How to get warranty help for an SOK 48V100 battery?

[reader2580]

I have both 110 volt AC adapter and a car adapter for my CPAP. Each bed has a 12 volt outlet. The single SOK battery supplied a nominal 48 volts the whole time without fail. The backup plan for electricity is the 12.5KW generator. The generator is used to recharge the batteries.

I have a Victron 48 volt to 12 volt converter that hasn't given me any issues.

 

[reader2580]

ALL CAPS aside, it still sounds more like a dealer problem than a warranty problem ... that aspect will be interesting to see shake out. I, too, would be interested in knowing how the "SOK, master distributor, other sellers, customers" thing plays out ... only CC can write up some kind of statement, or web page, or whatever, to spell this out for us.

At no time did SOK say to contact my dealer. They asked for the dealer name and order number, and they said they would contact the dealer. I have not heard from SOK since then. I have searched my email and checked my spam folder to make sure I didn't miss an email.

 

[reader2580]

I have no issue with bringing my unopened new stuff to a Victron installer and paying them to do the installation. The closest Victron authorized installer is about five hours away. I already contacted that installer. My guess is would cost $3,000 to $5,000 to have a professional do the installation.

 

[Tomthumb62]

And I STILL do not understand why you're getting rid of other working equipment just because the vendor you got them from was crap.

My guess is it’s easier to spend money to get rid of a problem than the (small) hassle to fix it.

If money was no object, I would not be trying to fix my car…I’d simply just buy a new one. Then call a charity to donate the old car to and take the tax deduction. Base the tax deduction upon Kelly Blue Book and not have to deal with the hassle of selling especially when people want to kick tires and offer less than what’s already a fair price.

 

[Partimewages]

I have no issue with bringing my unopened new stuff to a Victron installer and paying them to do the installation. The closest Victron authorized installer is about five hours away. I already contacted that installer. My guess is would cost $3,000 to $5,000 to have a professional do the installation.

Who originally installed the system? Was there a design drawing? There's a great deal of knowledge on here especially with Victron @sunshine_eggo would likely help if your willing to take some advice.

 

[Dagoth Ur Does Solar]

My guess is it’s easier to spend money to get rid of a problem than the (small) hassle to fix it.

If money was no object, I would not be trying to fix my car…I’d simply just buy a new one. Then call a charity to donate the old car to and take the tax deduction. Base the tax deduction upon Kelly Blue Book and not have to deal with the hassle of selling especially when people want to kick tires and offer less than what’s already a fair price.

At this point it sounds like OP is best going with their current option of just getting a professional installer to set up and warranty the build.

 

[reader2580]

My guess is it’s easier to spend money to get rid of a problem than the (small) hassle to fix it.

It is not possible to get any help for my Victron equipment since the selling dealer won't provide any help. At this point I have pieces of non-working Victron gear and no warranty. The Victron warranty is through the selling dealer.

I bought new equipment from a better dealer since the old stuff is broken.

 

[Bluedog225]

Ok op. Glad you are on the right track. And nice of currentconnected.com to help out.

Since things have gone sideways in this thread, I’d abandon it. Start fresh if you need to.

Hope you get a good resolution.

 

[reader2580]

I had a Prosine 3.0 inverter that worked fine for a dozen years, but it died. The transfer relay finally welded itself which is a known issue and Xantrex used to offer a repair service for this issue. The relay is long obsolete and getting to the relay requires complete disassembly of the inverter. I looked at the work involved and decided a new inverter was a better idea.

 

[HighTechLab]

First, you are supposed to contact your place of purchase. They do preliminary triage and make sure it's not something simple; In the case of the issue in this thread I knew with two pictures that it was not something simple.

If the customer is out of the USA, then the place of purchase is to contact SOK directly. Within the USA, the place of purchase would contact us and we would handle everything else from there.

That's why SOK wanted to know your place of purchase and order number. I'm waiting on a reply from my rep at SOK (they are sleeping right now) to see why your inquiry didn't make it back to me.

On the broken victron gear, it's similar; you can contact victron at salesusacanada@victronenergy.com and let them know your selling dealer is not providing support or a resolution for your issue and they will follow up with them just like I'm getting at.

 

[AntronX]

I would recommend setting up extra 12V AGM lead-acid battery (no BMS to fail) just for your CPAP alone. That would provide extra redundancy in case you have issues with your 48V system on the road. This 12V battery can be charged with separate MPPT and solar panel, 48V - 12V dc-dc converter and 120Vac - 12Vdc charger.

 

[Tomthumb62]

The Victron warranty is through the selling dealer.

NO. You have been misinformed.

If the seller doesn’t provide warranty service (as they’re required to), then Victron will refer you to another Victron dealer, who WILL provide service. If in the rare case that the second dealer fails to help you, Victron will usually deal with you directly.

 

[Checkthisout]

OP seems to be well-heeled, just writing checks and throwing away Cadillac lithium batteries because the BMS fried.

With everything kicking on and off and the repair guy saying he has never seen that kind of failure yet, going to guess the OP's install is frying stuff.

I'm going to guess the system is wired like how all stock motorhomes are wired and that the alternator charges the batteries when the engine is running. Going to guess this is overcharging the batteries and causing the BMS to trip frequently which is then damaging it and leading to the inverter power cycling etc.

Just a "quickie" guess.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Seems there is more to this than meets the eye.

Can't help wondering if charging these batteries with a gasoline generator might have been a factor? What else is going on?

 

[Checkthisout]

Seems there is more to this than meets the eye.

Can't help wondering if charging these batteries with a gasoline generator might have been a factor? What else is going on?

Can only guess.

Do lithiums get out of balance if they sit untouched for 9-10 months?

 

[reader2580]

Seems there is more to this than meets the eye.

Can't help wondering if charging these batteries with a gasoline generator might have been a factor? What else is going on?

What gasoline generator? I have a Wrico International water cooled 12.5 KW generator with a Mecc Alte generator head. It was installed in 2021. A gentleman who has installed hundreds of these did most of the installation with some help from me.

The inverter charges the batteries. The generator does not charge the batteries. The generator has a separate battery for starting.

 

[reader2580]

OP seems to be well-heeled, just writing checks and throwing away Cadillac lithium batteries because the BMS fried.

With everything kicking on and off and the repair guy saying he has never seen that kind of failure yet, going to guess the OP's install is frying stuff.

I'm going to guess the system is wired like how all stock motorhomes are wired and that the alternator charges the batteries when the engine is running. Going to guess this is overcharging the batteries and causing the BMS to trip frequently which is then damaging it and leading to the inverter power cycling etc.

Just a "quickie" guess.

No alternator connection at all. The inverter sits less than two feet from the batteries and are connected with new 1/0 cables professionally made.

 

[reader2580]

NO. You have been misinformed.

If the seller doesn’t provide warranty service (as they’re required to), then Victron will refer you to another Victron dealer, who WILL provide service. If in the rare case that the second dealer fails to help you, Victron will usually deal with you directly.

Direct from the Victron Energy website: "For technical support, warranty claims and repairs, check our support pages or contact the local dealer where you purchased the product."

How I am I supposed to contact Victron technical support? Try to call their number in the Netherlands? Send them snail mail to the Netherlands? I can't find any technical contact for them.

 

[reader2580]

OP seems to be well-heeled, just writing checks and throwing away Cadillac lithium batteries because the BMS fried.

I tried to BUY, as in give them money, a replacement BMS for my 48V100 from Current Connected a few weeks ago. The gentleman on the phone said they cannot sell any parts for the batteries. I had hit a dead end on possibly getting a warranty replacement so I decided to try buying a replacement BMS. If someone said the BMS is not covered under warranty and I destroyed it then I would be fine paying for a replacement BMS.

I ended up buying a replacement battery because it seemed clear I was never going to get a fix for the battery I have.

 

[Zapper77]

I tried to BUY, as in give them money, a replacement BMS for my 48V100 from Current Connected a few weeks ago. The gentleman on the phone said they cannot sell any parts for the batteries. I had hit a dead end on possibly getting a warranty replacement so I decided to try buying a replacement BMS. If someone said the BMS is not covered under warranty and I destroyed it then I would be fine paying for a replacement BMS.

I ended up buying a replacement battery because it seemed clear I was never going to get a fix for the battery I have.

Selling a customer a part is different from a warranty replacement part.

 

[reader2580]

Selling a customer a part is different from a warranty replacement part.

The batteries are labeled as user serviceable. What good is a user serviceable battery that you can't get any parts for?

 

[AntronX]

The batteries are labeled as user serviceable. What good is a user serviceable battery that you can't get any parts for?

Yes you can get parts. Owner of Current Connected is literally helping you right now. You are so capricious you should sell it all and replace with an Ecoflow box.

 

[Crowz]

Yes you can get parts. Owner of Current Connected is literally helping you right now. You are so capricious you should sell it all and replace with an Ecoflow box.

Congrats.

It is very seldom these days and at my age that I have to look up the meaning to an english word. Thanks !

 

[Zapper77]

The batteries are labeled as user serviceable. What good is a user serviceable battery that you can't get any parts for?

Valid point.

 

[reader2580]

Yes you can get parts. Owner of Current Connected is literally helping you right now. You are so capricious you should sell it all and replace with an Ecoflow box.

A warranty part. What happens out of warranty, or if I did something stupid to blow up the BMS and it wasn't covered under warranty?