What I think we need is a Wrenches Vote list; a compiled list of all the
products, and manus we use, and all of our combined experiences. Each
of us individually is probably not enough buying power to be a blip on
the radar screen, but all of us combined is a force to be reckoned
with. Each of us are confirmed installers, or we are not on the RE
Wrenches. That means we each get a vote to rate these products, and we
should be able to vote anonymously to avoid fear of reprisals from manus.
What do you think oh grand poobah list administrator, Michael Welch? I
would start the product/ manufacturer list. I'm not saying a separate
email list, just a compiled list of products that would live on RE
Wrenches area.
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
On 2/26/2026 1:01 PM, Michael Morningstar wrote:
Yes Please!!! A Good, Bad and Ugly list
On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 11:41 AM Ray Walters via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Laura;
You didn't state how old the batteries were. If its an "out of the
box"
problem, then I don't even consider that a warranty issue. The
company
has an initial obligation to sell you a functioning product, not a
big
hunk of junk. That's part of the initial sale; you bought a battery,
you should get a battery. Speaking of Rolls, that's why I quit
selling
their batteries; they sent me a battery that was wired internally
backwards, so it had no voltage. This was a simple quality control
issue they should have caught at the factory, but instead they
insisted
on charging a serious freight charge to correct it. Never sold their
series 5000 stuff again (sorry Steve) so they might have controlled
costs, but they lost about a train load worth of sales with me
over the
years, so I think their internal business calculus was flawed.
I went on to sell HUP batteries (now gone, RIP) and they had what I
thought was a very fair warranty policy. For the first year they paid
parts, labor, and freight. For years 2 through 7, they gave full
credit, but the dealer paid freight and labor, and years 8 through 10
were prorated, so you got a little credit, but definitely were
going to
be paying some. Overall, we rarely used the warranty, but it was
fair.
I also recently had a minor issue with Midnite, and they sent a
new unit
out, at their cost, and I put the old unit in the box and sent it
back
to them. Magnum used to be that way too, for "out of the box" or DOA
products.
The other issue, is that you quickly quit selling products you have
trouble with. I'm considering posting a Good, Bad, and the Ugly
list of
my experiences with all manus.....
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
On 2/26/2026 8:59 AM, Laura Conchelos via RE-wrenches wrote:
> Hi all,
> I need to replace a Discover rack-mounted battery under
warranty. When
> I started the RMA process, I was told I'd have to pay shipping
costs
> for the replacement battery, which I found appalling. That, of
course,
> is on top of the fact that they will not pay any cost for my
labor or
> for the disposal of the battery. I'm in a rural area, so
disposal is
> difficult. If anyone knows of a place to dispose of lithium
batteries
> in Denver, please let me know. I can haul it up with me next
time I go!
>
> I'm not as surprised that Discover is not paying for my labor.
though
> that sucks. It's a fight to get Solaredge to pay for my labor for
> inverter replacements and I've never been reimbursed for
> module replacement. But the shipping really surprised me. I've
never
> had to pay shipping for an RMA before.
>
> So I'm wondering what costs y'all are having to absorb when RMA-ing
> equipment these days? A guy at Discover told me that Sol Ark was
now
> charging shipping for replacement products?
>
> It feels very bad to have to pass these costs onto the consumer
when
> the equipment they purchased fails, so I guess these are costs I'm
> going to have to build into the initial install going forward.
Thoughts?
>
> Laura Conchelos
> Sandhill Solar LLC
> Monte Vista CO
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>
> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>
> List Address: [email protected]
>
> Change listserver email address & settings:
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't
work, try the other:
> https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> List rules & etiquette:
> http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
> Check out or update participant bios:
> http://www.members.re-wrenches.org
>
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
List Address: [email protected]
Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work,
try the other:
https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List rules & etiquette:
http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out or update participant bios:
http://www.members.re-wrenches.org
--
Michael Morningstar
Morningstar Electric Inc
PO Box 1494
Mount Shasta, CA 96067
530-921-0560
CSLB 1116835
[email protected]
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
List Address: [email protected]
Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the other:
https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List rules & etiquette:
http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out or update participant bios:
http://www.members.re-wrenches.org
