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What puddle?



Member Since: 25 Oct 2013
Location: Reading
Posts: 952

United Kingdom 
Best and worst products
Having had our Ring doorbell yet again switch itself off and fail to notify us of callers - meaning we missed a parcel and now have to get it re-delivered - it got me thinking: what's the best and worst things I have ever bought. I would be very interested to hear yours. Reviews on websites are so corrupt, and so even are the 'Review' websites! So please tell me your experiences...


BEST:
The Ecoair DD3 Simple de-humidifier.

This is an astonishing little unit. When we moved into our concrete floor bungalow, we noticed the previous owners had placed a lot of 'smellies' around the place. We soon found out why. The condensation was terrible, and this was bad news for me as I have an allergy to mould. We tried all the usual stuff, and bought four different de-humidifiers. All were useless, and we started to get condensation on widows and even mould. Then a salesman told me to ignore them all and buy this. We did. It is fantastic. It dried our home out in just a few days (this was six years ago). We're on our third as it is left on all through the winter, spring, and autumn. We only turn it off in the summer as it kicks out over 400 watts of heat. The cost is about £200, but it's by far the best thing we ever bought. It sucks out about 6 litres a day and, if anything, our home is probably too dry. We have humidity sensors dotted around and they record it at 40% humidity.


WORST:
The Ring Doorbell.

Absolutely terrible - a joke. Since we've had it (three years) it has been off almost as much as it has been on. It suddenly stops giving notifications. Ring have given us a 'Chime' free as they thought it was our wi-fi or router, but it's just two metres away from the router! Every time this happens, we have to go into the settings and turn things off then on again! This time (today) even that didn't work, and Ring had to get me to uninstall the app, and re-install it. And they send you two codes...by email! So you have to wait for them to come through!!! EVEN WHEN it is working, it chimes on your phone, you try and see who is there at your door, but by the time the damn thing has connected, the person has gone. You get a blue circle just spinning around with 'Trying to connect'. Arrghh! And we didn't know that the history of callers is only available for the first year - you have to pay after that. So if you've missed the caller, you can't even see who it was (unless you pay a subscription). And yet you've only missed them because the thing wouldn't connect. The nest time it goes off, I'm going to drive over it (I do that). Now left.
Post #903954 19th May 2021 7:13pm
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markb110



Member Since: 22 May 2010
Location: Guildford
Posts: 2520

England 2002 Defender 90 Td5 HT Epsom Green
Our neighbour installed a Ring door bell when the moved in. the funny thing is that none of the delivery drivers or the postman will use it.

I guess that they don't have the time to stand there and wait for the owner to answer the phone just to say that they are not in.

Best product ever invented = the pencil

Worst product ever invented - old style string Xmas lights where you had to spend ages finding the blown bulb - ba humbug
Post #903970 19th May 2021 9:15pm
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Rashers



Member Since: 21 Jun 2015
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 3335

United Kingdom 2014 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Corris Grey
The best product, the dishwasher. Just had a new kitchen fitted. What joy it was when the dishwasher was replumbed in Thumbs Up

The worst product, cheap dog poo bags. Not only for the obvious reason, but when you tear a bag off and find that the seal at the bottom is not sealed or the perforation does not tear or you can't get into the bag. Just frustrating and if you get a total failure on picking the offending object up and then have to walk home remembering not to put your hand in your pocket Big Cry

I'm with you on the Ring Doorbell. Does this just give notice to the thief that you are not home. Like seeing the caravan missing from the front garden. it's just a giveaway.
Post #903992 19th May 2021 10:15pm
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rallysteve



Member Since: 10 Feb 2014
Location: Cumbria
Posts: 2196

United Kingdom 2002 Defender 110 Td5 DCPU Keswick Green
Worst product is a tough choice between my Karcher K4 pressure washer and Dyson Cinetic 'Big Ball' Vacuum

The Karcher looked good on the face of it and I was lured in with a special offer. Though having the built in hose reel would be really useful - it isnt! The hose permanently has the 'memory' of being on the reel and just wants to recoil itself all the time so it is forever knotted up. It is also ridiculously unstable so falls over if you apply the slightest bit of tension to the hose. Just after the warranty expired it developed an internal water leak which turned out to be 3 of the 4 screws sheared which holds the cooling water jacket together on the motor. Stupid design means that leaking water just pours directly through the live motor!

The Dyson was another purchase mistake. We had a small cylinder Dyson previously which was excellent but lacked the power when we moved to a slightly larger house. Once we got the dog we decided that an 'animal' Dyson would be a good buy - biggest waste of money i can recall. The thing is so needlessly heavy but at the same time built from such rubbish plastic it self destructs. The suction is superb but to manoeuvre the ball models means twisting the handle, combined with the resistance from the suction and the flimsy handle means that within 6months plastic fatigue had sheared off the handle. Fortunately Dyson's warranty service is actually very good and they promised to send round an 'engineer' with the replacement part. However in the end they just showed up with a brand new vacuum. The new one however (despite us now being cautious with it) is showing the signs of failing again soon. The other annoyance is that it is totally unable to deal with dog hair! We only have one mid-size German Shepherd but I am perpetually having to unblock the nozzle. The hair has also wrapped around the brush bar and melted it around the bearings so it now has a horrible rattle.
Finally, the retractable hose is so stupidly strong/springy that it just pulls the unit towards you or tips it over when you try to use it, makes doing the stairs a pain. We have now mostly stopped using it in favour of just using an old Henry Hoover we were given.

Best product is a tough one. A strong contender is a set of Halfords advanced ratchet spanners which I was given for my 18th which have had 15years of abuse and have just taken it without issue. Have only had to replace a single one (free under warranty) as the ratchet failed. I have now replaced the whole set with a new version only as the flex heads had become a bit too floppy for regular use. THey still all function fine though and live in the car toolkit. 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab Rebuild Thread
84' 90 3.9 V8 Caged Pickup Build Thread - Now For Sale


Mobile Diesel Heater Build Thread
Post #903993 19th May 2021 10:15pm
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X4SKP



Member Since: 29 Nov 2013
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 2287

United Kingdom 2010 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 SW Stornoway Grey
Post #904034 20th May 2021 9:11am
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lohr500



Member Since: 14 Sep 2014
Location: Skipton
Posts: 1283

United Kingdom 2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Santorini Black
I agree with your shortlist for the worst product rallysteve!!

We ended up receiving a free Dyson Big Ball cylinder vac from Dyson when I complained about the ludicrous design of the previous model's dust storage bin. It had a pathetically small capacity for a large vac and was impossible to empty without dumping the entire contents all over you. Then it needed extra cleaning of the stainless steel mesh with a stupid plastic spatula they provided. How on earth it ever made it past basic product testing was a complete mystery.
The new replacement has a better bin and emptying arrangement, but I agree with you completely about the heavy and flimsy plastics used. It certainly doesn't ooze quality. By comparison the bagged Miele cylinder vac we bought and now use as the main vac is in a different league and nearly half the price.

We have a Karcher K4 pressure washer at the sailing club and you are 100% right. The built in hose reel is pants. It won't let the high pressure line run freely off the drum so it needs one person to hold the jet washer, whilst the other pulls out the hose. As you say, it is so top heavy that any attempt to pull out the hose without someone holding the machine, results in it toppling over. Likewise if the line is extended and someone puts even the slightest tension on the hose, then over the machine goes. And then it creates a series of coils in the extended hose which wont straighten themselves out. The handle to wind the hose back in is too flimsy and with insufficient length on the crank to make it an easy job of rewinding the hose. We just coil up the hose loosely by hand now and leave it draped over the handle.

Best product I have bought in recent times is a DeWalt 1/2 drive cordless impact gun. Used it on so many stubborn nuts and it never ceases to amaze me what it can loosen off.
Post #904109 20th May 2021 4:44pm
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