RadioBanter - C Crane problem

oingoboinko wrote:

I suspect the problem's root cause
was not C Crane Co's fault.

My guess is, if you can read the label
on the (now melted) charger, you will
see those THREE DEADLY WORDS:

---- "MADE IN CHINA" -----

I've had power tool battery
chargers that were "Made in China" errupt
into flames at our shop. I now treat those
3 words as a "warning label" and buy
made from elsewhere....whenever possible

I've had problems with their stuff too. Car battery charger number one
was 2/6/10 amp variety. One of the battery alligator clips broke on
first use. Only the 'teeth' part of the clips were copper. These were
stuck to a very brittle plastic clamp that held the spring. The broken
end went flying into the weeds.

I took it back and got another one. This one was a 'better' model that
had 2/6/10/ and 30 amp boost feature and I paid a bit more for the
difference. It only worked well on the 2 amp setting. On all the other
ones, it would claim the battery was fully charged after three minutes.
That was with a 12.4 volt reading.

I took it back and got another one. This is a 'smart' charger. I
connected it and it quickly gave me an error code telling me that the
battery was too low to charge and I should replace the battery. I bought
the charger because the battery was low, but this is ridiculous.

it turned out to be a loose wire in one of the alligator clips, which I
snugged up a bit. It's working now.

These exchanges cost the retailer a bundle in handling and
inconvenience. I once asked a lighting store owner WHY they sold
Chinese garbage. He said it's because the OTHER guy was selling them and
he had to compete. He didn't like it. His mark up is fifteen percent.
He'd rather make fifteen percent on a Fifty dollar fixture than fifteen
percent on an eight dollar fixture.

We had a whole bunch of residential lighting dimmers go bad too. You
could actually smell the burning insulation when they were turned on.
The inspection department was told of this. All they said was "When a
few houses get burned down, the Canadian Standards Association might do
something about it. The CSA is like the UL listing organization. The CSA
must be getting paid off by the Chinese, as some of the garbage with
their stickers on it boggles the mind with it's lack of quality.

A few months ago I read somewhere that of ALL the goods manufactured in
the world now, over twenty five percent is made in communist China.
That's what happens when you provide a cheap, regimented workforce, a
fifteen percent tax rate and no pollution laws to speak of.

It's hard to compete with blatant greed. Guess who's flocking over there
in droves?

How are people here going to pay for all this garbage if they are all
out of work? I don't care WHAT Bush says, flipping hamburgers is NOT a
manufacturing job.

mike