❓ Midnite Solar & New Duties/Fees & Effect on products

[Steve_S]

A General Question for the Good Folks @ Midnite Solar.
Let's keep Posutlation / Theorization & Conjecture down to a Dull Roar - Facts from the horses mouth are what is important.

A Few of us are Die Hard Midniter's ;-) (shhh don't tell momma) and now with the latest round of Duties-Levies & Fees shenanigans going on, I am sure I am not the only one who is concerned on what if any effect this will have on your products & components. I realize this is likely not as simple a question as it seems due to the complex nature of what they are doing (they being the Governing Mentals).

I ask because I am finishing one project ATM which has all the required goodies but will be helping on another which will also be using all Midnite Goodness and now the questions are flying around like mad.

Making a few "Assumptions" which I hate.
I can see the Classics, Rosie's and similar not being overly affected as such, Components (BOS Goodies) possibly to a level but the DIY Series & the new AIO I think will take a hit.

 

[Steve_S]

Any thoughts on this @Robin Gudgel & @Halfcrazy ?

 

[400bird]

I think you missed @SpongeboB Sinewave

Depending on how much of the component level parts are imported (compared to their competitors) this could be a competitive/price advantage for Midnight

 

[Steve_S]

Hmmm interesting.

 

[Steve_S]

Almost a week & NADA.
Well, that is ???

 

[Madcodger]

I'll say this... I was going back and forth on whether to buy a Midnite Solar unit or an EG4, after finally deciding not to stay with my beloved Victron for the new build. The Midnite unit would cost me more but they do have a good reputation and are largely US based, so I was thinking hard about it. But then there was all this waiting around hoopla for "the one", and then for a price, and then delays (at least as I saw it) on other info being publicly available. Not great, in my view. In contrast, the EG4 folks are on here pretty much every day, in force. I've been able to learn basically everything I've wanted to know, easily, and they have a great price point.

So... I bought three EG4 6000XPs from Current Connected yesterday, along with three PowerPro batteries. Midnite got the sale for some accessories (breakers, boxes, SPDs). If I were Midnite, I'd be looking hard at how they roll out products, and their level of participation in forums like this. I can say with certainty they lost a sale in large part to that. This ain't the market of yesteryear, and even old goats like me learn in different ways, today.

 

[Steve_S]

I've come to a point where I won't be suggesting Midnite Products for a new roll out anymore. I'm now considering leaping over to Victron SCC's to replace my Classic 200 & 150 and flogging off the Classics for a great price. I previously asked them IF they would continue to support the Classics with new firmware etc and got hooey reactions, there was some 1/2 assed attempt to update the firmware with Lithium support but never got to the owners. I don't & won't use an AIO as they are not suitable in my application.

 

[Quattrohead]

My wise old grandma used to say "A promise is only as good as the delivery"
Yes signature solar and indirectly EG4 have had a shaky start but not only are they still around but they are investing in new products and continuing improvements on existing products. The Power Pro batteries and Luxpower based inverters are absolutely stupendously good.
I inadvertently overloaded my 18K last night and it ran for 5 minutes at 16 KW output until both stove tops came on at the same time whereby it decided to grid bypass, briefly saw 20 kW LOL.

 

[seneysolar]

I've come to a point where I won't be suggesting Midnite Products for a new roll out anymore. I'm now considering leaping over to Victron SCC's to replace my Classic 200 & 150 and flogging off the Classics for a great price. I previously asked them IF they would continue to support the Classics with new firmware etc and got hooey reactions, there was some 1/2 assed attempt to update the firmware with Lithium support but never got to the owners. I don't & won't use an AIO as they are not suitable in my application.

Tough crowd!
I would not base my purchase on receiving support through a 3rd party forum. If you want an answer FROM Midnite I recommend emailing them directly or calling them.
If worried about import duties and upcoming supply chain issues because of tariffs, why would you suddenly switch to a product that is entirely imported as a whole? That makes the product more volatile than anything. If Midnite has to pay double for a capacitor, no big deal. If Signature has to pay double for whole EG4 products to be imported, that might be the end of the attractive price point.

 

[Steve_S]

Tough crowd!
I would not base my purchase on receiving support through a 3rd party forum. If you want an answer FROM Midnite I recommend emailing them directly or calling them.
If worried about import duties and upcoming supply chain issues because of tariffs, why would you suddenly switch to a product that is entirely imported as a whole? That makes the product more volatile than anything. If Midnite has to pay double for a capacitor, no big deal. If Signature has to pay double for whole EG4 products to be imported, that might be the end of the attractive price point.

I never mentioned Chinese stuff did I ? If anything VICTRON wins and there we have it... The Midnite Forums are a good source of help but also shows the lack of it over time. VICTRON wins on all fronts and has global support in forums, vids & ohh so much more.

 

[Partimewages]

JMHO if you have ever been employed by a manufacturer this is all not uncommon. Typically they create buzz around the new product because someone from engineering says it will be ready by a certain date. That date gets pushed for various reasons.
My take is midnight has been a very solid player with personnel from the get go. If you had good success before probably will in the future. If your project is ready now just buy what is best for you now. All of the gov issues change as fast as your underwear! There's no way to know for sure what the impact will be tomorrow.

 

[Quattrohead]

why would you suddenly switch to a product that is entirely imported as a whole?

Because there are thousands of them already in use and generating a good track record where as the Midnight product has a few prototypes around and a load of unfulfilled promises.....so far.

 

[ricardocello]

I never mentioned Chinese stuff did I ? If anything VICTRON wins and there we have it... The Midnite Forums are a good source of help but also shows the lack of it over time. VICTRON wins on all fronts and has global support in forums, vids & ohh so much more.

I bleed Blue, but I'm not terribly impressed with the "call your dealer" or "talk to your installer" responses from Victron.
Especially for DIY people. Talk to myself?

Their community pages (Q&A and Modifications) are useful, but lots of the questions go unanswered.
On the other hand, the management of the company is always on the community pages, so that certainly helps.
They are really responsive once they find something that they broke, and even give out test firmware to get people over the hump.

 

[hwy17]

I'll say this... I was going back and forth on whether to buy a Midnite Solar unit or an EG4, after finally deciding not to stay with my beloved Victron for the new build. The Midnite unit would cost me more but they do have a good reputation and are largely US based, so I was thinking hard about it. But then there was all this waiting around hoopla for "the one", and then for a price, and then delays (at least as I saw it) on other info being publicly available. Not great, in my view. In contrast, the EG4 folks are on here pretty much every day, in force. I've been able to learn basically everything I've wanted to know, easily, and they have a great price point.

So... I bought three EG4 6000XPs from Current Connected yesterday, along with three PowerPro batteries. Midnite got the sale for some accessories (breakers, boxes, SPDs). If I were Midnite, I'd be looking hard at how they roll out products, and their level of participation in forums like this. I can say with certainty they lost a sale in large part to that. This ain't the market of yesteryear, and even old goats like me learn in different ways, today.

We're you not tempted by the Rosie?

I feel like their component systems are the real Midnite, and I wonder why they bother with the AIO's. But I guess it makes business sense if consumer's are demanding those nowadays.

Of course the Rosie with one of their 600v CC's does come at a price premium.

 

[JJJJ]

bleed Blue, but I'm not terribly impressed with the "call your dealer"

Have always gotten top notch service from Northern Arizona Sun and Solar. Recently purchased from Current Connected and they are top notch as well.

 

[seneysolar]

Because there are thousands of them already in use and generating a good track record where as the Midnight product has a few prototypes around and a load of unfulfilled promises.....so far.

That was taken out of context. The sentence began with "If worried about import duties and upcoming supply chain issues because of tariffs,".

The point is, items built in the USA have the highest chance for surviving import tariffs as we control the labor/assembly/manufacturing and shipping.

As to the theme of the OP's post, I'm not talking about product reliability, simply the effect of import duties and fees between brands.

 

[seneysolar]

I never mentioned Chinese stuff did I ? If anything VICTRON wins and there we have it... The Midnite Forums are a good source of help but also shows the lack of it over time. VICTRON wins on all fronts and has global support in forums, vids & ohh so much more.

I'm simply referring to your thread title topic. I did not mention the word "Chinese" either.

I too love Victron, its a solid choice, but its imported all the same. Most is from India.

 

[Steve_S]

Seems an answer from the horse isn't coming about how the Duties etc will affect costs etc... I guess it's just another [x] in the list.
In any case the thread is growing horns now, so whatever.

 

[ricardocello]

Seems an answer from the horse isn't coming about how the Duties etc will affect costs etc... I guess it's just another [x] in the list.

I'm not a horse, but I do occasionally watch electronic component availability and potential duties on DigiKey, Mouser, Arrow, etc. for my real job.
Supply chain has been a recurring problem since COVID, but has started to stabilize.
If I start seeing new Tariff warnings, I'll let you know.

If you are in the electronic manufacturing business, your supply chain people should be constantly watching availability of the components to ensure supply and pricing. Watching and planning for changing tariffs is part of that job. How Victron, Midnite, EG4, and others handle that, I have no idea. You need a horse.

 

[Madcodger]

We're you not tempted by the Rosie?

I definitely considered it, but couldn't justify the price premium. As I see it, I ended up with a complete spare of inverter, charger, and SCC, for free. This is a very big shift for me, as I was a big fan of separate components and Victron until I really started to run the numbers, look closely at specs, and talk to my retailer (who handles all brands I seriously considered, and was very objective in the discussion).

If this doesn't work out, I'll report back, buy something else, and move on. But if it does work out, I saved a fair amount of money, and still have one more AIO than I actually need (so a spare). It's not like it leaves me broken down on the side of the road 100 miles from civilization. Barring the thing actually catching on fire, which seems pretty darn unlikely, worst case scenario is likely a need to swap out the bad unit for the spare.