It is also important (as Chris points out) to notice if the "walk" matches the "talk". This is not "conjecture", this is actual experience!
A great example of this is lack of collaborative information towards the wrenches & users in the OB forum. FFS I had to get info on whether they were actually aware of and working on the multiple recent OpticsRE/ Mate3s problems from facebook and post that to their own users forum! How is this an example of "having the industries best interests at heart"??? This behavior causes the speculation we are justifiably seeing and removes any trust we have in the new owner(s), which of course dissuades wrenches from recommending/ building OB based systems for customers. Regardless of the rhetoric, once trust is violated, it is very difficult to rebuild. And I'm sorry, but if the new head of Outback/ EG4 is "kissing the ring"... that says a whole lot about his ethics, morals and business practices. Todd On Thursday, August 7, 2025 6:22am, "Chris Daum via RE-wrenches" <[email protected]> said: 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 <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Jeff Clearwater via RE-wrenches Sent: Monday, August 4, 2025 11:11 PM To: [email protected]; RE-wrenches <[email protected]> Cc: Jeff Clearwater <[email protected]>; RE-wrenches <[email protected]> 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 <[ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] )> 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 ]( https://eg4electronics.com/energy-access-innovations-powers-americas-future-with-new-texas-facility/ ) 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 ]( http://www.millersolar.com/ ) CA Lic. 773985 From: RE-wrenches [mailto:[ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] )] 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://www.linkedin.com/in/james-showalter-9a0599156 ) [ https://eg4electronics.com/meet-james-showalter-founder-of-eg4-electronics/ ]( 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 [ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] ) 512-460-9825 On Aug 4, 2025, at 1:21 PM, Chris Schaefer via RE-wrenches <[ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] )> 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 <[ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] )> 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 <[ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] )> 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 [ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] ) 512-460-9825 On Aug 2, 2025, at 11:15 AM, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <[ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] )> 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 <[ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] )> 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 - [ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] ) - 208.721.7003 _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance Pay optional member dues here: [ http://re-wrenches.org ]( http://re-wrenches.org ) List Address: [ [email protected] ]( mailto:[email protected] ) Change listserver email address & settings: [ http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org ]( http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org ) There are two list archives for searching. 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