ETA Pumps (RE Wrenches) [RE-wrenches]

[Lawrence Elliott]

> Bob-O,
>
> Have you ever actually been compensated for time and mileage related
to
> equipment snafus? I haven't ever in 20 + years in this business!
>
> Matt
>

This is one issue that really "burns my butt", destroys profit and kills
incentive.
I have yet to have a new or fairly new product fail because of a
defective component such as FET or diode, cap etc. I could accept this.
It has always been due to what I call "not ready for prime time
products"
I suspect that most of these problems are due to management and
marketing demanding a product go on the shelf too early but I also
suspect it is due to a real lack of care also.

I remember I had installed two SW5548's with serial numbers in the very
low digits.
It was a nasty install because of a lack of space and other issues.
Everything went fine until I tried to run the customers 1 1/2 HP well
pump.
Both inverters would simply die and then come back on with a reset.
When I called Trace tech service I was told something that I found hard
to believe.
"Oh we have never really run stacked sets of 5548's with heavy surge
loads".

I think I actually screamed  # @ $ & * into the phone.
Here I was 200 miles from home,in the middle of no where and a customer
is pissed.

I had to completely unassemble  everything,take the inverters off the
wall since it was the early type with screws that had to be removed from
the back and install 10 ( I think) chips that they red labeled the next
day.
I had at least 5 hours of extra labor, a motel room charge and meals
etc.
I presented them with a bill for $550.00.
They did pay it but Trace had a black eye in my mind and the customers.
They could not do a simple thing like stack a set and put it under max
load. But they could red label chips sets the next day that solved the
problem?
Believe it or not I had a similar problem with a stacked set of DR's and
the engineer told me "I'll take some home tonight and do a test and then
have the software rewritten.
I'm serious!
I think calling this studpidity would be too kind.
I have other horror stories concerning wind turbines,charge controllers
etc.
The industry has come a long way but I still think we have allot to
improve before all is truly "ready for prime time"

Larry Elliott
>

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