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We hope to provide some answers here to commonly asked questions about our products.
Q. Can I adjust the Load to Battery ratio on a No-Break™ unit in the field?
A. No. We can set different ratios for the No-Break™ series III in the factory and we can do various other Load/Battery splits on some models but
to change this in the field is usually too difficult.
Q. How do you work out the Recharge Time for a xxxxxx Battery?
A. This is usually dependent on the type and make of the battery, with different manufacturers specified different variables. Generally you can use
the following formula as a rough guide:
Time = Battery Amp hour rating X 1.3 / current available
e.g. Time to recharge a 12 Ah battery with a 2Amp charger = 12Ah X 1.3 /2A = 7.8hours
Bear in mind that temperature and level of discharge will affect this time but this would generally be the time needed to get to 95-98% recharged.
Q. What's so great about Switch Mode power supplies?
A. Switch Mode PSU's use a different method to convert AC power to DC. One of the main advantages is the savings in size and weight, as they
do not require a large Iron core transformer. They are also more efficient than Linear Power supplies so more of the energy you put in, actually
comes out the other side as useable DC, rather than being wasted as heat. One downside is that because of the way the conversion takes place,
they generate Radio Frequency Interference, (RFI) and if not filtered correctly or in low signal strength areas then they can iterfere with communication
devices.
Q. What's the difference between an Inverter and a Converter?
A. When we talk about an Inverter, we are talking about converting from a DC power source (usually a battery) and Inverting the Flat DC into
sinewave or modified sinewave AC power.
For a Converter however we mean converting from one DC Voltage to another, for example whether it is converting up from 12VDC > 24VDC or
down from 48VDC > 12VDC.
Q. What's the point of a low voltage disconnect? I want my system to stay running as long as the battery will last.
A. You can run your system like this if you wish.
Our reasoning is that generally once the battery falls to a certain voltage level then it will not be capable of running your equipment anyway, as it
will be outside the equipments operating range. So rather than leave the battery connected and drain it completely - and probably wreck it, or
severely shorten it's life - then you may as well disconnect it and at least save the cost of having to replace the battery.
Q. I've got a unit that's broken, how do I find out if it's under warranty?
A. Phone or Fax us the Product code and the Serial Number. If it is an imported item, ZWS, NFS, etc we will need to know when it was purchased
and from whom it was bought. We can generally track an items history back as far as 8 years.
Q. What is the warranty period on your Power Supplies?
A. It depends on the particular product.
Innovative Energies manufactured and most imported products have a 2 year warranty period from date of purchase unless otherwise stated.
Latronics Inverters (BKZ & LS Series) have a 3 year warranty.
Schaefer Industrial Power Systems have a 3 year warranty.
Batteries generally carry a 1 year warranty, but longer warranties for larger batteries may apply.
All warranties are return to our factory.
Q. How come you don't make XXXX any more?
A. As with any electronic manufacturer, we try to continually improve our products. Also methods, markets and components change and we need
to keep moving to keep up with developments in all these areas.
So although we may have at one-time made your unit, it may now be too costly to produce in small numbers, or it could have been replaced by a
better alternative.
Q. Why do you need so much information? All I want is a quote!
A. Yes, but if we don't get enough information we won't be able to quote you the correct or most cost effective product and then you won't be
happy because it will be wrong for your application. We would rather take a bit more time and make sure we can get it right.
Q. What does temperature compensated charging do?
A. It ensures that your battery is charged at the correct voltage for the ambient temperature that the battery is stored, in so that the battery is not
over-charged in hot conditions or under-charged in cold conditions. For a higher temperature we drop the voltage, and for a lower temperature
we raise the voltage. The ambient temperature is sensed with a thermocouple or similar device and relayed back to the charger.
Q. What is the lifetime of the fans?
A. The lifespan of our fans is dependant on several variables. The most critical of these is the amount of dust or solid ingress that the fan is exposed to and therefore draws across its own mechanism.
The second most critical factor is temperature both ambient and that which it is trying to extract from the PSU which is of course, therefore dependant on load.
Thirdly, but not at all least is the amount of humidity in the immediate surrounding environment. As any of these factors increase, the lifespan of the fan will decrease. The fans we use are of the magnetically levitated type and under perfect conditions (20 deg C ambient, 0% humidity dust free environment) are specified by manufacturer to last over 100,000 hours (MTBF). There are no specifications given by the manufacturer for varying degrees of temperature, ingress or humidity.
As a rule of thumb we recommend changing the fans if after being blown free of dust they produce any noise other than the normal sound created by the fan blades cutting the air against the fan guard.
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