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Repair, Warranty & Nature

Posted By Sam on July 18, 2011

As predicted we have had a rash of repairs of late. Also, as predicted
we didn’t have one warranty claim in the winter months right up to
lightning season.

I have an addendum to last years observations, focusing on the Magnum
repair center.
We have been receiving many calls this year,(Right
after the serious lightning storms that have blanketed all of Ontario!) and of
course no surprise, everyone swares on the bible that there was no
lightning storms in their respective areas.

Here is what we have to say about this! Inside of every Magnum
inverter, there are several PTCR’s,(There are 10 on the new Magnum PAE series
AC and filter boards alone, not to mention a couple on the fet assembly and on
the control boards!) that indicate lightning hits without even removing
the cover. The Magnum engineers aren’t stupid! This is a brilliant way
of knowing whether an inverter has a legitimate warranty issue.

We, like all of the other repair centers for the Magnum product have to
replace these boards. Magnum inverters are vastly different from all of
the other Xantrex and Trace products that we repair at a board level.
Magnum inverters are extremely sophisticated in there design, and I
am sure they have had many a board meeting on how to overcome these issues
with false warranty claims against their products.

Its expensive and unnecessary, to warranty a product that is
subjected radiation hits,(Everything electronic,especially todays surface mount
technologies; are particularity susceptible to lightning in any of
its forms!)the onus is on the customer to ensure that they have lightning
protection devices not only installed, but upgraded at least every
two years.
If your system is not grounded properly, or your cottage is
built on rock you will never get a good ground necessary to protect from
mother natures rath. Installing a ground in the lake is not the answer. I
have so many customers that do this, you would be astounded! When you ground
your system in a lake upon a lightning strike, all of the energy is
directed through your system.

It is no different when you are
swimming in the same said lake, during a lightning storm; your survival
probability is better on the land!!
What can you do? I have repaired a lot of inverters, and in my experience
I may have had 5 true warranty claims, during the spring and summer
months!
Inverters of today are extremely dependable, and generally will give you
8 to 10 years of trouble free service, barring a lightning hit or radiation.
If your inverter has unusual symptoms of late it is probably due to poor
grounding or lightning radiation. We here at Windworks are happy to serve
you, and guarantee quick turn around on the popular Magnum products.
We have most parts on the shelf especially for the MS, along with the more
popular AE and PAE series of inverters.

Feel free to call us!
Peter Hewerdine,
Windworks & Solar Ltd.
www.windworksandsolar.ca

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DR Inverters

Posted By Sam on May 16, 2011

The much maligned DR inverter has been the back bone to many an offgrid, backup, and full on commercial; (In many Mennonite applications.) I’ve seen it! I for one love them, as they are the most repairable inverter on the market today. It seems of late everyone is switching to the more popular sinewave inverters, all of which,(Regardless of the manufacturer!) can not be repaired at a board level.

Whenever one of these inverters comes into the shop, there is no negotiation, it costs whatever they say it will cost; regardless of the repair center! Whereas with the DR inverters, we can fix everything internally; and can have it back to you in less than a week, in many cases. We even allow the customer to negotiate on the price! Try that with an Outback!

Although they haven’t been manufactured in a few years, there are countless numbers of them; serving as nothing more than a paperweight for customers that payed upwards of $3000.00 for one, in the case of a DR3624!

We can repair these inverters for way less money, and almost while you wait! You can’t get a better price anywhere on repairs, cheaper than that of Windworks prices! We have everything on the shelf new and used, for all of the popular Xantrex and Trace models including the SW, SW+ and of course the DR.

One thing that is really interesting,solar pioneers ran everything on these inverters; now it seems that marketing has convinced a lot of people that they can’t live without a pure sinewave inverter. Good marketing! They actually convinced you to open your wallet, to buy something you really didn’t need in most cases!

There are some instances of course, where a sinewave inverter is necessary; if you have laser printers at your cottage, and delicate loads. If you have a standard C.R.T television at your cottage, there won’t be a problem; although if you have a plasma TV, this may be a legitimate issue.

I field so many calls for inverter repairs, and everyone wants a deal; take some comfort in knowing if you have one of these inverters, that we can get it repaired and get it back to you quick! On the other hand, we like other repair centers; can supply and install the complete assemblies for all of the other makes and models. Windworks & Solar prides ourselves, in having lowest shop rates for inverter repairs in Canada!

Take a look in your garage, and see if you have one. We are interested in complete units, working and non working. Call us also with your service requirements for all makes and models.

—–Peter Hewerdine
President

Windworks & Solar Ltd.

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Powerful Force

Posted By Sam on December 16, 2010

Lightning, a powerful force that can effect an inverter in three ways. The first of course is the obvious, a direct hit. No arguments on this type, as you can smell it when they bring it through the door! The others are more subtle, and can easily pass as a defect to the untrained eye. Radiation is the culprit, in which no visible signs can be seen anywhere, and this is the second type.

The PCB’s show no sign, although the damage is like that of a bulk tape eraser. All of the information contained on the Eproms can be damaged,and likewise with the I.C’s. All of the data or some of the data is erased,

and the paths are no longer direct. Sometimes the effects are not seen for months, and the inverter will struggle along although the damage will worsen. The customer will call me and say “The inverter works, although it will no longer charge the batteries”. This is common, the damage of lightning can be like a computer virus and grow worse over time.

“There wasn’t any lightning!”, this is what I hear from 85% of my spring, summer and fall customers! Yes there was lightning, it may have been a few of miles away; and this is going to cost you! Radiations effects are sometimes immediate, usually when this happens, the inverter will just quit, and multiple boards are damaged, this is the third most

common type of lightning damage. This type of failure like the others are not warranty issues, and we can spot them quickly. I have been repairing inverters at a board level longer than anyone I know in Canada! We also replace boards under warranty, although predominately we repair them. We understand each PCB’s requirements, in regards to it’s specific function throughout the product line we service.

Another topic I hear when customers bring their inverters in is: “But I had lightning arrestors.” Most dealers use the Delta brand of lightning arrestors, and although they are good; they should be checked annually with an ohm meter, as they don’t last forever! I am writing this in the month of December and we haven’t had one inverter in for repairs since October,(Other than the ones that are over 8 years old, where normal wear and tear rules apply.) as soon as the lightning