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vLink=blue link=blue>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Perhaps this might be an additional reason to really work on the
installer's guild. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>If
this trend continues (it hasn't changed since the beginning) then we as a group
might single out one Manu per month & NOT purchases their product.
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Two
things might happen; </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>1)They
might then have the time to actually build products that have a bit better
reliability .</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>2) If there is a problem WHEN we start to buy their product the
Manu's realize WE the installers, who SELL & INSTALL their products
+ put food on their tables, have THE POWER to affect their bottom line
as they do w/ ours due to lost opportunity costs & expenses
incurred while replacing faulty equipment.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Probably wouldn't take too long for one of the manufactures to hear
from their distributors that they are not selling
anything.</FONT></SPAN></DIV></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I will
NOT say that all the problems are due to Manu's problems.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I know
that I am guilty of not ALWAYS checking the basics & blaming things that ARE
NOT fault of the Manu's but loose wires that. "I swear I checked or my wires
never loosened up".</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV></SPAN><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Many of us have offered suggestions regarding trouble shooting
issues in the past & Bill B has put together a "installers check list''.How
about it Bill?, knowing you, this is something you put together back at PVusa oh
those many years ago</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=468075210-30032009>This</SPAN> could be the start of a way to finally
develop a industry wide & Manu. accepted check list to properly assess an
issue & then the fix.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=468075210-30032009><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>How
about is you manufactures, think this may be a way to compensate the installers
that DO have an issue w/ your products & not their
installations.</FONT></SPAN></DIV></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Peter
Parrish<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, March 27, 2009 5:59 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
'RE-wrenches'<BR><B>Subject:</B> [RE-wrenches] Iverters and their
Manufacturers<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">I don’t know about the rest of this
group, but we have noticed a steady increase in inverter warranty calls. It
used to be one a year; then things started to increase to the point of at
least one per-month. In the beginning it was the just the GEC-1000s, then the
SMA EEPROM debacle, followed by the Fronius IG firmware problem, followed by
the Xantrex GT “controlled flight into terrain”. Now both Outback systems we
have installed recently have gone down (#@!?*). We are finding that most
manufacturers are essentially indifferent to installers who are an integral
part of their warranty obligation and are doing a poor job of supporting
installers for a variety of reasons, to wit:</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">(1)<FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=1><SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=black><SPAN
style="COLOR: black">Outback will not reimburse installers period. Not for
anything that they do. They require that equipment be removed and sent to WA
for repair or replacement, or will ship replacement parts when the problem is
obvious, but that’s it. We have had one repair last month and are facing a
second in April. We paid extra for the CEC-grade warranty, and I expected
more. Based on this experience, I will not recommend or sell Outback
equipment, until this policy changes.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">(2)<FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=1><SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=black><SPAN
style="COLOR: black">Xantrex lost a returned GT inverter! They began dunning
us for it. We had the RMA on file but didn’t bother to write down the tracking
number from the Xantrex-generated UPS label (what am I going to do with an
inverter that won’t invert?). So not only will they not process our request
for reimbursement, they “want their inverter back”.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">(3)<FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=1><SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=black><SPAN style="COLOR: black">SMA
didn’t want to honor payment on a service call for an EEPROM swap out, even
though I had an email from one of their techies promising just that. After I
produced the smoking gun, they pointed out that we were about six weeks late
in sending in the reimbursement paperwork – they weren’t going to pay us.
They’ve taken a legally defensible position, but it makes for terrible public
relations.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">(4)<FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=1><SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=black><SPAN style="COLOR: black">I
thought Fronius might the only cowboy wearing a white hat, but no. They want
us to wait a month before reimbursing not us but our distributor who only had
the misfortune of selling us bad merchandise. How we manage (and when) to get
reimbursed from our distributor, only time will tell, but I bet they won’t cut
us a check.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">But I am saving my best story for
last…</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">(5)<FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=1><SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=black><SPAN
style="COLOR: black">Xantrex II: we had a terrible time getting an XW6048 to
work properly (the details are unimportant, except to say the design was spot
on). I made six service calls after installing it last Summer. I did a
firmware upgrade, tightened even terminal and wiggled every wire I could. I
checked the module connections and the PV combiner box. We programmed and
reprogrammed every possible system parameter, to no avail. After about 4
months (5?), I refused to make any more service calls without a Xantrex
technician at my side, and the customer threatened to see an attorney. Xantrex
eventually sent a technician down to Los Angeles and administered another
firmware upgrade and the system settled down. Do you think they are willing to
pay for any of our post-install service calls? </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">I don’t switch vendors very often or
without good reason, but I don’t expect to sell another Outback based system,
nor do I expect to sell another GT. I am trying to convince my salesmen to
sell the Sunny Island system over the Xantrex XW product (for a number of
reasons) even though it is a more expensive proposition. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">Is the following too much to ask for?
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">- Superior, real-time technical support
in the field, including generation of an RMA on the spot</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">- Replacement equipment promptly shipped
with prepaid shipping labels for the return of the defective
item.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">- Receipt of defective equipment by the
manufacturer, triggers installer payment without the requirement of submitting
a separate invoice.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">- Direct payment to company servicing
the equipment, within 30 days of the service.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">I am not aware of a single Company out
there which meets the above four criteria, but I haven’t looked closely at PVP
or some of the others. All other things being equal, I would really like to
get behind a manufacturer of quality inverters who also treats installers as
partners in the warranty department, and be able to extol their virtues to
customers. In the next breath, I will patiently explain to the prospective
customer the hazards of purchasing an inverter from a Company that does not
have a sound and equitable warranty policy.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">Any thoughts? And let’s remember, at
least on this list, they are all listening…</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black">- Peter</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Peter T. Parrish,
Ph.D., President<BR>California Solar Engineering, Inc.<BR>820 Cynthia Ave.,
Los Angeles, CA 90065<BR>Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax
323-258-8885<BR>CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert.
031806-26<BR>peter.parrish@calsolareng.com</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial
color=blue size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>