KITROBASKIN
Solar Enthusiast
Northern Arizona Solar (NAZ) was totally solid with me when they warranty replaced a Victron 24V 1200VA Phoenix inverter.
Greentech Renewables no longer DIY friendly
- Thread starter rhino
- Start date
Have you told them that !?
Yes
I would have done that too, but never got a quote.
KITROBASKIN
Solar Enthusiast
Take comfort that NAZ will support you if there is a question or issue. Not saying Greentech won’t.
zanydroid
Solar Wizard
I did this at the Hayward location. Actually I got reply from San Jose and Hayward (San Jose sent me to Hayward for what I wanted).
My purchase was one rail, half a box of mid clamps, and a full box of flashfeet. About $100
Just role play a contractor (don't even have to mislead, just know exactly what you want etc etc. Standard supply house customer persona) and they don't care.
It's a bit much to expect DIY support from arbitrary supply house. That's just not the social contract / what they're for.
I was able to go to my local Greentech earlier this year, got a list of panels they had available in the warehouse with the wattage I needed, went home and reviewed the ones they had, narrowed it down, and went back to them. They let me go into the warehouse with them to look at the label on the back of the panels, after which I purchased them, and they loaded up my truck. (My wife and I secured them.)
I'd rather not order the panels online due to horror stories I have heard with damage. No complaints.
I'd rather not order the panels online due to horror stories I have heard with damage. No complaints.
zanydroid
Solar Wizard
Yup, I think people are unnecessarily afraid of CED. The website is bad for DIY without the magic account access or whatever but just treat them like a electrician supply house and there's no problem.
For ordering panels online you need to verify before ordering how the pallets are set up. Like edge stack with full pallet will help.
That said my first order was face stacked, shipped from whole state away, and died pretty bad. I think second order came from local CED, edge stacked almost full pallet, no middleman trucking company, and it came pristine.
I’ve found the same thing with my local CED and plumbing supply house.
If you know what you want, and don’t “shop around” they will gladly make you a sale take your money and turn over product.
2014 (man I’m getting old) I went into local CED for some SJOOW 10/4 for our generator whip. I was asking for 20’ they said they don’t sell that short a run. I asked if they had any partials laying around, they actually had 32’ foot partial, they sold it to me for the same price as a 20’ run because no commercial outfit would want that short a run.
Plumbing Supply, I repiped a section of our wood boiler from 1-1/4” black iron to copper, I needed about 20 different fittings, 5 valves plus pipe, walked in with my list, 20 min later I walked out $300 lighter in the wallet but had everything I needed plus some extras.
Now if you walk into Grainger and want to pay cash account, that’s a different story.
If you know what you want, and don’t “shop around” they will gladly make you a sale take your money and turn over product.
2014 (man I’m getting old) I went into local CED for some SJOOW 10/4 for our generator whip. I was asking for 20’ they said they don’t sell that short a run. I asked if they had any partials laying around, they actually had 32’ foot partial, they sold it to me for the same price as a 20’ run because no commercial outfit would want that short a run.
Plumbing Supply, I repiped a section of our wood boiler from 1-1/4” black iron to copper, I needed about 20 different fittings, 5 valves plus pipe, walked in with my list, 20 min later I walked out $300 lighter in the wallet but had everything I needed plus some extras.
Now if you walk into Grainger and want to pay cash account, that’s a different story.
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I used to be able to buy from the local Fastenal store, but it changed to a warehouse with a small sales counter. They required an account to make a purchase and I wasn't going to do that. They helped me out by showing me what they had and then said I could buy them online from their website. Kind of an odd sales approach. I needed 10mm bolts that were a true 10mm. The bolts at the local hardware store were more like 9.4mm.
zanydroid
Solar Wizard
How did you approach the conversation?
They also do quotes by email. I just emailed them in a no nonsense way about the exact racking I needed and got hardware for mounting my last two panels (had ran out)
Called and asked if they sold to the public or if I needed a licensed resale permit. They referred me to Fire Mountain Solar or Backwoods Solar. I just wanted to buy racking and compare module prices to Signature. Found Iron Ridge racking locally and all the connectors are available at Platt. Just going to buy modules from Signature Solar when I order the mini-split.
zanydroid
Solar Wizard
I see, ok.
I just emailed them like a boss with exactly what I wanted. No mention of my background. My attitude is my ID
. And I exuded not needing support/help picking, just give me the stuff I need to finish the project plzI’m not 100% convinced the SS hybrid mini split is readily code compliant across all installation scenarios (I didn’t see AFCI listed in the MPPT specs), and buying low number of modules from 2000 miles away sounds expensive/damage prone over just driving a van yourself to a local warehouse.
In an area with a lot of take down solar modules used off Craigslist etc is also an option. There are some random used warehouses here in California. I suspect maybe Seattle isn’t that way due to weather and cheaper electricity.
Yeah I did see a few postings on Craigslist of new module pallets that people are selling but the price is often more than getting everything from signature, plus I don’t know if a cash deal works for the tax rebate. Good points, my wife has an interior design business license/permit which I mentioned but they didn’t seem interested in anything but repeat solar business sales. It’s not a bad thing, just limits local options for suppliers in this area.
zanydroid
Solar Wizard
As long as the equipment is new / has not had a tax credit taken it’s fine for federal. Documentation for an audit. Given that people have extras all the time from whole pallet orders it can be completely above board. I considered buying a pallet and selling off 4.
If you were looking for presales support rather than an easy low touch transaction then CED is not your place
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