This might get long but I will try to keep it as concise as I can.
A year ago, I set up my DIY solar system in my RV. Right off the bat, there were some issues with the charge controller, so I called in.
After spending about an hour trying to get through to someone, they scheduled a call back. They called me back and basically said 'we don't know what the issue is' then suggested I try some troubleshooting steps that I had already done, then they left me hanging.
Whatever. I found a way to work around the issue on my own.
Fast forward to 4 months ago. I am getting a strange error code on my charge controller, and things aren't adding up (how much charge it says it's bringing in not equaling the voltage of my batteries, etc).
I send them emails, incredibly detailed emails with an explanation of my issues, screenshots of everything, etc. The first person has no idea how to help and escalates it to their "specialist." The specialist tells me, again, to do all the same basic steps I have already done 3 times. Obviously, this doesn't improve anything.
Not only do they not seem to have a great understanding of their product, but their support is incredibly slow. I respond to their emails within 10 minutes, then often only get one response per week or less often. When I do get a response, it's something very vague and unhelpful like, "Hmm, let me look into that for you." Yes, Matthew, fucking please look into that for me. You've kept me waiting for a week, and that's all you can say? My entire system is possibly at risk due to your product and you are showing zero fucking urgency to help.
At one point, they recommended I call in. So, I call in, wait on hold for 30 minutes, then they try to transfer me, and it drops the call every time. Repeat another 7 times of the exact same thing happening, and I email them explaining that their system keeps me waiting then drops me every time, so let's just proceed over email.
Same shit continues. I respond quickly and thoroughly, they take their sweet ass time and are 100% unhelpful.
Anyways, after 4 fucking months of this shit, they finally determine I have a faulty charge controller, and tell me, "You need to send it in for testing." Great! We're getting somewhere! So I say, "awesome, I can do that. Just so I can make appropriate plans, can you give me some more details of the process? Once I mail in my device, how long will I be without a charge controller? Are you going to send me a replacement to use in the meantime? Will I receive a refund if it is in fact faulty? Please fill in the details for me, as I need a charge controller for the batteries powering the RV I am currently living in." No response. A week later (of course) they respond with, "Please send us a copy of your invoice so we can determine if your unit is under warranty and start the process." Great, so I guess I'll just proceed while completely in the dark. I don't know if I'm getting a replacement unit, if they are using overnight shipping, etc. etc. how the fuck I am going to power my batteries which power my laptop which I rely on for my income. But, whatever, I will send the invoice so we can just fucking get somewhere.
I send the invoice and check when I placed the order. I have had it for a year and one month. Remember, I contacted them about my issue 4 months ago, when I still had 3 months left in the warranty, but it took them four fucking months to figure out my device was faulty. Even after going through ALL their troubleshooting steps many times, and doing additional testing with extra equipment on my own, etc. etc. Basically, what I'm getting at is that you don't need to be head cashier at the Walmart to be able to figure out my unit was fucked after about the first week, but no, it took them 16 weeks to figure it out - or at least admit it. And still, they don't straight up say "Ok, there is a problem with your unit, we are sending a replacement so you can swap them and keep your system up and running, please ship us your unit when you receive the replacement." or anything like that. No, instead, they say they need it in "for testing" and I don't know what the possible outcomes of that are going to be. Plus the whole bullshit about how when I contacted them, I was 3 months in warranty and now I am one month out of warranty.
So, I haven't heard from them for 2 weeks now, and I'm fucking giving up on it. Fuck them. I am going to continue to use my bullshit workaround of needing to reset all my circuit breakers at very strange intervals (whenever I get the error code - which seems to be completely random). It's a pain in the ass and, I don't know, might be damaging my $1.2k batteries, but holy fuck, at this point it's better than dealing with Renogy.
I'm so fucking done with them. I just needed to make this post to rant and move on, even though I'm sure no one will read the entire thing. But please, please, take my advice in the TLDR.
TL;DR: Renogy is one of the worst companies I have ever encountered. They had no idea what to do about an error code on their own product. They showed zero desire to make things right after determining they had sold me a faulty product, and their so-called support only responds to questions about once every 1.5 weeks, even after they admit the bad unit could be causing a safety hazard. Fuck them. Stay away. Use any other company.
