China Chains...Good or NOT?

[Highbeam]

Are you making fun of my dozer? I described its small size. Surely a monster dozer could break the chain but my steel tracks were piling up dirt as they pulled on the chain. Chain is tough stuff, tougher than we seem to give it credit for.

Maybe the TX is for transport? I don't think my chinese chain has china stamped on the chain itself but I am pretty sure it is stamped onto the end hooks.

 

[Dargo]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I described its small size. )</font>

Sorry, but I needed some comic relief. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pat32rf]

I've always felt that the 3rd world can produce items a lot cheaper than N America and when "cheaper" is called for, like a generator or chain saw that will only be used now and then at a cottage, this is fine, and fills a market niche. When we want quality that will last however you should always put your trust in a brand name of a quality you know, wheither it is Honda or Dodge. Good quality can be produced almost anywhere but you should expect to pay for it and when you find consistent quality support it. My 2 cents Canadian.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Mavrik02]

I can't comment directly on the chains but I do a lot of business in China, buy a lot of parts and components from there, have visited a few dozen factories and even buy the family Chinese made gifts every time I visit. In my experience China is just like anywhere else. You can find your first rate manufacturers that produce parts as good as anywhere in the world and you can find your companies that produce inexpensive junk. There are many of both in China. The hard part is figuring out how to determine which case you are dealing with.

For safety related items I would go with a brand I recognized or purchase the product from a store I trusted to do their own homework before they approved the product for sale in their stores (no matter where it was made...China, USA or Canada).

 

[Destructo_D]

I work for a company that manufactures snow chains. We use some chinese chain... But it is junk. It doesn't last very long and breaks very easy. Our good chain comes from norway. It is really high quality and we seldom have problems with it.

 

[BlueRidge]

I've done some engineering projects in China, and evaluated some engineering tools for my employer. The Chinese are well aware that their stuff is mostly junk, and are trying to address it. When I say that they are well aware of it, I mean that they will freely admit it, and even write about it in their trade journals. It's an ongoing, open discussion within China.

If THEY know they have a problem, I don't think it's racist for us to recognize the same thing.

Yes, you can get SOME good quality stuff from China, but this is the exception.

I would not trust any Chinese ANYTHING where safety is concerned.

Maybe in 20 years... Remember when "Made in Japan" meant JUNK? Now it means GOOD QUALITY. Often better than American. (Like it or not!)

China may do the same someday. Right now, "Made in China" means junk most of the time.

Now, with SOFTWARE, it's a different story...

 

[kevincook]

I won't use any chain or hardware made in China. The vast majority of stuff I buy from China is poor quality. It seems that nothing is built to last.

Kevin

 

[mjncad]

My first indirect experience with Chinese made junk came when I was working for an engineering company that designed refineries, power plants and other heavy industrial facilities.

A couple of my co-workers were sent to Ohio or Indiana to investigate a steam line failure. It turned out the Chinese made flanges on the pipe failed. They had all the proper markings saying they met specifications; but the metallurgical analysis said the things were little better than pot metal. A memo was issued to all engineers not to specify Chinese made flanges. This was in the early 1990's.

As far as I'm concerned the Chinese still make junk, and it ticks me off to see China on every blasted thing I buy anymore.

Container shipping has become so efficient that shipping is on average less than 1% of the cost of the product. I had to get a replacement smoke detector and I was looking at a $5 Kidde basic detector. It said something to the effect of "Being assembled in China with US and other components." Kidde is able to ship the components to China, have our friends assemble the things and ship them back for less than 5-cents a piece in shipping costs.

As I like to tell people, the noise you hear from Chairman Mao's grave isn't the sound of him rolling over in it; but the sound of laughter. He couldn't beat the USA with a failed political philosophy; but they are doing it with cheap junk and even cheaper labor that our corporations are falling all over themselves to exploit. Since when did the Commie Chinese become our best buddies?

So as I like to paraphrase Nancy Reagan, "Just say NO to Chinese made crap!" I wish it were that simple.

 

[gbick]

Try this challenge, go to wall mart and see how long it takes to find something NOT made in china.

 

[bones1]

Try this challenge, go to wall mart and see how long it takes to find something NOT made in china.

I recently read where Walmart was one of Chinas biggest customers.