New electrical products break after 2 years, fix or throw away?

[Guitar God]

I bought the most expensive Hitachi 850 watt  inverter water pump, it ran 8 months and all the impeller blades broke off due to sand in the line from another defective product upstream.
I paid 2000, waited 8 weeks to get it back and now it overheats with a C3 error 2x3x per day and need to be manually reset. Usually noticed when you're upstairs naked ready to shower, so It's a big hassle

Went back to Homepro and said we want them to send it in and fix it or give us the Hitachi service info so Hitachi can take another eight week shot at it.

The manager at Homepro advised to throw the 25,000 baht, 2 year old pump away and buy a new one, I suggested he perform oral sex on me.

I have a two year old Daikin Inverter air conditoner,  19000 btu, the biggest of 5 in our house. It stopped blowing cool air a few months ago, a friend of my wife who does AC came out, recharged the other and showed us a photo of a dead jing joke on a circut board. He never came back so we called Daikin, the first guy came with sales brochures and the then the mechanics showed up and said they're a problem with the inverter and it's expensive to fix, 17,000 baht for a 25,000 AC and suggested buying a new one.

It that the SOP here, replace your water pump and AC every two years because they're too expensive to fix?

Should I just buy a couple each of the cheapest crap available an swap them out like light bulbs or flip flops with they inevitably fail?

What't the point of buying, expensive, quality name brand products if they don't last and you can't fix them.

I've owned three Mercedes, never did the service adviser suggest I throw my car away and buy a new one.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Guitar God

[sipi]

I think it depends on the break. I have also had gechos take out an aircon inverter circuit board and it was cheaper to replace the whole split system.

I have lost count on the number of electrical plugs I have changed because the old ones failed, but still cheaper than replacing the whole unit.

[eyecatcher]

We have been a throw away society for over 30years and you woould never dream of getting your tv or microwave or lawnmower repaired.

Most people want new and dont have patience to await a repair.

 

In Thailand its the same almost. The majority of products are made cheap on purpose. Firstly affordability on quality products means low sales so they gear products to what they can afford and when they break they replace.

 

Of course the same would be true to a millionnaire if he had a problem with his Merc.just swap it....because he can afford it.

 

Chances are your pump repair will get a two month warranty because thats how they rate thei own ability to carry out a quality repair.

 

Just bite the bullet..you had your saturday whinge so tomorrow treat yourself to a new one but try to get home pro to offer you a sizeable credit voucher to spend.

[Guitar God]

10 hours ago, sipi said:

I think it depends on the break. I have also had gechos take out an aircon inverter circuit board and it was cheaper to replace the whole split system.

I have lost count on the number of electrical plugs I have changed because the old ones failed, but still cheaper than replacing the whole unit.

I'm an electrical engineer that makes no <deleted> sense at. Unless it required 10 hours of labor to R&R, there's no component that's going to be worth even 50% of the cost of the unit.

They're either tacking 400% on to the cost of the parts or just lying because they make more on selling a new one. This unit hasn't been ran 100 hours since it was new, there's one circuit board that needs to be replaced and anything more than 5000 baht is just a fabricated price.

Is there such a thing as an extended warranty here. In other countries you're offered it  ten time before they shut up about it. Here they only 5 year warrantied parts are motors and the casters the thing sits on.

Not looking forward to replacing everything I own every two years.

I have a house in America, 60 years old, replaced the furnace and AC three times, I have a 20 year old refrigerator, 20 year old stove. Electric grarage door openers that are 25 year old. A 60 year old week pump that still works. Here I buy Japanese and German technology and it's two years before it's scrap.

[wayned]

I've had 3 wives.  Replaced the first one after 21 years, the second after 7 years and the third died after 15 years.  Repair cost during the period were astronomical!  I don't intend to get a new one!

[Guitar God]

Can anyone recommend a good place to rent air conditioners and water pumps? Like everything else here, that seems to be the solution.

 

 

Edited April 29, 2017 by Guitar God

[sipi]

3 hours ago, Guitar God said:

I'm an electrical engineer that makes no <deleted> sense at. Unless it required 10 hours of labor to R&R, there's no component that's going to be worth even 50% of the cost of the unit.

They're either tacking 400% on to the cost of the parts or just lying because they make more on selling a new one. This unit hasn't been ran 100 hours since it was new, there's one circuit board that needs to be replaced and anything more than 5000 baht is just a fabricated price.

Is there such a thing as an extended warranty here. In other countries you're offered it  ten time before they shut up about it. Here they only 5 year warrantied parts are motors and the casters the thing sits on.

Not looking forward to replacing everything I own every two years.

I have a house in America, 60 years old, replaced the furnace and AC three times, I have a 20 year old refrigerator, 20 year old stove. Electric grarage door openers that are 25 year old. A 60 year old week pump that still works. Here I buy Japanese and German technology and it's two years before it's scrap.

I"ll start again.

It was cheaper to fit a new split system than replace the circuit board.

[BEVUP]

6 hours ago, Guitar God said:

I'm an electrical engineer that makes no <deleted> sense at. Unless it required 10 hours of labor to R&R, there's no component that's going to be worth even 50% of the cost of the unit.

They're either tacking 400% on to the cost of the parts or just lying because they make more on selling a new one. This unit hasn't been ran 100 hours since it was new, there's one circuit board that needs to be replaced and anything more than 5000 baht is just a fabricated price.

Is there such a thing as an extended warranty here. In other countries you're offered it  ten time before they shut up about it. Here they only 5 year warrantied parts are motors and the casters the thing sits on.

Not looking forward to replacing everything I own every two years.

I have a house in America, 60 years old, replaced the furnace and AC three times, I have a 20 year old refrigerator, 20 year old stove. Electric grarage door openers that are 25 year old. A 60 year old week pump that still works. Here I buy Japanese and German technology and it's two years before it's scrap.

Yes exactly about the costs concerning parts - they are very cheap especially if dealing with circuit boards where you can replace a Diod or Capacitor 

I've had probably just about every electrical appliance go faulty except aircon / water pump & TV's (touch wood )

I put it down to 2 factors 

* Cheap crap ( most stuff from China ) Which i know you dont have in your case 

* Constant slight power surges not to mention (pending ) the black outs - Capacitors & Diodes love this

Small water pump for pool - blown capcitor within 2 weeks (I replaced)

DVD player - small capacitor gone ( replaced but didnt help)

Remote fan - Diode gone  ( as above ) & another fan where i replaced the capacitor 

Now the Microwave - Checked but needs further investigation from expert (& as mentioned the dearest part should only be maybe 500bht on a 3000 bht microwave ( microwaves are expensive in Thailand ) 

* All these parts above you would pay 50 bht for the dearest one

Prior to this fault electric gate ( a couple of times ) & a stuffed under sink Imosis System 

PS : Just don't buy anything  fancy IE like my remote wall fan - when i replaced i went with one with the pull strings

Edited April 30, 2017 by BEVUP

[4evermaat]

Is the house/main electrical unit grounded?  Additionally maybe a few surge arresters might complement the main ground.  How close are you to the beach?  Salt water can damage components faster.

 

I do kind of feel your pain.   There may be a local repair shop that can do out-of-warranty work cheap.  I have one here.  He doesn't do house-calls, but if I can get the appliance to him, he will open it up and diagnose it.

 

HomePro wasn't a bad option, although they should offer a replacement of some kind if it is in warranty.  But I might consider a large local electronic shop where they offer a service center.  An example of this in Chumphon is SeangTokyo.  They would also tell you which brands other Thais are buying that have least problems.  I don't know what it would be in your neck of the woods.   But they would have representatives from the larger companies come and service on site or come on a weekly basis.

 

BananaIT, JIB, Advice for computer parts, etc.

 

Also, if you don't want genuine parts, Amorn sells aftermarket parts.   Unfortunately the one in Chumphon is small, and they do not seem to do special orders.  For my broken washing machine (samsung appx 5 years old), I could have gotten a mainboard for 900+ baht and a water pump/valve for 200+ baht.   But since they didn't have one for samsung, I had to go to SeangTokyo's service center and get those parts for 1800 and 750, respectively.  Well, I think I bought it for 11000 baht or something like that at Big C; I've reached my upper limit on repairing the thing and will buy new the next time.

[Anythingleft?]

Yes it is a throw away environment, sad but true although the service here lacks in a whole host of areas from sales and aftercare.

Unfortunately even the best electrical goods will have a hard time with the power supply here, I always try to buy the best I can afford but since the service and aftercare is so abysmal I am moving away from that train of thought to save my sanity and stress levels.

Usually now the item is second or 3rd best with the thought of replacement on failure. Not something I like or enjoy but it seems a logical approach to me now after many efforts to get warranties upheld or products repaired (even finding parts to fix them myself)

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

[luudee]

 

I would not throw them away, but rather try to get proper service.

 

I build my own constant pressure system, with a quality pump, and pressure tank, etc.

I have a larger than average house/big family ...  Had it now for over 10 years, only minor

repairs/maintenance ...

 

I have a problem with rats, they tend to chew up the AC outside compressors/electronics.

We have managed to keep it all sealed for several years now. 

 

Lately, I've been having problems with one AC unit, which is leaking coolant.

 

The first "repair" rice-farmer, just topped it off and told me to call him when it stops working again.

again. The second one was a bit better, tried actually to find the part that was leaking and re-weld it ...

But he failed as well ... they never do proper pressure tests ... not fun and takes to much time.

 

Now, based on a recommendation of a friend, I contacted daiken directly, and am waiting for them

to send some "qualified" monkey to actually fix it ....

 

Overall my Daiken Inverters have been in service for 6-8 years ... I have also a large (cassette) Mitu

unit in my bedroom and also very happy with (10 years going strong). Had to replace the compressor

starting Capacitor quite early after purchase, but nothing else ...

 

luudee

 

 

 

[VocalNeal]

Note to self: Don't buy an inverter water pump. 

[kamalabob2]

In 2008 I bought and had an authorized Hitachi Water Pump dealer install the Hitachi WM-P400GX Inverter water pump at my home in rural Buriram. Any service issue I was able to speak English to the owner of the family owned water pump shop who had actual trained repair service technicians. They contacted Decha Jongstapongpun of Toyobo who is one of two actual distributors of Hitachi water pumps in Thailand for a technical question and the solution. The 5 year warranty is written in English and Toyobo was helpful and responsive to the dealer. HomePro might buy Hitachi from the other distributor in Thailand. I sold the Hitachi water pump to a UK Expat and have a different water pump in 2016. I was very impressed with the Mitsubishi line of Super Pumps which are a step above inverter pumps in my observation. The Super Pump price is significantly less than I paid for the Hitachi Inverter water pump, but they are not appropriate for every home in Thailand.  I have had zero a/c troubles with Diakin Inverter, Panasonic Inverter, or traditional LG, Mitsubishi or Samsung a/c units I currently use at a couple of homes in Buriram Province. Central a/c is certainly available from Mitsubishi or Daikin in Buriram province. I have seen Daikin Inverter central air conditioning installed in a village house outside of Buriram. 

[Pib]

Inverter A/Cs, inveter water pumps, inverter frigs,  just inverter XYZ are generally significantly more expensive to repair, especially for A/C outside unit/condenser unit.   While you save on electricity especially for a proper size inverter A/C, if you have some bad luck in needing repair early on and/or too frequently your electric bill savings can be eaten up by repair costs....and of course any high repair bill just pisses you off.  And in Thailand in many places (especially the provinces) it can be hard to find an A/C tech that knows how to troubleshoot electronic/electrical problems on an inverter A/C so they end-up basically recommending replacement of a major sub-assembly which can get pricey.   It's a lot easier (and cheaper) to get replacement parts for fixed speed A/Cs (i..e., non-inverter A/Cs) which makes their repair easier/cheaper.

[Guitar God]

Update. I had Home Pro send someone out, they correctly diagnosed the problem within 30 minutes (jing joke shorted out the inverter controller PCB) and within three days he returned and installed a new board.

Total cost - 7600 baht
Cost to replace the split system- 27,000 baht

[CGW]

On 5/1/2017 at 0:01 PM, VocalNeal said:

Note to self: Don't buy an inverter water pump. 

Repeat that - twice, I had a Inverter pump for 3 years (happy enough with that), then it screwed up, main board gone - not repairable, I foolishly bought another same brand/model lasted less than six months same problem, obviously the main boards have a very limited life span! of course the newer pump is still guaranteed - ongoing saga......................

[Pib]

2 hours ago, Guitar God said:

Update. I had Home Pro send someone out, they correctly diagnosed the problem within 30 minutes (jing joke shorted out the inverter controller PCB) and within three days he returned and installed a new board.

Total cost - 7600 baht
Cost to replace the split system- 27,000 baht

Just for repair cost comparison between an inverter A/C and non-inverter A/C, I have an York non-inverter 18K BTU A/C where a jing joke shorted out the main board in the outside compressor unit.  Called the Johnson Control folks here in Bangkok who support/own York.  They came out and replaced the main board....the board was Bt2,000 plus another Bt500 or so in labor.  Been running fine since.

 

Yeap, inverter A/Cs can save on your electric bill although they have a higher upfront procurement cost and when they break bad (like a smoked board) they are usually significantly more costly to repair.  I will also say that the cost of inverter A/Cs has come down significantly over the last 5 years and is definitely the way to go if using your A/C a lot.

[Lamkyong]

any chance of a photo of the board ?often they can be repaired  with a little soldering  knowledge  and ebay/ you tube    always worth a try even for a novice     (of course not suggesting you are

[Pib]

37 minutes ago, Lamkyong said:

any chance of a photo of the board ?often they can be repaired  with a little soldering  knowledge  and ebay/ you tube    always worth a try even for a novice     (of course not suggesting you are

Don't know if you are responding to Guitar God or me, but my board had a baht size hole vaporized into it along with several electronic components.  Apparently the jing joke got across the 220V input, created a nice short circuit and heavily damaged the board...smoked the board.   My work life involved repair of electronics/avionics....you would not want to repair this board since the PCB itself was heavily damaged....probably some of there other electronic components (the ones not vaporized) were damaged also.

Edited June 8, 2017 by Pib

[David B in Thailand]

I've been disappointed at "send to Bangkok" repair service on several brands of tools and appliances in Thailand. I've found an authorized appliance repair shop in Buriram, Y & J electric,  for my Toshiba | Panasonic | Sharp | Hitachi appliances. Every good size town must have a shop that specializes in warranty repairs and after warranty repairs with genuine parts for appliances. I am buying a WestAir air compressor for my nephew as it will have a Mitsubishi electric motor and a warranty I can read. I met Mr. Jamie McKinnell the managing director from Perth, Australia at his new Buriram assembly plant. As I was told he is using a small assembly plant in Buriram to install Honda petrol motors and Mitsubishi electric motors and German Pressure switches on SCR Rotary Screw Electric air compressors and Reciprocating (piston) Electric air compressors. The longer warranty period and an Australian expat with a work permit to oversee the repairs is why I am buying this brand of air compressor. I'll post photos next week of my nephew using this compressor with air tools to remodel an Isaan village home. 

[dfdgfdfdgs]

If it's out of warranty does it really matter if the shop is authorised or not?  The authorised one will just be more expensive.

[David B in Thailand]

The authorized shop will be much more likely to offer you genuine replacement parts for an appliance or tool in my experience. Alternative parts are a poor value in a 3rd world country in my experience.  Same Same is not the exact same when it comes to electrical parts or automotive parts in Thailand in my experience. When I can buy an air compressor with a 5 year tank warranty, 3 year pump warranty and 1 year electric motor warranty I am much more confident than with the typical "Thai" marketing brand with warranties made out of Swiss cheese.  Warranties full of holes, excuses, exceptions and delays. The authorized repair people have more opportunities or even requirements, to attend training classes. 

[impulse]

If wires could talk, we'd never hear the end of their stories about voltage spikes, brownouts and other horrible things that happen to appliances when they're plugged into a poorly designed or poorly implemented power system.

 

Irritating as it is, a lot of times the problem isn't with the quality of the appliances...  Since a lot of them aren't made locally, it's not surprising that the distribution networks aren't all stocked up on spares, and I've experienced the cost and effort involved in importing a single replacement part from overseas at my job.  From a business standpoint, I'd bin a $1000 item before I'd go through that.  So I can completely understand why a supplier would tell their customer to replace the unit instead.

 

Not that it doesn't stink...

 

[dfdgfdfdgs]

Yes for machines with moving parts or parts subject to stress I can understand it.  But for TVs and such where they'll probably just be replacing a wire or component, any shop would probably do and the difference between a genuine part of aftermarket part probably would not affect performance and the saving would be worth it.

[jeab1980]

On 01/05/2017 at 12:01 PM, VocalNeal said:

Note to self: Don't buy an inverter water pump. 

Lol made that note whilst building our house  with the frequent power cuts we get here.