SupplyHouse.com blue fin products - any complaints?

mikedo

Just wondering if anyone is using this product line and if they like it. There products seem to be priced lower than there competition.

mattmia2

I believe they are house branded mostly imported products. There are higher quality products out there but they can be fine for a lot of applications.

mikedo

i think most of the products at the supply houses are imported. just because its imported does,nt mean its bad. look at honda and toyota no american auto can match there quality i cant afford to buy an american car anymore when it falls apart at 75000 miles

mattmia2

Unbranded imported products? Unlike generic appliance or auto parts, they usually didn't come off the same line as the name brand product.

ethicalpaul

This is a small sample size, but I have seen more failures of Gorton radiator vents than I have of bluefin valves I have ordered from Supplyhouse.

GroundUp

Their ball valves are better than any other (especially Webstone) I've ever used. Pretty much everything is imported nowadays so don't let that deter you from Bluefin. I have miles and miles of the Bluefin barrier PEX in service as well as a mountain of their black iron fittings and nipples with less failures than the big name stuff like Uponor and Ward. The pumps look like a good bargain option, but I haven't tried them out yet

gpjazz

Anyone use Bluefin "pro-press" fittings ?

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1811967#Comment_1811967

Generally imported plumbing parts aren't from Japan so that's a terrible comparison. If they were from Japan they would often cost more than the US made stuff.

mattmia2

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904040#Comment_1904040

At this point they all get parts from the same far east suppliers. The Japanese brands have had plants in the us for something like 30 years so much of their US sales is assembled in the US and Canada just like US brands.

pumpcontrolguy

We don't use a ton of bluefin valves and fittings, as we get most of our fittings from a local supplier and also do bulk purchasing directly with an importer for certain things, but everything bluefin we have ordered and used has always been just as good as any part from anywhere else.

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904042#Comment_1904042

Obviously a Toyota part made in the US isn't imported.......

EBEBRATT-Ed

Small sample size for me but the Blue fin seems ok.

Robert_H

Ive had no problems with the few Bluefin items I've used. After reading this thread, I might be using more.

HomerJSmith

Bluefin use to be problematic, but have improved dramatically quality wise. I use them consistently and have no problems. Cheaper has more to do with labor costs and possibly govern. subsidies.

Supplyhouse (formerly, Pex Supply) is a good company that backs its products. I have been buying from them, since, 2 days before Moses.

JMWHVAC

Interesting reading this thread. I have used some Bluefin but think of them as cheap. I used some copper manifolds from them already and the branch lines actually stuck INTO the main line. In other words, when you looked in the trunk of the manifold you saw all these stubs sticking 1/8 to 1/4 into the stream. I thought that was ridiculous for flow and since have stuck with Sioux chief manifolds which were designed correctly for smooth flow.

Big Ed_4

You pay for what you get …

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904157#Comment_1904157

That's complicated and not very true anymore.

Sometimes you really do.

Sometimes you pay more and get worse.

Sometimes you can trust brand alone but often you can't

I've had stuff that is Chinese engineered and Chinese made that I can't believe how good it is. I've had stuff thats American made that I can't believe how bad it is.

I have a Chinese Honda clone engine (Predator) that was less than half the cost of a Honda that's 95% as good as the real thing and better than any American made engine. In my opinion.

Stuff made in China isn't automatically bad. Sometimes it's really good. Some examples would be drones and 3D printers

DCContrarian

@ChrisJ : "I have a Chinese Honda clone engine (Predator) that was less than half the cost of a Honda that's 95% as good as the real thing and better than any American made engine. In my opinion."

And I'm old enough to remember when Honda was considered a bargain-bin brand. Things change.

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904269#Comment_1904269

You mean 1960s into the 70s?

By the 80s I'm pretty sure they were no longer the bargain brand.

Yes things are constantly changing.