Threaded pipe fittings.

Dave Faust

Are fittings that bear the casting "Made in China" of a lesser quality than un-marked ones? Where else are fittings made? Also, dosn't making fittings take a lot of energy? Should we be buying fittings from a country that was willing to let over six-thousand coalminers die in 2004?

Al Gregory

Why do we buy tools and cars from countrys that killed thousands of Americans?

Robert O'Connor_7

Made in China.

Buy American!

The job you save may be your own.

Robert O'Connor/NJ

Jeff Lawrence_24

pipe fittings

The guy across the street from me runs gas lines. That's all he does and makes a good living from it.

We were talking about a upcoming job yesterday and I noticed a pallet of fitting that had been delivered. All the boxes i could see had "Made in China" on them. I asked him and he told me that the USA fittings he had used were almost twice the cost of the imported fittings. He also told me that he could expect the USA fittings to have at least one bad fitting (sand pit/hole or bad threads) in every box.

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Dean_7

Fittings

1. Foundry and Steel mill work Is DANGEROUS (See recent explosion at Rouge Steel Plant in Detroit.). 2. OSHA (see the post about coal miners in China). 3. Environmental laws and Regulations. 4. Decent pay for the workers in these industries in the U.S. 5. Cost of living in U. S. 6. Greedy manufactures. I worked in a foundry for 5 years while going to college The work is hard, dirty, and dangerous. All this adds to the final cost of the product. Obviously countries that pay their workers poorly, don't have or have minimal safety laws, don't have or have minimal environmental laws. can produce products at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of production in the U.S.

eleft_4

Uuhhh,

White man traded with China long before America was discovered.

I think in a country that survived way longer than ours, the people should be able to figure out if they are being under paid for their standard of living.

We need to look at our selves, some things are obsolete or out of style before you get it home. So what happens to the old one, we by our USA culture must have the newest even if the old is still functional. Hence by shear "progress" we have, a got to have it, higher cost of living and higher wages, simple, eh?

al

bob young

b.m. ftgs.

you will get the occasional leak or sandhole with any brand of fitting domestic or imported. we always try to use ward,flagg or equal. square g [grinnel ] were the worst. always split when socked in. not a true malleable it seemed. that is why in nyc gas lines are tested and inspected before put into service. some guys cheat but that is life.

STEVE N

I have found...

I have found that non domestic black fittings are made to different tolerances than domestic. A fitting made in China or Korea seem to get tight too quick, are more prone to sand holes and just aren't as heavy as a Ward fitting. In this area of PA, commercial jobs must hold 100 lb for 24 hrs and they chart graff it. Leaks are very costly here. I currently am a branch manager for a supply house chain. We sell nothing but Ward... but Ward is just 40 miles from here. Bottom line... when you can.. buy domestic!
Steve

Allen_5

China

I'm not an expert in heating but I know something about economics. Your post makes no sense at all Al. China is where it is bcause its workers lack the freedom to organize. As long as there is a market for cheap goods and a powerless workforce people in these coutries will suffer.Go back to late 1800s in this country and you will see the same thing.

eleft_4

Your post makes no sense at all, Al

OK,
What country came to the defense of Americas laborers plights?

Do we listen to "Madison Avenue" to keep up with the "Joneses"?

We are constantly told, " You are worth it" so go out and do it even if you can't afford it or don't need it.

Their latest theme is deception.

Yes feed your ego and ignore your conscience.

Our cost of living is driven by wants not needs.

We don't need to think any country that doesn't agree with our "Madison Avenue" philosophy is wrong.

Is it our problem to solve? I think not,
they are much older than we.

My post, you reference; Your post makes no sense at all Al is a response to dean: subject, Fittings

Ken_8

Lest we forget...

Free enterprise means competing or folding up your tent and heading home.

We learned years ago that Sony made better TV's than Admiral, Zenith, RCA and Dumont; and made them cheaper.

Must we be two-faced and embrace free enterprise and compettition on one hand and then when we cannot compete blame the living standards of the competitor for our shortcomings?

We cannot have free eneterprise and be protectionist.

Or can we?

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hr

No reason at all

that foreign made, regardless of the country of origin, products can not be made to the same or better quality and tolerances of domestic made.

If an Americian company, or consumer, shops on price alone, good chance they will get lower quality. I agree the the consumer drives this manufacturing to overseas by wanting "everyday low prices" And yes, the regulations in this country are putting the damper on dirty industry.

Look closely at your favorite US made fittings and products, more than you realize are manufactured and or assembled off shore.

hot rod

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Norbert_2

global manufacturing

I prefer to see American and locally made products used where possible, no matter what the industry, just makes sense for all involved. It gets tougher every day to get to that "sweet spot" of quality + price + origin. Just take a look at Ward, it's part of Hitachi Metals America. Japanese owned, but Manufactered in PA. It takes some research to find out who is really owned by whom these days, I could easily imagine stong feeling of a WWII Vet installing "Jap" fittings if he found out,. It's a global economy. Please just think before you buy, and do the best you can.

Steamhead

A bit of history that we don't hear too often

As I understand it, in the 1930s and early 1940s the government of Japan was so totally dominated by the military that no other voices were heard. This was one big factor that led to the Pacific portion of World War II. The Japanese ambassador to America during that time, knowing what America was capable of, did his best to dissuade his government from starting that part of the war. Unfortunately for all concerned, he failed.

Now, in addition to Americans buying many Japanese products, there is more land in America producing food for export to Japan than there is in Japan itself.

Like it or not, America and Japan are now the two dominant economies in the free world, and will probably remain so for some time.

And there is more and more cultural exchange between our two countries all the time. This and steam heating were how I met my wife, The Lovely Naoko!

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