Comments on Solar Generator Ordered Online

[Mike90250]

....BTW, I ordered my unit from Be Prepared Solar. Any feedback from that company?

I think that is their motto, so get a jar of petroleum jelly ready, you are going to need it, I'm afraid.

[lkruper]

This is the blog that led me to this company: (I was originally looking at the Yeti 1250)

http://bestportablesolargenerators.com/bepreparedsolar-5000w-200ah-solar-generator-vs-goal-zero-yeti-1250-solar-generator/

... which led me to this Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...LGCPDG7UZXMPXR

The warranty and return policy appears to be defined as individual components. They state they won't authorize a return except for damage that can be proven upon receipt or malfunction of the item. You even have to take a battery to an automobile repair shop to get them to certify it is broken. I have a concern that the standards of a battery that is intended to start a car does not apply to a battery that is used for renewable energy.

I would contact your credit card company again (or maybe you got this information) and find out what their requirements are for returning merchandise that you purchase. Does the card company allow for a return before it is received for any reason? While BePrepared may consider the warranty to be for each individual component, they are in fact selling a generator, not individual components, and your credit card company has an invoice for the entire amount.

Also, check with your company to see if they double the warranty of items or if there are consumer benefits from having the card beyond normal warranty.

It may be that the promises of telephone support on the web site are such that you could make a case that BePrepared violated the terms and that might be enough for the card company.

If you take the view of BePrepared without question then your are stuck with all that you bought. They hold all the cards if they won't accept return. However, with information as to how your card company will protect your rights you may be able to gain the advantage.

So, would your card company support you if you don't accept delivery? Do they require that your file a formal complaint that BePrepared has violated the agreement due to unresponsiveness first to document the reason for refusing delivery? See what they advise you to do.


I am not a lawyer, so don't accept my opinion without checking with your card company

[RatedPG]

So, would your card company support you if you don't accept delivery? Do they require that your file a formal complaint that BePrepared has violated the agreement due to unresponsiveness first to document the reason for refusing delivery? See what they advise you to do.


I am not a lawyer, so don't accept my opinion without checking with your card company

The service representative from Amex said that they will help me dispute the charges.

The unit and/or its components are still with BePreparedSolar. They haven't been shipped yet. So all they have to do is cancel my order.

I canceled my order last night (Saturday). Let's see where this goes when they check their emails on Monday.

[lkruper]

The service representative from Amex said that they will help me dispute the charges.

The unit and/or its components are still with BePreparedSolar. They haven't been shipped yet. So all they have to do is cancel my order.

I canceled my order last night (Saturday). Let's see where this goes when they check their emails on Monday.

If I am correct about their business model, they don't have anything stored at their place of business. They order the components and have them drop shipped to the end user. You have to assemble everything yourself, correct? It seems to be the case, because part of their warranty process requires you to send them a picture of how it is assembled to make sure it is correct.

It is possible that they have placed orders with their third party suppliers, and how would you know? How did you cancel your order? If it was merely email, do you have a return receipt to show they read it? If they have a business address, I would sent a registered letter with the cancelation which refers to the earlier date of your cancellation via email.

[RatedPG]

You have to assemble everything yourself, correct?

Here's what they say in their product description:

Our Solar Powered Generators Come Assembled, Just Connect The Cables Together and You're Ready to Go!

[lkruper]

Here's what they say in their product description:

Our Solar Powered Generators Come Assembled, Just Connect The Cables Together and You're Ready to Go!

That is interesting. What I read from their web site was "On average, it takes about 14 days from the time of purchase for your solar generator to arrive.
In most cases, the batteries and solar panels will arrive first followed by the main generator unit."

I assumed that this meant the end user had to put most of it together.... This does lead me to believe that they drop ship the batteries and solar panels from a third party.

[thastinger]

OP, why do you want to back out of the deal? Because the company isn't answering your technical questions for free?

[lkruper]

OP, why do you want to back out of the deal? Because the company isn't answering your technical questions for free?

I read some of the reviews on Amazon, some had the same criticism regarding plenty of support before the sale and significantly less afterward, or even none. If this was communicated from the start that support was limited to sales effort and expectations were set for being dropped after the sale, Who would buy?

You call that free support? Free support is what this forum provides with no strings attached.

[RatedPG]

OP, why do you want to back out of the deal? Because the company isn't answering your technical questions for free?

This is how the company describes itself:

http://www.bepreparedsolar.com/aboutus.asp

So, yes, I was expecting answers to questions about their product, and I was expecting answers within a day or two, not seven days.

For someone like me with limited knowledge on solar power systems, I expected the seller to at least steer me in the right direction.

Some of my questions were:

If I wanted a hybrid system with solar and wind, what component do I need to add/replace in my order?
If I wanted a "tie-in" configuration, what component do I need to add/replace in my order?
May I please have PDFs of the installation manual for my unit, so I can study them while waiting for my unit to arrive?

Did I ask one too many questions?

Anyway, the decision to cancel the order was not based solely on the lack of support for me as a new costumer. I decided to cancel because someone here commented that the battery pack in my order will not be able to power the 5000W inverter in the unit for an extended time. I tried doing the math myself, and assuming my equations and formulas were right, I was convinced that I did not have a good configuration.

[lkruper]

This is how the company describes itself:

http://www.bepreparedsolar.com/aboutus.asp

So, yes, I was expecting answers to questions about their product, and I was expecting answers within a day or two, not seven days.

For someone like me with limited knowledge on solar power systems, I expected the seller to at least steer me in the right direction.

Some of my questions were:

If I wanted a hybrid system with solar and wind, what component do I need to add/replace in my order?
If I wanted a "tie-in" configuration, what component do I need to add/replace in my order?
May I please have PDFs of the installation manual for my unit, so I can study them while waiting for my unit to arrive?

Did I ask one too many questions?

Anyway, the decision to cancel the order was not based solely on the lack of support for me as a new costumer. I decided to cancel because someone here commented that the battery pack in my order will not be able to power the 5000W inverter in the unit for an extended time. I tried doing the math myself, and assuming my equations and formulas were right, I was convinced that I did not have a good configuration.

The categorization of a generator as a 5000w system is designed to make it appear more powerful than it
is. Their examples of run time for various appliances do not use anything that comes close to needing 5000 watts. The only reason to put a big inverter on this system is for marketing to inexperienced buyers.

This size inverter is not efficient for the advertised usages... I find this sort of advertising intentionally misleading.

[lkruper]

The categorization of a generator as a 5000w system is designed to make it appear more powerful than it
is. Their examples of run time for various appliances do not use anything that comes close to needing 5000 watts. The only reason to put a big inverter on this system is for marketing to inexperienced buyers.

This size inverter is not efficient for the advertised usages... I find this sort of advertising intentionally misleading.

Note from their web site... The example of the 5000w gas generator using 1/2 gal of gas per hour.... Hour after hour. Not the solar generator! Problem is that unlike the 5000w gas generator that puts out 5000w hour after hour... The 5000w solar generator runs out after an hour!

=================
From web site:


A lot of people wonder why they should have a solar generator for an emergency. Here is exactly why everyone should have one in the event of a disaster.

When most people think of a power outage they assume that it will only last a few hours or maybe a day. They assume that the power company will be able to get their power back up and running and everything will be fine....but what if that wasn't the case? What if the power outages lasted weeks, months...years?

There is no longer a question of how vulnerable the U.S power grid is. It has been well documented that the grid is extremely outdated leaving it vulnerable to disasters and attacks by terrorist groups and other countries who want to reek havoc for the American people.

How many Americans are actually prepared for a long term blackout? Some people have gas generators...but how will that provide power when there is no gas?

Why will there be no gas? That's a good question. Remember Super Storm Sandy? This natural disaster caused power outages for millions. People made a mad dash to gas stations and waited hours to get gas. There was a huge gas shortage and most people couldn't run their gas generators because of it.

What if I stock pile large amounts of gas in case of a disaster? Lets say you had a 5000 watt gas generator and use it at half load 24 hours a day. If it used 1/2 gallon of gas per hour that would be 12 gallons of gas per day. If you were somehow able to keep 50 gallons of gas on hand (which is very unlikely) you would be out of gas in less then 4 days.

Our solar power generators will provide power when you need it most and will last for years. Unlike gas generators, a solar generator will provide power for you and your family for the long haul!

At Be Prepared Solar we make solar generators that are powerful enough to be practical and affordable for almost anyone!

Solar Generator

[SunEagle]

Note from their web site... The example of the 5000w gas generator using 1/2 gal of gas per hour.... Hour after hour. Not the solar generator! Problem is that unlike the 5000w gas generator that puts out 5000w hour after hour... The 5000w solar generator runs out after an hour! ================= From web site: A lot of people wonder why they should have a solar generator for an emergency. Here is exactly why everyone should have one in the event of a disaster. When most people think of a power outage they assume that it will only last a few hours or maybe a day. They assume that the power company will be able to get their power back up and running and everything will be fine....but what if that wasn't the case? What if the power outages lasted weeks, months...years? There is no longer a question of how vulnerable the U.S power grid is. It has been well documented that the grid is extremely outdated leaving it vulnerable to disasters and attacks by terrorist groups and other countries who want to reek havoc for the American people. How many Americans are actually prepared for a long term blackout? Some people have gas generators...but how will that provide power when there is no gas? Why will there be no gas? That's a good question. Remember Super Storm Sandy? This natural disaster caused power outages for millions. People made a mad dash to gas stations and waited hours to get gas. There was a huge gas shortage and most people couldn't run their gas generators because of it. What if I stock pile large amounts of gas in case of a disaster? Lets say you had a 5000 watt gas generator and use it at half load 24 hours a day. If it used 1/2 gallon of gas per hour that would be 12 gallons of gas per day. If you were somehow able to keep 50 gallons of gas on hand (which is very unlikely) you would be out of gas in less then 4 days. Our solar power generators will provide power when you need it most and will last for years. Unlike gas generators, a solar generator will provide power for you and your family for the long haul! At Be Prepared Solar we make solar generators that are powerful enough to be practical and affordable for almost anyone! Solar Generator

They use fear to get people to purchase their equipment yet fail to explain how limited it really is in providing a continuous power source. ------------------ Also for the price of that 5000 watt system (> $3000) you could install a whole house natural gas generator (~8000 watt) and 100 gal tank. If used wisely that gen set will provide power to the home for weeks. ---------- Sure a solar generator can provide some power at night but even building it yourself for much less then what that company sells them you would still be spending much more then you should.

[Willy T]

It sounds like it is the OP's lucky day, it's time for you guys to start building him a system.

[thastinger]

*Our office will be closed from 8/29-9/14 and any orders placed during this time will take 4-6 weeks to be delivers. We are only available to answer questions from existing customers during this time. Orders place before 8/29 will have normal processing. Thanks

[lkruper]

*Our office will be closed from 8/29-9/14 and any orders placed during this time will take 4-6 weeks to be delivers. We are only available to answer questions from existing customers during this time. Orders place before 8/29 will have normal processing. Thanks

Then why did they stop taking his phone calls before the 29th? The smoking gun......