Ozone from Bluetti ACP200?

[Happy Camper]

Bummer

 

[blueskies]

Thanks for the updates! Super helpful. I’m probably going to go with the AC180 now instead because it has power lifting mode (for some small appliances I want to use once in a while with big power draws), and I’m almost all the way decided on getting an ice box instead of fridge/freezer, so I don’t have to have power running 24/7. I’ll probably get an 8L freezer to turn on and re-freeze/rotate the ice blocks for the ice box every so often. If I have an ice box anyway it won’t be so much of a problem if anything happens to the AC180. And I might get a little battery pack/charger thing as back up for my devices if needed.

I’m sorry things have been so tedious for you with customer support! From what I’ve heard, some people have good experiences and others are more like yours.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

Well, serious plummet in rating for Bluetti Support. I stepped out my door today in a rush to go to an appt to find instead a heavy box ON THE GROUND instead of on the table almost as high as my trailer door threshold. Bluetti knows I'm disabled. The box itself has a label for FedEx "Heavy. Team Lift Required." They never even let me know a package was coming so I could prepare. Gee, thanks. So now I suddenly have to wrestle with getting that locked inside the trailer instead of out where the many lookie-loos in the trailer park can see it.

When I got back I took photos. After putting me to so much extra work and delay documenting what I was shipping back to them, what shape it was in, etc., they sent me a unit that was not my repaired unit, not a new replacement unit, but some random used unit with less nice things than I had shipped them. Including at least one item missing. 2 blank warranty cards, though.

The welcome message on 8.5.x 11" paper let me know this was coming from one of Bluetti's Ebay sellers. So random dude somewhere.

Again, Bluetti was not going to take a return without the original box, contents, and packaging and had me send them photos to prove it (and they had to approve the photos). This box, by contrast, has a deep score in it all the way into the packing material because someone had already opened the inner box.

Because this is a random unit, I have no idea if it's going to have the exact same problem I sent it in for. I have no idea how many battery cycles it already has on it (I hadn't used mine that many cycles yet despite owning it for months).

This is so unacceptable, especially for a product that is not cheap. While the price has gone down in the meanwhile, the sale price for me was about $1800.

So now I have more delay and work writing Bluetti. I don't want to hassle with lifting this and packing it all up again. I think at this point I just want my money back. I'd rather deal with a company with better product quality and better support, if I can find one.

 

[Texas Gypsy]

That is really unacceptable! Sorry you are dealing with this
I have a Bluetti AC200P and so far I haven't had any problems. I listened to the video you posted and was surprised at the phantom draw issue. I'm not full time yet but I have used it during power outages. I plug in a refrigerator, fan or 2 and recharge my phone and kindle from it and it's performed just as it should.
I suspect a lack of quality control as the explanation of the different experiences.
Hope you can get things straightened out soon!

 

[Happy Camper]

I would agree with returning it for a refund. It's unacceptable to use a third/forth party seller to handle a warranty issue unless it's specifically stated in their policy. You should email someone higher then customer support to see if you can achieve a better resolution.

Prices drop and units get better, so you can probably get an upgrade for your trouble with your refund. I'm just glad you're not having to depend on it at the moment.

You might consider starting a new thread detailing the situation with pictures. It would help those that won't look at this thread due to the title.

I'm sure there are many potential buyers that read, if not participate, this forum for information. At the moment it doesn't sound like they've handled your situation professionally.

There are too many decent brands competing in this space with quality products and customer service. Customer service is a huge factor in many purchases of this nature. I would also direct them to the thread in your emails.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

I would agree with returning it for a refund. It's unacceptable to use a third/forth party seller to handle a warranty issue unless it's specifically stated in their policy. You should email someone higher then customer support to see if you can achieve a better resolution.

Prices drop and units get better, so you can probably get an upgrade for your trouble with your refund. I'm just glad you're not having to depend on it at the moment.

You might consider starting a new thread detailing the situation with pictures. It would help those that won't look at this thread due to the title.

I'm sure there are many potential buyers that read, if not participate, this forum for information. At the moment it doesn't sound like they've handled your situation professionally.

There are too many decent brands competing in this space with quality products and customer service. Customer service is a huge factor in many purchases of this nature. I would also direct them to the thread in your emails.

I wish I could reach someone higher than technical support, but I don't have an email for it. I did cc: Consumer Reports, though. I highly doubt CR is going to pick up on it, but I hope at least it makes Bluetti Support perk up. I absolutely dread having to invest more time/energy into this. If they don't make good in a way that does not require much labor input from me and then refuse to refund, I'm going to take it to my credit card and see if I can get them to reverse the charge. There's no way that buying a new product should go like this.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

Rec'd a reply today. They apologized for not sending me any advanced notice (nor tracking #) a heavy package was coming - it was a holiday where they are. They skipped right over repair of my own unit. They claimed that since I bought it in Feb 2022, they had to replace it with a refurb unit. They're glossing over the fact that time elapsed is not the same as number of charge cycles. I'd used it very little precisely because it was giving off fumes that made me dizzy and also had intermittent problems with not acknowledging solar PV input. I have spent months in back and forth with their demands of me to prove that I'm not somehow trying to cheat them. Then they penalize me for the time that took, saying the unit was bought too long ago... And that still doesn't excuse the shape this refurb unit was sent to me in nor the lower quality of the accessories than the ones I returned to them. I gave them photo evidence of this.

I had asked them to either repair my old unit and send it back to me, or if that wouldn't work for them they should send me a new, like unit, or they could refund me my purchase price. I asked for them to pay for the shipping and the labor involved in sending it back since I've already hurt my back hauling this box shipment once now. They've offered sending me a new unit, acting as if they're doing me a big favor by offering this. And want me to do all the packing and hauling involved in having a pickup here.

I've replied asking if the new unit will be of like build quality (with the exception of actually working trouble-free). Waiting on the answer.

I've spent an enormous about of time and labor on these exchanges over months. This is why I will no longer recommend Bluetti to folks. If you get something that's not defective, they seem to work great. If you have any trouble at all, Support will stonewall like hell because they assume you're trying to cheat them.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

What I hope will be the last update... They sent me a new unit. Unfortunately they'd changed some of the items since I bought mine so the airport cord no longer has the metal housing I liked. And the AC power brick is lighter, but also smells a bit like burnt carbon. Given the reason I had to send the original unit in was fumes (a different chemical smell, not burnt carbon), it was ironic. They sent me a refurbed brick, but it also has that smell so I guess that's just the way these things are shipping now.

So I'm testing them against one another and whichever one creates less smell (if that's even the case) will be kept and the other sent back. It's not ideal as the original AC power brick I had did not smell. The only reason I didn't object to sending the cords back was because I thought they'd actually be testing and repairing the fuming unit so the original cords would be needed to isolate the problem. It turns out they don't do repair/warranty that way.

My verdict is that you have to politely but very firmly stand up for yourself with Bluetti Support. They made a number of business mistakes along the way that just don't live up to the standard of support one should expect, let alone for something you're buying that's not a trivial purchase. Make sure you take copious photos of things before any trouble surfaces and all through any trouble that does. I felt the entire way I was being treated like someone trying to get something over on Bluetti instead of a customer who was having to spend an extraordinary amount of uncompensated time & effort trying to get a new product to work as it should.

Once I got firm, didn't just accept the low quality slap-dash refurb they foisted on me, they treated me better. Still not compensation for my trouble, but at least I got something closer to what I should have gotten than I otherwise would have.

I'm not sure how Bluetti Support stacks up next to other companies. But this is what I'm saying about my experience with Bluetti Support compared to the standard I offered when I did customer support, and the standard I expect as a customer.

 

[Happy Camper]

I know it's not what you'd want to do after all of this. But you can buy an AC charging brick that work with the unit fairly inexpensively if the smell doesn't go away.

 

[KarlH]

What I hope will be the last update... They sent me a new unit. Unfortunately they'd changed some of the items since I bought mine so the airport cord no longer has the metal housing I liked. And the AC power brick is lighter, but also smells a bit like burnt carbon. Given the reason I had to send the original unit in was fumes (a different chemical smell, not burnt carbon), it was ironic. They sent me a refurbed brick, but it also has that smell so I guess that's just the way these things are shipping now.

So I'm testing them against one another and whichever one creates less smell (if that's even the case) will be kept and the other sent back. It's not ideal as the original AC power brick I had did not smell. The only reason I didn't object to sending the cords back was because I thought they'd actually be testing and repairing the fuming unit so the original cords would be needed to isolate the problem. It turns out they don't do repair/warranty that way.

My verdict is that you have to politely but very firmly stand up for yourself with Bluetti Support. They made a number of business mistakes along the way that just don't live up to the standard of support one should expect, let alone for something you're buying that's not a trivial purchase. Make sure you take copious photos of things before any trouble surfaces and all through any trouble that does. I felt the entire way I was being treated like someone trying to get something over on Bluetti instead of a customer who was having to spend an extraordinary amount of uncompensated time & effort trying to get a new product to work as it should.

Once I got firm, didn't just accept the low quality slap-dash refurb they foisted on me, they treated me better. Still not compensation for my trouble, but at least I got something closer to what I should have gotten than I otherwise would have.

I'm not sure how Bluetti Support stacks up next to other companies. But this is what I'm saying about my experience with Bluetti Support compared to the standard I offered when I did customer support, and the standard I expect as a customer.

For what it's worth, you can get rid of ozone in the air with an activated carbon filter. They remove ~60% of the ozone with each pass.

I can't remember the details, but I seem to recall that only ionizers with a specific polarity (either positive or negative ions) make ozone.