[RE-wrenches] GT 3.0 FAILURES

[Peter Parrish]

I haven't read the other precursor emails in the thread (but it doesn't make
any difference if I am to relate my personal experience).
 
I was a SWR2500 fan for the first two years in business 2002-2004. I am a
loyal customer as long as the quality, price, availability and tech support
stayed true. I got pretty upset when SMA upped their prices in response to
capturing the US market. The GT line looked great, with a more manageable
form factor and better pricing. So I switched horses.
 
My initial experience with the GTs was fine. As an aside, I had a horrible
time with my first two XW, in every way imaginable. So the GTs seemed to be
solid citizens until the Chinese manufacturing debacle set in. I think I
will end up replacing 100% of the GTs we installed over that 9 month (?)
period -- I'm thinking 15 total. 
 
Another GT failed two weeks ago. The customer relayed the LCD display
readout to us (Inverter Offline), the date of mfgr (Feb. 24, 2006) the FGA
(8640002) and the S/N (1098-6063). All fit the MO exactly. Schneider Tech
Support (which is who we are dealing with, to be precise) still insisted on
having us roll a truck to make DC and AC voltage measurements before
processing the warranty claim. Very poor move on their part. They know the
GT unit in question was going to fail and it has - ship us a replacement,
dummies.
 
The difference between one and two truck rolls is covering our costs and
not. 
 
I haven't had replacement units fail, though. I wonder why.
 
In addition, they are taking something close to eight weeks to cut checks;
eight weeks after getting the defective unit back. 
 
So Xantrex is on my "Do Not Buy" list, not for any of their inverters or any
thing else I might think of. For the duration.
 
- Peter
 

Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
 <mailto:peter.parrish at calsolareng.com> peter.parrish at calsolareng.com  
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885

 
  _____  

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Nick Soleil
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 4:55 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] GT 3.0 FAILURES
 
Yes, I have commonly found issues with the GT series.  I have installed
hundreds of Xantrex inverters through the BP/Home Depot solar program.
Unfortunately, I have replaced 4 in the last 2 weeks.  With so many in the
field, I am forced to spend a large amount of time troubleshooting and
replacing GTs.  
    On the other hand, I have also replaced 1 SB-6000U (almost out of
warranty) in the same time frame and have recently seen SMA inverters
failing out of warranty.  
    All in all, the Xantrex perform less reliably, but are much easier to
handle and replace, and the technical support is good.  In my experience, it
is not a big difference.  I trust the newer GTs more.  Most of my 3.0's have
been upgraded by Xantrex to 3.3s, upon failure.
 
Nick Soleil
Project Manager
Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC
PO Box 657
Petaluma, CA 94953
Cell: 707-321-2937
Office: 707-789-9537
Fax: 707-769-9037
 
 
  _____  

From: Marco Mangelsdorf <marco at pvthawaii.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Mon, June 7, 2010 11:36:18 AM
Subject: [RE-wrenches] GT 3.0 FAILURES



In my experience as well the Xantrex GT line of inverters has been fraught
with failures with one site having three failed buggers until I had had
enough and switched to a comparable SMA product.
 
marco
 
I am replacing some GT 3.0 multiple times. Though Xantrex pays the labor,
this is still a crummy deal. My customers really loose confidence the 2nd
and 3rd time , Bad for industry and my company. 
 
Question, how many other installers are experiencing multiple failures with
the GT series. I have a bad feeling that they are not addressing the
engineering problems and just replacing parts and shipping the same old
problem back to the field. 
 
Don 
Offline Solar
 
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