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"Fan on Demand".
Another N & a Y would be nice eh!
weldequip
Oh I
Fan on demand is as good as it gets
- Thread starter Luke
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Oh I
Fan on demand is as good as it gets
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Errr... no!
Mate of mine works for the National Trust & I (reluctantly!) ordered one of these for him...
View attachment 1895
For knocking fence posts in
Within a month a post had gone straight through the top tearing open a trainee's hand
These "Lifetime Warranties" are a total con! The fact is they are sooo cheap they can afford to just replace it, nothing to do with their quality!
weldequip
I've made these before, 35mm round bar for handles, 8" heavy wall tube with 1/2" cap. Knackered after throwing that about all day. Opted for the tractor with guided hammer on the back to knock em in with after day one!
Towing and trailers
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I think the most important thing about a set is it is reliable.
as you will see from the photos below I use sets I do not buy them to polish this set is 10 years old and has worked hard with out any real problems.
it has also fallen down a fire escape this is where some of the knocks have come from.
The photos inside show a 10 year old set that has never been blown out.
Sorry about the quality of the photos my shed is very dark and I only used a phone to take the photos.
EWM AC/DC power sinus inverter tig.
as you will see from the photos below I use sets I do not buy them to polish this set is 10 years old and has worked hard with out any real problems.
it has also fallen down a fire escape this is where some of the knocks have come from.
The photos inside show a 10 year old set that has never been blown out.
Sorry about the quality of the photos my shed is very dark and I only used a phone to take the photos.
EWM AC/DC power sinus inverter tig.
Towing and trailers
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I ve got a couple of Hypertherm plasma cutters (early power max modles) they are the best when they run but when they dont they are the biggest money pit around.
My Power max 1100 went in various times under warentee in the first few months of having it and yes it would cut good but to use it with a hand torch was costing me inexcess of £80 per day it cut good when you put new consumables in the torch but they did not last the hour out after 20 mins my little powermax 350 was out proforming it.
in that hour it would fly to start with then it would quickly dererioate when it went back to trueflame (these people have never sucessfull repaired a set for me yet. I dont thin they know how to) they put new consumables in and said it worked fine.
I eventually got hold of the director of hyperthem UK and stated they got me a full refund on my set or I drove down to him and drove through his wall and shuved the set down his throught. with in a couple of hrs an engineer turned up from a company in sheffield that was another hypertherm agent and spent some time with me agreed that a new set should not behave like this and took it away 2 weeks later I went to collect it it had neumorous upgrades at my cost about £400 and hyper therm got a bill of about £900 it worksd fine for about 4 years then it did the same again this cost me about £1400 I regreted taking it in. then 2 years later it did it again and it has just sat since.
Pete
dutchman
t(r)igger happy
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Interesting topic this is. I haven’t read all, but there are a few points I like to add:
About the Japanese cars: they cost about the same as European brands now.
About buying low quality products: the raw materials, which are becoming more and more scarce, can often be used once, before being burnt at the garbage disposal. Buying low quality often means a shorter lifespan of the product and therefore having less “return” or gain from the raw materials. Therefore I don’t like buying low quality stuff.
About Chinese labour circumstances: they are truly horrifying! By buying Chinese goods, you are indirectly giving an incentive for driving down western labour circumstances.
About the Japanese cars: they cost about the same as European brands now.
About buying low quality products: the raw materials, which are becoming more and more scarce, can often be used once, before being burnt at the garbage disposal. Buying low quality often means a shorter lifespan of the product and therefore having less “return” or gain from the raw materials. Therefore I don’t like buying low quality stuff.
About Chinese labour circumstances: they are truly horrifying! By buying Chinese goods, you are indirectly giving an incentive for driving down western labour circumstances.
Good point there Dutchie. People keep saying "Oh well, as the Chinese become wealthier they'll want higher wages & they'll soon be up to Western wages".
No they won't! Western wages will be coming down to compete!!
Here's some figures:-
Average Hourly Factory Wage
United States: $17
Japan:$16.50
Germany:$15.60
United Kingdom:$13.00
China:$0.40
So there you have it. The more & more Chinese goods we keep buying the more & more pressure we put on our own wages. It wouldn't at all surprise me if the minimum wage standard in the EU is dropped within the next 5 years. There'll be some noises then!
So listen up you lot that keep buying Chinese stuff because it suits your pocket... there could well be a lot less in your pocket over the next decade or so
weldequip
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I think the cheeper labour has given some of the more greedy trades a run for there money, There was bricklayers, sparks etc around here who wouldnt get out of bed for less than £200 a day labour (hardley working 8hrs and finishing at 12.00 on a friday), and also creaming it on parts..
Most of these EP's are very skilled, despite the building trades wingeing and moaning and trying to make the punters think they are all cowboys..
I sometimes have a Russian (not east euro)lad help me he works full time for a freind of mine, He is in no way slave labour he is paid £80 for the day and pays tax and NI, a fair wage for labour I think, he works bloady hard and does not complain.
Many are doing jobs that the English simply do not wish to do, The port I do work for has branched into fence panel makeing, When they advertised the job in the local Rag they had 0 replys (Many proberbly thought siting on the dole watching sky TV was better), They have ended up employing Pole's, They pay a fair wage for the product, they are paid peace and the top ones are earning £800 a week...Many are takeing the money home to pay for collage fees etc, most seem very bright and wish to become doctors, lawyers etc
Cheep labour is a nessary if you wish to have products avarage earners can afford. If they are paying into the system while they work I can see very little negative affect on the country....
Good point there Dutchie. People keep saying "Oh well, as the Chinese become wealthier they'll want higher wages & they'll soon be up to Western wages".
No they won't! Western wages will be coming down to compete!!
Here's some figures:-
Average Hourly Factory Wage
United States: $17
Japan:$16.50
Germany:$15.60
United Kingdom:$13.00
China:$0.40
Here in Greece the basic salary is 5$ per hour, and if you have a profession in something you might get 8-10$
Good point there Dutchie. People keep saying "Oh well, as the Chinese become wealthier they'll want higher wages & they'll soon be up to Western wages".
No they won't! Western wages will be coming down to compete!!
Here's some figures:-
Average Hourly Factory Wage
United States: $17
Japan:$16.50
Germany:$15.60
United Kingdom:$13.00
China:$0.40
So there you have it. The more & more Chinese goods we keep buying the more & more pressure we put on our own wages. It wouldn't at all surprise me if the minimum wage standard in the EU is dropped within the next 5 years. There'll be some noises then!
So listen up you lot that keep buying Chinese stuff because it suits your pocket... there could well be a lot less in your pocket over the next decade or so
weldequip
Who do you bank with weldy? who provides your telephone system? What brand car do you drive?
My guess is your as guilty of buying in cheap labour products as the rest of us, albeit blissfully unaware.
Where was all this hand wringing when my industry (IT) was being offshored to india by all the big banks and BT & government etc? I seem to remember it was positively encourage, with specialist offshoring quango's set up by the gov etc.
I hate to break it to you, but the flow of revenue out the country to buy in virtual products (those that do not require raw materials or shipping afterwards) by the entrenched traditional institutions far far far outweighs anything that could be possibly countered by a few hobbyists buying chinese plasma cutters.
And its been going on for years on a daily basis, theres now a bit of consumer backlash because the service and product is crap and theres problems with sensitive data leakage, but theres still lots of major projects due to go offshore shortly. Even such institutions such as the NHS has indian labour working on its computer systems and your patient data will be being processed in a data centre in bangalore.
If it becomes as serious financially as you say with lowering minimum wage, then the uk will just enforce import tarrifs, the same as the french already do against certain types of chinese goods, contra to eu policy. That will of course rely on politicians with the political will to improve things for its populace, instead of itself, but ultimately they will or things will destabilize...
zardoz
Old school Socialist
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We (EU members) have been arguing that very same point with America for nearly a decade now.
dutchman
t(r)igger happy
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Trade barriers have been diminished over the past year and are likely to diminish even further…..
Food for thought:
The Chinese working population is 800 million people (60% of 1.3 billion total). Add the Indian working population of 500 million (1.1 billion total population) and you have 1.3 billion people whose wages might rise.
The EU has a total population of 500 million, the US 300 million. Their combined working population is probably around 370 million, maybe less.
What influence do you think averaging out of salaries will have on the purchasing power of EU and US citizens?
My guess is, since the earth is limited, resources such as oil, coal, iron ore, land etcetera will become VERY expensive. In fact, prices are rising already and I don’t it is a coincidence that the oil price is going through the roof not too long after China became a net importer of oil, when it formerly was a net exporter.
@Mr Fluffy; I am curious, are you French or British?
Food for thought:
The Chinese working population is 800 million people (60% of 1.3 billion total). Add the Indian working population of 500 million (1.1 billion total population) and you have 1.3 billion people whose wages might rise.
The EU has a total population of 500 million, the US 300 million. Their combined working population is probably around 370 million, maybe less.
What influence do you think averaging out of salaries will have on the purchasing power of EU and US citizens?
My guess is, since the earth is limited, resources such as oil, coal, iron ore, land etcetera will become VERY expensive. In fact, prices are rising already and I don’t it is a coincidence that the oil price is going through the roof not too long after China became a net importer of oil, when it formerly was a net exporter.
@Mr Fluffy; I am curious, are you French or British?
Shatwest: UK only call centres
BT/Tiscali: Indian call centres 
Italian & French: Morgans are not practical for everyday use & I can't afford an Aston 
Yes I am. Unfortunately, I have no choice in my game on certain lines... because the Chinese have put the once British/American/European producers out of business!!
I'll source British if I can and pay a bit more for it.
weldequip
irondarren
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That is often the problem now weldequip, now British or European manufacturers on certain items meaning if you want to sell an item you are force to purchase from the far east. I might be wrong but i have a feeling mig tips are almost all far eastern made now?
Most of the MIG & TIG torches & spares are now made in the far east Darren... even the once mighty, "Built with pride in the USA" Weldcraft. The problem arises not with large corportaions out-sourcing in the far east to make larger profits, but as soon as one of their competitors does so, to be 'one-up'. They are forced to do the same in order to compete... if they don't they are out of business.
This has/is now happening on such an alarming scale that I think the writing is on the wall for western manufacturing... period! The welding equipment market is relatively small compared to say the "white goods" market or car industry (which both use welding equipment in some form) & the S**t will really hit the fan when the Chinese get into those industries large scale. A brand new one thousand pound car is not far away!
Fantastic for consumers... but you need to think of all the wider implications of that
weldequip
This has/is now happening on such an alarming scale that I think the writing is on the wall for western manufacturing... period! The welding equipment market is relatively small compared to say the "white goods" market or car industry (which both use welding equipment in some form) & the S**t will really hit the fan when the Chinese get into those industries large scale. A brand new one thousand pound car is not far away!
Fantastic for consumers... but you need to think of all the wider implications of that
weldequip
