! How to Find a real brand and not a fake !

[Dee]

Hi everyone
I'm sure most have had this problem?
I like to buy off of the links on hear or wills web page for many reasons one being I know that when I use a link from hear or the site it is good and I can trust it 100%,
the problem I have is the supplier connected to wills site witch I'm ? sure I can trust does not do the newer version of the controller I'm looking for ? I also can't find the controller I'm looking for probably because all stock has been sold due to it being very good quality for the price.

So what do I do,
well I look and look and then I find the same thing but it has got a different logo so I'm thinking is this a rip off brand or is this a spin of brand (same thing different owner)
IV no clue so that is why I have started this thread, in the hope that some of you guys can help me with this
( obviously anything I buy is down to my choice and you will never see me come back to say but the was a fake - I know that it's up to me to check out the seller )

So hopefully some hear can give me some info into the brand's for solar inverters, I want to use mpp solar But I can't get the model I'm looking for But I have found what looks to be the same model as I'm looking for But the name is: VOTACON is this a legit brand???

Details:
This is the one I'm looking for
MPP SOLAR pip-5048mg solar inverter.

This is the one I found
5kVA 5000w 48v Off Grid Inverter MPPT Charger - Bluetooth.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you for reading, Dee.

 

[Forbisher]

Holey cow, I finally got to MPP in the story.
Did you check:
www.watt247.com

 

[Dee]

Holey cow, I finally got to MPP in the story.
Did you check:
www.watt247.com

Maybe read more of the post?

 

[MichaelK]

I have a bit more experience spotting fake charge controllers, and one cheesy, simplistic way is looking at shipping weight. The torroid rings (spelling) made with lots of copper needed to transform the voltage add a substantial heft to the unit, along with the larger capacitors and other components. This increases the weight of real MPPT units compared to the fakes. So, if you see an MPPT controller with a shipping weight of 8oz, beware! If it has a shipping weight of 8lb, you most likely are getting a real unit.

Not knowing any better, I'd bet that the same analogy applies to the all-in-one units. Since international shipping is a big cost of business, cutting corners to save weight could be one way to spot an inferior unit?

 

[Dee]

Thanks michaelK for that info, that is a very good way to spot one before it even gets to me ??

 

[MichaelK]

He got a commission from my purchase.

Could you expand a bit on what that actually means?

 

[Ampster]

He got a commission from my purchase...but he does not write on this thread.

I am not sure an affiliate link takes on customer service responsibility. That is the responsibility of the vendor. You always have the option of sending someone a message. How else do you think he is going to even see the question? It is not clear to me what your question actually is? The expenses for this site are paid for from those affiliate links. Be grateful and manage your expectations.

 

[Bud Martin]

BTW, just FYI:
https://usamppsolar.com/ and https://watts247.com/
look to to be the same company with the same phone number and same price for the products.
I bought my LV1012MS from USAMPPSOLAR (Ebay) in Sept 2020, and 1012MK in Jan 2021 from Peggy of MPPSOLAR Taiwan.
And according to this thread: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/s...0es-and-transformer.34121/page-19#post-431566
"I purchased mine from Peggy directly (last year). The other day a friend of mine tried the same and Peggy said to go through watts247.com, so perhaps they're phasing them into becoming a more main US distributor."

 

[Bud Martin]

That's where Will sent me too. I bought a lv2424msd. Could that be a fake one? Why inst Will chiming in on this? He got a commission from my purchase...but he does not write on this thread.....horrible.

Horrible?
If you think you bought the fake products from Watt247 then you should return it and ask for full refund.
Do you really expect Will to answer every Emails, all the questions on this forum, and on Youtube?
He will be too busy answering all the questions and Emails and will not have time to post his videos on Youtube.
Do you answer ALL your Emails?

 

[Bud Martin]

I am not sure an affiliate link takes on customer service responsibility. That is the responsibility of the vendor. You always have the option of sending someone a message. How else do you think he is going to even see the question? It is not clear to me what your question actually is? The expenses for this site are paid for from those affiliate links. Be grateful and manage your expectations.

I am very grateful for this forum, and the video that Will puts out, that is how I learn to build my first solar system in 2020 and still learning everyday from this great forum and from Will's videos and it is FREE! it did not cost me a cent!
As you can see that there is no ADs in this forum so this site has to be paid, maintain, etc. which cost money and time.

 

[JRH]

I have dealt with and talked to Ian a few times at watts24/7 . The items I purchased were exactly as represented and a great product. Ian is very knowledgeable on his products and as good as it gets at customer service.I think some of the commenters need to dig a bit deeper before speculating and slinging disparaging remarks at Will or Ian . Get the facts first… if there’s a problem settle it with some civility and manners.

 

[Bluedog225]

Then stop using his advice. Problem solved.

Or spend a little time contributing here and build some relationships.

We see a lot of people with a handful of posts and a boatload of outrage. Not a great start.

 

[Bud Martin]

NO JUST A FEW,WHICH HE DOESN'T. NOT HERE OR YOUTUBE, OF FACEBOOK, WE ARE THE ONES PUTTING MONEY IN HIS POCKET AND WE GET NO RETURN,SO YA THATS SHITTY...

No return?
How do you think this FREE FORUM is existing?
YA THATS SHITTY attitude sure help.

 

[Bud Martin]

Then stop using his advice. Problem solved.

Or spend a little time contributing here and build some relationships.

We see a lot of people with a handful of posts and a boatload of outrage. Not a great start.

+10000

 

[A.Justice]

NO JUST A FEW,WHICH HE DOESN'T. NOT HERE OR YOUTUBE, OF FACEBOOK,

Will has over 600,000 subscribers on YouTube, and there's over 43,000 unique visitors to this site everyday. It would be a chore just to view the usernames, much less respond to every piece of feedback or e-mail he gets. He doesn't run a company selling solar equipment or providing customer support, his business is publishing videos. That's like complaining that the grocery store cashier is lazy because they wouldn't help you make dinner.

WE ARE THE ONES PUTTING MONEY IN HIS POCKET AND WE GET NO RETURN,SO YA THATS SHITTY...

I would argue that the return is hundreds of hours of educational videos, or this entire forum. In fact, I haven't used any of his affiliate links, and I pay for YouTube premium, so he hasn't made a penny off of me, and yet still continues to provide information for free.

If you'd like to see an immediate return on your investment, you could hire a professional to install the system for you, the return for your money would be a solar system that works.

 

[Ampster]

I didn't call him bad names or get rude,I actually love the guy and his videos.

If i recall you inferred that it was SHITTY. If you love the guy, then show this forum some respect and manage your expectations. That is a good way to avoid the pushback that you are getting.

 

[ChrisFullPower]

When you buy Oxiclean or a Shake Weight from those late night infomercials…. Do you call Billy Mays when they don’t work?

If you buy it from Watts24/7 then it is not fake.

If you buy it from eBay or AliExpress then it might be (probably) fake.

 

[Bud Martin]

"Will Prowse should be answering this question since he sends up to WATTS247"
Do you really think Will have the time to read all the threads and answer all the question?
"You know it's pretty shity, but nobody,not even Will has answered any of my legitimate questions that I've asked very nicely on this forum." LOL! so you also expect everybody to answer your question? Do you expect the answer right away? Some may take hours, days, or weeks since nobody has the time to read every threads and keeping tracks of the threads, and you did not even start this thread.

 

[A.Justice]

You know it's pretty shity, but nobody,not even Will has answered any of my legitimate questions that I've asked very nicely on this forum.

This isn't your thread, and I just looked back and didn't see any question.

Except one guy, he helped. But when I di pipe up and bitch about it ,I get yelled at, if you were in a grocery store and the cashier just decided to take a break when you were next in line wouldn't that piss you off ? Lol your analogy not mine lol.

That's not my analogy at all, I'm saying that that's not the cashier's job. The cashier helps you pay for your groceries, Will makes videos for you to watch. You're expecting somebody to do something that isn't their job. If I paid Will to make a video, and it ended in the middle like the Sopranos season finale, I be pissed, yeah. Lucky for us, all of his videos appear to have good endings.

and why so quick to jump on me and being so aggressive when I'm just voicing my personal opinion??? I didn't call him bad names or get rude,I actually love the guy and his videos. I've watched most of them multiple times.

The capital letters in your last post threw me off, to me, that appears like you're screaming mad. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but you've got to cut me some slack for assuming so. Capital letters online either means you're mad, or living in a geriatric care facility.

 

[Bud Martin]

If i recall you inferred that it was SHITTY. If you love the guy, then show this forum some respect and manage your expectations. That is a good way to avoid the pushback that you are getting.

+10000