Chinese crap - Thai crap - where is the difference?

[Boncuk]

Hi all,

I used an evaparative cooler for my work place in the living room for about four months when it quit working completely two days ago.

I purchased another model (Imarflex IF555) yesterday which looked promising at the store, higher air volume flow at higher air pressure (radial type fan) and large area cooling grid.

Unpacking was the first problem. Opening the carton I encountered the first obstruction. Removing the top foam (shock absorbers) there was no space to get hands to the body of the device. (Size: LXWXH 60X40X100cm, weight without water 15kg).

So I turned the opened box upside down and slipped it off the device.

Removing the bottom shock absorbers was no problem at all.

Next I filled the water tank using approximately 10l of rain water and put the device on operation.

The fan started alright (three speed), but no water available for the evaporative part of the cooler.

Removing the back cover and cooling grid I found the reason: a small aquarium pump floating on top of the water. Reason: (turning the device upside down the pressure hose had come lose from the pump, since it was not mounted to the tank bottom at all, except for four rubber adhesive "boots")

That problem was solved quickly and turning on the device again I really got a surprise: The outlet spit pure water all over the living room through the fan.

A 90 degree bend rubber hose at the top water feed outlet looked some kind of displaced to me.

Further investigation proved that it should have been attached from the top tank to the distributor bar, consisting of a plastic pipe with 22 drills distributing water evenly over the entire length of the device.

Now the system works properly, except for the water level indicator. That sweety indicates zero with a full tank.

Boncuk

 

[Hero999]

Cheap crap is made everywhere.

Unfortunately most of it is made in south east Asia, China, Thailand, Malaysia etc. because it's cheap to manufacture stuff in those countries.

 

[Boncuk]

Cheap crap is made everywhere.

Unfortunately most of it is made in south east Asia, China, Thailand, Malaysia etc. because it's cheap to manufacture stuff in those countries.

Nice to know, but this one is an exception.

It cost double as much as "German crap" functioning well for guaranteed 10 years.

(According to the latest sales laws electric appliances must not be sold under a warranty less than 10 years.)

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

(According to the latest sales laws electric appliances must not be sold under a warranty less than 10 years.)

Is that true?, it sounds EXTREMELY unlikely - people keep making all sorts of silly claims about EU warranties, yet the legislation they quote says no such thing.

 

[Boncuk]

Is that true?, it sounds EXTREMELY unlikely - people keep making all sorts of silly claims about EU warranties, yet the legislation they quote says no such thing.

Hi Nigel,

take my word. It's (national) German law and has nothing to do with the EU crap. The government is about extending the warranty to 15 years for high quality electric appliances by law.

I guess german industries aren't afraid of it. My Philishave 5850 has worked properly for 25 years.

After that time the long hair cutter wore out and the pivoting pin for the blade broke off the plastic body. I replaced it with a piece of metal (cannibalized of a ball point pen) and hammered it into the plastic body.

It worked fine for another three years, but now the stroke is starting to decrease, unable to cut the "wire mesh" off my face.

Just a point to consider: Car manufacturers employ an army of engineers to find the right mixture and treatment to exactly determine life time (metallurgy) of a valve, a spring, a camshaft and what else you need in a car engine.

BMW is the most obvious example. No matter what type of car (and engine) you purchase - after 80,000km they start blowing a cloud of blue smoke from the exhaust pipe to be followed by a black one and depending on engine temperature - either engine fire (magnesium and aluminim alloy burns pretty nicely with low chances to extinguish the fire) or a complete breakdown of the engine.

I saw a family (Parents and two children) burnt to ashes in a 740BMW after a crash with all doors locked, when the engine caught fire after a crash and a wise guy opened the motor hood - probably to acellerate fire.

Nobody had a hammer like tool with him and the place was blocked by gaffers observing the family die.

Regards

Hans

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

take my word. It's (national) German law and has nothing to do with the EU crap. The government is about extending the warranty to 15 years for high quality electric appliances by law.

Sorry, but that sounds absolutely crazy, and I've never heard any such suggestion - I can only assume you're misreading the legislation just as everyone does for the EU (and UK) legislation. How can manufacturers give a ten year guarantee on a TV, when the CRT, LCD, or PDP, isn't rated to last that long?.

 

[Hero999]

That's true, not piece of consumer electronics is designed to last for a decade - it's just not economical.

 

[HiTech]

That's true, not piece of consumer electronics is designed to last for a decade - it's just not economical.

Maybe now-a-days but not so back in the 1950's to 1980's. Plenty of consumer electronics built to survive for decades of continuous use.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Maybe now-a-days but not so back in the 1950's to 1980's. Plenty of consumer electronics built to survive for decades of continuous use.

Bit optimistic, old gear was far more unreliable than modern gear - I know, I've repaired (and still repair) both. Old gear was bult for frequent, and expensive, servicing - and that's why it 'lasted'. "I've had this hammer 50 years, it's had 20 new shafts and 5 new heads"

It's really down to the VERY high cost of electronics back then - if you were paying a few months wages for a radio, then it made repairing them viable. Now when a 32 inch flat-screen TV costs less than an average weeks wage, it makes spending a few hundred dollars (or pounds) un-viable. If the TV cost $10,000 (as they should when compared to cars) then a couple of hundred dollars is very viable.

 

[Speakerguy]

There's also the "value engineering" (planned obsolescence) aspect of it all - if my iPhone does in two or three years, I don't really care. It's time for a new phone by then anyway as the technology will have advanced. Now, with items like air conditioners or evaporative coolers, microwave ovens etc I can see there being laws made to dictate "Hey, you gotta make this **** last" because there is no technological reason for them to be planned for obsolescence. It's just an extra environmental cost when a cheaply made unit breaks and you have to buy a new one. Lots of negative externalities beyond the price paid and how long it lasts.

 

[Externet]

A 1962 Cadillac is my daily driver car and takes me anywhere anytime with signs of being capable for 15 more years. My 1961 Cadillac spare is just not needed, sitting vacationing in the garage.

 

[HiTech]

Bit optimistic, old gear was far more unreliable than modern gear - I know, I've repaired (and still repair) both. Old gear was bult for frequent, and expensive, servicing - and that's why it 'lasted'. "I've had this hammer 50 years, it's had 20 new shafts and 5 new heads"

It's really down to the VERY high cost of electronics back then - if you were paying a few months wages for a radio, then it made repairing them viable. Now when a 32 inch flat-screen TV costs less than an average weeks wage, it makes spending a few hundred dollars (or pounds) un-viable. If the TV cost $10,000 (as they should when compared to cars) then a couple of hundred dollars is very viable.

I'm referring to quality brands like McIntosh, Klipsch, Cerwin Vega, BGW, Leak, SAE, Revox, Tandberg, Ampex, etc. That stuff lasted with nary any issues. BTW, all of my hammers still have the original heads and handles on them except for a 4lb. hand maul that had it's wood handle crack from a misgdirected whack to a metal stake. These boys have been faithfully with me for 30 years, some even longer than that.

 

[tvtech]

For what it's worth...until around 10 years ago I was still repairing Telefunken 711 and Philips K9 CRT TV's that were built around 1973/1974....

We are in 2010 right now. I saw the last of these sets around 2000.

These sets managed to last an incredible 25+ years. We only stopped fixing them because Delta guns for tubes became totally obsolete. Many of the chassis were in an amazing state for all the use they had. They were flat out good design from the word go. Properly engineered.

I hate the throw away society we have become.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

For what it's worth...until around 10 years ago I was still repairing Telefunken 711 and Philips K9 CRT TV's that were built around 1973/1974....

We are in 2010 right now. I saw the last of these sets around 2000.

These sets managed to last an incredible 25+ years. We only stopped fixing them because Delta guns for tubes became totally obsolete. Many of the chassis were in an amazing state for all the use they had. They were flat out good design from the word go. Properly engineered.

I hate the throw away society we have become.

Check out how much those sets cost back then, in real terms - because of that the sets have been repaired MANY times over the years, because it was cost effective. The modern sets are FAR cheaper in real terms, which means that repair costs are often not cost effective.

 

[Mickster]

I hate the throw away society we have become.

Unfortunately, that is one side effect of consumer demand for the latest, more feature-packed, shiniest version of what came out on the market last year. We are constantly bombarded from all angles, by the advertising agencies, that our lives will be more fulfilled only if we have the latest, most technologically-advanced gadget.

This approach is driven by money and nothing else. Get a product out into the field as quickly as possible after basic testing and get the cash rolling in. If bugs appear within the warranty period, supply a patch. If the product fails just out of warranty....tough.....there's a newer, more feature-packed version out already and what you originally bought was probably obselete 12 months after it was made.

Nowadays, it is not really in the best interests of a company to make a rock-solid, long-life product that you would only need to buy one of....

 

[Hero999]

A lot of the reasons why it's become so cheap to manufacturer things is because it can be done in the sweatshops of south east Asia rather in the US or EU where labour is expensive. People complain about their jobs going abroad but would they pay twice the price for things or work for much less?

 

[Sceadwian]

I find that warranty bit a bit weird myself, but Boncuk said 'trust me' without posting a reference to the law, so we can pretty much throw that out the window =) If you can't link to the reference material you're basing your belief on then there's no basis for the statement in the first place.

Hero, even outside of sweatshops they can do it cheaper, in some places people are paid a living wage FAR greater than they could otherwise manage, our (US) standards are just so bloated we don't realize we should be grateful to bleed at our fingertips to put out good product so we can get some of those jobs back. I work at a screw machine shop, all I hear all day long day in and day out is bitching about how things used to be and about how they don't get paid to do their jobs. No one wants to work harder for lower pay they just wanna be babies and wine.

 

[Mickster]

A lot of the reasons why it's become so cheap to manufacturer things is because it can be done in the sweatshops of south east Asia rather in the US or EU where labour is expensive. People complain about their jobs going abroad but would they pay twice the price for things or work for much less?

Not sure about paying twice the price, but the relatively recent economic downturn has shown that people are willing to work for less. Consider constantly-rising fuel prices along with the UK VAT going back up to 17.5%, as opposed to stagnant pay rates for the last few years.....less in the pocket no?

 

[Sceadwian]

I hope we see more of that Mickster, us 'first world' folk need to be taken down a peg or two. My personal experience in that department has been quite humbling, the more I think about it though it just makes me work harder, I just hope I'm setting an example where I work, especially for management which is out of touch with what is really going on. I think it's hitting them though, I see the owners of the company down on the shop floor more often taking part in things, we just had a new customer tour the other day. Even minor progression is a good thing knowing that they're not doing the same crap day in day out needlessly.

 

[Mickster]

We first-worlder's don't really appreciate how fortunate we are, to be able to live in the lifestyle we are accustomed to....

Conspiracy theories and New World Order crap aside, how could things be any less fair than an equal day's pay for an equal day's work?