Is it not what you say but what you do that counts? - WattGuardz

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Hi Folks,
There was a great discussion of VanBitz V Wattguardz a few weeks ago. Many people had their say about what things might be like and many questions were raised. At that point, we could only speculate about the new companies and how they might operate.

For us, we decided to go with Wattguardz to have Solar Panels and a change of battery fitted to our Laika. So.......off we went West ending up in Taunton on Monday. First impressions - big shed, bright and clean. Clearly early days and I expect things will change as time, money and experience are brought to bear. We were met by Ash pushing a vacuum cleaner around - missed a photo opportunity there!

We went off to the town centre - nice stroll along the canal rather than a taxi ride from Cornish Farm. Having had a Spoons breakfast and mooched about the town, we made our way back at the agreed time.
'Just Finishing up', we were told. No problem.
But......... it seems there was a problem. B2B and other systems were not working. Time ticked by. Fuses went. Time ticked by. Heads were scratched and time ticked by. It got to 6.30pm and we had answers. Our dear Fiat had eaten its alternator and so while the leisure side was fine, the vehicle system were far from well. We ended up with a 'Get you home' solution using the old replaced batteries and jump leads set up in between the front seats.
After a 'Different' night in the industrial park - not helped by Mr Grass cutter starting work at 6.30am - we had breakfast and gave it a go. We know if the van did not start we could call Ash for help. Well it did start, and run, and we got home for a late lunch with volts and amps to spare. The replacement alternator will be fitted this weekend so all will be well.

Now the answer to the question.
Ash, Nick, Dean and Dave provided us with amazing, quality work, AND, went far beyond the extra mile to ensure we were OK. Making up the jump leads, thinking through the possibilities, ensuring we could call them if we needed to and well, just being there. I can say that the old 'Vanbitz' philosophy is alive and well and we can all rest assured that these guys are just a phone call away.
 
Why did the alternator fail. I assume it was OK when you got there, could the B2B have demanded too much power from it.
 
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Hi 68c,
Looking back, there were signs that it was on the way out. Over the last few trips, we noticed the battery did not seem to have the expected charge at times. We have only done a few short trips this year and frequently hooked up so masking the reduced alternator performance. If by chance the replacement alternator does not do the trick, I’ll let you know.
 
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Great to hear, I’ll be contacting Ash about some work.
 
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Hi Don,

Thank you for taking the time to post. I was great to see you and Liz again and even though it turned out to be a slightly longer day than expected, your patience was noted and I thank you for bearing with us.

Please keep us informed with the work that is being carried out this weekend and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Take care

Ash

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Just returned from WattGuardz after a 500 mile round trip and having had full alarm, solar panel, lithium battery system and WiFi fittted (all in one day). I will post a full review and blow by blow account in the next few days but for now all I can say is the Van Bitz legacy is safe in the hands of Ash and Nick and if you take your pride and joy anywhere else you are, from what I have learned from my time with WattGuardz, a Bog Woppit!
 
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I bought a Battery Master off WattGuardz , called them up and spoke to Nick , after getting a price and getting the payment via card ( the 1st time they had used their new card machine over the phone ) Nick asked how I planned to fit it . After explaining what I planned ( which would work but more work than was necessary) Nick explained a far easier way to go about installing it , after I identified what PDU I had , he explained how to pick up the van and hab battery feeds from within , even telling me the colours of the cables ( no they are not just Red and Black 😉) . Battery Master fitted and working perfectly and tidily tucked behind the PDU. I added a CBE dual voltmeter to easily monitor the van and hab batteries. Many thanks to Nick , not many companies would take the time and share their expertise in such a way , superb service and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or use them again



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Hi Folks,
There was a great discussion of VanBitz V Wattguardz a few weeks ago. Many people had their say about what things might be like and many questions were raised. At that point, we could only speculate about the new companies and how they might operate.

For us, we decided to go with Wattguardz to have Solar Panels and a change of battery fitted to our Laika. So.......off we went West ending up in Taunton on Monday. First impressions - big shed, bright and clean. Clearly early days and I expect things will change as time, money and experience are brought to bear. We were met by Ash pushing a vacuum cleaner around - missed a photo opportunity there!

We went off to the town centre - nice stroll along the canal rather than a taxi ride from Cornish Farm. Having had a Spoons breakfast and mooched about the town, we made our way back at the agreed time.
'Just Finishing up', we were told. No problem.
But......... it seems there was a problem. B2B and other systems were not working. Time ticked by. Fuses went. Time ticked by. Heads were scratched and time ticked by. It got to 6.30pm and we had answers. Our dear Fiat had eaten its alternator and so while the leisure side was fine, the vehicle system were far from well. We ended up with a 'Get you home' solution using the old replaced batteries and jump leads set up in between the front seats.
After a 'Different' night in the industrial park - not helped by Mr Grass cutter starting work at 6.30am - we had breakfast and gave it a go. We know if the van did not start we could call Ash for help. Well it did start, and run, and we got home for a late lunch with volts and amps to spare. The replacement alternator will be fitted this weekend so all will be well.

Now the answer to the question.
Ash, Nick, Dean and Dave provided us with amazing, quality work, AND, went far beyond the extra mile to ensure we were OK. Making up the jump leads, thinking through the possibilities, ensuring we could call them if we needed to and well, just being there. I can say that the old 'Vanbitz' philosophy is alive and well and we can all rest assured that these guys are just a phone call away.
Wattguardz is all from vanbitz expect nothing less great team
 
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Update.
We got the alternator changed. Difficult job I gather, 4 hours book time.
The first unit had a different pulley so there was a delay before the job was completed.
Now done, the battery charges and all is good.
The cost was £850 including parts.

So all is done and we are back on the road.

Thanks to all who helped, especially the guys at Watt Gauardz.
 
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Ade
Hi Don,

Thank you for taking the time to post. I was great to see you and Liz again and even though it turned out to be a slightly longer day than expected, your patience was noted and I thank you for bearing with us.

Please keep us informed with the work that is being carried out this weekend and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Take care

Ash
are you guys installing Starlink mini’s yet Ash?

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Ade

are you guys installing Starlink mini’s yet Ash?
Yes of course. If you ring the office (01823426960), we can discuss your options, work out what you need and provide a price.

The office is closed tomorrow as we are carrying out a stock check 😴 A tedious job but one that needs to be done.

We are back open again on Thursday morning.

KR

Ash
 
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