Solar sadness

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Who here thinks you should have to replace fans and cpu boards upon purchasing a brand new inverter?
I for one do not think you should.
I’m not going to actually.
I would ….if I was assured I’d be taken care of… if it didn’t work. I’m not.
I’ve changed transmissions and rebuilt old vehicles since birth.
I do not care about a little fan or cpu board.
I care about my time being wasted without an end goal in sight which is my solar power system working as advertised.


I’m going to buy a new one elsewhere.

I’ve had countless issues with my growatt products from the start now my fans don’t work for some odd reason.
The issues started out as low voltage fault code,
High voltage fault code, now no fans no fault codes.
Called watts 247-flash the firmware.
Completed that.
Called growatt USA. Got the same firmware.
Confirming it was correct.
The system worked for a total of about 5 days and then things got inconsistent.
I had the growatt axe c-1 battery which is being replaced by an eg4. Signiture solar gave me all the necessary information to do a damaged swap and it was done with in ten days. I’m extremely grateful that they listened and genuinely helped. They take notes on your case and try to do the best they can.
They never made me do something I was uncomfortable with.

My experience with watts247 was great prior to purchasing.
I genuinely wanted to support this Buisness because I perceived it as an upcoming solar Buisness with good customer support.
He explained a lot of things to me up front and influenced my purchase of the growatt 6k AIO.
Now that I’ve purchased what I presume to be a defective unit I tried to resolve the issue with the fans randomly not working and he said send it in and he’ll send me some money back.
We’ll how much?
…. It’ll be determined on the exterior condition of the unit….why? It’s broken.
Exterior looks great though.
Okay so send it in.
how much am I getting back?
Crickets.
I’m getting my new battery tomorrow from sigsolar and I hope those fans magically kick on.
If not what should I do solar people?
I kinda need power.
Should I just eat the $1500 in inverter costs and buy elsewhere or should I try to get this resolved with this company?
I value my time and I can’t troubleshoot broken products all day.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Ian has a good reputation here and generally provides good service. I would encourage you to continue to pursue resolution.

 

[JRH]

Who here thinks you should have to replace fans and cpu boards upon purchasing a brand new inverter?
I for one do not think you should.
I’m not going to actually.
I would ….if I was assured I’d be taken care of… if it didn’t work. I’m not.
I’ve changed transmissions and rebuilt old vehicles since birth.
I do not care about a little fan or cpu board.
I care about my time being wasted without an end goal in sight which is my solar power system working as advertised.


I’m going to buy a new one elsewhere.

I’ve had countless issues with my growatt products from the start now my fans don’t work for some odd reason.
The issues started out as low voltage fault code,
High voltage fault code, now no fans no fault codes.
Called watts 247-flash the firmware.
Completed that.
Called growatt USA. Got the same firmware.
Confirming it was correct.
The system worked for a total of about 5 days and then things got inconsistent.
I had the growatt axe c-1 battery which is being replaced by an eg4. Signiture solar gave me all the necessary information to do a damaged swap and it was done with in ten days. I’m extremely grateful that they listened and genuinely helped. They take notes on your case and try to do the best they can.
They never made me do something I was uncomfortable with.

My experience with watts247 was great prior to purchasing.
I genuinely wanted to support this Buisness because I perceived it as an upcoming solar Buisness with good customer support.
He explained a lot of things to me up front and influenced my purchase of the growatt 6k AIO.
Now that I’ve purchased what I presume to be a defective unit I tried to resolve the issue with the fans randomly not working and he said send it in and he’ll send me some money back.
We’ll how much?
…. It’ll be determined on the exterior condition of the unit….why? It’s broken.
Exterior looks great though.
Okay so send it in.
how much am I getting back?
Crickets.
I’m getting my new battery tomorrow from sigsolar and I hope those fans magically kick on.
If not what should I do solar people?
I kinda need power.
Should I just eat the $1500 in inverter costs and buy elsewhere or should I try to get this resolved with this company?
I value my time and I can’t troubleshoot broken products all day.

Ian at Watts 24/7 has always treated me more than fair on several purchases even when I was asking for free stuff he should have charged me for… if he said he would refund you , based on how the exterior looks ,then send it back to him …..if it looks good as you say you should not have a problem.. thst sound more than fair…sometimes shit just happens….
probably he will send it back and have the case filled with new guts… that’s normal to do in the electronics business for a distributor,. I have done it myself with Fender amps ….But then if you carved the words “Metallica Rules “ in the paint or somthing off the wall... (love them guys), that would make it tougher to refurb on his end…that’s why they are waiting to see it before committing to any specific dollar amount I suspect…
Man, people nowdays do some crazy stuff ..ya never know …

My humble opinion is , if you can work it out with Ian in some livable scenario , then stay with him…

im being totally honest with ya on this… Jim…

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Ian at Watts 24/7 has always treated me more than fair on several purchases even when I was asking for free stuff he should have charged me for… if he said he would refund you , based on how the exterior looks ,then send it back to him …..if it looks good as you say you should not have a problem.. thst sound more than fair…sometimes shit just happens….
probably he will send it back and have the case filled with new guts… that’s normal to do in the electronics business for a distributor,. I have done it myself with Fender amps ….But then if you carved the words “Metallica Rules “ in the paint or somthing off the wall... (love them guys), that would make it tougher to refurb on his end…that’s why they are waiting to see it before committing to any specific dollar amount I suspect…
Man, people nowdays do some crazy stuff ..ya never know …

My humble opinion is , if you can work it out with Ian in some livable scenario , then stay with him…

im being totally honest with ya on this… Jim…

You know I totally believe that and you put it into a good perspective.
I understand better now.
I can verify the quality of the outside of the unit by pictures. This is where he stopped responding. I’m gonna reach out again tomorrow. I’m pretty annoyed

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Ian has a good reputation here and generally provides good service. I would encourage you to continue to pursue resolution.

I’m trying. His resolution was for me to use sig solar. He doesn’t need people to buy things from him anymore.
He told me to return the inverter and he might refund me %100. %40? %30? We don’t know. He won’t confirm what I’ll be refunded. Anywhere from %5-%50…?
The whole situation is just strange. I don’t know if I caught the guy on a bad day or what.
He never remembered who I was after several conversations lol .
I had to re-explain my situation to him once a week for 5 weeks straight. No notes. No actual care. Just quickly trying to off load the problem or blame someone

 

[JRH]

You know I totally believe that and you put it into a good perspective.
I understand better now.
I can verify the quality of the outside of the unit by pictures. This is where he stopped responding. I’m gonna reach out again tomorrow. I’m pretty annoyed

Just chill , let it go , I wouldn’t worry a bit if i were in your position..scraping will not help anything… just send a message that you are “happy” with his offer to help and the item will be there for his inspection soon… thank him for his assistance and let it roll.

Sometimes it best to
“ be cool as ya can man, face piles of trials with smiles “

yer right , I stole that…. A good line…

J.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Just chill , let it go , I wouldn’t worry a bit if i were in your position..scraping will not help anything… just send a message that you are “happy” with his offer to help and the item will be there for his inspection soon… thank him for his assistance and let it roll.

Sometimes it best to
“ be cool as ya can man, face piles of trials with smiles “

yer right , I stole that…. A good line…

J.

Honestly I like that.
I’m probably going to do exactly that.
Ian’s a cool guy and knowledgeable.
It’s not necessarily an Ian issue as much as a growatt issue lol

 

[robby]

Ian does not dick people around when it comes to service. If you search this whole forum your most likely the only one who has had a complaint. I suggest you do what the others have said and just work with him in the way he suggests. Most people end up getting more than they expected when dealing with him.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Ian does not dick people around when it comes to service. If you search this whole forum your most likely the only one who has had a complaint. I suggest you do what the others have said and just work with him in the way he suggests. Most people end up getting more than they expected when dealing with him.

Yeah I’m hoping that’s the case. I got the inverter and my new battery turned on tonight. I changed the protocol options from 51 to l01 and the unit worked as intended. I still haven’t hooked up the ac output to any loads to verify if the fan and everything else works or not yet but I’ll wrench on it this weekend.

 

[Bluedog225]

Sorry friend. A lot has turned to shirt lately. Everybody is a reseller. Nobody makes money off returns or service.

And in general, not a lot of good interaction or dialog.

Had an experience today with a transmission shop. Great reputation for quality work. Estimate? Leave it for a few days and we will let you know. “Can’t do that.” Ok, click.

Hope you get it worked out. I’d be sad as well.

 

[JRH]

Sorry friend. A lot has turned to shirt lately. Everybody is a reseller. Nobody makes money off returns or service.

And in general, not a lot of good interaction or dialog.

Had an experience today with a transmission shop. Great reputation for quality work. Estimate? Leave it for a few days and we will let you know. “Can’t do that.” Ok, click.

Hope you get it worked out. I’d be sad as well.

True words you speak…. I consider it a good day if I can order some fast food somewhere and not get frowned at by the staff…

no politeness , no manners, no verbal skills and can’t count real money ….

jim.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Sorry friend. A lot has turned to shirt lately. Everybody is a reseller. Nobody makes money off returns or service.

And in general, not a lot of good interaction or dialog.

Had an experience today with a transmission shop. Great reputation for quality work. Estimate? Leave it for a few days and we will let you know. “Can’t do that.” Ok, click.

Hope you get it worked out. I’d be sad as well.

I had the same thing happen for my 97 gmc savanna 3500 1 ton van. I ripped the transmission out the next day by myself and put a rebuilt one in the next day!
Transmissions are easy.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

True words you speak…. I consider it a good day if I can order some fast food somewhere and not get frowned at by the staff…

no politeness , no manners, no verbal skills and can’t count real money ….

jim.

Lol these days you gotta be the sunshine and smiles and %99 of the time I try to be.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

A lot has turned to shirt lately. Everybody is a reseller. Nobody makes money off returns or service.

That’s the part that doesn’t sit well with me.
It’s a part of the job IMO.

 

[MrThisIsME]

I will pig pile on and say Ian will most likely do you right. He is good people.

 

[HRTKD]

True words you speak…. I consider it a good day if I can order some fast food somewhere and not get frowned at by the staff…

no politeness , no manners, no verbal skills and can’t count real money ….

jim.

Have you ever been to Chik-Fil-A? The kids there are so polite! At least the one near me, that's the way they are. It's so busy that I rarely go there.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Have you ever been to Chik-Fil-A? The kids there are so polite! At least the one near me, that's the way they are. It's so busy that I rarely go there.

I want the local base to get chik-fil-a but they have nt yet...they got all the socialisst crap like starbucks and chilis, but heaven forbit they bring in a truly good franchise.

 

[JRH]

Have you ever been to Chik-Fil-A? The kids there are so polite! At least the one near me, that's the way they are. It's so busy that I rarely go there.

Yes I have … but it’s so busy it take 20 min… they totally have best people always… they really train like they care.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

I want the local base to get chik-fil-a but they have nt yet...they got all the socialisst crap like starbucks and chilis, but heaven forbit they bring in a truly good franchise.

More places should behave like chik-fil-a

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Just to set the record straight for everyone here. This was user error.
Not growatt.
Not watts247.
My fault.
polarity was reversed for my pv input.
I have no idea how I did that.
But I did.
I was immature and began blaming equipment and others for not making it right.

I’m deeply sorry for those of you who read my rant and wasted precious time and energy.
I switched the wires around and everything worked as intended.
All Fans work.
Battery is charging.
Solar panels are working on a cloudy day.
I really can’t complain.
End of thread with solar happiness.
I’m extremely grateful for the people who continue to troubleshoot and help out.

 

[nc73]

Just to set the record straight for everyone here. This was user error.
Not growatt.
Not watts247.
My fault.
polarity was reversed for my pv input.
I have no idea how I did that.
But I did.
I was immature and began blaming equipment and others for not making it right.

I’m deeply sorry for those of you who read my rant and wasted precious time and energy.
I switched the wires around and everything worked as intended.
All Fans work.
Battery is charging.
Solar panels are working on a cloudy day.
I really can’t complain.
End of thread with solar happiness.
I’m extremely grateful for the people who continue to troubleshoot and help out.

At least you figured what you did wrong and came clean about it. We all make mistakes.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Just to set the record straight for everyone here. This was user error.
Not growatt.
Not watts247.
My fault.
polarity was reversed for my pv input.
I have no idea how I did that.
But I did.
I was immature and began blaming equipment and others for not making it right.

I’m deeply sorry for those of you who read my rant and wasted precious time and energy.
I switched the wires around and everything worked as intended.
All Fans work.
Battery is charging.
Solar panels are working on a cloudy day.
I really can’t complain.
End of thread with solar happiness.
I’m extremely grateful for the people who continue to troubleshoot and help out.

Kudos to you for admitting your mistake.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

At least you figured what you did wrong and came clean about it. We all make mistakes.

Hopefully someone can learn in the future from my mistakes

 

[RV10flyer]

Well, we all know if we get strange codes and no fans what to look for. Also glad they have some reverse polarity protection, although not ideal for diyers. Glad it worked out for you.

I've got in the habit of using my meter, red fingernail polish and red electrical tape as soon as I get everything in. It's all marked. Panels, cells, scc, inverters, etc. Otherwise, I know I'll end up messing up....AGAIN. We've all been there. Showers of molten metal, fireworks in the dining room at 3 AM due to my thinking "tan was positive, black was negative" on my new cells. Black has always been dc negative here in the USA since I was 4 yrs old. Those litlle + symbols need to be larger for us older folks eyes! ???

 

[Not Aerosmith]

I searched on this forum to check out Watts 247 reputation on DIY. Mostly favorable reviews, until I hit your review. Your comments and treatment by Watts 247 made me reconsidered using them. Not remembering you after 5 weeks and needing to explain the same thing over and over would be very frustrating. Considering the circumstances and the outcome, I'm sure both parties were frustrated. I appreciate you stepping up and letting us know that the equipment bought at Watts 247 wasn't to blame. From my research on DIY forum, I willing to buy from them.