[RE-wrenches] OUTBACK power

Todd Cory toddcory at finestplanet.com
Fri Aug 8 07:14:45 PDT 2025 

FYi... OpticsRE is down again.

On August 7, 2025 7:25:09 PM Nick Lucchese via RE-wrenches 
<re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Wrenches and Jeff,
>
>
> I too started to reply about my extreme unhappiness with Outback a couple 
> weeks back when Jay asked if anyone had any recent updates. I held on to my 
> responses after writing because part of Jeff's sentiments were a concern of 
> mine as well. Obviously many are in this for greater reasons beyond just a 
> career and supporting ourselves. I realize EG**** has helped with the 
> proliferation of more systems throughout the continents but I truly feel 
> it's at the expense of filling up e-waste bins. As I remind folks locally 
> that ask me about their products, the bitterness of poor quality resonates 
> long after the sweetness of a good deal. Poor man buys it twice. I'll admit 
> I've not looked into their find print, offerings or product listings 
> recently as I've got better things to do with my time like find solutions 
> for the failed Outback products that were well within warranty periods yet 
> being denied. What I recall from before was that what they offered was 
> substandard much like the majority of the equipment Signaturd was pushing 
> direct from China along with Bezos. Beyond that, how James is handling 
> Outback tells me all I need to know about his businesses and products. I 
> know there is a market beyond us professionals as new DIY'ers excited to 
> commence their solar dreams are coming to market every day but diverting 
> homeowners to substandard equipment that could have otherwise gone to 
> established and reputable companies like Midnite and the likes that grew 
> this industry sickens me. I know there's a place for their business model 
> and fine to work alongside what they offer as I typically don't want to 
> work for someone that wants bottom of the barrel equipment anyway but the 
> actions of James Sh*twater and whoever is emboldening him deserve no 
> respect. Like many of you, I've got hundreds of off grid households relying 
> on Outback equipment and obviously we all have relied on it because of its 
> ruggedness and reliability so for them to now shake up the foundation of 
> trust is extremely frustrating. The thought of how many thousands of off 
> grid homes relying on their equipment is mind boggling and not something to 
> take lightly. I realize there was more to be desired from Outback's tech 
> support for quite some time before James but they always did come through 
> and at least made the effort to repair or replace equipment still under 
> warranty. Now all I get after waiting for them to give me an answer for 
> three weeks is denials on equipment 2 years in on 5 year warranties and 
> when I ask about perhaps at least repairing something like a FM100 all I 
> get is "I would reach out to Zonna to see if they'll repair it". For James 
> to not share his intentions on how they intend to support a big part of the 
> foundation that paved the way for his undeserved success is nothing but 
> disrespectable from the way I see it. The repairability of Outback 
> inverters and controllers was a huge selling point that aligned with my 
> ideals and a major reason I stood beside them for so long. Now I find it 
> nearly impossible to try to make them look good. The only reason some of my 
> sites still have power are because I cannibalized new products in my 
> inventory (at my expense of course). If he can't comprehend what the eroded 
> trust in Outback feels like when an off grid client calls to report their 
> two year old equipement is not functioning correctly then I want absolutely 
> nothing to do with anything he's involved in. There will never be a day I 
> sell, touch or support an EGShenzhen product.
>
> Nick
>
> On Thu, Aug 7, 2025 at 7:01 AM Chris Schaefer via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Jeff,
>
> I respect your vast years of experience and knowledge. However, being that 
> OB has been such a huge provider of offgrid equipment over the last few 
> decades I would have expected a much quicker turn over from one owner to 
> another, similar to that of when Enersys bought OB some years back.
>
> If James Showalter is such a stand up guy and more importantly cares more 
> about the RE industry than the mighty dollar then perhaps he'd like to 
> address all of us wrenches and our concerns instead of leaving us and our 
> customers out in the DARK. I know that would go a long way with me.
>
> Christopher
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 7, 2025 at 9:25 AM Chris Daum via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Jeff:
>
> There’s no conjecture about how utterly crappy the ‘service’ is from what 
> used to be Outback.  They make promises and underdeliver or just ignore 
> you.  The latest for us is promising a new MATE3 (to an elderly customer 
> with health issues) but that was nearly two months ago.  Meanwhile, the 
> only EG4 system we’ve sold is terribly noisy – 90 decibels.  Fortunately 
> our customer is pretty deaf (but his wife isn’t).
>
> Let the buyer and seller beware.
>
> Chris Daum
> Oasis Montana Inc.
> 406-777-4309 or 4321
> 406-777-4309 fax
>
>
>
>
> From: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org> On Behalf Of 
> Jeff Clearwater via RE-wrenches
> Sent: Monday, August 4, 2025 11:11 PM
> To: william at millersolar.com; RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Cc: Jeff Clearwater <jeffc at villagepowerdesign.com>; RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] OUTBACK power
>
> Having consulted for EG4 all I can say is you are all way off in your 
> conjectures.  James and his team have the industry’s best interests at heart.
>
> Anymore is only appropriate to discuss off list. Conjecture without direct 
> knowledge often results in unnecessary harm and projection of our fear 
> rather than useful sense making.
>
> I believe the List has ethical standards that we should follow here.
>
> May we all work together to continue to build on all the great cooperative 
> work we’ve done to uplift the solar industry over the years.
>
> Best
>
> Jeff Clearwater
> Village Power Design
> Since 1996
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
>
> On Aug 4, 2025, at 11:58 AM, William Miller via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> Friends:
>
> One explanation is possibly that James Showalter wants to quietly remove a 
> well-respected, competing product from the market.
>
> William
>
> PS:  It is more than a bit off-putting that EG4 chose to post a note 
> kissing up to DJT.  I’m suddenly way less anxious to give EG4 a try.
>
> WM
>
> Miller Solar
> 17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422
> 805-438-5600
> www.millersolar.com
> CA Lic. 773985
>
>
> From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On 
> Behalf Of Maverick Brown via RE-wrenches
> Sent: Monday, August 4, 2025 11:39 AM
> To: RE-wrenches
> Cc: Maverick Brown; RE-wrenches
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] OUTBACK power
>
> James Showalter
>
> Founder of EG4 Electronics, Signature Solar and partner in buying Outback 
> from Alpha / Entersys.
>
> linkedin.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> https://eg4electronics.com/meet-james-showalter-founder-of-eg4-electronics/
>
> He ran a solar installation business and then switched gears.
>
> That’s about all I know.
>
> 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 Aug 4, 2025, at 1:21 PM, Chris Schaefer via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> Who is James ( I assume a partner of Signature Solar) and what is his 
> background?
>
> Christopher
>
> On Sat, Aug 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM Jay via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> I checked on a few websites and some do have some items.
>
> I wonder if they bought it for the military contracts and the retail they 
> don’t really care about.
>
> Because EG4 and signature solar and big battery all know how to market and 
> sell and make new good products.
>
> One thing I heard was they bought it to  sell lithium batteries to legacy 
> Outback people.  I guess that they would make some changes to the mate to 
> communicate with their batteries. Which made sense maybe?
>
> Hopefully someone will spill the info at somepoint because it’s weird
>
> I could  see myself buying any OB products as replacement maybe but for a 
> new project, seems unlikely.
>
>
>
> On Aug 2, 2025, at 12:52 PM, Maverick Brown via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> I do wonder what the real reason is that James bought outback and he also 
> invented flex boss and grid boss. The Outback transition has languished 
> uninformed to Wrenches and even to the DIY community.
>
> Just like the Gudgel boys, James has also shaped the industry in the new 
> transition to the next era.
>
> After 20 years in the solar/battery business we built a homestead from the 
> ground up in 2017 and the main inverter was a single Radian at the house 
> and the outbuildings all had used XW inverters. I always thought I’d switch 
> them to Radian  One of the XWs died after over tens years of service. I 
> replaced it with a Fortress Envy 12k. I guess if I have another failure 
> here, that’s what I’ll get.
>
> Always open to customers wishes and have installed just about every 
> inverter that’s ever been made installed from Tucson to Tucumcari ;-) but 
> mostly in Texas. But, I’m Willin’ to work on the next best thing.
>
>
>
> 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 Aug 2, 2025, at 11:15 AM, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> The question I have is, if they come back, would you trust them again? It 
> would take a lot to convince me.
>
>
>
> Jason Szumlanski
> Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
> NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
> Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
> Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 2, 2025 at 11:30 AM Dana Orzel via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Any word on whether OUTBACK power is coming back to life or they just died.?
> I sure miss the products personally, not to mention my whole system is OUTBACK
> Dana Orzel - dana at solarwork.com - 208.721.7003
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>
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