FAILED Giandel 1200W inverter! How was Giandel's customer support??

[@DCGULL01]

I'm actually impressed with Giandel's support. Without testing yours, they shipped (relatively blindly) a replacement unit. Shipping was pricey, but- overall they stepped up and delivered. Sure, a refurbed unit, but- yours is 'used' now as well. Responsive although expensive- I'd give them a thumb's up if I were in your shoes (and, you did!) I live in the US, and bought a 600W version after watching a tear down review, several owners reviews & comparing prices. In the US, Giandel is considered a premium unit- costing more than cheap Chinese units, but less than say Victron equipment. Value for US dollar seems to be pretty good, and your review validates that for me. Thank you for your honesty & a fair review of their response. Really tells me how they do business, which falls in line with my expectations.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply David. I'd agree with everything you've said - as a consumer you want your replacement unit sent quickly, and I was certainly convinced it was faulty. However as a business owner (which I am too), you want to be sure you're not sending out free product to replace a non-faulty product which you are just hoping you'll get back. So I think they did a decent job which is why I'd be happy to use them again. Take care, and hope you're all safe and well Stateside!

[@Teejay481]

Hi Greg about 5 months ago i bought a new inverter from Giandel it was a 2200W 4400W it was well packed and came with all its Parts .We went on a Three week trip and only used our inverter to run our 2 laptops and our van led lights and a small fan but after the first 2 weeks it threw a fault so we contacted them and tried everything they told us to try and remedy the problem but to no Avail so we sent it back to them from S.A .for standard post of $18 and after they inspected it they said it was faulty and sent me what looks like a new one but its hard to tell really as it came with the leads and the remote but no little black rubbers for the screws for mounting the unit so not sure if its new or one they have repaired but they sent it back to me within 2 weeks and at no postage cost to me so am very happy with there customer service P/S But i did notice where the mounting screws go there was no visible sign of any wear there at all so im sure its a new unit .So yes 10/10 for there customer service for this unit of ours .

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad you had a good customer service experience too! That's a big factor in choosing a brand - any product can fail so if you don't have good support behind it it's a big problem, no matter how good the brand reputation.

[@peterzeboroff7448]

Hi, you should have taken the cover off and checked to see what was previously repaired on it since they definitely send you a used and most likely a rebuilt or remanufactured unit back, although them sending you a used one back is unfortunately the practice of nearly all types of electronic devices.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Mate I could have done that, but it would have voided the warranty and given I'd had one failure I didn't want to risk carrying the can if this replacement unit failed (especially given it was in my view second-hand). While I was a little disappointed it wasn't brand spanking new, what really mattered is if the unit worked, and I guess my own unit was by now several months old. So far (now seven months on from installing the replacement) it hasn't missed a beat.

[@John-gm8ty]

Latronics LS Series if you want "good" Aussie made and priced that way. but for budget giandel is pretty good from all reports, but I'd suggest their 3000w units to make sure it'll run everything without breaking a sweat.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@John-gm8ty]

@@TheMusingGreg you may not think so when you see their price tags lol I only know of them because I got into hobby solar a few years ago and got into every nook and cranny of the local and international market trying to find the best bang for buck and for reliability if it's important. since I got my own home and put a 6KW system on the roof I haven't much worried about it any more. but I have a constant itch with a small battery bank going unused in the garage (apart from an LED string to keep it bright enough to get into at night) and a second bank on float (solar charger) waiting to be reinstalled back into into a 4KVA UPS system setting in a corner once we get the lunge renoes finished so we can set up a whole house blackout protection. one day, one day. I have grand imaginations of replacing the tiny 45x 5ah cells with 200ah buggers to have days of power in the event of power loss. but I doubt I ever will. expensive proposition. i.imgur.com/ek5dzZt.jpg just a few heh

[@annpeerkat2020]

No load inverter power draw is often a critical criteria. In such a case, supersizing an inverter can result in excessive battery bank drain on idle.

[@pmosbey1337]

Shouldn't go suggesting people just go out and get 3000w inverters without knowing the size of the battery bank and discharge rate. If their batteries are too small or low discharge rate, it's a real easy way to kill them

[@John-gm8ty]

@@pmosbey1337 only if you're not thinking of the current video this was commenting on.

[@jackredd7088]

How did you get ahold of them

[@TheMusingGreg]

I'm pretty sure I just found them on eBay and sent them a message. Or it might have been through their website actually. Either way it didn't take long and wasn't hard so I don't recall exactly what I did.

[@davidoconnor6051]

I was ordering one of these from ebay so I came on youtube to research and after watching that yours failed then you were charged $65 postage to only get a second hand dented and rusted one with missing parts I am no longer interested in this brand. Thank you for the video.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Hi David, in fairness to Giandel the unit I sent back to them was used, so they may be justified in sending a refurbished unit, although the one I sent was in physically better condition than the one they sent me. I wouldn't let that put you off buying a new one, I'm sure the new units would be fine, and it's close to 12 months on now since they sent me that unit and it's still going strong. So I'm happy with the brand overall.

[@kellyoconnor9773]

@@TheMusingGreg everything I have had to have replaced under warranty I have been sent a brand new replacement. I’ve never heard of second hand replacements but after researching a lot of knowable solar professionals all over the world they say grande is the best cheap inverter so I bought a 2000w one last week and waiting for delivery. Cheers for your reply mate.

[@annpeerkat2020]

$65 to express send an inverter out bush? Doesn't sound like a problem to me!

[@mikewasowski1411]

Great video.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SailingCorina]

Yep, we get what we paid for because I have the same model and it stopped working. They claim to have over draw protection but I forgot to unplug my window AC when I flipped it on to power my RV. It turned off and never came back on. I tested the input 13.4V DC and it won't come on. Its a couple years old so Im sure its not under warranty and their "overdraw protection" is obviously rubbish. Junk like most things being manufactured these days.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Shame. Mine kept going fine and we've sold the van now, it worked well for 3 years for me but I never overloaded it.

[@vicglazewski5928]

I had a Gaindel 600w inverter and it died while charging a laptop computer. They sent me another 600w inverter and it failed also. Again charging my laptop computer.. Gaindel would not answer my emails. Very bad customer service and NOT a good product.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Wow that's not good! :( Especially for them to go quiet on the matter. Might be time to talk to Consumer Affairs?

[@HDXFH]

Was gunna buy one of these but they seem junky, renogy are much better

[@John-gm8ty]

and you have data to back this belief up? certified testing and comparison?

[@TheMusingGreg]

+1 John Douglas. On what basis do you consider them 'junky'? Before I bought this I had never heard of Giandel, nor of Renogy (and hadn't until you mentioned it). I can only say that this inverter has served us well, with the one exception of this failure which was covered by warranty. Renogy may be better, I don't know; but I feel a comment like that needs some data behind it to be taken seriously in an internet where people throw all sorts of unfounded comments about. The last thing you want is to not be taken seriously.

[@HDXFH]

John Douglas various reviews i read online and for the price the renogy is a much better built and heavier inverter and performed better with heavy inductive loads than the giandel

[@TheMusingGreg]

@@HDXFH You could be right. However given Renogy appears to be somewhat more expensive I'd hope it would perform better. For what I paid my unit has performed well, other than the single failure mentioned in the follow-up video.

[@fishhuntadventure]

This is funny. I was looking at renogy stuff before I bought but I was unimpressed with answers that weren’t even relevant to my questions that made me feel not valued as a potential customer, and their amazon reviews scored pretty low for support. All of it is basically private branded stuff with no real design concerns by the sellers. Giandel has been 100% satisfying to me, works great, and their amazon reviews were excellent so... LOL Use a product before developing an recommending tone lol