diy solar

diy solar

Rant About Snobby Elitist Brands

I realize most of that is stated, because the lawyers have their say.
My problem is that my distributor's stance is "if you do the installation yourself, we won't honor the warranties." Nowhere was this stated before the purchase over four months ago, but that is what they told me recently when I reached out for help. They're basically attempting to blackmail me to fork over more money to have someone from their side of the country come on an all-expenses paid vacation to my side of the country in order to help me install what they call a "plug and play" system.
So what did the distributor sell you? Are they the one that tell you what you need to buy from them? Sounds like a bad distributor. Link to this distributor website? Do you have the list of what you bought so far?
Same people that sold you this?
 
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That's crazy - shame on them. I wonder if you can find another distributor who will support you from now on even though you didn't make your initial purchases through them. Maybe give Alt-E a call? There's someone here in the forums, too (I wish I could remember the name).

Hell, *I* will support you as much as I reasonably can ...
I'm in Peru. That's not an unusual way to treat a customer in this country. That said, I am considering exactly what you've suggested. Although I do have a CerboGX with Touch50, I'm not sure if that allows me to configure the multiplus via a smartphone. I was thinking about buying the MK3-USB cable which is about $100 from another distributor, so I can configure things with my laptop offline using VictronConnect, and also maybe be a customer of a company that actually has good customer support. Thankfully there are a couple other companies in the country. Keep in mind in Peru imports are excessively taxed and an additional 18% sales tax is levied, so my system cost me about 40% more than I would've paid in the USA.

There is more to the story with the vendor here if you're curious: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/dealing-with-problematic-distributor-novum-solar.21047/

My wife and I are just trying to start a small farm down here, and live our dream. We bought the property last year, and never intended to live here so soon, but the covid situation prompted us to make a big leap of faith as soon as we were able to pull enough strings with my wife's consulate to get permission to travel from the US to Peru.

Our small house has been very difficult to build, because honest contractors with integrity are rare down here, and also we are far from the nearest road (which is very steep and horribly maintained). We had to bring the construction materials with horses, oxen, and men. Our driveway is a 650m-long, muddy, single-back trail.

There are some people here that do solar installations, but we've had bad luck with people messing things up in other areas of the house. I want to save money, but I also want to learn enough myself to be able to supervise and make sure someone is not messing up this huge and important investment in my life.

The guy our distributor recommended to us didn't seem all that experienced, and he told us we would need to have an electrician available too to help him. If I'm paying someone to install the solar system, I'd expect they wouldn't need an electrician to help. After all, someone on this very thread, said they installed everything themselves in less than an hour.
 
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I'm in Peru. That's not an unusual way to treat a customer in this country. That said, I am considering exactly what you've suggested. Although I do have a CerboGX with Touch50, I'm not sure if that allows me to configure the multiplus via a smartphone. I was thinking about buying the MK3-USB cable which is about $100 from another distributor, so I can configure things with my laptop offline using VictronConnect, and also maybe be a customer of a company that actually has good customer support. Thankfully there are a couple other companies in the country. Keep in mind in Peru imports are excessively taxed and an additional 18% sales tax is levied, so my system cost me about 40% more than I would've paid in the USA.

There is more to the story with the vendor here if you're curious: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/dealing-with-problematic-distributor-novum-solar.21047/

My wife and I are just trying to start a small farm down here, and live our dream. We bought the property last year, and never intended to live here so soon, but the covid situation prompted us to make a big leap of faith as soon as we were able to pull enough strings with my wife's consulate to get permission to travel from the US to Peru.

Our small house has been very difficult to build, because honest contractors with integrity are rare down here, and also we are far from the nearest road (which is very steep and horribly maintained). We had to bring the construction materials with horses, oxen, and men. Our driveway is a 650m-long, muddy, single-back trail.

There are some people here that do solar installations, but we've had bad luck with people messing things up in other areas of the house. I want to save money, but I also want to learn enough myself to be able to supervise and make sure someone is not messing up this huge and important investment in my life.

The guy our distributor recommended to us didn't seem all that experienced, and he told us we would need to have an electrician available too to help him. If I'm paying someone to install the solar system, I'd expect they wouldn't need an electrician to help. After all, someone on this very thread, said they installed everything themselves in about three hours.
It’s not hard, but there are a lot of details to be aware of. When in doubt, even if logic dictates an “obvious” decision, ask questions or search the forum on the topic. It doesn’t surprise me that a solar installer might not be an electrician. Installer maybe just mounts panels, perhaps a combiner box, (maybe more?) and turns it over to the electrical folks.
 
I'm in Peru. That's not an unusual way to treat a customer in this country. That said, I am considering exactly what you've suggested. Although I do have a CerboGX with Touch50, I'm not sure if that allows me to configure the multiplus via a smartphone. I was thinking about buying the MK3-USB cable which is about $100 from another distributor, so I can configure things with my laptop offline using VictronConnect, [...]

You can't configure with the Cerbo/Touch but you can configure it remotely over the VRM portal using VE.Configure. You download the profile over VRM, edit it in VE.Configure, and then upload it back to VRM (which then configures the equipment). I've never personally done that but I know another forum member here (name escapes me) that does this exclusively. Given the cost of the MK3, I'd give that a shot (try changing something inconsequential first to get the hang of it). That said, Victron Connect over MK3 is SO much nicer. VE.Configure is a little obtuse.

Have you contacted the installers listed here to see if they'll help? https://www.victronenergy.com/where-to-buy Also check out https://www.victronenergy.com/contact

Hope that helps!
 
Victron is actually quite helpful if you’re willing to learn. As noted previously, DIYers are not their thing. But my Victron suppliers were quite helpful in configuration, and Victron was very helpful in pointing me to documentation to learn about some special features I needed to configure after purchase. It took some work, a webinar or two, help from this community, Will, and the Victron forum, but this total solar newbie built a Victron system that’s been working flawlessly for a good while now.

Don‘t let the frustration get you down, the information is out there.
 
As this is a rant thread.
THIS is what Victron want to control of my life just so I can charge batteries.
o clue why but Victron wants the following control of my phone.
This app has access to:
4rkEm_eN4F8lAtqf1avrqAQ49_IjMjRduxI5szmftCXmKzSaLsNScjM5DSGQp2qtI5R_fqj8j7aJi_G3dg=s20

Location
approximate location (network-based)
  • precise location (GPS and network-based)
aWNKQedLTpw6u6yyMjQObmuoKu67A1czWnIcvID86oAmMT02r5mNdRn6l9ZN2t2MIyH6tNy-01v7ukeQ=s20

Storage
  • read the contents of your USB storage
  • modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
pHtIujPWxciAZcfYSwlrGGq14Z984rKLMgcm9RPATLiOlbrWy-tVlelEWgED7gpktgcD1tZizVeHiO5fkw=s20

Photos/Media/Files
  • read the contents of your USB storage
  • modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
Other
  • view network connections
  • pair with Bluetooth devices
  • access Bluetooth settings
  • full network access
  • prevent device from sleeping

No chance I am letting them have precise GPS location AND the right to modify or delete my stuff on my phone.
Never happening.

Well so much for Victron then.
I didn't know they were the usual online scum.
Now I know and will never use or recommend them ever again.

Thanks everyone for the heads up and warnings. :)

And all this power over my phone just so I can charge batteries?
Sorry but that is WAY too much power to give strangers over my phone and its contents.
Never happening.

Good thread. Companies that want to control your life and delete and modify your phones content need to outed for the scum they are.
There is absolutely no need for this JUST TO CHARGE A BATTERY.


Thanks again for this thread. :)
 
Some good BMS makers left the DIY scene early on for LFP too, so don't feel bad. But I understand their reasoning.

They simply don't know or have the capability to vet the end-users expertise, and want to avoid an endless cycle of damaged returns.

I've faced this all my life by not being able to purchase some things, even if I had the $$ and could demonstrate expertise.

Why? Because for the most part DIY as a community, is perceived to be a bunch of totally unsafe cheapskates, willing to forego common sense, safety, and skirt around local regulations, and listen to shade-tree mechanics.

"You don't need all those high-faluting top-balance procedures! Just hit those things up with my arc-welder and you'll be good to go!" If that doesn't work, return it!

Renters: Part of the liberal return policy problem. I'll just put all this together for a gig, and then simply return it saying I'm not satisfied.

Mis-application: Hey, your bms didn't work with my battery and smoked. I want a return! Little did the manufacturer know that the "battery", was a pile of trash cells from the dump or the local vape-store that went out of business. "But my Klein meter says everything is good!" I want my money back.

So I understand. Sadly.
 
Some good BMS makers left the DIY scene early on for LFP too, so don't feel bad. But I understand their reasoning.

They simply don't know or have the capability to vet the end-users expertise, and want to avoid an endless cycle of damaged returns.

I've faced this all my life by not being able to purchase some things, even if I had the $$ and could demonstrate expertise.

Why? Because for the most part DIY as a community, is perceived to be a bunch of totally unsafe cheapskates, willing to forego common sense, safety, and skirt around local regulations, and listen to shade-tree mechanics.

"You don't need all those high-faluting top-balance procedures! Just hit those things up with my arc-welder and you'll be good to go!" If that doesn't work, return it!

Renters: Part of the liberal return policy problem. I'll just put all this together for a gig, and then simply return it saying I'm not satisfied.

Mis-application: Hey, your bms didn't work with my battery and smoked. I want a return! Little did the manufacturer know that the "battery", was a pile of trash cells from the dump or the local vape-store that went out of business. "But my Klein meter says everything is good!" I want my money back.

So I understand. Sadly.
I agree with what you are saying. One of the reasons some of us [like myself] stopped going into certain making businesses. In the end I could not afford it. It takes money to make money. But starting out can also be freakin' expensive as well.
 
It's just the realities of today. That's why this forum is SO important!

Let's add another reason - Endless Email Education

Some buyers who have no idea what they are doing, want to be hand-held through the process of obtaining an education starting from ground zero to fullfillment. And then NOT even buying from those who gave them their time to do so.

They have a business to run, not a college.

Playing vendors and installers against forums:

Another endless email trail that some companies simply don't have the resources to handle all the "What-If" games.

I'm not personally into second-life systems, but man, I feel for those companies who do, where these issues are amplified, and there's not enough time in the day to handle it. "Did you plug it in?" Ok, now.. :)
 
It's just the realities of today. That's why this forum is SO important!

Let's add another reason - Endless Email Education

Some buyers who have no idea what they are doing, want to be hand-held through the process of obtaining an education starting from ground zero to fullfillment. And then NOT even buying from those who gave them their time to do so.

They have a business to run, not a college.

Playing vendors and installers against forums:

Another endless email trail that some companies simply don't have the resources to handle all the "What-If" games.

I'm not personally into second-life systems, but man, I feel for those companies who do, where these issues are amplified, and there's not enough time in the day to handle it. "Did you plug it in?" Ok, now.. :)
This is why I prefer hands on helping of people myself. Face to face has always been my preference.
Mostly because I am very visual.
However when I was super new I found it helpful when some people helped me out by explaining every step in detail. I do agree though, that if you are a business [like a home hobbyist] then it can get very annoying to go through everything for hours on end just to have someone walk away and buy from someone else.
 
Yep - we're already probably familiar with that phenomenon when some brick-n-mortar saleseman (what's that?) would spend hours with customers going over the details, only for the customer to go online and get it cheaper based on that demo.

Warranty scammers:
I should stop. Like guys who bought Red-Top Optima starter batteries, and abused them on purpose to play the warranty game, when for their application should have used Blues or Yellow tops. Or not revealing that they were starting out with somebody else's trashed ones in the first place. Or never ONCE, giving it a full charge.

Poor Jim McIlvaine - who became a manufacturer rep and dared show his face online those many moons ago, and tried to be helpful. Immediately hit by the scammers and cheapskates. And nationalists ranting about made-in-Mexico when the very computer they were using to type their rants with was made in China! Hypocrites.

Yeah, better stop. Bad times.
 
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Yep - we're already probably familiar with that phenomenon when some brick-n-mortar saleseman (what's that?) would spend hours with customers going over the details, only for the customer to go online and get it cheaper based on that demo.

I do it the other way around a lot .... do a lot of online research to figure out what I want .... then go to a brick and mortar store and buy it.
Especially with hardware .... I try real hard to give my local hardware store business. Too many of them are gone. I'm also lucky to have a Fastenal store near me.
 
If you are giving your money to a company that puts passwords on settings that you feel you should have access to...

Is there not a company making a comparable product that doesn't do this?
 
I do it the other way around a lot .... do a lot of online research to figure out what I want .... then go to a brick and mortar store and buy it.
Especially with hardware .... I try real hard to give my local hardware store business. Too many of them are gone. I'm also lucky to have a Fastenal store near me.
I try to do something similar. Do research and then buy locally.
Sad thing is though. There are so few places left and even those are struggling to survive. :(
 
How about Magnum inverters and charge controllers? Good info and service?
 
And then there is this guy whom I enjoy a lot. :)
 
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