Please help see if this is good inverter - Flin Energy
Nila
Solar Expert Posts: 173 ✭✭
HI All
I am a long term member of this forum but only visiting occasionally for help
I used to have an off grid setup which failed spectacularly in my old house due to my own non-monitoring laziness and using cheap inverters like su-kaam/luminous 250$ for a 3.5KW pure sine wave whose inbuilt charger was reading 1.5v lower and hence overcharging batteries & not so great batteries (nontubular / c5) and I learned a lot however in the process and I am hoping to not make the same mistakes twice.
I actually sold all my old panels/inverter and batteries for scrap/cheap price and now looking to start fresh and do less mistakes this time.
In India there is not a lot of choices when it comes to Inverter/MPPT chargers , the big brands like Xantrex will be insanely expensive due to them being imported (duties //shipping ) causing them to be priced 200x of USA costs.
My essential mostly resistive loads ( only fans/lights & mobile chargers alone will be 1000w total but in reality only 500 being used during power cuts ).
my optional loads like computers/ refrigerator would be another 800w which I MAY NOT really use solar power for but would be nice to keep them in the inverter so they are safe in case of voltage spikes and I get time to turn them off.
I am trying to get an inverter/batteries twice the actual need to be sure I never ever need to worry about using more than 50% of any of those.
Thanks to BB & other great guys in this forum I actually know how to size the loads and the basics of PWM/MPPT,
Today I am going to need some advice on picking the right inverter., I stumbled upon these on Amazon India site and they seem to have good reviews .
I am very very skeptical however before buying one of these because they are insanely cheap for what it does,
Do you think these ( probably chinese products with an indian label) can handle atleast 60% of their rated specs? can they pack an inverter/charger and MPPT and even grid tie circuit for this cost?
Looks to me the system's cost will be like 1/4th of the setup if I go with all amercian or internationally recoginized brands,
Please help see if you can find something obviously wrong or see if I setup a 5Kva inverter and use only like 1500-1800watts I should be fine
Offgrid with direct solar inverter:
http://www.amazon.in/FlinSlim-MPPT-Solar-Hybrid-Inverter/dp/B00QP46BEO/ref=sr_1_cc_7?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1493043629&sr=1-7-catcorr&keywords=flin+energy
Approx : 1100 USD
OnGrid / Hybrid:
http://www.amazon.in/FlinInfini-5kW-48V-Smart-Hybrid-Inverter/dp/B01MUNQJ3D/ref=pd_sbs_86_1?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=164VAR8K6TCH2W7YTHJ5&th=1
Approx 1500 USD
I did not consult with my local power agency to ask if they allow the feed back to grid but mostly sure they do.
I am a long term member of this forum but only visiting occasionally for help
I used to have an off grid setup which failed spectacularly in my old house due to my own non-monitoring laziness and using cheap inverters like su-kaam/luminous 250$ for a 3.5KW pure sine wave whose inbuilt charger was reading 1.5v lower and hence overcharging batteries & not so great batteries (nontubular / c5) and I learned a lot however in the process and I am hoping to not make the same mistakes twice.
I actually sold all my old panels/inverter and batteries for scrap/cheap price and now looking to start fresh and do less mistakes this time.
In India there is not a lot of choices when it comes to Inverter/MPPT chargers , the big brands like Xantrex will be insanely expensive due to them being imported (duties //shipping ) causing them to be priced 200x of USA costs.
My essential mostly resistive loads ( only fans/lights & mobile chargers alone will be 1000w total but in reality only 500 being used during power cuts ).
my optional loads like computers/ refrigerator would be another 800w which I MAY NOT really use solar power for but would be nice to keep them in the inverter so they are safe in case of voltage spikes and I get time to turn them off.
I am trying to get an inverter/batteries twice the actual need to be sure I never ever need to worry about using more than 50% of any of those.
Thanks to BB & other great guys in this forum I actually know how to size the loads and the basics of PWM/MPPT,
Today I am going to need some advice on picking the right inverter., I stumbled upon these on Amazon India site and they seem to have good reviews .
I am very very skeptical however before buying one of these because they are insanely cheap for what it does,
Do you think these ( probably chinese products with an indian label) can handle atleast 60% of their rated specs? can they pack an inverter/charger and MPPT and even grid tie circuit for this cost?
Looks to me the system's cost will be like 1/4th of the setup if I go with all amercian or internationally recoginized brands,
Please help see if you can find something obviously wrong or see if I setup a 5Kva inverter and use only like 1500-1800watts I should be fine
Offgrid with direct solar inverter:
http://www.amazon.in/FlinSlim-MPPT-Solar-Hybrid-Inverter/dp/B00QP46BEO/ref=sr_1_cc_7?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1493043629&sr=1-7-catcorr&keywords=flin+energy
Approx : 1100 USD
OnGrid / Hybrid:
http://www.amazon.in/FlinInfini-5kW-48V-Smart-Hybrid-Inverter/dp/B01MUNQJ3D/ref=pd_sbs_86_1?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=164VAR8K6TCH2W7YTHJ5&th=1
Approx 1500 USD
I did not consult with my local power agency to ask if they allow the feed back to grid but mostly sure they do.
Comments
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Looks like it is same as the Chinese version here : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-5kVA-4KW-48V-off-Grid-Solar-Inverter-with-50A-PWM-Solar-Controller-60A-AC-Charger/32659814364.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.1.yGzprT&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10136_10137_10060_10138_10155_10062_10156_10154_10056_10055_10054_10059_10099_10103_10102_10096_10148_10147_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10178_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_10181_10078_10079_10073_10070_10123_10124,searchweb201603_1,ppcSwitch_3&btsid=4fe63bd5-2842-4277-9aae-eea29387185c&algo_expid=a9c62763-2e4e-4808-a17d-e850649a425a-0&algo_pvid=a9c62763-2e4e-4808-a17d-e850649a425a
and it is ONLY 430 USD there, more skeptical now lol -
I don't know anything about these inverters, but a few comments:
- 12kg for a 3400w inverter seems light. My roughly similar sized outback probably weighs about double that with no charge controller. I have to wonder why.
- using an oversized inverter can be inefficient, but that may not be a big factor if using it mainly for grid failure.
- part of the reason gear in Europe/NA is expensive is they're certified by independent testing labs. May not be a factor there, but it would be a problem for insurance here, and likely wouldn't be allowed to grid-tie.
- A lot of this gear and components are made in China etc anyway, so I wouldn't necessarily rule anything out just because it's made there. I would want to satify myself that it had good local support for warranty etc though.
- I tend not to put a lot of stock in positive reviews on vendor websites (NAWS excepted, of course). I focus on the negative ones, if any.Off-grid.
Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter -
Buy Outback, Schneider XW or SMA. Almost all the others are lousy in comparison, especially the Chinese ones
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Ditto !
Just would add that it is not so much the country of origin as the company and it's history of building the product. I worked for Hewlett Packard in the mid 80's and we had quite few excellent products from China. The other problem is can the company support the product where you live? Can you call them on a phone and talk?
It will get old fast if you have to call Amazon...."we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
htps://offgridsolar1.com/
E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net
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