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Fun with Eskom Load Shedding


Teal Smith
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Pure sinewave should not be needed for majority of equipment in a tent.
It generally all passes through an SMPS which converts it back to DC.

Led driver
Extraction fan
Both of these normally have their own power supplies. This is typically what you'd prioritise to keep running during load shedding.

Items with motors which run on AC, that's where problems can occur if it's run on a modified sine wave inverter.


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Just now, PsyCLown said:

Pure sinewave should not be needed for majority of equipment in a tent.
It generally all passes through an SMPS which converts it back to DC.

Led driver
Extraction fan
Both of these normally have their own power supplies. This is typically what you'd prioritise to keep running during load shedding.

Items with motors which run on AC, that's where problems can occur if it's run on a modified sine wave inverter.


Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk
 

That is what I was told yes, and because I run a motor in my fridge and dehumidifier, and fans with motors, thought I'd go for the pure.

Plus, my Samsung tv had a bad buzz on it testing no pure wave and returned it, so was needed for me.

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1 hour ago, Prom said:

Mhhh, short way around light issues... use autoflower... and no timer on the light if eskom goes nuts.

I used backup on my lights to bridge eskom... swapped that to keep the ventilation going now. Humidity goes up to much otherwise.

And i agree with @SkunkPharm get a pure sin, other could make your leds flicker

Thanks the unit I've been quoted on already has it built in. I've also got Autos ready and waiting. See, I done my homework ;) ;)

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I'm not the man with regards to this, but heard that you need to make sure your inverter matches your batteries, as some batteries, silver culcium, will need a certain charger on inverter.

With regards to the flicker, this is also what I hear, and was told a guys heat mats burned out, and caught fire from non pure. So I just to be safe stuck with the pure, even after trying to short cut it with the mecer decoder style units 

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39 minutes ago, afternoon blazer said:

Also the auto idea. As @Prom suggested is excellent. Screw the lights.

 

But either way i suggest getting the inverter system. 1 of the best investments i made for loadshedding. 

Allows me to stay sane and keep myself well entertained. 

Autos for sure in this case, already have the seeds. But with 3 or more load sheds per day, I'm pretty sure that even autos would run into problems. 

I have an inverter for my phone & internet, and another for my TV and sound. I'm no stranger. They are however too small to use for my grow tent, though... but they are a game changer for sure

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7 minutes ago, StickyD420 said:

I'm not the man with regards to this, but heard that you need to make sure your inverter matches your batteries, as some batteries, silver culcium, will need a certain charger on inverter.

With regards to the flicker, this is also what I hear, and was told a guys heat mats burned out, and caught fire from non pure. So I just to be safe stuck with the pure, even after trying to short cut it with the mecer decoder style units 

Wait, so the Mecer units aren't pure sine wave?? I was told they were. I'll give them a buzz tomorrow

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@StickyD420 Nice one! Shot for the heads-up. So which brand would you recommend instead of Mecer? 

I used to do a lot of business with ACDC, but found their returns/repairs policy was terrible. I was also under the impression they sold really cheap Chinese stuff.... That was years ago, though. Maybe that's changed now

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I've got my goods at battery power zone, he sourced me a 2015 unit, 3kva and work my needs well, not as efficient as new ones, but got my stuff all for 12k ish...that's unit, and 4x 105ah silver culcium, heavy duty Johnson Controls batteries, same as Excide, half price.

Heard of guys batteries not charging and not knowing why...?

9 out of 10, its link from battery to inverter not matching power rates, charging and such.

Seen that similar mecer unit explode from a cheap battery in there, and bought at a very reputable company. 

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17 minutes ago, Teal Smith said:

Autos for sure in this case, already have the seeds. But with 3 or more load sheds per day, I'm pretty sure that even autos would run into problems. 

I have an inverter for my phone & internet, and another for my TV and sound. I'm no stranger. They are however too small to use for my grow tent, though... but they are a game changer for sure

Nope, if eskom would even shedd 10 hours a day for the full plant cycle, autos would finish with no stress at all. They come from the high north, with extremely short day light times. Reason they stopped using the sun as indicator, the more the better... but you cant accidental get flowering in early stages with outages. They still veg even in 5 hours light and follow their inturnal timer

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1 minute ago, Teal Smith said:

@StickyD420 You saw one explode?!? hahaha wow I believe you may have helped me dodge a bullet. Legendary. Thanks again man, I'll definitely check out Battery Power Zone, and match up the batteries to the inverter! Awesome info, much appreciated.

I asked a lady at the chem labs shop, why her unit was standing here at the counter and not hooked up, to which she replied, the thing exploded and acid was all the living room and the place, a computer shop, very reputable, had obviously sold it with the cheapest batteries they could find, and that was the outcome, 

Not to say your would have the same, you need to check that your side.

Brother, I'm here to help, and it may not always seem so by my directness, but it's from experience and lessons I've learned.

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1 minute ago, Prom said:

Nope, if eskom would even shedd 10 hours a day for the full plant cycle, autos would finish with no stress at all. They come from the high north, with extremely short day light times. Reason they stopped using the sun as indicator, the more the better... but you cant accidental get flowering in early stages with outages. They still veg even in 5 hours light and follow their inturnal timer

Well that just makes me feel a whole lot better! Amazing. I never knew the ruderalis gene was that resiliant. Great!

So make sure the timers aren't battery-backed up, then just go for it? Try shoot for as close to 18 hours per day as possible and if the power cuts then, meh...

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2 minutes ago, Teal Smith said:

Well that just makes me feel a whole lot better! Amazing. I never knew the ruderalis gene was that resiliant. Great!

So make sure the timers aren't battery-backed up, then just go for it? Try shoot for as close to 18 hours per day as possible and if the power cuts then, meh...

They can take 24 hours light and go fine, or a little as Eskom let you have🙌

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4 minutes ago, StickyD420 said:

I asked a lady at the chem labs shop, why her unit was standing here at the counter and not hooked up, to which she replied, the thing exploded and acid was all the living room and the place, a computer shop, very reputable, had obviously sold it with the cheapest batteries they could find, and that was the outcome, 

Not to say your would have the same, you need to check that your side.

Brother, I'm here to help, and it may not always seem so by my directness, but it's from experience and lessons I've learned.

hahaha just... wow. I'll check for sure

Bud, I actually like it when people are direct. I like to know! Never thought anything bad of it, it is appreciated. I'm very much the same, actually. You potentially ended up saving me alot of money and ball ache :-thumbsup

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