Hi Chris 

The 1.1 MCU issue might have been known but they did a horrible job with my 
buddy.

7 x MCU 1.1 boards 
1 replacement inverter to fix a failed inverter turned out to be a warranty 
unit that wasnt fixed and of course didn’t work. 
And again this system was designed with their approval, and the loads are 
exactly as he told them and web connected 

After months they finally coped to the issue with 1.1 and got him 2 new units 
with 1.2 boards after trying 1.2 boards in the older units which didn’t work 
probably due to other damage. 

They are still trying to get him to pay $1500  for the inverter failure which 
was under warranty, it’s been 2 months and still not resolved. 

Total time of the project and issues 6+ months. 
Number of field trips 15+
Hours per trip 5+
Payment for those trips 0

While it’s been good to hear all the positive reviews here, what my buddy has 
gone through gives me huge concern to give them my money. 

Jay





> On Oct 4, 2022, at 5:05 PM, Chris Sparadeo via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi Jay,
> 
> We have 50+ Sol Ark’s deployed and have just recently RMA’d our first unit 
> for a failed grid input relay. Only failure so far and tech support was 
> awesome throughout the process. 
> 
> I have been very impressed with the 15K unit. We have dropped some serious 
> inductive motor loads on it with no issue. 
> 
> My understanding is that the MCU glitch with paralleled units was a known 
> issue with the 12K, and has since been resolved. 
> 
> Kindly,
> 
> Chris 
> 
>> On Fri, Sep 30, 2022 at 12:10 PM Jerry Shafer via RE-wrenches 
>> <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>> Ray. Understand but loose connections can be any product and troubleshooting 
>> loose intermittent issues are the hardest to correct
>> J
>> Funtimes
>> 
>>> On Fri, Sep 30, 2022, 9:03 AM Ray Walters via RE-wrenches 
>>> <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>> One thing I can say:  trouble shooting problems over the phone has its 
>>> limitations.  I had a customer issue with a system we hadn't installed that 
>>> was quite vexing.  Turned out to be a loose main DC connection to the 
>>> inverter.  Bizarre behavior as the connection heated up and the resistance 
>>> varied.
>>> 
>>> Ray Walters
>>> 
>>>> On 9/30/2022 6:57 AM, Jay via RE-wrenches wrote:
>>>> Hi all and thanks for the input. 
>>>> 
>>>> I guess he’s just been unlucky with the problems ( firmware upgrade 
>>>> switching to 50hz) and possibly just some random bad hardware. 
>>>> 
>>>> In regards to your thoughts of a install issue, he has spent a lot of time 
>>>> with sol ark reviewing everything. Loads, wiring, they have been 
>>>> monitoring all the data, photos, video etc with everything coming up 
>>>> correctly installed, wired, and loads. 
>>>> 
>>>> this system is an upgrade for an older XW ( 6kw units) system which worked 
>>>> fine. The customer wanted better monitoring, more kw, expansion 
>>>> capabilities and newer tech. 
>>>> 
>>>> Weird
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Sep 29, 2022, at 9:50 PM, pieter offgridenterprises.org via 
>>>>> RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> We have dozens of Solark based installs and have had excellent results. 
>>>>> All of our system have multiple parallel Solark inverters and have 
>>>>> operated with out issues. On the rare occasion that we had commissioning 
>>>>> questions our experience with Solark technical support has been 
>>>>> outstanding, they have by far the best technical support in the industry. 
>>>>> Although Solark helped design the system in question I suspect that there 
>>>>> must be some finer points that were not shared with Solark, a load side 
>>>>> wiring problem or perhaps an installation error that is causing the 
>>>>> repeated failures. I suggest that your friend gets a fresh set of eyes on 
>>>>> the system and look for that oversite we have all made and just can’t 
>>>>> seem to see it on our own.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Pieter Huebner
>>>>> 
>>>>> Off Grid Enterprises
>>>>> 
>>>>>  
>>>>> 
>>>>> From: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org> On Behalf 
>>>>> Of Jerry Shafer via RE-wrenches
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 10:25 AM
>>>>> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>>>> Cc: Jerry Shafer <jerrysgarag...@gmail.com>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] sol ark reliability question
>>>>> 
>>>>>  
>>>>> 
>>>>> Wrenches
>>>>> 
>>>>> Solark issues, I have them living off grid, 3 phase and grid tied back 
>>>>> up, both AC and DC coupled with only one intermittent comms issue, does 
>>>>> not seem to have any more issues than OB and less than Schnieder, all are 
>>>>> connected to Fortress 18.5's or Blue Planet BMS interface seems hardy, 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Would be good to know what issues he is having to accurately help
>>>>> 
>>>>> Jerry
>>>>> 
>>>>>  
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Thu, Sep 29, 2022 at 7:01 AM jay via RE-wrenches 
>>>>> <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>> 
>>>>> I’ve got a question about how many folks are having issues with sol-ark 
>>>>> products?
>>>>> 
>>>>> the reason i ask is that i’ve got a friend, a good competent installer ( 
>>>>> well versed in OB, Schneider, magnum)  who’s had continuing nightmares 
>>>>> with them.
>>>>> 
>>>>> he’s got 2 systems each on is a stacked pair of 12kw units, both offgrid.
>>>>> 
>>>>> each system was designed by sol-ark, meaning the design was approved by 
>>>>> them for the loads/solar etc.
>>>>> 
>>>>> He’s been through 7 MCU swaps. 
>>>>> He’s been through a field call required because the over the air firmware 
>>>>> update caused the inverters to go into 50hz and for some reason that 
>>>>> isn’t fixable via the web.
>>>>> He had an inverter that didn’t work correctly out of the box.  They 
>>>>> charged him $2500 deposit for a replacement.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Then they charged him $1500 to fix the inverter he sent back under 
>>>>> warranty.  Thats right $1500 to fix a warranty which they agreed was a 
>>>>> warranty issue.
>>>>> Hes not going to pay but this $1500 has been going on a while.  
>>>>> 
>>>>> The inverter they sent to replace the broken one had a older MCU firmware 
>>>>> so wouldn’t stack and it took tech support way to long to figure that out 
>>>>> then they had to send him a new MCU…...
>>>>> 
>>>>> And the list goes on.
>>>>> 
>>>>> But Im asking, is this poor guy just an anomaly or will anyone else chime 
>>>>> in about issues?,
>>>>> 
>>>>> Because at this point I have no desire to install one given his 
>>>>> experiences
>>>>> 
>>>>> Jay
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>>>> 
>>>>> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>>>>> 
>>>>> List Address: RE-wrenches@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
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>>>> 
>>>>> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>>>>> 
>>>>> List Address: RE-wrenches@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
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>>> 
>>>> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>>>> 
>>>> List Address: RE-wrenches@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
>>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>> 
>>> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>>> 
>>> List Address: RE-wrenches@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
>>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>> 
>> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>> 
>> List Address: RE-wrenches@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
>> 
> -- 
> Chris Sparadeo
> 
> 
> C_802-369-4458
> H_802-728-3059
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
> 
> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
> 
> List Address: RE-wrenches@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
> 
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance

Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org

List Address: RE-wrenches@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

Reply via email to