Dadant plastec extractor

[kenr]

Is it worth the price anybody ever use one. I'll be extracting one hive with perma comb frames.

[Hobie]

I asked this exact question not long ago. See:

http://www.beesource.com/cgi-bin/ubb...=001077#000000

[kenr]

Thanks hobie [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Jim Fischer]

Don't wanna diss Dadant here, as they are doing
a good thing by trying to source lower-cost
items from Asia, but...

At the Lynchburg VA Dadant branch, I saw a pile
of boxes (perhaps 6 of them) all with Chinese
characters. I asked Mark, the manager of the
branch, what the boxes contained.

He said "extractors that were DOA". I asked
him what the story was, being a curious sort,
and he explained that these low-priced, made
in China extractors often arrived broken due
to damage as a result of shipping.

"Not very sturdy..." I remarked.
"No, they are complete crap." Was the reply.

Here's a clue - Dadant is trying very very hard
to offer cheaper products at the low-end of
their lines. The prudent beekeeper therefore
should never buy the lowest-priced version,
but but the middle-priced one. Much like
Sears, Dadant is trying to offer "Good, Better,
Best", but "Good" is the cheapest darn thing
they can find, which means made in China of
the least-expensive materials possible.

If they can't even survive being shipped in
a shipping container without breaking, I'd
think twice before investing in one, when the
next step up is made of actual stainless steel,
and does not cost all that much more.

To summarize, stainless steel, good.
Galvanized steel, bad.
Plastic, bad.

Not so hard to remember.

[chemistbert]

I have one. It's more trouble than it's worth.