Do postings on The Wall influence the products you decide to buy?

Erin Holohan Haskell

Robert O'Brien

Yes

You don't have to read very many posts, usually just one, from an individual to figure out if they know what they're talking about. If you respect their opinion it then becomes very easy to give great weight to considering products they use that you may be contemplating. This, of course is a double edged sword

Jamie Hall

and I completely concur with @Robert O'Brien 's comment. There are some folks to whom I respond with "I'll do it, yesterday" and others... not so much!

Abracadabra

Yes

I've sworn off AOSmith products after seeing what @JohnNY went thru trying to get tech support for an install he did.

Zman

Yes

Occasionally someone's success or failure with a particular product will sway my opinion.
What really influences Me are the manufactures that provide help and training on the site. Such a great resource.
Caleffi and Taco come to mind first.

Tim McElwain

Yes

The postings sure do influence what I teach. There is nothing better than hearing from those who install and service equipment. There opinions and postings are used in my classroom all the time. I guess that directly affects my students as to what they are going to buy and install.

I will never however bad mouth any product. I just choose to not recommend it if it is a problem.

I rely strongly on manufacturer support and wish more of them visited here and posted, I know many of them lurk but never post. Some stopped posting as they got orders from headquarters as some who post here gave them a hard time. There tends to be a lot less of that now than in the past.

This site definitely has an influence in many ways and especially when you can go back and re read the posts.

Solid_Fuel_Man

Yes

Yes

@Zman I concur.

DanHolohan

Yes

Well said, Tim. I agree.

Mark Eatherton

Yes

I agree with Zman. It's not a question of if a component will fail, but more a matter of when, and then it comes down to the response of all parties concerned in rectifying the problem. It's not about the product, it's about the support team that backs the product up.

I have avoided the use of certain products highlighted here after I saw the response from the wholesaler through the rep, to the manufacturer.

This is one of the most influential web sites in the hydronic world, and smart people, including major players in the manufacturers world monitor this site. The smartest ones know they have a problem, and can address it before the world finds out about the alleged problem.

ME

Koan

Yes

I absolutely will consider B&J steam traps over others because of the way I was treated here.

Hope that is ok to say, but honestly I rarely see such commitment as from @Sailah on any product from any vendor.

I also read about tech support and customer service as well as product quality to try to make good choices

JUGHNE

Yes

Although not in the market for much need of products, what little I do I am married to and own for the rest of my life.

The AOSmith story was very revealing. They were already slipping down in my opinion and that put them in the WC.

I do have a future project for proactive replacement of 2 commercial water heaters and was considering HTP Phoenix. However is there a way to get more reviews on those products/factory service.

Seen not good reports here of re-branded HTP items.

And going off the wall the first Munchkins got a bad beating by the public, people will only complain and seldom complement anything good. The few Munchkins I see have preformed fine.

STEAM DOCTOR

Yes

Absolutely, positively yes yes yes

RayWohlfarth

Yes

The #1 rule in my classes is "The manufacturer has never heard of the problem you are having. Its a lie." I love getting on here and getting the real story from people that are in the boiler room trying to figure out how to get heat to the building.

icy78

No

null
Well I voted using my cracked phone so it registered as a no but I had ment yes.
I respect the knowledge on this site greatly and have pushed for methods and parts used here.

Erin, could you please scratch my inadvertent 'no' vote! Thankyou!

SWEI

Yes

Where's the hell, yes button? The collective intelligence here on HH has become my extended neural network.

Erin Holohan Haskell

Sorry @icy78, it doesn't look like I can edit the poll. Thanks for letting me know!

Thanks for all of the great feedback, everyone!

ratio

Yes

Absolutely. It's one of the reasons I stop by.

R Mannino

Certainly it can influence what you decide to buy. It can also influence who you decide to work for. This could be another angle to pursue?

JohnNY

Yes

Abracadabra said:

I've sworn off AOSmith products after seeing what @JohnNY went thru trying to get tech support for an install he did.

What. This story?

Abracadabra

Yes

JohnNY said:

Abracadabra said:

I've sworn off AOSmith products after seeing what @JohnNY went thru trying to get tech support for an install he did.

What. This story?

@JohnNY yes that one.

j a_2

Yes

The postings were helpful..Pretty much had to read between the lines on a lot of them....I think some were posted by sales people, some were posted by home owners that had a bad experience due to poor installs either by contractor or home owner....It only take one time for something to fail for some people to be really pissed and they post It accordingly.....Come to find out it was, whoops not the manufacture...It was Handy Man Harry, or the likes....If my Ford broke down on a frigid cold night, and I was stranded i to would hate Ford...Whoops I didn't check the oil for 3 years....

marcusjh

Yes

Yup! I've learned a lot here, but I've also learned to check other posts, videos, etc to make sure of what is correct, and favorited.

moneypitfeeder

Yes

I have definitely checked the wall before making purchases for my system. I respect the opinions and experience of the folks here, which speak volumes more about a product's function and lifespan than any "ad" can tell me.

CMadatMe

No

I'm in the bottom that voted. Reason why is pretty simple. Being in the industry since the late 80's what I've learned is that contractors purchase the products they do based on what they are comfortable with, the support they get from the product they sell and for the most part are willing to install anything the customer is writing the check for. Sounds crude but that's reality.

DanHolohan

Yes

Not crude at all. Just your reality, based on what you've experienced in your life. Thanks.