I bought a galvanized water tank about 5 years ago. It had multiple pin- holes after 3 years.
I bought a replacement bathtub for a house at about the same time. It has spalling and severe corrosion in multiple places.
I bought a Maytag air conditioner with heating strips - it had 3 breakdowns in 2 years.
Anyone having similar problems?
The problem is that people won't pay what it costs to produce a durable consumer product. No point in fretting about it. As long as what you buy performs for some modest period of time, you're likely getting what you paid for. In the case of your water tank, these are typically sold to ranchers and farmers. These are some of the most tight fisted buyers in any industry. Expecting long term durability for something that group would buy is wishful thinking. Shoddy products from other sources are simply the result of the financial pressures on the makers to produce quarterly profits in response to the big banks, mutual fund and hedge fund managers. Try buying some things rated well by Consumer Reports and you may have better luck.
Joe
Perhaps this explains why tractors and pickup trucks last only a couple of years (and purchasing ranchers and farmers have yet to notice.)
You didn't get saddled with any of that Chinese drywall did you? That stuff emits corrosive fumes that eats up metal.
TDD
Not the farmers I know! A lot of them have pickups from the 70's and the only reason they don't still regularly use the old Ford tractors that they still own is because the newer ones are much more powerful and versatile.
nate
I think the actual definition of "durable goods" is items with an expected lifespan of "3 years or more" which IMHO isn't particularly durable at all. My definition would be something more like 20-30 years, but unfortunately it seems that most people (and economists) don't agree with me.
I do tend to buy tools and vehicles that I feel are likely to last that long, but it is becoming a bit of a challenge (see recent thread on floor jacks, for instance.)
nate
I sensed just a tiny bit of sarcasm in Don's comment.
Jim
Joe wrote: ...
...
You're totally wrong in that characterization...farmers/ranchers are _EXTREMELY_ value-conscious which is _NOT_ at all the same thing as "cheap".
IMO(bservation) what has caused the proliferation of cheap farm-like goods is not the actual farmer/rancher market itself but the proliferation of the mini- or the amateur and the hobbyest types instead of actual working farms/ranches. These led to TSC and their ilk.
For the item in question, we're still using galvanized tanks some of which date back to the 60s while newer replacements for others are as heavy or heavier but prices have gone up by as much as 10X or more leading to switching to alternatives for some, particularly for stationary use.
--
-snip-
I don't know about you, but as for me-- I *really* good, but not that durable.
"I aint as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." Toby Keith
Jim
I would really like to find more durable bads. Being evil is a hard job and I wear out bads in a hurry. :-)
TDD
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.