Fried my Xantrex inverter today

[luvrbus]

Here is a guy that may can help you he carries some weight with Xantrex or did   

www.donrowe.com


good luck

[JohnEd]

I've been watching Xantrex for many years.
At one time they had service that was unparalleled.

Then it seems the bean counters and lawyers got into the act and they started buying up all the other inverter manufacturers. Heart, Trace, Sima, etc.
Since that time, the service and warranty work they offer has been almost non-existent.

They are out to do nothing more than sell as many units as possible, and then default. In my own prejudiced opinion, I would never recommend buying any of the Xantrex products.

And your point would be that in the absence of competition the consumer gets screwed.  Power corrupts.   Along those lines, did you read today that AT&T has bought Sprint(?) and is now, once again, the biggest cell phone company and there are only three left, total.  Remember how well that type of consolidation worked out for us with "BIG Oil, Pharma, Ag, Coal, Elect companies, etc.  Thank God we are getting rid of those infernal and inept Fed Regulatory agencies so private industry can implement the most efficient..... Which do you personally prefer?  Inept and inefficient Fed regulation or outright thievery and predation?

[David Anderson]

Gary,

I had a situation with a warranty that would not be honored by a day.  I could not get satisfaction.  I put all my records together and composed a great letter to "Action Line" in Hiways Magazine (Good Sam) and got FULL reimbursement from the culprit company.  The threat of a negative article about anything to do with RV stuff written in that magazine seems to carry a lot of weight and changes the attitude of the company's management in amazing ways.   

If you come up empty, give it a try.  It may get you some positive results

[Seayfam]

Here is a guy that may can help you he carries some weight with Xantrex or did   

www.donrowe.com


good luck

Thanks Clifford!  Is there anyone or anything bus related that you don't know? You never cease to amaze me.
I haven't given up yet. I am contacting every dealer between my house and Idaho trying to find out where it came from. I got ahold of the main dealer for Xantrex in Alaska, She is very helpfull! She is going to get ahold of all the places in Alaska that sell Xantrex and try to find a recpit. I sure wish all dealers were like hers. If all this fails, I will try donrowe.com and if that fails, I am going to order the Magnum MS4024 unless nobody likes it.
Thanks,

Gary

[Busted Knuckle]

Gary as you have discovered Clifford is THE YODA of buses and the "GOD FATHER" of EAGLE buses!
  BK 

[Seayfam]

Gary,

I had a situation with a warranty that would not be honored by a day.  I could not get satisfaction.  I put all my records together and composed a great letter to "Action Line" in Hiways Magazine (Good Sam) and got FULL reimbursement from the culprit company.  The threat of a negative article about anything to do with RV stuff written in that magazine seems to carry a lot of weight and changes the attitude of the company's management in amazing ways.   

If you come up empty, give it a try.  It may get you some positive results

Thanks David,
We must have been posting at the same time. I think that is a very good idea. I told the guy on the phone today that I was going to post all over the net and he just didn't care. That just blows me away that a company won't back a product that is still under warranty. I could see it if the manufactured date on the part was expired and you didn't have a recpit. (That's why I have Magnum in mind)

Thanks

Gary

[Seayfam]

Gary as you have discovered Clifford is THE YODA of buses and the "GOD FATHER" of EAGLE buses!
  BK 

And you BK are the man with the BIG HEART

[belfert]

The Magnum line is also still made in the USA.  The service folks I talked to who couldn't repair a Prosine said the Magnum line is easily repairable and a lot of parts are generic off the shelf stuff.

I still hope you get some help from Xantrex.  The receipt requirement is stupid if they know the exact date it was made.  Some companies with lifetime warranties require receipts.  If the warranty is lifetime why does it matter when I bought it?  The warranty seems to be the lifetime of the receipt.

[artvonne]

 Along those lines, did you read today that AT&T has bought Sprint(?) and is now, once again, the biggest cell phone company and there are only three left, total.  ..... Which do you personally prefer?  Inept and inefficient Fed regulation or outright thievery and predation?

  AT&T has been busy buying a bunch of Verizon service areas, and I do think right now they may be the largest cell company. I dont know what I'll do, but I will never be an AT&T customer. Luckily, or thankfully, they didnt buy our area and I am still Verizon. For now.

  That really bites about that inverter, thats a lot of money to just throw away. I would seriously contact the attorney generals office and at least make a written complaint.

 

[JohnEd]

Out back is a really good product but they are the most expensive option out there.  Read the specs and you will see that they are the most over-engineered electronics product ever.  All inverters have a momentary overload rating and a duration of seconds  or so.  OB has a overload time limit of half an hour or some such foolishness.  They were way over my head in price even though I could afford one.  Dick Wright at Wrico quit handling the Zantex line because of "no" customer support as I understand it.  He now carries "MAGNUM".  Those are well priced and are repairable and that would be my choice.

[JohnEd]

Art,

I won't argue with you about that merger hurting us all.  It will and I have no doubt.

About AT&T.....I have an unusually good story.  I quit AT&T and got an air card with Verizon for my "Man Packable" 11 pound Lap Top Computer.  Shortly afterward s I got a bill from AT&T for $280 as my penalty for cancellation.  I called them and questioned that bill (wouldn't you?) as I hadn't gotten a phone deal with them and had only renewed my contract.  They "splained" how I was charged for the phone cause of a mix up at Wall-mart that I thought I had cleared up at the time.  I was wrong about the resolution and was asleep at the switch...my fault but I really hadn't received anything of a promo nature.  I wasn't angry and I did realize my failure but I did register my frustration with the agent and she commiserated.  The next day I received a call from a supervisor and she also explained the mix up and that their records showed a phone being sold but the activation was for my old phone and no new phone S/n was registered.  Sorry!  She politely asked if AT&T service had been deficient.  I told her I was very happy with everything about my AT&T service except the price and I was moving only to get service that I understood was superior with Verizon in a specific location.  We parted on good terms and I was out a chunk of change.  Three days later I got a bill correction in the mail and it canceled "all" charges including my last bill.  I guess they were still number two back then and still trying harder.

I really feel obligated to share the "good news" when a merchant or corp treats me like a human being,  especially as I never hesitate to share when one does otherwise.  But this is nothing more than my personal experience.  "$#!% happens" and so does "nice stuff".

Seayfam,

What was the name of that sterling Xantrex dealer up in Alaska.  Hope you can share the good news and not hurt her with corporate.

Thanks,

John

[Seayfam]

What was the name of that sterling Xantrex dealer up in Alaska.  Hope you can share the good news and not hurt her with corporate.

The company is Renewable Energy, it's based out of Anchorage AK.
She spent half of a day looking for me and didn't have any luck. I highly recommend their services if you are ever in Alaska. I also searched every other place I could think of outside of AK and had no luck. So I guess I'm going to order the Magnum MS4024. I found one for $2,000 and that is the top of my budget.
I also seen it has a 3 year warranty, Hopefully they stand by their product.

Gary

[JohnEd]

Gary,

I honestly don't know if Dick Wright can beat that price but I would sure give him a call at Wrico (541 744-4333)and find out.  I have often told local merchants "you don't have to be cheaper....just  close".  They understand that I value being a "local" and a "loyal" customer.  We have some of the best merchants I have ever found in this smallish town and Dick Wright of Wrico and Dick Kaiser of Kaiser brake and alignment are two superb examples.  I think you will find that you will have reasons to call both of these gents as time goes by and they provide a host of service and advice at min cost or for free.  Eventually, both will save you a ton of money.

Dick advertises in the BCM and has done so for many years.  Just one more reason.

Good luck to you and sorry about the Zantrex,

John

[happycamperbrat]

The word on the web seems to be that when Xantrex started buying out people a few years ago, there was a partner split. The partner split seems to have given birth to the Magnums according to this thread I found and others like it... http://forum.woodenboat.com/archive/index.php/t-77928.html It seems you are probably making a good choice by getting away from Xantrex and going with Magnum

[JohnEd]

Gary,

There are features you would want and while I know a couple you should get advice from experts.  One feature is called "load sharing" or "auto load adjust" or some such.  What it does is modulate the AC draw for the inverter so you don't pop your 30 amp breaker. That is a crisis issue on a dark rainy night when the temp is in the high 30's.  Fourth trip out to the "pole" with a flashlight at 0'dark thirty and a boys thoughts go to.....well, we won't go there.  If you pull in with low bats and hook up and the bat charger, 140 amps, goes to "full" charge and you turn on anything, you will pop the breaker.  Some "30 amp" breakers pop at 22 amps.  errrrrrrr!  The feature on the inverter lets you select the max draw the inverter can present so the breaker never trips and at the same time the inverter charges the bats at the fastest possible rate for your situation. 

The second feature is difficult or impossible to find.  Magnum was supposed to market a model with this feature years ago but it was always delayed.  In this scenario the "pole" is asked to provide more amps than the breaker will allow and the inverter kicks in the bats to augment the inverter and synchronizes everything in phase.  This allows you to start the second air conditioner on a 30 amp breaker. 12 amps plus 25 gives a short duration load of 37 amps but that drops to 25 after start up.  My numbers can be quibbled with, as can anyone's, but you get the picture.  My understanding, as of a year ago, was that only Zantrex made a inverter with that feature and it was a "vintage" one.  Sean has that inverter in his bus and might , make that WILL, know of other newer models.

Magnum has to be the biggest bang for your buck.  Try for the model that will allow you to get the "generator AUTOSTART" feature.  That one will allow you more "sack time", as well.

HTH,

John