₦airaland Forum

Kingjames:
Its my happy day!,
All fta hobbyists are invited to my birthday party,
Special guests of honour, Odilibe, Olenyi, GeorgeD and all the gurus infact every forumite is specially invited.
Viva FTA.

@Kingjames,
Sorry, I didn't see your invite on time else would have stormed your abode to collect my share of
goat meat and fried rice!

Ok, happy belated birthday to you. I hope the celebrations went well?

eva wine!

roasted groundnuts!

all,

see the future of solar power.

we may well start thinking of doing away with those bulky, heavy batteries.

welcome to the world of super capacitors!

welcome to future!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brw6sC8D2_w


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPJao1xLe7w

odilibe: you are probably right..Data could be an obstacle and expensive too in naija....but over here a high speed unlimited 24/7 home rental broadband internet service can only cost approximately 2500 naira per month..Anyhow good review

@odilibe,

Internet access generally remains such a big deal in this part of the world when in other climes, broadband companies
are falling over each other to woo reluctant subscribers. And, with all the acclaimed success of the NCC, it seems not
able to rein in the GSM companies who do whatever they like, fix whatever price they like and appear all locked in a
deliberate attempt to prevent Nigerians from surfing the web with their prohibitive prices. So sad!

hmmmm! really?

topic,

okra soup + semovita!

donmatin: yes.I dun reply.

I seen it. Calling you now.
Cheers!

fikfik: Thanks uncle G,

I dare say though that amongst bulk chargers (luminous, sukam, etc), cyberpower has the best build quality.

fikfik,

cyberpower no doubt is ok but the advert hype is what i'm against. buyright paints it as one high end inverter. they
flood newspaper pages everytime with these quaintly attractive images and you're like, "wao! this inverter must be
different than the rest!" but you find out later that it is just another type of bulk charger. no absorb setting, no float.

so much for honesty, hey?

idsolar: following. all well said. chairman any dealer for this exeltec for naija? Nagode

idsolar,

i can't say for exeltech but i know there are various dealers in high end inverters who can bring in any of these
for you on special arrangement.

donmatin: mails4kage@yahoo.co.uk. I bin do my it for ppmc so I sabi refinery side small.

@donmatin,

You got mail!

rice and beans!

donmatin: @ George D,abeg where u day for warri make i block u so dat i fit learn sometins from u?i av srt4922a decoder but i no day get beta channels except church channels,u fit drop ur number make i call u abeg.

@donmatin,

Brother, I dey far jungle for the other end of refinery road after flyover oooooh! Shoot me your email lets talk.

Cheers!

fikfik: But noone has answered the Q yet. Which inverters are the best not considering cost?

To be honest, previously I thought my cyberpower was one of the best. Its a generally more expensive than the luminous and sukams out there, but it comes with a separate changeover switch and an AVR apart from whats built in. People say its hard to install, but installation comes as part of the cost. or you can get the simple wiring diagram. I still feel cyberpower is a step above the other 2-3 stage chargers if its installed properly. I've been using mine since last year and have installed for a couple since then and theyve never had any of these fan issues etc. You just have to install them properly with the included accessories, that all...

Nonetheless, i would still like to know the answer to the intial question.

fikfik,

i think my post above says it all. not all products are the same. among inverters, there are high end, mid-range and low end
types. same thing goes for other electronics like tvs, home theaters, air conditioners, fridges, etc. even cars too cut across all
the ranges. you buy according to your pocket (mostly) even though a few others who prefer best in class wouldn't mind going
the extra mile to get something better.

basically, cyberpower is nothing different than the other indian and chinese inverters as they are all bulk chargers. true, you
can do a little bit of configuration using the toggle switch and lcd display but it ends there. the dealers all get into these
advert frenzy trying to paint a larger than life image of this inverter and many peeps fall for the hype. i was also a victim once.

that said, among different ranges of products, there is a class difference, whether you're talking of mid-range ones, high-end
ones, etc and depending on what your preferences are, you could decide to go for one above the other. for inverters, you
cannot compare a gaoxing inverter with a sukam, luminous or cyberpower. xantrex is a recognized industry standard for high
end inverters and that is why most banks here use it in their back up systems. however of recent, their build quality has really
not kept up with their reputation and costumers are complaining a lot about defects.
magnum and outback are neck on neck when it comes to performance and durability but if you intend installing your inverter in
a harsh, salty environment, outback gfx series takes the lead. magnum though has a cleaner waveform of all three.
exeltech inverters however are known to have the best waveform of all the inverters at present.

so which inverter is best not considering cost? my take:

1) exeltech
2) magnum
3) outback
4) xantrex
5) sma sunnyboy
6) fronius
7) kako
8 ) victron
9) solar edge
10) tripplite

these are all high end inverters. bear it in mind however that some do contain more features than others thereby adding to the
overall cost. some features like grid-tie is build into the xantrex xw series which we don't really need here in this part of the
globe. also, some have better accessories for improved inverter control and system monitoring. depending on what floats your boat,
you cannot go wrong with any of the above.

@All,

Those on DSTV should take note of the below info:

With effect from November 1, 2013, Quickteller across all platforms (Quickteller.com, m.quickteller.com, ATM, USSD, IVR, SMS) will be reflecting the new DStv subscription prices as announced by MultiChoice Nigeria. This follows the annual price increase carried out by MultiChoice Nigeria and affects Dual View, XtraView, PVR and HDPVR installations on Compact Plus and Premium Bouquets only.

Please see the new prices and the affected bouquets below:

Should you have any enquiries, kindly contact the DStv customer service via email at DStv@nigeria.multichoice.co.za or call 08039003788, 01-2703232.

Well, if you ask me, I think this is more reason why all should embrace FTA. This continous price increase must stop!

pitodenz: 1m dish is Ku band,I watched all the champion league with jsc

@pitodenz,

Welcome back to the thread. Its been quite a while!

shithapuns: I USE LUMINOUS...AND SOME o fmy pals...we all have good stories about it......you could give it a try

shithapuns,

you're missing the point. we all have good stories to tell about sukam, about cyberpower, etc. going three years now my sukam has
been superb-until recently when this fan issue came up.

the point is, will you still have good stories to tell about your luminous, say two or three years from now? or maybe five?
all things man-made do break down at some point but some are more durable than others.

take the case of cars. we all know that a popular korean made car (names withheld) will not serve you beyond three years at most
before you start replacing parts. even though they appear to be cheap (brand new) but after three years you become customer to the
mechanic. now compare that to toyota or mecerdes when even after 7 years, its as if they're just starting their useful service life. peeps
here buy them used at 8 years and still use them for another 5 years trouble free before thinking of replacing parts. you know of course
that the price comparison however is not the same, new to new, head to head for the german, japanese or korean cars.
as it is with cars and many other products, so it is with inverters- you get what you pay for.

i hope now you get the message?

pheleix: I was almost paying for Sukam 3.5kva but when the Ogas are begining to complain about Sukam what do we do

@Bodejohn I thought yours was connected to Prag stab.

Vitus is advising I go for Safepower. Ogas what do you say

phelix,

my above post in answer to dunka goes for you too. sukam is still very much ok. you can't go wrong.
cheers!

DUNKA: Please so which is the better inverter due to your experience with Sukam and Cyberpower? Which would you advise a new buyer to go for?

dunka,

as you can see from my post above each of these inverters have their own issues. just a few days ago i was taking stock of
how much i have spent in going back and forth between all these mid-range inverters and i realized that i could have saved myself
a lot of stress (and money) by going for a high-end american or german inverter. they are more pricey but at the end of the day
you get better value for your money. my experience with indian and chinese inverters is that they somehow manage to breakdown at
least after the first two years of installation-sometimes even less than that. its either the fan is not working or the charging circuit
is bad or some other fault. there must always be something to repair or replace after such a short space of time. wouldn't it be nice to
get an inverter that just works where you don't have to worry about replacing any failed part even after serving you for five years
and counting? hmmmm! ok, just my thoughts.

if you're to choose between sukam and cyberpower, i'd say go for sukam anyday. despite having fan issues, i still prefer it to
cyberpower because of its ease of installation, simplicity and power conserving attributes.

bodejohn: This is what I used in my own case. It has some protection around its two busbars although I had to order it from Europe.
The cables enter from the bottom, one busbar is for +ve and the second for -ve. I very much think it should be available in Lagos.

the voltage combiner was a diy initiative borne out of necessity. and yes i think that legrande busbar is a much better option.
going forward, i plan to replace the voltage combiner with a more compact conduit box to make for a more professional installation.
this will form part of my next upgrade.

bodejohn: My Sukam too usually misbehaves whenever there is public power supply. It sometimes beep continuously with either "Mains Low Cutout" or "Main Present" error when there is actually no public power supply. Since I cannot easily port to Cyberpower, I had to remove the public power supply cable from the inverter.

bodejohn,

yeah. unfortunately as much as i'm loathe to admit it, sukam seems not to be as rugged as i thought.

and, don't be in too much of a hurry to jump on cyberpower. it has its own issues too, and believe me
they are too numerous to enumerate here.

pdozie: Hello George,
Just a clarification: Is there power loss when cables are joined directly and tied/covered with masking tapes as against when they are screwed together unto a metal as you depicted?

pdozie,

the short answer is yes. no matter how you try to tie (wrap) cables together, you cannot achieve effective 100 percent contact
on all strands.best practice is to always use cable connectors. but in the absence of that you can make do with direct bolting together
of individual cables.

i'm back to cyberpower as my sukam seems to be having fan issues.

fan has been changed but still new fan not working. i may have to send it to lagos through my dealer
for repairs.

all,

looks like the sunny days are here at last - especially for those in the south-south.

snapshot for yesterday. back-facing panels on float. front facing panels

on equalize mode.

abunafiu,

as requested, i've attached a sketch of the voltage combiner.

it is essentially made of a pure copper belt (usually of the type used for lightning arrestors) cut to required length.

use an m6 drill bit to bore holes at the both ends for where to screw the belt to the block of wood and an m13
drill to bore three (3) holes. one for the charge controller, one for the inverter and the last for the battery.

i hope this helps?

Mcleo007: Shame MTN has locked us out again. Shame! And btw, @Mickyjeff, your customer service is pretty poor. Been calling your line for days now with you not picking up. Sent you msgs as well which you failed to acknowledge.

it is called 'going under'. seriuosly, what did you expect him to do after this pet scheme of his was surmmarily nipped in the bud
by empty-hen?

@obnelly,

Looks like you're upping the game once again.

Keep up the good job.

ezioyi,

go to buyright and get a cyberpower inverter.
they are in port harcourt at the below address.
you can also call their number or write them an
email for inquiries:

BuyRight (Port Harcourt)
The Atrium, 28 Stadium Road, Port Harcourt
Location Rivers click to see map
email sales@buyright.biz
Phone: 07035492994, 07037104214

see, i told you so! ok, congrats once again.

take your time and study the manual that came with it.

it'll save you a lot of unnecessary stress in the long run.

abunafiu,
congrats! this is the more reason why we have to constantly monitor our systems to ensure they are performing
as expected. 1150w out of 1200w nameplate is not bad at all.

as for the sukam, you got to relax your nerves. i'm sure it will be delivered before the day runs out.

busybee001: can it go for 5k. i am in abuja

francis247: Yes. Call me.

hello francis247,
i'll like to try one if your selling for 5k.

ezo4fta: Daarsat packgage on amos 5 is on and off. I watched it dis morning and now dey ar off but I guess dey will come back on air soon.

@ezo4fta,

Daarsat epileptic signals should not surprise you. Everybody should know by now that those
fellows have never been serious - right from day one!

all,
i saw this article about failing solar panels and decided to share it with the house.
and for those of us so quick to embrace those cheap solar panels presently being peddled around, the question then is:

what will they be worth in another two or three years? well, maybe not more than pieces of shiny glass on your roof!

Solar Industry Anxious Over Defective Panels

LOS ANGELES — The solar panels covering a vast warehouse roof in the sun-soaked Inland Empire region east of Los Angeles were only two years into their expected 25-year life span when they began to fail.

Coatings that protect the panels disintegrated while other defects caused two fires that took the system offline for two years, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenues.

It was not an isolated incident. Worldwide, testing labs, developers, financiers and insurers are reporting similar problems and say the $77 billion solar industry is facing a quality crisis just as solar panels are on the verge of widespread adoption.

No one is sure how pervasive the problem is. There are no industrywide figures about defective solar panels. And when defects are discovered, confidentiality agreements often keep the manufacturer’s identity secret, making accountability in the industry all the more difficult.

But at stake are billions of dollars that have financed solar installations, from desert power plants to suburban rooftops, on the premise that solar panels will more than pay for themselves over a quarter century.

The quality concerns have emerged just after a surge in solar construction. In the United States, the Solar Energy Industries Association said that solar panel generating capacity exploded from 83 megawatts in 2003 to 7,266 megawatts in 2012, enough to power more than 1.2 million homes. Nearly half that capacity was installed in 2012 alone, meaning any significant problems may not become apparent for years.

read more here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/business/energy-environment/solar-powers-dark-side.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0