Xantrex vs. Victron Warranty Support

[OTRwSolar]

Considering the purchase of either an Xantrex Freedom XC2000 or Victron Multiplus II 2000 inverter/charger. Either one will work just fine for our application. The Xantrex is priced approx. $200 less.

Warranty support is going to be a primary deciding factor.

Haven't been able to get through to Xantrex warranty/tech support. I guess that says a lot in itself. inverterservices.com supposedly provides some warranty services for Xantrex; however, I've heard of folks being charged large fees for only a diagnosis (and no repair) after finding out their problem didn't qualify for warranty coverage.

As for Victron, I'm getting the impression resellers are completely responsible for warranty support. Purchasing from (ship/sold by) Amazon, for example, appears to net little to no warranty support beyond the initial 30-day return period.

Right now, leaning towards a Victron purchase from currentconnected.com based on their positive feedback ref after-the-sale, warranty support.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

The idea that you don't get warranty support with Victron is laughable. First step is to avoid amazon unless that seller has a good Victron reputation. My distributor actually sells some stuff on Amazon. They're a smaller outfit, but they've never failed me. I've never had a warranty issue, but I've had tech support issues, and they supported me with flying colors.

If you get no support from your distributor, you simply need to submit a warranty claim through Victron's professional site. They will have record of the distributor, and Victron tracks the warranty claim. If for some reason that distributor won't support you, another will be assigned/offered.

All that blah blah blah aside, I'm 100% confident your Victron experience with Current Connected will be luscious.

 

[chriscappuccio]

As someone who owns and uses both the Xantrex Freedom XC Pro 2000 and the Victron Multiplus II 2000, I'd recommend the Victron.

The Xantrex unit is much smaller, weighs much less, and I'll surmise for those reasons alone is likely to be a paper weight much sooner than the Victron. I haven't actually had one fail yet, but I haven't been using them for more than about three or four years.

The Victron has more features and is much more progammable. You have the option of tools like the Cerbo GX.

 

[Bluedog225]

Another vote for currentconnected.com. Pretty active here. I’ve not seen any real customer dissatisfaction and I’ve been paying attention for a couple of years.

 

[Dynoman]

Considering the purchase of either an Xantrex Freedom XC2000 or Victron Multiplus II 2000 inverter/charger. Either on e will work just fine for our application. The Xantrex is priced approx. $200 less.

Warranty support is going to be a primary deciding factor.

Haven't been able to get through to Xantrex warranty/tech support. I guess that says a lot in itself. inverterservices.com supposedly provides some warranty services for Xantrex; however, I've heard of folks being charged large fees for only a diagnosis (and no repair) after finding out their problem didn't qualify for warranty coverage.

As for Victron, I'm getting the impression resellers are completely responsible for warranty support. Purchasing from (ship/sold by) Amazon, for example, appears to net little to no warranty support beyond the initial 30-day return period.

Right now, leaning towards a Victron purchase from currentconnected.com based on their positive feedback ref after-the-sale, warranty support.

Thoughts? Comments?

Agreed Current Connected is the best route based on all the positive messages. They even have a thread in this forum on how can they improve. Current Connected is on my short list for any new equipment I purchase in the future.

How can Current Connected improve?

No one ever gives us feedback on here...it's a blessing and a curse. I'm taking the chance to take feedback constructively before it becomes destructive like other vendors on this forum. Some things we are already working on: Hiring and training more technical support staff to spread the load...

diysolarforum.com

 

[Madcodger]

FWIW, I own a Victron Multiplus 3000 KVA inverter, and a Victron SCC and SmartShunt. I use their free Venus OS on a Raspberry Pi for monitoring. Absolutely love the equipment. Built like a tank. My only complaint is that you need a Windows-enabled computer for some more advanced programming, and I normally use a Mac, but I just leave an old Windows laptop in the "solar closet" for when I need it, and that works fine.

I bought my Victron equipment off Amazon about a year ago because I didn't really know where else to go for it, at the time. No idea if it was CurrentConnected or not, but everything arrived and worked fine. As it turns out, I discovered that Victron has a US office near me (in tiny Thomaston, ME of all places). I called them up to ask about buying some additional equipment for another building we're constructing next year. They referred me to some off grid dealers within a considerable drive, and some marine dealers close by. When I asked about equipment bought online, including Amazon, they told me that warranties would be honored through those dealers if they were, in fact, actual Victron dealers. So, that seems to be the key - make sure you're dealing with an actual Victron dealer. Personally, I think I'll seek out and go through CurrentConnected because of their reputation here and participation in the forum.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

FWIW, I own a Victron Multiplus 3000 KVA inverter, and a Victron SCC and SmartShunt. I use their free Venus OS on a Raspberry Pi for monitoring. Absolutely love the equipment. Built like a tank. My only complaint is that you need a Windows-enabled computer for some more advanced programming, and I normally use a Mac, but I just leave an old Windows laptop in the "solar closet" for when I need it, and that works fine.

I bought my Victron equipment off Amazon about a year ago because I didn't really know where else to go for it, at the time. No idea if it was CurrentConnected or not, but everything arrived and worked fine. As it turns out, I discovered that Victron has a US office near me (in tiny Thomaston, ME of all places). I called them up to ask about buying some additional equipment for another building we're constructing next year. They referred me to some off grid dealers within a considerable drive, and some marine dealers close by. When I asked about equipment bought online, including Amazon, they told me that warranties would be honored through those dealers if they were, in fact, actual Victron dealers. So, that seems to be the key - make sure you're dealing with an actual Victron dealer. Personally, I think I'll seek out and go through CurrentConnected because of their reputation here and participation in the forum.

He's running VEconfig on Wine on a mac:

 

[Madcodger]

I appreciate the link. Thank you. Just not sure I want to tackle Wine at this point. I pulled out an old Windows laptop so can get by with that. Really wish Victron would do a Mac app for Config, similar to Connect (or just move everything to Connect)!

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I appreciate the link. Thank you. Just not sure I want to tackle Wine at this point. I pulled out an old Windows laptop so can get by with that. Really wish Victron would do a Mac app for Config, similar to Connect (or just move everything to Connect)!

They're in that process, but they haven't implemented assistants.

 

[Patdufo1]

I bought an autotransformer from victon on ebay,victron seems to only support threw dealers,contacted another dealer and he sent me a web page and didnt even return my call,no support number in the USA so make sure you buy from a dealer,I saved about 300 on this so I will figure it out.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Use the support webpage.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

We have 3 Victron items and one older 600W Xantrex inverter and a really old Xantrex charge controller. Victron honored a warranty issue with dignity (NAZ Solar Electric was the distributor). The Xantrex inverter lost the ability to display amps but continues to show Volts; no big deal.