Sunsynk warranty claims

[Isetech]

Sunsynk has a 10 year warranty on the inverter, and matched with a Sunsynk battery, combined they both have a 10 year warranty.

Anyone had to put a warranty claim yet.

How did you go about it?

What was the turnaround time?

Was the unit repaired or replaced?

Who carries the warranty, the SA supplier or Sunsynk UK?

Who paid for the transport costs?

Was a support unit supplied while the claim was being processed.

We have a problem with a Sunsynk battery, not holding a charge, they are busy trying to determine if it is a software issue or a faulty battery.

[Isetech]

What sort of turnaround time can you expect from Sunsynk when you have a faulty unit, or should I say what would you expect?

[Isetech]

If I am the installer and all my work is done according to spec, cabling sizes spacing etc, am I expected to remove the unit at my cost and arrange for the unit ot be returned to the support centre?

Do we as installer have to include these cost in our quote?

[GCE]

If I am the installer and all my work is done according to spec, cabling sizes spacing etc, am I expected to remove the unit at my cost and arrange for the unit ot be returned to the support centre?

Do we as installer have to include these cost in our quote?

Yes you would need to allow for comebacks on faulty equipment probably a bit more than you would on " normal " electrical contracting rates

If for some reason you accept a job where the equipment is supplied by others it can be a blessing, as any comeback work for faulty equipment is charged for at hourly call out rates

[Isetech]

I need to get this right, any asssitance would be appreciated.

Lets say I install a Sunsynk inverter and battery (size not important) and lets say 10 X JA solar panels (purchased from a local importer, supplier)

I am not concerened about these items, bypass DB and DC combiner box and all the otehr bits and pieces ( this stuff would be covered by our company) and I would just replace the components and sort it out with my wholesaler.

What would be expected of our company with regards to warranty claims for the large items (inverter, battery and panels).

What sort of turnaorund time would be expected.

Susnsynk have a warranty claim document which has to be completed by the customer or installer and submitted to Sunsynk.

We make sure the installation is spec'd correctly, spacing between units, cable sizes and over current protection etc is selected and installed correctly. We also submit pictures of the installation which verify the installation has be installed using a set of basic guidlines for lithium batteires and air flow is not restricted and spacing has been units has been adhered to.

The question is simple, if lets say an inverter goes pop and the unit has to be sent for an assessment.

Who do you contact and who is responsible to ge tit sorted out?

Your installer (the warranty is with Sunsynk)?

The importer/supplier in SA, where you purchase the product?

Sunsynk technical in the UK?

The same with the solar panels, who carries the warranty?

Is it the customer, the installer, the supplier or the manufacturer?

[GCE]

I will only buy from a supplier that has a workshop to inspect the faulty unit and that will take responsibility for any faulty product in a similar fashion that a supplier that does not assist with replacement for a faulty socket or CB will not get my repeat business

If I must wait for my preferred supplier to get stock , then my customer must wait , I will not get bullied into supporting a supplier that i am not comfortable with

I reckon another 2 years for the Solar industry to sort itself out where after only the suppliers and contractors that deliver decent service will continue getting repeat business
There will always be the scam artists around but hopefully less and it will be the customers that think there are getting a better price - Customers will start feeling the pain of going for the cheapest in the next 2 years

Just look at hubble warranty terms on the battery - No short circuit , no overload , temperature never above 55 degrees , external battery protection and the battery is only deemed faulty if suppling less than 50% of rating

Installers are installing the batteries and overloading from day 1 - when the house is sold and next owner comes in , it gets even worse as they did not request that the installer skimp on the installation , they don't understand that they must turn equipment off , they don't understand how the system works

It is why the regulations state

7.12.2.4 Where the alternative supply is intended to provide a supply to an
installation that is not connected to the main supply, or to provide a supply as
a switched alternative to the main supply, the capacity and operating
characteristics of the alternative supply shall be such that danger or damage
to equipment does not arise after the connection or disconnection of any
intended load as a result of the deviation of the voltage or frequency from the
standard range. Means shall be provided to automatically disconnect such
parts of the installation, as may be necessary if the capacity of the alternative
supply is exceeded.


So yes - warranties are a problem if the installation is not 100% correct and the supplier is not a legitimate supplier that has been around for awhile and you have some history with the supplier and know that he will back you up

[Isetech]

Another day wasted, not really(never wasted when I learn something new), but at least we are one step closer to offering our customers a product which we can offer better technical support and have a better understanding of how things work, how to identify problems with installed systems using the plant overview and apps. I get really frustrated, but the more problem the more I learn

It has been a long uphill battle, but I am getting closer by the day, the challenges I have experienced setting up these units, the problems we face on a daily basis, filtering out all the groups and people who add no value, but more important, the contact details of the right people, that is the key.

[Isetech]

It is good sign, to see there are no responses to this thread complaining about Sunsynk warranty claims

[Isetech]

The struggle with a sunsynk battery continues, I dont know at what point it no longer becomes my problem. As the installer I am doing everything in my power to attempt to resolve this issue. If I had a spare 5.3kwh Sunsynk battery I would have replaced the battery already and sent the battery to the service centre for review.

The only other site experience this kind of problem is where we installed a revov battery, the customer supplied the battery. The revov battery is responding exactly the same way as this problem Sunsynk battery, so could it just be a communication issue between the BMS and the inverter.

What is the issue, the battery drops a couple percent over a period of time (less than a day) and getting worse over time (started 5 months ago when it was installed and just got worse)

What steps have we taken to resolve the issue.

A firmaware upgrade for the 5 kva inverter to 3.3.8.4

A firmaware upgrade for the 5.3 Kwh battery from 1.02 to 1.06, dropped the SOC below 50 %, as advised, then attempted to recharge to 100 %.

The communication cable has been tested and checked Libms to verify there are comms.

Replaced the coms cable just in case.

Factory reset the inverter, twice.

Shut the entire system done and restarted from scratch.

Copied the setting of excatly the same installation and checked, still drops to 96 %.

At what point should I step away and leave it up to the manufacaturer to step in and fix it?

The system warranty was submiited.

[Isetech]

Taking about warranty claims. this is where it starts getting really interesting. Your system is installed and 6 months into the 10 year warranty, you start experiencing a few problems, now what?

So you get a quote from a company, it is within the budget so the bank appoves the loan, beside all the other challenges you gonana face when you realise the quote doesnt cover everything,there area few additional challenges.

The quote for the system is not the same company which does the installation, its sub contracted out to a solar installer and signed off by an IE or MIE. The system works everyone is happy.

Then somethings goes wrong, and it time to read the warranty clauses to try figure out who will be taking care of the warranty.

Who do you call,

The person who signed the COC?

The comapny which did the installation?

The contact number on the quote ?

The local supplier of Sunsynk products?

Sunsynk technical in the UK?

You need to read the Sunsynk warranty document which was completed when the project was completed.

This document will have all the photos of the installation to prove that the installation was done correctly and all the spacing between equipment is as per the specs sheet, a few basic guidleines to installing lithium batteries was taken into consideration.

The COC will have all the information to verifiy ther installation was done according to SANS 10142

The council registration documents, which was certified by an electrical engineer that the installation was designed and installed correctly as per SABS and NRS standards.

Now you can start understanding why choosing the cheapest quote might not have been the smartest idea, especially if you have tied yourslef into a 25 year loan agreement.

[Isetech]

As a contractor installing these systems, I am learning fast.

If you plan to be around in 5 years, best you make sure that you understand all the challenges which come with doing these installations.

If you sub contracting to people who are quoting and supplying equipment only, I asume you doing it as a hit and run project to make a few bucks and have no interest in the problems the customer will face over time.

Installing DB's plugs and light is small change and in most cases people will just write off the problem and move on, however when you start doing these solar projects and plan to be around in a few years time, I would strongly suggest you read and understand the warranty policies fro the products you ar einstalling. Who is going to take respnsiblity for a faulty solar panel, inverter or battery, do you have a couple spare R30k batteries in your workshop ready to swop out?

What is the turnaround time of the service centre?

Who is going to pay for the courier fees?

What happens if the service centre informs you that the repair is not covered due to a bad installation?

Have you made the customer aware that they might sit for a couple of months without one par tof the system, which means it is pretty useless during that period?

[Isetech]

We havent even got to the warranty stage of this battery, because I have been hoping it was a simple fix, maybe a firmware upgrade, simple setting adjustment or maybe something like a comms issue.

It been a few weeks already of back and forth to Sunsynk technical in the UK, emails to Sunsynk factory, firmware upgrades, dealing with the local supplier.

This one battery has already absorbed all the profits and is starting to cost my company a lot of money to resolve what I would have expected to be a quick fix or replacement.

What I have learnt from this experience is best you take a good hard look at the silly margins you are putting on this equipment. 10% on a R100k worth of equipment may sound like a good margin (R10k) wait till you start having to go back and forth to a site which requires firmaware upgrades or start dealing with other challenges we are experiences. You will see that R10k is gone faster than you can say upgrade.

As a contractor you need understand that once the customer loads that app its not just a couple plugs and lights, where you fit and go. They require setting tweeks, some installers connect everything to the inverter and boy are you in for some fun and games, when the customer is already upset when they realise they now have to pay more money for a product they were told should be a plug and play for the next 25 years.

Wait till the registration process start gaining momentum and people have to come up with R15k to register their system ,ther eare going to be a lot lof long tears.

[Isetech]

Time to start reading Sunsynk wartranty and return policies.

https://solarbackup.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/10-Year-Battery-Inverter-Warranty.pdf

[Isetech]

How do you identify your Sunsynk battery has a problem?

After a couple of days of installation you will notice the battery drop a percentage, big deal, not really because what is 1 percent, its nothing.

What is going to happen, you are going to notice after a couple of months this drop starts to increase to 2 then 3 then 4 then 5 percent.

Once you have installed acouple of these batteries, you will notice that this is not normal.

How to identify if your battery is doing this:

Go to plant list open the plant, then go to equipment , then go to custom , then open parameter and go to battery, then deselect everything and only select SOC , V-bat and V-BMS.

Once the battery reaches 100 % , you will notice a gap between V-bat and V-BMS, if that gap is around 2VDC different and equal all the time, then you will notice the battery will stay at 100 %.

IF however the V-batt stays the same 54.3 VDC and the V-BMS drops, you will notice a drop in percentage.

This is the same response you will see in revov batteries, we are going to watch the revov battery to see if the percentage drop increases over the next few months.

[Isetech]

Here we sit 5 months later, many many hours of wasted time.

Firmware upgrades and now fimware downgrades because they have realised there is a problem with what was the latest fimware update 3.3.8.4 , so now the inverter has been rolled back to 3.3.8.2 and still doing the same thing. Do you have to roll back all your 5 kva plant inverters back to 3.3.8.2, who knows. Nobody tells you anything, there is no communication or feedback to let you know if they are working on the problem or even if they might have resolved the problem.

Emails to the Sunsynk battery importer, which just went from management to sales to technical and no still feedback yet.

One thing I have learnt about Susnynk, when the unit works which in most cases it will, then everyhting is great. Indentify a problem and boy you are on your own.

Anyone know if the SA importer keeps stock of batteries and inverters?

Let this be a lesson for all the little guys who dont have the capital to offer customers loan products or keep spare units on the shelf . I have decided to increase the markup on the product to at least 20 maybe even 25 % so that I can invest the money back into our business so that we can keep stock of products.

Form my inteaction with Sunsynk and the SA sunsynk supplier, I cant see this issue being resolved any time soon.

I am going to buy another battery at my cost and replace the fault one with a new battery, that how we do bussiness.

I made this mistake a while back, I use "cheaper" contactors and boy did back fire, it cost me over R20K to replace that panel with Siemens products.

I am starting to think maybe I should rather look at the freedom one battery going forward.

Any susggestions would be welcome, I installed a Revov battery a couple weke ago, more than R10k cheaper than Sunsynk and now that we have it setup properly, its charging to 100 % and holding the charge.