BRADLEY SMOKER | "Taste the Great Outdoors"

... in the quality control of the machine I received.  However, before I contact Auber, I though I'd ask those of you that have the same (or other Auber) unit to see if this is typical with their products.

When I opened the FedEx mailer, someone had penciled in the word "Free" near the item number tag.  Strange, I thought, but I went on anyway to open the box.

The first thing I noticed when inspecting the unit was that the back black plastic protective ring was damaged - bent and cracked significantly.  This didn't happen during transit because the mailer, box, and bubble wrap are all in perfect condition. The arrow in this image points to the defective area:


Next, I plugged in one of the temperature probes and it went in fine.  When I pulled it out, the knurled barrel simply pulled off the connector.  OK, I thought, it simply became unscrewed.  However, when I tried to screw it back in place, It seated almost flush with the base of the plug before the threads even caught.  This image shows the plug end of the probe - the threads have not even caught yet - i.e., you can simply pull the barrel off the plug.  Although I can screw the barrel into the plug, there can't be but a fraction of thread holding it together


Lastly, the instruction manual clearly shows a heat sink screwed into the bottom of the unit - in this picture of mine, all I have are two screw holes, with one of them filled with a small screw - no heat sink at all.


Is this simply the way it is supposed to come from the factory?  Although I've not purchased this kind of equipment before, my gut tells me that this is shabby quality control.  The equipment is certainly not cheap, but it feels almost like something I got at the dollar store.

Give them a call because that's not normal


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Yeah, I think you got the wrong shipment. A telephone call is in order

It almost gives me the feeling that this was a parts unit.  The fuse holder spins slightly in the housing, only one of the two probes came in a plastic bag (the other was just thrown in the box). and I know it's a small thing, but the white painted letters are chipped and cheap looking.

Yeah call them, they usually pretty good at customer service.

Thanks for the confirmation that this is not their usual product delivery.  I've a contact out to them as I write, but don't expect anything for  a few days due to it being the weekend.

It must be the luck of the draw. Mine just arrived 15 minutes ago. I had read your post and was concerned about what mine would look like. The unit is in perfect condition, I checked the probes, fuse and, protective ring all are in good shape.

My issue is that I received an e-mail from FedEx which said it was delivered. Lo and behold it was sitting at the front door. The delivery person did not ring the door bell! If it was not for the e-mail I would not have know I received it. I usually get a door bell ring when something is delivered. Now to see if the DVD works and also see if I can program this thing. I may post a lot today.

I would hope Auber would ship you a new before they receive the bad one.

John

that is a bummer.. getting a  damaged product like that , its  bad  enough having the rubber on the back  coming off , let along the  pin  in the  plug being  bent, and a  dent else where,,,  im sure that auber will take care of it

Quote from: JohnM70 on July 20, 2013, 07:57:35 AM
I would hope Auber would ship you a new before they receive the bad one.
John

Now that would truly be superior service, but it would definitely be a first for me.  I'll probably be lucky if they don't make me pay for more shipping.

I hope you're correct beefmann; I was sooooo looking forward to smoking this weekend, and will now need to wait for a while.  :-\

PZ check my last post!  >:(

Quote from: JohnM70 on July 20, 2013, 07:57:35 AM
It must be the luck of the draw. Mine just arrived 15 minutes ago. I had read your post and was concerned about what mine would look like. The unit is in perfect condition, I checked the probes, fuse and, protective ring all are in good shape.

My issue is that I received an e-mail from FedEx which said it was delivered. Lo and behold it was sitting at the front door. The delivery person did not ring the door bell! If it was not for the e-mail I would not have know I received it. I usually get a door bell ring when something is delivered. Now to see if the DVD works and also see if I can program this thing. I may post a lot today.

I would hope Auber would ship you a new before they receive the bad one.

John

I'm glad that you got one in good shape, and you gents are probably correct in that the company will make good.  I guess I sometimes have a run of bad luck - went to Costco the other day and purchased a bottle of some kind of supplement.  Got home and realized that the cap was screwed on crooked, which had damaged the seal.

FedEx did the same thing to me but I was at home and got to the door just as the guy was leaving.  That is evidently the procedure; leave it on the doorstep without obtaining a signature.  I wonder what they would do if someone stole the box?

Contacted Suyi who is sending a new back plate and meat thermometer.  Suyi said that my model dual probe does not come with a heat sink

Quote from: pz on July 23, 2013, 01:09:25 PM
Contacted Suyi who is sending a new back plate and meat thermometer.  Suyi said that my model dual probe does not come with a heat sink

True.  My dual probe plug and play does not have a heat sink either.  But seems to work just fine.  Even when the ambient temp is pushing 100 or so.

Suyi said the manual was showing the wrong unit so they have changed it to avoid future confusion regarding the heat sink

what does the heat sink do?

The heat sink acts similar to the radiator in a car - it draws the heat away from one area and via it's fins, distributes that heat into the surrounding air effectively cooling the unit that is hot.  Suyi said that my unit is a low voltage model that does not require the sink.

On an aside, Suyi sent me an email indicating that my new back plate and probe are in the mail, and that I should receive them in the next couple of days.

Now, that's what I call customer service  ;)

Should have sent you a completely new unit

That would have been ideal, but Suyi did offer to take the unit back if I wanted, or to try the new probe and back plate.  If I have problems with it, I think they will make it right.  I hope to try the unit soon to see how it goes.

So long as  you're  happy I'm happy

Lets hope you get everything soon, and everything is perfect. I know my anticipation for a new toy that was broken that can't be played with till it gets fixed would be going through the roof! 

Thanks, gents. I can't say I wasn't seriously disappointed when the unit arrived in that condition, but their quick response time gives me hope that all will be good in the end. I plan to try it out today just to see if it works properly.