bssunilreddy
Keymaster
Only my niece uses Gaming laptop along with Epson EcoTank Printer, 4 fans, 6 tube lights, 1 LED TV while my aunt uses for normal purpose.
Need Inverter and Battery help
- Thread starter technomad
- Start date
rsaeon
Innovator
Luminous's older model, the Cruze+, has much faster switching than their newer Optimus model. I have both the 3.5kVA Cruze+ and Optimus 2300.
I have not tried the iCruze one, it seems plausible they remodelled the Cruze+ into the iCruze and then downgraded that to make the Optimus.
I have not tried the iCruze one, it seems plausible they remodelled the Cruze+ into the iCruze and then downgraded that to make the Optimus.
mantheman
Forerunner
Do you directly connect it to Gaming PC? Which model holds when there is a powercut while gaming, both?
mantheman
Forerunner
for context SEBz900 holds on my 6700xt 12400f. I hope the Cruze+ works, Luminous said its discontinued but there are still some stocks on Amazon the 3000+ ones, i hope there is still warranty even if they are discontinued.
rsaeon
Innovator
Keep in mind that when you're buying large or heavy appliances that are not sold by an Amazon subsidiary, you're paying a huge premium for the shipping. When I got my 3.5kVA Cruze+, it was at least 5000 less in the local market, and that was with a GST bill.
Sometimes Amazon will let you see results from local sellers, and you're often able to look them up and contact them directly for a better deal, that's what I did for the Optimus 2300:
The Cruze+ models are very old at this point and they're built to a much older, but higher standard (before post-covid cost cutting) so they're very easy to repair and there are plenty of videos to do it yourself there are just two things that usually go wrong, a blown fuse by connecting the battery cables incorrectly or a blown mosfet by overloading the inverter.
The only downside is that they use an Aluminum transformer, which isn't ideal, but the pure copper inverters are like 40k for the same capacity, so it's really not worth it. Our main electricity connection all the way to the transformer is also aluminium, so the losses are acceptable. Especially since this isn't a solar inverter that you'd be running for the entire night/day and just a few hours at a time. The longest I've needed to run my Cruze+ is 7 hours.
I have the 3.5kVA but I wish I had the 4kVA one because that one has a white LED display, mine has a red one and it looks like it's from the 80s (purely aesthetic difference, functionally they're exactly the same).
You can daisy chain two sine-wave inverters, and I did this for a while, but efficiency would be around 60%, meaning you'd spend 1000Wh charging the batteries that can only provide 600Wh for the load.
Used is also an option, local trusted sellers are selling the 3.5kVA Cruze+ for Rs 12,000 — this is because it needs four batteries and those inverters have very low resale value because of how expensive batteries are.
Sometimes Amazon will let you see results from local sellers, and you're often able to look them up and contact them directly for a better deal, that's what I did for the Optimus 2300:
The Cruze+ models are very old at this point and they're built to a much older, but higher standard (before post-covid cost cutting) so they're very easy to repair and there are plenty of videos to do it yourself there are just two things that usually go wrong, a blown fuse by connecting the battery cables incorrectly or a blown mosfet by overloading the inverter.
The only downside is that they use an Aluminum transformer, which isn't ideal, but the pure copper inverters are like 40k for the same capacity, so it's really not worth it. Our main electricity connection all the way to the transformer is also aluminium, so the losses are acceptable. Especially since this isn't a solar inverter that you'd be running for the entire night/day and just a few hours at a time. The longest I've needed to run my Cruze+ is 7 hours.
I have the 3.5kVA but I wish I had the 4kVA one because that one has a white LED display, mine has a red one and it looks like it's from the 80s (purely aesthetic difference, functionally they're exactly the same).
You can daisy chain two sine-wave inverters, and I did this for a while, but efficiency would be around 60%, meaning you'd spend 1000Wh charging the batteries that can only provide 600Wh for the load.
Used is also an option, local trusted sellers are selling the 3.5kVA Cruze+ for Rs 12,000 — this is because it needs four batteries and those inverters have very low resale value because of how expensive batteries are.
mantheman
Forerunner
Also the one issue with Cruze is that all the local shops have Optimus line only. The main priority is that it needs to hold the changeover time on PC without using UPS. I do not have means to test it, but as per their site change overtime for iCruze is ~15ms and for Optimus is ~20ms (I am not sure if their tests are honest in any case) which is why I am preferring the iCruze to avoid what ifs, after purchasing.
Which is why I've been keeping an eye on iCruze and Optimus line for 8 months now and still not pulling the trigger.
rsaeon
Innovator
I sieved through a few videos on youtube, and someone mentioned that the iCruze model uses SCR for changeover while the Optimus uses a relay, so the iCruze should technically transfer fast enough.
For my Cruze+, there was an incident where a system rebooted during a switchover. It was pulling 200W at load with a 550W power supply. When I changed that to a 750W power supply, it did not reboot.
Take a look at this channel, they do somewhat consistent testing of various inverters and UPS: https://www.youtube.com/@rupaly1984/videos
In particular, at some point in the video, they turn off the main's power to simulate an outage, and you can gauge the switchover response time by if and how long the load (light bulbs) blink or dim during the switchover.
Here (timestamped to 2:40) they turn off power and the lights don't dim at all, since this is an online (double-conversion) UPS:
Here (timestamped to 1:30) they turn off power and you can hear the inverter click, this is the Optimus with a relay and the lights dim momentarily:
Here (timestamped to 1:40) then turn off power and the lights dim but there's no click, this is the iCruze model:
Now, this is flawed because the camera's shutter speed and auto exposure is exaggerating how the lights are reacting, so instead look at the voltmeter on the panel and see how far the needle dips. It still is not ideal because they're running both the Optimus and iCruze on ECO mode instead of UPS mode. But at least you can see how a UPS is a far better option than an inverter.
For my Cruze+, there was an incident where a system rebooted during a switchover. It was pulling 200W at load with a 550W power supply. When I changed that to a 750W power supply, it did not reboot.
Take a look at this channel, they do somewhat consistent testing of various inverters and UPS: https://www.youtube.com/@rupaly1984/videos
In particular, at some point in the video, they turn off the main's power to simulate an outage, and you can gauge the switchover response time by if and how long the load (light bulbs) blink or dim during the switchover.
Here (timestamped to 2:40) they turn off power and the lights don't dim at all, since this is an online (double-conversion) UPS:
Here (timestamped to 1:30) they turn off power and you can hear the inverter click, this is the Optimus with a relay and the lights dim momentarily:
Here (timestamped to 1:40) then turn off power and the lights dim but there's no click, this is the iCruze model:
Now, this is flawed because the camera's shutter speed and auto exposure is exaggerating how the lights are reacting, so instead look at the voltmeter on the panel and see how far the needle dips. It still is not ideal because they're running both the Optimus and iCruze on ECO mode instead of UPS mode. But at least you can see how a UPS is a far better option than an inverter.
mantheman
Forerunner
Guys..
I'm shifting to a new apartment next month, and am in the market for an inverter + battery set up. I would require the inverter to power one 45" LED TV, one router, 3 LED tubelights & 3 fans for minimum 6 hours, in case of a long power shut down. In addition, running a mixie for a few minutes would be desirable. Please suggest a good combination of inverter and battery for my needs. What specifications should I be looking for in the inverter / battery combo? Any specific brand or detail that I should be looking at or avoiding at all costs?
I'm shifting to a new apartment next month, and am in the market for an inverter + battery set up. I would require the inverter to power one 45" LED TV, one router, 3 LED tubelights & 3 fans for minimum 6 hours, in case of a long power shut down. In addition, running a mixie for a few minutes would be desirable. Please suggest a good combination of inverter and battery for my needs. What specifications should I be looking for in the inverter / battery combo? Any specific brand or detail that I should be looking at or avoiding at all costs?
OMEGA44-XT
Innovator
Basic 1100VA inverter with 150Ah battery should do. Get a pure sine wave inverter with UPS mode in case you get a better TV later on. It can handle laptops but not a desktop (esp gaming ones). Luminous & Exide are good brands, buy locally.
rishabh.asthana
Explorer
recently bought couple of luminous batteries for replacing my old one and best rates i got was from backuplane site, they were even cheaper than the local sellers here in Lucknow and also provided GST bill. hope this helps.
mantheman
Forerunner
Microtek SEBz 900 in non-ups mode, does not switch off my 12400f, 6700xt ROG Strix, with 240mm Aio ARGB while gaming fyi.
I think it has a lot to do with the PSU too, not only the inverter.
I also recently bought iCruze, batteries yet to arrive (Luminous Red 200AH x2). It will still be a couple of months as to when I can test it.
