Can't beat Amish craftsmanship!

An advert features an electric space heater made by hard-working Amish.

"But despite what the ad implies, these are not made by the Amish: They're made in China. If you read the ad carefully, you realize that only the wood mantle is made by Amish craftsmen. Amish have nothing to do with the fireplace itself. "

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Reply to
HeyBub
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What I find a little more sneaky is the fact that the heater is free. You just pay for the wood case. That way when the heater craps out and you inquire about a refund you get nothing because it was free.

G.S.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

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Well, obviously... the heater is electric. What would Amish know about electric heaters?

That said, there is a store near me that sells Amish-made furniture; I'm tempted to buy some because it looks pretty close to what I would make myself should I have the time/tools/motivation to do so. Visiting there and then a well known general furniture store immediately afterwards confirmed that sometimes, yes, you do get what you pay for (and paying

2x the price to get better quality is not always that bad a deal.)

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

They must subscriber to the notion that it is a sin to let a sucker keep his money.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

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Barnum was right.....

But the folks selling those must be doing ok or they couldn't support their huge advertising budget.

The "EdenPure" is another example of a grossly overpriced electric heater marketed with a huge ad campaign.

One kilowatt of electric resistance heating always produces

3414.42594972 Thermal BTUs/Hr. The distribution of those BTUs can vary depending on the style of the heater, presence of fans, etc., but you can't get something for nothing.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

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I've been amused by this. When I drive through Amish country around here, it is easy to spot their farms and houses as they are the ones with no electrical or phone service. Also understand they do not like their pictures taken. They are good at woodwork.

Reply to
Frank

There must be alot of Amish electrician jokes.

Reply to
ransley

Reply to
bigjimpack

The big four legged animals are horses.

Tell me all of them you know except the one about how many it takes to screw in a light bulb.

Reply to
RLM

re: Also understand they do not like their pictures taken.

Then who are all of those bearded guys making the wooden mantles in the commercial?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Who knows? Real Amish or not, the ad is misleading, but aren't all ads misleading ;)

Reply to
Frank

You mean THIS one? TWO.

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Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

...

They're just people with pretty much the general range of aptitudes of any other group...that includes there are good eggs and "not so much" although the preponderance tends to be a little lower.

Reply to
dpb

What they do seem to have is a sense of quality and durability that doesn't seem to be common in general consumer goods. I'm not saying that EVERY Amish-made product is superior to the one you buy in a department store, but the furniture I've seen is definitely superior - all solid woods, none of that veneer over chipboard crap. Better, smoother finishes. Paneled doors are really paneled doors, not a glued up panel routed to look like one. etc. etc. etc.

Of course I come from a fairly frugal family of mostly German ancestry, so the Amish and I probably have at least a little in common as to how we look at physical goods...

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Do Germans also beat their wives and children, and consider them property?

Reply to
salty

Not that I'm aware, but I haven't heard that of the Amish either. (the area where I grew up had a small but noticeable Amish/Mennonite population.) FWIW the Amish are probably *more* German than I.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

The advertizing/marketting company is, to the best of my knowledge, not Amish. They are contracted to supply the "mantles"

Reply to
clare

Likely as many germans as Amish.

It is not, regardless what the media may report, the "norm".

MOST are very loving husbands and fathers.

Reply to
clare

"HeyBub" wrote in news:KO2dnU7fd_zuocfUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

duh! And who are the people in the ad? I thought they didn't want to be photographed.

Reply to
Mr.Spock

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Lets clear up one common misunderstanding. Amish DO use electricity. They just dont connect to the power grid (electric company). They use gasoline powered generators, car batteries, and other sources to create their own electricity. I know this because I have Amish neighbors and I am friendly with them. I know one Amishman who runs an entire dairy milking operation, complete with power milking vacuum system, refrigerated bulk tank, and even has a 12 volt lighting system in the barn. The entire system is powererd by a 14HP Briggs garden tractor engine. The guy built all of it himself. The engine connects to a slip belt clutch, then to a car generator and 12V car battery, which runs all the lights and fans and the bulk tank paddle that stirs the milk. The same engine has another lever to activate a car air conditioning compressor, which cools the bulk tank, and on one occasion he froze the milk by accident. Then the same engine powers the vacuum pump for doing the milking. The guy built this all from junk car parts and scrap metal, and it's pretty amazing how it all works and works well. He also runs power tools using an inverter, and has a CB radio connected to the battery to talk to other Amish neighbors.

They dont connect to the power grid, but they are very ingenious and do use electricity. As far as practicallity, while it does all work, and works well, the guy spends more per month on gasoline than it would cost to have electricity from the electric company, or at least he was when gasoline was around $4 a gallon.

Now this came guy is working on a generator system for his horse drawn buggy. By law they are required to have headlights and taillights on public roads. Their batteries get weak on long trips, so he's designing a generator that is powered from the wheels to recharge the battery. He also has a CB radio in his buggy.

Another guy has a complete sawmill setup, which is more like a modern factory than just a backyard mill. The whole thing is run with two diesel semi truck engines. There are two buildings. One saws the logs into boards. The other building planes and finishes the lumber. Each building has it's own engine, and a series of belts and pulleys that run each machine.

I find them pretty amazing and very intelligent people, even if they are different. Like the guy with the powered barn. He has lights in the barn, but is not allowed to use them in the house. The house uses coleman lanterns and oil lamps, and they heat their hot water outside in a homemade wood fired heater, and have to carry the water indoors with pails. Yet this same guy is allowed to have a modern propane water heater in the barn, but not in the house.

Reply to
Robert

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