 Watt 12V-Pure Sinewave R3250). Been told the name should be changed to Firestart!! Can anyone confirm if its a danger or just an isolated case. Very good price though

I purchased that exact same model a month ago and so far I am very happy with it. Build quality is very good and it does exactly what I want it to do. The load I have on it is never over 400watt and mostly around 300watt.

The downside is that there seems to be zero backup from Fivestar SA themselevs, they just never get back to you, and there is no load reading on the LCD panel. I purchased a digital watt meter from Geewiz and that works perfectly. The retailer did answer any queries I had.

Like any inverter it needs to be installed in a well ventilated room otherwise it is going to overheat and you could have an issue.

If I had spare R150k sitting in a cupboard I would be paying an expert to install a soalr unit, but I dont, so this will have to do for this pensioner now 😄

Edited March 3, 20233 yr by ABDurbs

7 hours ago, ABDurbs said:

I purchased that exact same model a month ago and so far I am very happy with it. Build quality is very good and it does exactly what I want it to do. The load I have on it is never over 400watt and mostly around 300watt.

The downside is that there seems to be zero backup from Fivestar SA themselevs, they just never get back to you, and there is no load reading on the LCD panel. I purchased a digital watt meter from Geewiz and that works perfectly. The retailer did answer any queries I had.

Like any inverter it needs to be installed in a well ventilated room otherwise it is going to overheat and you could have an issue.

If I had spare R150k sitting in a cupboard I would be paying an expert to install a soalr unit, but I dont, so this will have to do for this pensioner now 😄

Great, and I hope it serves you well.👍 

As far as support is concerned, stay connected on this forum. This inverter, albeit clone, is a derivative of the Voltronic design, and as such you may find people here knowing, willing and able to help. 

@Gary Smith Mercedes drivers will always look down on Hyundai / VW drivers....

At R 3250 I presume you refer to the Takealot price.  Note that their price went up, now R 3700.  Judging by the pictures, this is an older model.  The one @ABDurbs shows in his picture seems to be the current model.  The new model is advertised for R3900 (Takealot).  I have no idea what the difference between these models is.  From Takealot comments, it seems that the older model might not have a communication port.

I have no personal experience of these, but saw that Fivestar makes many models right up to 8.5 and even 10KVA units.  If someone builds motorbikes, then I would trust them to be able to build a scooter as well.

My recommendation for anyone that is not a Mercedes driver, would be to try and run their inverters at a nominal power of 50% of rating.  @ABDurbs has the right idea.  In other words, don't buy this 1KW inverter and hook it up to your microwave to see what it can do.  Chances are, it will run the microwave, but you might have a pre-mature death within a few weeks or months.

I would take my chance with a Fivestar Axpert clone before I would spend similar money on these Mecer 720W/1200VA inverters.  Main reason is that the Fivestar is a proper Sinewave inverter and the (non-Axpert) Mecer is not.  The Fivestar also has the PWM solar charger, if ever you would want to connect panels.

I am very negative about future battery prices.  Lithium is in short supply.  However, inverters I would expect to come down in price.  Why?  E-cars.  Even the smallest of vehicles has a 60KW power-plant and most are at least 120KW.  The mass adoption should drive power electronics down.  I also think the inverter tech will move substantially over the next few years.  Industry has a habit to bring out advancements that makes the old obsolete.  For most of us, Eskom has forced our hand into this tech and we need to go through a learning-curve.  I think it is foolish to get your driver-license with a shiny new Merc.  Yes, a cheap Axpert inverter might pack up.  You will likely have paid LESS for it than the repair costs for guys with a Merc, in the event of them having a breakdown.

The SA market for solar systems is currently terrible.  The shortage causes everyone that has stock to inflate prices.  In a certain sense, all Axpert inverters are clones.  Is it worth to pay double for a Kodak or RCT?  I think if you are a fine-tuner, and want to pull daily stats, etc. then the cheap clones might disappoint due to (likely) software/firmware limitations.  The better names might have a bit more meaty MOSFETS and other high power components and thus be more capable to run for extended periods at their  design ratings.  Keep the load well below the specified rating and chances are you will get by just fine.

On 2023/03/03 at 10:49 PM, Modina said:

@Gary Smith Mercedes drivers will always look down on Hyundai / VW drivers....

At R 3250 I presume you refer to the Takealot price.  Note that their price went up, now R 3700.  Judging by the pictures, this is an older model.  The one @ABDurbs shows in his picture seems to be the current model.  The new model is advertised for R3900 (Takealot).  I have no idea what the difference between these models is.  From Takealot comments, it seems that the older model might not have a communication port.

The model i have recently purcahse also does not have a communications port.

The model I have recently purcahsed also does not have a communications port, which does not bother me for my system.

Edited March 7, 20233 yr by ABDurbs

Is there a cellphone app for the fivestar 3.5 to monitor?

My friend recently booked in an inverter for repair and he was amazed by not the amount of "Clone" inverters lying in waiting for repairs to be done, but the well known brands.

Yes, they might be clones and yes they might not be top of the range.

I see it the same as Kia. When Kian came to being many moons ago they were seen as a lesser car, a lesser brand and a cheap option, better beware ... now?

In the end almost all components of electronics comes from the same place, if you open up two different brands, don't be surprised if in some cases the product is exactly the same within a different housing. AKA Lexus and Toyota.

Would be more interesting to hear on the forum from members having Fivestar products and having issues: Anyone?

On 2023/04/14 at 6:11 PM, JohanPotgieter said:

Is there a cellphone app for the fivestar 3.5 to monitor?

SmartESS?

On 2023/03/03 at 10:49 PM, Modina said:

@Gary Smith Mercedes drivers will always look down on Hyundai / VW drivers....

At R 3250 I presume you refer to the Takealot price.  Note that their price went up, now R 3700.  Judging by the pictures, this is an older model.  The one @ABDurbs shows in his picture seems to be the current model.  The new model is advertised for R3900 (Takealot).  I have no idea what the difference between these models is.  From Takealot comments, it seems that the older model might not have a communication port.

I have no personal experience of these, but saw that Fivestar makes many models right up to 8.5 and even 10KVA units.  If someone builds motorbikes, then I would trust them to be able to build a scooter as well.

My recommendation for anyone that is not a Mercedes driver, would be to try and run their inverters at a nominal power of 50% of rating.  @ABDurbs has the right idea.  In other words, don't buy this 1KW inverter and hook it up to your microwave to see what it can do.  Chances are, it will run the microwave, but you might have a pre-mature death within a few weeks or months.

I would take my chance with a Fivestar Axpert clone before I would spend similar money on these Mecer 720W/1200VA inverters.  Main reason is that the Fivestar is a proper Sinewave inverter and the (non-Axpert) Mecer is not.  The Fivestar also has the PWM solar charger, if ever you would want to connect panels.

I am very negative about future battery prices.  Lithium is in short supply.  However, inverters I would expect to come down in price.  Why?  E-cars.  Even the smallest of vehicles has a 60KW power-plant and most are at least 120KW.  The mass adoption should drive power electronics down.  I also think the inverter tech will move substantially over the next few years.  Industry has a habit to bring out advancements that makes the old obsolete.  For most of us, Eskom has forced our hand into this tech and we need to go through a learning-curve.  I think it is foolish to get your driver-license with a shiny new Merc.  Yes, a cheap Axpert inverter might pack up.  You will likely have paid LESS for it than the repair costs for guys with a Merc, in the event of them having a breakdown.

The SA market for solar systems is currently terrible.  The shortage causes everyone that has stock to inflate prices.  In a certain sense, all Axpert inverters are clones.  Is it worth to pay double for a Kodak or RCT?  I think if you are a fine-tuner, and want to pull daily stats, etc. then the cheap clones might disappoint due to (likely) software/firmware limitations.  The better names might have a bit more meaty MOSFETS and other high power components and thus be more capable to run for extended periods at their  design ratings.  Keep the load well below the specified rating and chances are you will get by just fine.

 @Modina would be to try and run their inverters at a nominal power of 50% of rating.

That's why I decided on two 5 KVA inverters in parallel, firstly to make sure I will never draw more than 50% of its design capacity and secondly, I will have redundancy in case one fails.  

On 2023/02/27 at 6:22 PM, madness_za said:

Chinese Clone of Axpert and/or other makes. From what I've heard, very shitty clone and would avoid

Aren't both Voltronic and Fivestar both Chinese? So then, just a copy/clone.

14 minutes ago, Antonio de Sa said:

 @Modina would be to try and run their inverters at a nominal power of 50% of rating.

That's why I decided on two 5 KVA inverters in parallel, firstly to make sure I will never draw more than 50% of its design capacity and secondly, I will have redundancy in case one fails.  

Got my mother a 3.5kw inverter system to run nominal of 170wh. Cause if it idles, it just lasts longer.

 

Redundancy is awesome to have.

One day ...

47 minutes ago, Eurard said:

Aren't both Voltronic and Fivestar both Chinese? So then, just a copy/clone.

Voltronic is the OEM, Fivestar and a few others are just shitty clones. The Mecer/RCT/Kodak are legit rebrands

1 hour ago, madness_za said:

Voltronic is the OEM, Fivestar and a few others are just shitty clones. The Mecer/RCT/Kodak are legit rebrands

Yup, I agree, but you mentioned Chinese. I dont know what is meant with Chinese Clone, is there a Japananese Clone, German Clone, etc, the fact of the use of Chinese assumes that it directly implies poor quality, which is not true, since the Voltronic is also chinese. Just pulling your leg a bit. 😉

Edited April 20, 20233 yr by Eurard

2 hours ago, Eurard said:

Would be more interesting to hear on the forum from members having Fivestar products and having issues: Anyone?

I don’t have any issues because I don’t use Fivestar 😀

21 hours ago, PowerUser said:

I don’t have any issues because I don’t use Fivestar 😀

Would like to specifically hear from people that do use the product, as I can similar to you say:

I don't have any issues because I don't use Victron. 😉

1 minute ago, Eurard said:

Would like to specifically hear from people that do use the product, as I can similar to you say:

I don't have any issues because I don't use Victron. 😉

There:

The LCD screen doesn't work!

49 minutes ago, PowerUser said:

There:

The LCD screen doesn't work!

Grabbing at straws.

 

Edited April 21, 20233 yr by Eurard

19 hours ago, PowerUser said:

There:

The LCD screen doesn't work!

 

On 2023/03/03 at 12:48 PM, ABDurbs said:

I purchased that exact same model a month ago and so far I am very happy with it. Build quality is very good and it does exactly what I want it to do. The load I have on it is never over 400watt and mostly around 300watt.

The downside is that there seems to be zero backup from Fivestar SA themselevs, they just never get back to you, and there is no load reading on the LCD panel. I purchased a digital watt meter from Geewiz and that works perfectly. The retailer did answer any queries I had.

Like any inverter it needs to be installed in a well ventilated room otherwise it is going to overheat and you could have an issue.

If I had spare R150k sitting in a cupboard I would be paying an expert to install a soalr unit, but I dont, so this will have to do for this pensioner now 😄

Morning thanks for the feedback. Do you possibly have the L x W x H dimensions of the inverter itself please. I can't seem to google the user manual or dimensions anywhere. TIA

Edited May 4, 20233 yr by DenBeech

2 hours ago, DenBeech said:

Morning thanks for the feedback. Do you possibly have the L x W x H dimensions of the inverter itself please. I can't seem to google the user manual or dimensions anywhere. TIA

Morning

33 x 25.5 x 10.5 cm

 

Good day,

 

I purchased the 2kw fivestar inverter, the clamps however where I need to connect the cables running from the bettery however are very tight or I am missing something.

 

I can't seem to get them open any advise would appreciated.

20 hours ago, julius said:

the clamps however where I need to connect the cables running from the bettery however are very tight or I am missing something.

Perhaps a photo would help.

Hi Gary

I'm an electrician and installer. As one of the respondents has said, it is an Axpert ckone/derivitive. It is not a bad inverter by any means tho it is not my first choice as a supplier and installer. 

 

Hi All,

I too am having issues with a "Fivestar" inverter I've bought  -did it online & the price was right so I knew I was taking a chance.

Firstly & worstly is that the 'service' is non-existent.  After repeated calls to the vendor all I am told is that their workshop will attend to the

unit if I bring it to them for inspection.  They're in Johannesburg, I'm in the FS.

The fault is a very minor one which should easily be treatable over the phone, but, let's get on with it....

1.   Unit is 10kVA, 1ph.  It is not expected to regenerate as grid-tie.

2.   PV panels are 6off arranged 3S2P.  Inverter spec allows Voc <= 200v.  The panels provide Voc of <! 155V (measured and expected).

3.   Almost always at first light in the morning the unit sees the PV voltage and is obviously trying to home in on a MPPT current draw.

      it does this while the panels are diffusely lit.

4.   Once the sun gets going there is a region of shadow on the panels due to building structures, which diminishes to zero by 10AM (early July).

      During this shaded period the unit goes to an alarm state and refuses to draw any PV current, although the Voc is shown as 140-150V

      or so.

      Repeated efforts to reset the machine keep returning me to the Alarm, it is shown as   ALA  33.

      ALA   33   is not given in the 'user manual'     ...of course.

5.    Once all shading is gone the PV  MPPT can be reset by open circuiting the panels for +/- 20seconds then closing the isolator again.

       It's a guarantee the whole machine springs to life, draws 40 or 50Amp  at 140V+.

       It will continue flawlessly till sundown.

6.    Next morning I have to repeat the process to get anything from the PV.

 

Is there anyone out there in PowerForumLand who can advise me?

 

bestos,   John