MAGNETO POWER STATION 1200W caught alight while not in use

Let me start off with I had a Magneto 1200w, but it caught alight while not been in use and tevo has my magneto and has done nothing to give me a truthful explanation on why it would have caught alight when it was not working.

What they have told me is that because I used it while it was charging with a solar panel, I started the process which took a whole 2/3 weeks from the last time I used it burning slowly without me realising it. But on the day of the burn my whole house was engulfed with smoke and a smell that forced me out my room and leaving all my windows open for over a week. But this burn started 2/3 week before the burn.

They say I over loaded the charging port because I was charging it with a solar panel while using it. Now I have to tell you that I was either using it for a gate motor which was in the day only or a TV at night. I used it to keep the battery of the gate motor charge and not run the gate running. I did do my research before doing this and found that a 600w power station could safely be used to keep the gate motor running.

They also keep telling me that it’s not possible to charge with a solar panel and use the power station at the same time. They also told me the I damaged the batteries, because I told them that the second time I used it, it went from 99% to 0% the moment I turned on the TV. I told them that once I plugged the solar panel in it seemed to be working fine so I didn’t worry further about it.

I have photos that I took of the power station because I had to get my son-in-law to open it and disconnect everything as it was unsafe and because the call center could not be reached because they call at 5. The photos are very clear that there is no damage to the charging port or the batteries. In fact, the batteries still looked brand new. It is very clear that it mostly like had a short as one of the wires was lose. Both motherboards were burnt as while as the plastic plate between the 2 boards.

They also told me that my power station was old because it was just short of 2 years old. I bought the power station for load shedding and power outages. If I used it more than 15/20 time it was a lot and then it was for maybe 4 hours at the most. Gate battery in the day when needed and TV at night.

These two men that called me made me feel like I was a ******** and I was very much in the wrong with the damage that occurred to my power station. Even at some point telling me that it is in the manual that you can’t use the power station while charging it. I asked them to tell me where in the manual does it say that and was told that I will receive the page number in the report they send to me, which I waited sometime for. I did email them about it but never received an email back. I did receive a call telling me because I used the power station while charging it with a solar panel and the damage was because of me it’s going to cost me R12 000-00 to repair the station. Of cause I was upset, because I never abused the power station and they are claiming I did. However, the next day I received a call, they need to keep my power station and so then offered me a refurbished one for I think it was R5000 or R6000, because they now claim my power station is dangerous and could explode.

Still today they can’t give a clear answer on why the station caught a light when I was not using it. This thing could have burnt my home down with me and my animals in it or exploded while we were inside or while we were sleeping.

He did towards the end of the call then say maybe your room temperate was too hot. It had been raining most of the time, so heat wasn’t the problem.

My question is the box was not on at the time and I had it in a cool place, it's still brand new even though the warranty has expired. what would have caused it to short out like this.

They used technical words with me, He talks about it not having a 5 directional which means it doesn’t have a UPS function and saying that I’m damaging the battery while using it with a solar panel. I don’t have the box anymore, “” because Tevo has it””, and why he keeps on about the batteries I don’t know, because the problem wasn’t with the batteries. by the photos, you can clearly see that it wasn’t the batteries that were burning, the one wire wasn’t even connected. The batteries and the charging port which is on the other side of where the burn is, is not damaged in any way at all.

nowhere in the manual does it say that I cannot use it while charging with a solar panel. They couldn’t point me to a page in the manual where it says that. BECAUSE IT DOESN’T SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN THE MANUAL. What it says in the manual is … Q: can I charge the magneto 1200w portable power station while supplying power at the same time? A: yes. However, you cannot draw a load greater than the rating of the portable power station. It is not advised to do this for extended periods of time as this will cause accelerated battery lifecycle degradation. I was only using it to keep the battery of my gate motor charged and this was for a few hours and then at night to watch the TV. Maximin of maybe 4 hours in the day. They then tried to explain to me about a car, which is charging while in use by the way. I did stop him because I didn't inquire about a car or a power bank, I’m wanting to know why my POWER STATION started to burn while I wasn’t using it. I did ask to speak to a manager, but was told I was talking to the workshop supervisor and he works with this product every day. He told me that this unit is like a power bank, ”” but I bought a POWER STATION and not a power bank””. So, I damaged it slowly over time. I then asked him … what he was telling me is that because I used it while it was charging with a solar panel it started to burn and only caught fire 2 or 3 weeks after I used it and he agreed with me. I ask him if this makes sense to him and he got upset with me. After all of this back and forth of me being told I damaged it because I was using it while charging with a solar panel, he then says to me, maybe your room temperate was to hot causing it to start burning. It had been raining around that time. If it was damaged and slowly burning after the last time I used it, then why did I only smell and see smoke on that day which is about 2 or 3 weeks after using it. I also asked how many people know that they cannot use it while on charge with a solar panel, his reply to me was that people know the difference between a power station and UPS, as there is a big difference between a power station and UPS his words. I went on to camping groups and asked people if it's possible to use this power station while it is on charge with a solar panel and everyone said YES, IT IS POSSIBLE. So, there are many people using this power station or under `the impression they can use it the same way I did and putting their life’s and their families, as while as their neighbour’s lives in danger because you are selling a PORTABLE POWER STATION THAT CAN’T CHARGE WITH A SOLAR PANEL while in use. I believe that the POWER STATION was damaged when I bought it, but because I’m not a tech and it kept working, I didn’t realise that there was a problem. he also told me to go research the difference between a “power station and ups” which I did. Funny thing is that nowhere on magneto or Tevo site does it say you can’t use the power station while using it with a solar panel, but they do advertise solar panels.

I asked someone to look at the photos and report and got this feedback… They are saying its being used as ups which is what is says uninterrupted power supply and which means the device is in standby use all the time which the magneto in question has only been used once the power has gone off as stated in the burning was packed in the room and not being used so it is clearly not being used as a ups. The fact that they say that the burn on the cable is from the positive charge on the negative cable because of the solar panel charging while using the magneto box is incorrect as if this was the case it would have a dead short instantly and the box would have had a problem from the word go. How the charge works from the panel is both wires do get a charge but one is a positive charge and one is a negative charge that’s how the circuit is completed for charging weather it is the panel or via electricity it is the same principal and to say that the box can’t be used while charging at the same time it is not state in any manual or on the website any reading of this is only do not exceed an output lager than your input is not that it’s not allowed to be used at the same time. The worse thing is in the report I was referred to websites on other power stations but nothing referring me to magneto power station.