Warning re Jackery product quality/design

[BritKLR]

There'll be an inverse proportional relationship in price. You could look for MIL-STD-810, which gets you something like this with extra zeros on the end of the price. But you can safely assume it'll take a drop from the back of a SUV at least.


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Problem is without a set of standards you can only go by trust of the manufacturer and word of mouth like this. Plus having reasonable expectations and willingness to spend for the asking price (not being willing to pay for quality and repair-ability is how we got to a throw-away society in the first place) are important, too.

That's sexy looking........

 

[DaveInDenver]

That's sexy looking........

The pair of 38999 circular connectors alone I'd bet cost more than the Jackery box.

 

[Ryanmb21]

thanks for making my point clear: if you are looking for a product that can take the rigors of an expedition, this isn’t it. Some people might want to know that, even if you apparently don’t.

I clearly stated that it was on me and that I expected to pay to fix it, not them, but no fix was offered

The point that is clear is that you dropped, then kicked a solar panel that was not tied down, just lobbed in your car. As you state, it’s all on you. You were doing it wrong.

would love to hear about this said expedition that you faced rigor.

you then complain on a public forum when their remedy wasn’t on your terms.
Take accountability.
Name a product that does the same thing about that same cost that would have survived your neglect? Right.

 

[67cj5]

The point that is clear is that you dropped, then kicked a solar panel that was not tied down, just lobbed in your car. As you state, it’s all on you. You were doing it wrong.

would love to hear about this said expedition that you faced rigor.

you then complain on a public forum when their remedy wasn’t on your terms.
Take accountability.
Name a product that does the same thing about that same cost that would have survived your neglect? Right.

He already said it was "His Fault" and he is not asking for any free handouts, And He was willing to Pay to have it repaired,

Also The issue he has with the brand is that is how fragile they are even though he broke the Fall,

Along with no matter how much money they might of wanted or he was prepared to pay there is ZERO possiblity of getting their Tech Dept to take a look at it, Thats BS,

The Guy knows who's fault it was that it broke, There's no need to Rub salt in the Wound.

 

[jadmt]

too many variables on how it fell. There are times I have dropped my phone from 6 feet and it never had an issue other times I have dropped a phone from a foot off the ground and it hit just right it fubared the phone. I suspect this is the same way. Heck this failure may not have been the fall at all but the bouncing around in the back of the vehicle unsecured. for sure I would pop it open and see might be super simple fix.

 

[Ryanmb21]

He already said it was "His Fault" and he is not asking for any free handouts, And He was willing to Pay to have it repaired,

Also The issue he has with the brand is that is how fragile they are even though he broke the Fall,

Along with no matter how much money they might of wanted or he was prepared to pay there is ZERO possiblity of getting their Tech Dept to take a look at it, Thats BS,

The Guy knows who's fault it was that it broke, There's no need to Rub salt in the Wound.

so we agree this is his fault. What’s the point of this thread then? To share that solar panels maybe won’t survive a 3ft huck to flat?

 

[67cj5]

so we agree this is his fault. What’s the point of this thread then? To share that solar panels maybe won’t survive a 3ft huck to flat?

There is nothing to agree On, In his first post "HE" said it was His Fault so why keep taking shots at the Guy.

The point in this thread is to warn others that some Items might not be as Durable as one might expect and to treat them with a little more "Due Care"

 

[DaveInDenver]

so we agree this is his fault. What’s the point of this thread then? To share that solar panels maybe won’t survive a 3ft huck to flat?

I think he's talking about the battery pack/charge controller and not the panels. I think the point of this thread is maybe to vent, it is a lot of money to spend for something that let you down. But to also tell others that these boxes aren't particularly rugged, may not be easily repaired and the customer service responses you can expect.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I suspect the battery (by far the most expensive part) is fine. If it's already a write-off you can open it up and see if you can construct something with the still usable components. Seems likely that it's just a broken wire or (at worst) a broken circuit board that's causing the issues.

As far as "not being an electrician", neither am I but building a simple power box isn't that difficult.

I was born with two left thumbs and literally took the least amount of math and science I had to in order to graduate college and I was able to make one (albeit much, much simpler than that), so if I can do it I'm sure you can.

 

[jhmoore]

A few more details, since we clearly have a poster here who is far superior to me/us in every way and knows all...

1,000 or so miles from San Diego to Jackson, WY -- highway miles -- Jackery well in interior of vehicle and well packed

Arrived in Jackson and attempted to set up camp, but it started pouring rain so we ended up in a hotel about 5 miles away

As part of checking in/out of the hotel, as well as getting camera gear out of the relative bottom of the stuff packed into the back of the 4Runner, the Jackery got moved and ended up at the back of the 4Runner -- my mistake

Drove about 5 miles highway miles back to the campsite, opened the rear hatch, and the Jackery fell out -- my mistake

My 4Runner is not lifted, so the fall is whatever the height of a regular 2018 4Runner back deck is, plus about 8 inches of storage system (sorry, forgot those 8 inches last time)

Got my foot under the Jackery as I saw it fall, taking a fair amount of the force out of the fall -- it landed upright with zero exterior damage

There was zero "expedition" abuse / rattling around / whatever involved -- only highway miles and some stupidity in putting it at the back of the 4Runner when reloading it to go from the hotel to the campsite

I personally would rather spend my money (and these things aren't cheap) on products that would survive such a mistake (MY mistake) and/or on products which can be fixed when you make a mistake. Thus sharing this information. If you're good with spending your money this way, then by all means do so--that's your choice.

 

[OverlandNA]

They know where it will be used and should build it to take a reasonable amount of abuse. Then again, their overpriced solar panel 100W V2 has open USB ports on it and they know darn well it will be out in the rain.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I personally would rather spend my money (and these things aren't cheap) on products that would survive such a mistake (MY mistake) and/or on products which can be fixed when you make a mistake. Thus sharing this information. If you're good with spending your money this way, then by all means do so--that's your choice.

That's a tough break and I get it - you spend $500 on something intended for outdoors and you do kind of expect it to be able to take a little abuse.

The reality, of course, is that these "portable power packs" are intended for soccer moms and weekend campers at the lake.

EDITED TO ADD: Reading your post, I can see that you aren't so much upset that it broke, but rather that the manufacturer offers no way to repair a relatively minor problem, and I have to say, that is also my biggest gripe with these enclosed "all in one" power solutions.

One of the reasons I decided to build my own (besides the fact that I'm a cheap ******) is that if any one component failed, I could swap it out myself.

Unfortunately, it's a bit of a "race to the bottom" in terms of quality. Li-I batteries are expensive so the only way to keep costs down is to cut corners everywhere else.

Again, being a cheap SOB I went with a simple FLA battery for my setup. It's an 80lbs boat anchor but it seems to work "well enough" (though I started a separate thread on some issues I've been having recently, which have more to do with my skills or lack thereof though.)

I wish I could say someone will build a "rugged" power pack eventually but the reality is that the money is in cheap, mass produced Chinese crap.

If you have to spend a lot of $$ you could consider something like the Ark-Pak where you bring your own battery.

 

[Herbie]

Reading your post, I can see that you aren't so much upset that it broke, but rather that the manufacturer offers no way to repair a relatively minor problem, and I have to say, that is also my biggest gripe with these enclosed "all in one" power solutions.

For anyone who is similarly miffed about things like this when they happen, I urge you to keep your eyes out for ways to support "Right to Repair" legislation with your local and Federal representatives. Various forms of this legislation is in-work in many places in the USA. Small steps like requiring electronics vendors to use re-openable assembly methods (not gluing things closed permanently) and providing wiring diagrams or basic service guides (they way all electronics used to be sold) would go a long way towards keeping a lot of this stuff functioning and out of landfills.

 

[jhmoore]

For anyone who is similarly miffed about things like this when they happen, I urge you to keep your eyes out for ways to support "Right to Repair" legislation with your local and Federal representatives. Various forms of this legislation is in-work in many places in the USA. Small steps like requiring electronics vendors to use re-openable assembly methods (not gluing things closed permanently) and providing wiring diagrams or basic service guides (they way all electronics used to be sold) would go a long way towards keeping a lot of this stuff functioning and out of landfills.

What a fabulous idea!

 

[jhmoore]

You dropped a sheet of glass from 2-3 ft.

I thought this was an analogy of some sort, but I see from later posts that it's just lack of reading comprehension. The solar panels are still stowed and have not been used; no damage. The battery box is the damaged item.