[RE-wrenches] SMA SB........ -41 sources, connection box cover

[Tyrone Houck]

My belief is that most GT inverter failures are caused by grid surges of
some kind.

I'm surprised they would deny a warranty and unsure how they would prove
the utility caused the problem. I've had several AC side failures of sunny
boy inverters and never had SMA deny a warranty especially once sending
device logs and onsite voltage readings. Open the top half and inspect for
physical damage then document with photos. Should be an automatic RMA.

 Its common for them to send "top half" replacements. The online
connectivity corresponds with the connection unit in the lower half and the
top half serial needs to be added online so definitely keep track of all
top and bottom serial numbers.

 As for a third party source for older inverters, I don't have any advice
there. Ebay would probably be my first thought too.

Best of luck!



On Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 9:06 AM Bill P. Battagin via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> Fellow SMA Lovers,
>
>           I have an installation that has 10, SMA SB-1SP-US -40 and -41's
> PG&E thought it would be a good idea to send a surge into the service of
> this install so 3 off the inverters were compromised.
>
> 1)  I've gone to Ebay for replacements sometimes as SMA would not consider
> this a warranty issue.  Anybody have a source for new or refurbished other
> than Ebay?
>
> 2)  Also it would be good to know, can the bottom connection box covers
> with displays be swapped/interchanged between different inverters and
> between -40 and -41 versions?
>
> Thanks as always,
> Bill
>
> Feather River Solar Electric
> Bill Battagin, owner
> 4291 Nelson St. (Shipping)5575 Genesee Rd <https://www.google.com/maps/search/5575+Genesee+Rd?entry=gmail&source=g>. (USPS, UPS)
> Taylorsville, CA  95983
> 530-284-7849, 258-1641(cell)
> CA. C10 Lic # 681552/874049
> Solar Powered since 1982
> Home of the Sunny Side Up
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>
> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>
> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>
> 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/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/
> 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
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20260131/549f830e/attachment.htm>