<div dir="auto"><div>Oooh. I'm getting the popcorn out right now. This should be awesome! \U0001f602 </div><div><br></div><div dir="auto">In all seriousness, it's great that we have forums where we can express honest manufacturer grievances among true professionals (not in a Facebook rant style). Aside from being useful information for installers, manufacturers have the opportunity to listen and react. </div><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><br>Jason Szumlanski<div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group</span><br style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)</span><br style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956</span></div><div><font color="#333333" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208</font></div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Feb 26, 2026, 3:09\u202fPM Michael Morningstar via RE-wrenches <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Yes Please!!! A Good, Bad and Ugly list</div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 11:41\u202fAM Ray Walters via RE-wrenches <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Hi Laura;<br>
<br>
You didn't state how old the batteries were. If its an "out of the box" <br>
problem, then I don't even consider that a warranty issue. The company <br>
has an initial obligation to sell you a functioning product, not a big <br>
hunk of junk. That's part of the initial sale; you bought a battery, <br>
you should get a battery. Speaking of Rolls, that's why I quit selling <br>
their batteries; they sent me a battery that was wired internally <br>
backwards, so it had no voltage. This was a simple quality control <br>
issue they should have caught at the factory, but instead they insisted <br>
on charging a serious freight charge to correct it. Never sold their <br>
series 5000 stuff again (sorry Steve) so they might have controlled <br>
costs, but they lost about a train load worth of sales with me over the <br>
years, so I think their internal business calculus was flawed.<br>
<br>
I went on to sell HUP batteries (now gone, RIP) and they had what I <br>
thought was a very fair warranty policy. For the first year they paid <br>
parts, labor, and freight. For years 2 through 7, they gave full <br>
credit, but the dealer paid freight and labor, and years 8 through 10 <br>
were prorated, so you got a little credit, but definitely were going to <br>
be paying some. Overall, we rarely used the warranty, but it was fair. <br>
I also recently had a minor issue with Midnite, and they sent a new unit <br>
out, at their cost, and I put the old unit in the box and sent it back <br>
to them. Magnum used to be that way too, for "out of the box" or DOA <br>
products.<br>
<br>
The other issue, is that you quickly quit selling products you have <br>
trouble with. I'm considering posting a Good, Bad, and the Ugly list of <br>
my experiences with all manus.....<br>
<br>
Ray Walters<br>
Remote Solar<br>
<br>
<br>
On 2/26/2026 8:59 AM, Laura Conchelos via RE-wrenches wrote:<br>
> Hi all,<br>
> I need to replace a Discover rack-mounted battery under warranty. When <br>
> I started the RMA process, I was told I'd have to pay shipping costs <br>
> for the replacement battery, which I found appalling. That, of course, <br>
> is on top of the fact that they will not pay any cost for my labor or <br>
> for the disposal of the battery. I'm in a rural area, so disposal is <br>
> difficult. If anyone knows of a place to dispose of lithium batteries <br>
> in Denver, please let me know. I can haul it up with me next time I go!<br>
><br>
> I'm not as surprised that Discover is not paying for my labor. though <br>
> that sucks. It's a fight to get Solaredge to pay for my labor for <br>
> inverter replacements and I've never been reimbursed for <br>
> module replacement. But the shipping really surprised me. I've never <br>
> had to pay shipping for an RMA before.<br>
><br>
> So I'm wondering what costs y'all are having to absorb when RMA-ing <br>
> equipment these days? A guy at Discover told me that Sol Ark was now <br>
> charging shipping for replacement products?<br>
><br>
> It feels very bad to have to pass these costs onto the consumer when <br>
> the equipment they purchased fails, so I guess these are costs I'm <br>
> going to have to build into the initial install going forward. Thoughts?<br>
><br>
> Laura Conchelos<br>
> Sandhill Solar LLC<br>
> Monte Vista CO<br>
><br>
><br>
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</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">
<p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica;min-height:22px"><span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica">Michael Morningstar </p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica"><br></p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica">Morningstar Electric Inc</p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica">PO Box 1494</p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica">Mount Shasta, CA 96067</p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica">530-921-0560</p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica">CSLB 1116835</p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica"><a href="mailto:mjmorningstar@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">mjmorningstar@gmail.com</a></p><p style="margin:0px;font:18px Helvetica"><br></p></div></div>
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