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Want in on a secret?
The finned tube industry suffers from a lack of quality standards. It’s really a small market with many unqualified manufacturers slinging snake oil. Much like Dr. Comfort’s Candy-Covered Cathartic Compounds, their “solutions” are little more than ground up zinc, mercury, a pinch of arsenic. In many cases, they can actually do you more harm than good.
When built right, a fin tube is a sleek cylinder of efficient thermodynamics. Essentially, a DuraFin tube creates a barrier between two fluids or gases to enable the exchange of heat energy. It prudently spreads and increases the cooling surface area within a confined space to achieve superior efficiency.
Yet many manufacturers use very poor standards: They cut costs that affect quality, do little to no testing for quality control. Many are practically building tubes out of a dirt floor barn – that’s the Wild West reality of the finned tube market.
By the time you realize the difference, it’s too late: The fin tube doesn’t work effectively or breaks down; you’re left holding the bag.
It’s kind of like the Oregon Trail all over again: Do you start all over or die of dysentery?
Spotting a Snakeoil Schyster
Fortunately, gut instinct and a little know-how can go a long way in spotting the shadester peddlers the moment they roll into town. One tell-tale danger sign is they really have no clue what they’re doing. And it’s obvious.
A company that’s not up to quality also isn’t very clear on the details. Their salespeople aren’t knowledgeable. They provide info as generic as a bottle of no-name Great Value corn syrup that’s anything but.
Quiz their “expertise” and see if they twitch. Test them on their follow-through, their consistency in the quoting process. Ask them about their engineering team. That blank look means they think you’re talking about company sponsored softball.
Quiz them:
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In what other similar use cases have you seen this product applied?
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Which finned tube would work best in this situation and why?
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What alternative approaches can you suggest?
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How long have you been making this type of product?
The Value of Consistency
Whether you’re building a rocket ship to Mars, a factory’s worth of boilers, or a heating coil you’ll need to reproduce continuously over the next decade, consistency is key to repeatable sustainability.
The problem is that many fin tube manufacturers are focused on the one-off sale. Once your check’s cashed and the dust settles, they’re off in a cloud of smoke, onto the next town to lasso a new sucker.
You need a finned tube supplier to be highly systematic in their consistency, every groove notched where it’s supposed to be, each fin honed to the perfect proportion of flawless physics. Most importantly, you need that company to deeply care about what you as a customer are trying to do. Your success should be theirs too. You want them to be there when you need help and have all the required materials ready when it’s time to make more.
Do they craft and tool their own parts in-house or outsource critical components?
Here’s a little hint: Tour their facility. Then you can see the machines they’re working with, the factory floor where the magic’s supposed to happen. If you’re not absolutely impressed by what you see, it’s time to look elsewhere.
That’s why we insist that every piece of DuraFin tubes is customized and made entirely in-house. We stand by our technology because we’ve shaped and tooled every piece of it, right down to the custom box it’s shipped in, right here at our facility. The difference in quality can be profoundly powerful.
To test their commitment to their product, ask the manufacturer:
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Do you manufacture all your products in-house or are some subcontracted out?
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Do you have enough equipment capacity to fulfill the order?
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Do you have redundancy in equipment?
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What inventory do you have available in a supply chain?
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Do you provide technical support for all your products?
The Economical Value of Quality
Here’s another little secret your gut probably already knows: When it comes to fin tubing, like much in life, you’ll get what you pay for.
In fact, by prioritizing cheap over quality, you’ll inevitably pay more – a lot more, in headaches, downtime, scrapped investment to haul away to the dump.
There is actually potent economic empowerment to investing in quality from the very beginning. You get a DuraFin tube that works right the first time. You achieve or exceed environmental energy efficiency requirements, boost performance, blast off right on schedule.
In short, you’ll have a rocket, not a dud.
Want your project to really soar? Choose the manufacturer who will deliver on a quality finned tube, not a stripped down price tag that might actually cost you a fortune in the long run.
Trust us. Like the physics of efficiency that flows through finned tubing, the difference can be exponentially valuable. There really is no substitute for the perfect DuraFin tube.
Download Our Free Finned Tube Buying Guide
Want to not screw up your finned tube project? Our FREE GUIDE tells you everything you need to know. Download yours today!
Have a question about fin tubes? We’re happy to help! Schedule a FREE consultation!
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