Mar 23, 2010 05:03 PM
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(Updated Mar 23, 2010 05:07 PM)
A strange thing I noticed in Faridabad is that almost all homes have an inverter. Back in Pune, mostly shops had invertors, very few homes had them. It did not take me even a week to find out the reason – solid power cut, every day. It was December, and the nights were quite cold. The fan was not switched on, and the power cuts did not mean much. But I was warned by my colleagues that power cuts are severe in summer.
As I started my preparation to tame the summer, an invertor was the second item on my agenda. (The first one is a desert cooler, about which I have penned a review). True to my bad habit of researching about a new thing, I turned to my friend for the material – who else but the internet!.
This is the best time when the usefulness of MS came up. I read reviews and comments on invertor and batteries. Then I checked up on how an invertor works. Some sites even had a DIY on invertor, but the thought about my awaaz helped me curb that desire. After much study I posted a requirement on the tradeindia website on 20th. In this era of fast responses, the site was a letdown, and I did not get a single reply. So I searched for invertor dealers in Fakirabad. I called up and spoke to 14 different dealers. I discussed with a few of them on features, as most of them were no more knowledgeable about the product than a common man on rocket science.
The choice zeroed in on a Su-kam invertor and a 180 AH battery for my 2 bedroom apartment. The vendor selected was Bon systems at Faridabad. I visited his shop after office on Friday evening. The owner, Manish, a young chap, was knowledgeable on the subject and we had a discussion on the various types of inverters like sine wave, square wave and normal one. He cleared my misunderstanding that no one produces pure sine wave inverters in India. The sine wave inverters available in market at an extra cost of 500/- also produce a slight hum. So it was decided to go in for a normal inverter.
The exide battery recommended by many, was costlier by more than 20% compared to others. Further it had warranty of 18 months only ( and it lasts for 30 months, at the most). I analysed the range available and chose OZONE battery with a 2 year warranty ( and it lasts for 36 to 48 months depending on the care). This tubular battery has indicators (floats) on each compartment of cell which show the water level. This gives the user a guide on when to top up distilled water in the cells. I made my decision known to him, and made a token payment. It was almost 7 p.m on Fri. The installation was to take place the next day.
Saturday after office hours, I called up Manish, and was sad to note that they could not install it on that day, as the batteries were not fully charged due to poor power supply that day. On Sunday afternoon his electrician Mr Jha came with the invertor, battery and the trolley. As his brother was in hospital, Manish’s driver had picked him up from the hospital. So Mr Jha was at a handicap – he had no tools, except pliers. We drove to an electric shop nearby and picked up the required material – 20m cable, a tester, a screw driver, a packet of clips, a lamp holder and a bulb.
We came home and the installation was done in about 90 minutes. The time was 5 p.m on Sun, 21st Mar. It was a perfect job, professionally done, and I was quite happy about it. I called up Manish and thanked him for the nice job. The inverter and battery is suitable for a couple of fans and tubelights ( I plan to change them to CFL’s) and the TV for atleast 5 hours. My total expense for the power reserve stood at Rs.13000/-.
Now I can look forward to a summer without power cuts.
PS : On 23rd Mar, I got about five calls following up on lead for invertor they received from tradeindia site. I regretfully informed them that they had lost the opportunity, as they were too late.
