What was the warranty fine print that lead to a fire with Jan's solar power inverter?
Synopsis
Imagine being under your house and hearing the fire alarm go off. This is exactly what happened to this homeowner. The smoke alarm went off and when they got there, smoke was everywhere. It was coming out of the top of the inverter and running along the floorboards. The inverter was a refurbished one, which the warranty allowed, but it still caught fire in less than three years.
This is a cautionary tale about the importance of knowing exactly what you're getting when you purchase something. The homeowner expected a new inverter if theirs died, but instead got a refurbished one that caught fire. It's important to read the fine print in warranties to know what you're entitled to and what you're getting.
Video Transcript
I was sitting under the house and the fire alarm went off. And on that same wall I have power points, irrigation, the council power box, and the inverter. So I have two smoke alarms there and one went off. And when I got there, the smoke was billowing out of the top of the inverter and running along the floorboards under my house because I've got an elevated house, and it was not a pretty sight. It was not a new one that was replaced the first time round, they replaced it with a refurbished one, which the warranty says they can do. I would have expected that if my inverter had died, they would've given me a new one. They didn't, and they didn't tell me it was refurbished either, I had to find it in the warranty, in the small print in the warranty, that they're entitled to do that. And then it blew up and caught fire in less than three years.