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You guys just need to use better parts!

Cheap parts cost more than quality parts!
It doesn't matter how good the supply house warranty is on a $5-10 part, just one warranty replacement costs us more than spending $1-3 more on a few dozen better quality parts.

I can only remember ever having to replace one Mars brand heat sequencer that i installed for someone.(Not Mars2, other than the service disconnects, stay away from anything that has "Mars2" on it.)
Only had issues with a couple of AmRad capacitors in the few years we have been using them exclusively.
Other than a little flurry a couple of years ago, no issues with Honeywell Vision pro 8000 or Focus pro 5000 thermostats.

I've never offered, nor will I ever offer, off brand thermostats, like Braeburn, Lux, etc..

Had a fan motor making noise. I found the inner race of the ball bearing turning on the shaft. That's because the bearing should have been a press fit instead of a clearance fit. That's just poor quality control.

Originally Posted by pacnw

the easy way is to use a quality product and in my experience neither of these are.

If I see either of these mfr stats in a house I note it and inform customer they got what they paid for.

with the exception of the new T87, I cannot remember an issue with a HW stat after initial install in the last 6 years. there have been the occasional out of the box issues and most of those are on the higher end units.

I have nothing but issues with Honeywell thermostats. The only HW stat that doesn't have problems is the Focus Pro 8000 Touch screen which is the only one i stock and for customers that request that model. Honeywell product quality has just beenhe o declining and it doesn't look good.... Those round T87 are POS in my opinion. I've had nothing but problems and recalls whith those. I refuse to install Honeywell stats unless the customer strongly insists. I like Venstar and Carrier stats excluding the Edge model as of right now. I am not close minded to other brands but i do need to see them in action and inspect them.

The other issue with Honeywell stats is that they sell them at Home Depot. This creates an issue when selling to customers and they try to compare pricing even know that models are different. Its not worth arguing at that point. I only sell brands that customer can't buy at local store. This eliminates pricing issues. I sell a service not parts.

Originally Posted by billg

Whats not to love about Chinese capacitors nestled in soaked boxes leaking Yak fat right on the wholesaler's shelves. Talk about more warranty work than you can shake a stick at. Try as I might, getting stuff made in the USA is getting next to impossible.

Yep, about three years ago the newest parts house in the area was carrying Chinese POS caps under the name "Smart Electric" for a better than good price. We unfortunately installed quite a few and I am pretty sure that everyone of them went out within one year.

A few more dollars for a quality capacitor is well worth every penny.

I have had issues with braeburns as well I try to stick to honeywell now

Whats not to love about Chinese capacitors nestled in soaked boxes leaking Yak fat right on the wholesaler's shelves. Talk about more warranty work than you can shake a stick at. Try as I might, getting stuff made in the USA is getting next to impossible.

Had a bad Chinese condenser fan motor bad right out of the box. Fired it up and the bearings sounded horrible. I gave it a few minutes to quiet down.......no luck. Can't charge a customer 4 hours to change a motor. Is this what it has come to?

Trane really bad with there "Ignition Probe"
New out of the box with hair line crack, so annoying.

Not sure if this is legitimate or not, but I heard that chinese manufactured parts are only required to pass quality control at 57% (???)
Whereas, here in the states it is more like 78%(???)
Anyone have solid numbers on that?

sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

Originally Posted by cool-blew

We unwrapped a brand new carrier furnace, and found this.

Attachment 350571

The blower was separated from the mounts.

I would call them and tell them thanks for being honest.

Originally Posted by welling service

I have been using LuxPro stats for several years now and seeing more failures than I used to.
We installed a Braeburn stat and right out of the box it would not output on "W" terminal. The Braeburn stat quit outputting on "W" terminal. I wished there was some way to charge the manufacturer with this service call.
I hate charging the customer. It is not his fault nor is it mine.

the easy way is to use a quality product and in my experience neither of these are.

If I see either of these mfr stats in a house I note it and inform customer they got what they paid for.

with the exception of the new T87, I cannot remember an issue with a HW stat after initial install in the last 6 years. there have been the occasional out of the box issues and most of those are on the higher end units.

When did AMF buy Carrier?

Attachment 351181

Originally Posted by catmanacman

must be using white rodgers parts

+1
I refuse to buy White Rodgers parts because of their poor quality.

Just had the second hydrostat 3150 boiler control bad out of the box, I love the control but I cant keep on changing them before i leave the service call The one before this one was on Christmas eve, and you guys know the story, no supply house open, but I was lucky and had a new one sitting on my work bench(with temp reset contol option) for my house and never put it in, so it saved my ars.

I have been using LuxPro stats for several years now and seeing more failures than I used to. I got a call from a church on Christmas Eve with no heat. Turned out to be the thermostat. We installed a Braeburn stat and right out of the box it would not output on "W" terminal. back in the summer we had replaced an old package heat pump with a Westinghouse dual fuel heat pump and the customer loved it. Got a called from the customer a couple of weeks ago that it wasn't keeping the house warm. The temp had been in the high twenties for a few days. The Braeburn stat quit outputting on "W" terminal. The unit was heating on heat pump only and with the temp being so cold we only had an eighteen degree rise in the supply air. I wished there was some way to charge the manufacturer with this service call. I hate charging the customer. It is not his fault nor is it mine. Had the same problem with a LuxPro heat pump stat about the same time. I think the problem is with the pin connectors on the stat that plug into the base. I say this because I checked the output at the pins and had continuity there. Replaced the stats and solved the problem.

Originally Posted by cool-blew

We unwrapped a brand new carrier furnace, and found this.

Attachment 350571

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA too funny

I refuse to use T87s of any type, not even on the truck!!!!.

Put in a powered stat and forget it, battery operated or "C".

as for sequencers, yes there has been some quick failures. sometimes, if it is the same unit, I am looking for a reason and rarely find one. if all checks out connection, power and operation wise all you can do is replace the sequencer.

The "bulk" sequencers from Johnstone are usually ok, but i've had a bunch of em lately that are prone to failure. I save em up and return them when I get to go to town. Doesn't make me happy to replace them under warranty, but as long as Johnstone continues to warranty them for a year, I'll continue to buy from them.

Originally Posted by cool-blew

We unwrapped a brand new carrier furnace, and found this.

Attachment 350571

The blower was separated from the mounts.

That will certianly help speed up the trouble shooting when the customer calls complaining about noise lol.

We unwrapped a brand new carrier furnace, and found this.

Attachment 350571

The blower was separated from the mounts.