[RE-wrenches] Distributors versus manufacturers providing support

[William Bryce]

Everyone needs to look at the whole system. The issue is when you have
"Installers" and then also have DIY.
DIY can eat up Hours and Hours of support time. This time is not free and
takes away from supporting customers who purchase more than one time
(Installers).
(Grid tie "installers" can also eat up large amounts of time trying to
understand batteries, and complicated inverters hung on walls instead of
not being attached to the back of solar panels)

>From an installer standpoint it seems "Simple" but in the real world it is
not.

That is why you see support for the distribution channels, and support from
the importer or manufacturer.

The other solution is to do like Schnider did and lock it all down (like
that worked so well) or like SolArk does and restrict the level of support,
and that can still take days to wade through if you have an issue.

Manufacturers sell at a steep discount to Distribution, and part of the
discount is to supply some level of support for its customers. Otherwise
the manufacturer might as well sell direct. But, that is another story of
its own.

Just my 2 cents.

On Tue, Apr 22, 2025 at 9:45 AM Maverick Brown via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> Jason
>
> I agree with you. It is strange and dumb to track down a secret handshake
> through the distribution to get access to the manufacturer’s monitoring
> service. The distributor did know I ordered but didn’t send a preemptive
> welcome message. That’s on me, of course.
>
> I installed an EG4 18Kpv and I had to call Current Connected to get the
> secret password of CurrentConnected. Haha!
>
> Fortress Power did this right and printed in the manual “use code provided
> by the distributor or just use ‘Fortress’ as the code. Great, I didn’t have
> to call anyone!
>
> I have to track down the same for MidNite AIO as well or some other
> similar account setup thing.
>
> I’m trying to consolidate what I install and recommend (and therefore have
> to manage). So far: Fortress Envy and MidNite AIO are the way to go.
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Maverick
>
> Maverick Brown
> Off-Grid Solar Commander since 2006
> Maverick Solar Enterprises, Inc.
>  • Solar Commander Remote Power
>  • SunFlow Systems Cathodic Protection
> maverick at mavericksolar.com
> 512-460-9825
>
>
>
> On Apr 22, 2025, at 7:00 AM, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
> 
> I'm trying to get my head wrapped around distributors providing technical
> support services for manufacturers. I first noticed it with Signature Solar
> and others providing support for EG4. I thought it was strange that I
> needed to go through the distributor to establish an installer monitoring
> account for EG4. I just found out that the same thing applies to Midnite
> AIO.
>
> What makes it even more confusing is that you can get support from both
> the distributor and the manufacturer. And sometimes you get different
> answers. I have experienced this with battery integration questions. I
> think the manufacturer wants to claim maximum compatibility while the
> distributor may have a more realistic and practical understanding. In that
> respect, hearing it from a distributor, AKA salesperson, seems like a good
> idea. But when you are looking for raw technical information, it seems
> reasonable to go directly to the manufacturer.
>
> Admittedly, there has always been a little bit of overlap, but mostly it
> was technical advice geared toward the system design and component
> compatibility that you would receive from the distributor. When it came to
> technical support, fault resolution, and monitoring issues, the
> manufacturer was always the primary source. That seems to be changing in
> some cases.
>
> It seems like there is some end user risk here for both installers and
> system owners.
>
> What if you purchase products from multiple vendors? Do you need multiple
> installer monitoring accounts? How would a distributor know if they
> supplied a product for which you are seeking support? It would be hard
> enough keeping track myself. And what happens if that distributor goes out
> of business?
>
> Fun times...
>
> Jason Szumlanski
> Florida Solar Design Group
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