$200 for a 6055 and the cheap, cheesy, dime store clips break off

[jglackin]

Sorry, this may be a bit harsh, but where is the quality control? Who engineered these things? For $200 a pump and a very long wait, I expect far better craftsmanship.

I can't possibly be the only 6055 owner that feels this way, am I?

 

[jglackin]

Ah, after reading the forum, I find that I am not the only one. I will pm my contact information and look for the replacements.

 

[marspeed]

I think I was the second person to post my clips broke off I thought they were poorly designed but roger cleared it up for me he said I was overzealous when I opened the package he also stated some where they were made of lexan a very strong material but lexan is also very brittle when it’s that thin there seems to be a lot of petty problems with tunze just look at the volume of posts my 9010 does work very well though

 

[shawnz28]

The problem is lexan gets brittle when over heated and turned out to be a limitation of the molding machine Tunze uses had overheated the clips at times causing the brittleness in either the tabs or the clamp itself. They are now being made of Luran which is what the pump is made of and is more flexable, one of the reasons they did not use a different plastic intially is they lost thier springiness over time but that problem has been over come now along with thicker clips.

 

[r.d.m]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11017181#post11017181 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shawnz28
but that problem has been over come now along with thicker clips.

heard it all before

 

[jvdb]

Just to post in Tunze defence. They seem to be taking a beating here over this problem, and I think it needs to be pointed out what a great job they are doing handling this whole situation.

I think most people do not understand the engineering, materials science, and manufacturing involved in these products. Especially for a relatively small company, you can not always foresee what problems in manufacturing and real world use might pop up. They are not always displayed in your prototype (not usually made from the same molds, on the same machines, and often not with the exact materials)

I have a friend that builds and maintains molds for plastic injection molding machines. He has build molds that cost more than 6 figures for one part. It amazes me sometimes that smaller companies can even afford to use this stuff. So it means a lot to me when I know they have to spend the money to make and test a new mold.

As a side note, I have various pumps and other products (I won't name names, but not tunze stuff) that sits in a bucket of broken misc. equipment. Some of it has been repaired multiple times, or of poor design, or too loud for real use. Whatever the reason I wasted my money on it and the manufacturer couldn't or didn't fix it. Yet this minor problem (heck, I could fix it with some glue) is being addressed. This only solidifies my confidence in Tunze. Even the best product company is going to have a problem once in a while, that's why customer service is just as important as having great products.

 

[Aquadepot]

It is unfortunate that we have had these issues and this is why we have warranty.
We have had a little fewer then 10% with problems regarding the C clamp on the Nanostreams and Tunze are addressing this with improvements.
We will replace any faulty parts as the pumps carry a 2 year warranty.

Regards
Graeme

 

[jglackin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11017972#post11017972 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquadepot
We have had a little fewer then 10% with problems regarding the C clamp on the Nanostreams

You mean that you have had fewer than 10% report it. I would bet you that the majority of reefers that have broken the clips have glued the pump to the magnet and forgotten about it instead of reporting it. I will also bet you that it is far greater than 10% affected.

A far better way to engineer this would be to have a threaded socket on the magnet and a threaded bolt on the pump. The two pieces can be fastened securely and easily and can be easily detached without fear of breaking.

Again, for the $200 I spent for each of these pumps, I expected better. Replacing them is nice, as they are under warranty, but highly inconvenient and a hassle. Also, how am I supposed to use these pumps while I am waiting on my replacements, unless I glue them together? Of course, doing so will make the replacement useless as well as void my warranty.

 

[shawnz28]

It can be easily ziptied to the magnet for the few days you wait for the new designed bracket to be shipped to you from Roger

 

[slant77]

It seems that they new they had a problem and that has been know for awhile. So they took the time and found a proper fix to the problem. Which they have just posted so that means all of the units could have the same fault. In any case they did what it took to find a solution and for those who have problems tunze fixes it right away. Also note that not all of us that have these have had the clips brake off.

 

[MJAnderson]

It's the risk you take when you buy a brand new product. Look over at the Vortec forums and see all the issues they had. I think they replaced everyone of the pumps from the first run.

The way Tunze has handled it makes me more comfortable taking a risk on one of their new products. I'm not thrilled it didn't work correctly, but that's life.

 

[artful-dodger]

Just doing a little research before ordering a couple of the 6055s...how long before the new design will be available in production or any chance of having the replacements available through the larger retailers (e.g., MarineDepot) for inclusion with new orders? (Even at an extra charge?)

 

[jglackin]

I assume they are available now. I got my replacements on Friday, so I would imagine that this is the way that these pumps are shipping now. The clips are much sturdier than the previous ones and this issue looks like it has been resolved.