Just curious, but are you willing to tell us what the failure rate of the SOK batteries is? How does Current Connected handle warranty returns, for example, who pays shipping? By this I mean how painless (or painful) is it for the customer, if they have problems, and need to return product?
Please don't feel singled out... I am going to ask this of all the manufacturers I am considering. I don't think these are unreasonable questions given folks can be looking at $10,000+ for a new battery bank
I'm glad you asked! Luckily we've been refining our process over the few thousand 12/24v SOK batteries we've already sold, and we think we've got this going pretty smooth by now...Especially compared to the competition.
Our office line is (725) 258-2700. First thing we do is get on the phone and discuss the problem to troubleshoot. Emails suck and take too long, and can be lost in spam folders, so we really prefer to call and have a person to person conversation. Our priority #1 is to fix the issue as quickly and painlessly as possible. We also have done facetime/video calls in the past to get a better idea of what's going on.
Often times by working through the installation over the phone we can find a parameter set incorrectly, or something simple to get the system back up and running. This is why we have trained our team on various different pieces of gear and have highly qualified engineers at our disposal, because more often than not, it's an issue with the implementation with the system that is easy to fix, rather than an actual fault / failure with the battery. We wouldn't want to get the battery back on our bench to find out nothing is wrong with it and we've just wasted a ton of time and money on shipping and the new batteries have the same problem!
If we can fix it, great! If the issue is identified as a real fault with the battery, then there are two routes the warranty can take, based on the customer's strengths and comfort level of course. We proceed as follows:
For example purposes, let's say a BMS failed regardless of if the customer caused the fault or not. This is rare, but the most likely circumstance as we use very high quality cells. If a customer feels that they can take out 13 screws, unplug 5 connectors, and disconnect 2 wires, then we will overnight (on our dime, yes, even if the customer blew up the BMS and it's their fault) a complete new front panel assembly, which includes the BMS, screen, connectors, etc. and they can swap it out the next day and be back up and running like new. The failed BMS assembly is then returned to us (with prepaid return label) for analysis and product improvement. The 10 year warranty is maintained even though the customer serviced the battery. There is no "warranty void" sticker anywhere on the battery, nor has SOK ever installed one in any of their products.
If the customer does not feel up to the task, or time isn't a constraint, we can ship the pack back to our facility for repair. The cost of this shipping however varies. If the customer is the one who caused the fault, due to improper installation or negligence, then they would be responsible for round trip shipping. If the fault is caused by a defect, flaw, or quality/workmanship issue, then we cover the round trip shipping in its entirety.
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