Pissed off with Paslode. Is this only a Paslode UK problem?

[Tom Bainbridge]

My specific problem is gas expiry dates.

My experience is that Paslode stockists often try to sell me nails with a gas life of less than 6 months....... supposedly paslode gas has a shelf life of 2 years

3 days ago i was offered nails with gas of less than 1 month expiry date (!)

I asked how much it would cost me for for new gas.......... I was offered 2 cans of gas........... 23 pounds sterling........... This is Paslode UK's selling price

The gas had less than 6 months shelf life

Like ALL Paslode UK stockists they don't give a monkeys and suggest I pass my queries onto Paslode UK.

The catch 22 is that Paslode UK ......... have a policy of NEVER replying to end users.......... for any reason on the planet

How would you deal with this?

[dave_k]

I posted about this extensively a few years ago. You have to find a supplier that has a fast turnover of gas cartridges. They are very fickle and I've had them go bad before the expirary date many times.

I got so frustrated with one 18 ga nailer that I threw it out of the window of my van after it let me down doing some pickup work 2 hours from home. The 16 ga nailers don't have nearly the problems as the 18 ga. The 18g a was bought around 2003 and went flying about a year later. They may have improved by now.

[popawheelie]

For me it's not a technical issue. It's a moral one.
I was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. My perspective on life has been changed through this illness.
People and companies make poor choices and put profit before people all the time. Thier choice. I figure the bean counters took over. All the bean counters care about is having more beans. They don't care how they get there.
But, I have a choice as to who I will buy products from and if i will even buy into some technologies. So, are going to man up and not support these idiots?
I will give people the benift of the doubt and talk to them about what is going on. But if they can't see the forst for the trees, I will walk away from them.
Life is too short for this stuff. When all is said and done and you look on your work. Is getting more stuff done more important that you standing up to the idiots you enocounter along the way. Like most things it is a ballance. But I won't put up with this stuff any more and i will bring it to their attention.
After reading your post i will never buy or support pasload. Ever!
And if people ask about this trype of tool I will steer them away from Pasload. Eventually they will be gone from the face of the planet.

[Tom Bainbridge]

popawheelie, I wish you well

[dgbldr]

Tom, we don't use our Paslode guns very much and consequently always have expired cartridges. I must say that I've never had a cartridge not work just because it was old/expired. They seem to work just fine.

However, we don't own the 18 ga. gun, just the framer and 16 ga.

We also don't plan on ever buying any gas guns again, Paslode or other. The newer electric-only guns have come a long way.

[Alaskan Son]

I'm all for the idea of not using gas guns at all, however if you do...

What do you expect Paslode (or any other company for that matter) to do?

Just magically invent gas cartridges that last forever? Send free gas to all their distributors every time its getting close to the expiration date? Perhaps take over store management so gas is ordered properly (please note that this option would require telling the future and knowing exactly how many gas cartridges to purchase at any given time).

I don't think there's any reason to be upset at Paslode. There's nothing they can do. If you don't use the guns often enough to use up the gas quickly, maybe you shouldn't be using them at all. Just buy a small compressor and a hose.

Just my thoughts.

[rayh78]

Depends if Paslode lets the store return/exchange gas that is close to expired.
Then you can decide to be pissed off at paslode or the store. Store might just be to lazy to return.
Its bad enough when the gas gets stale because I dont use it enough. But I would really hate top buy gas that is already close to it. I still have the paslode framer.
At least I dont have to worry about gas anymore with my Senco Fusion. Actually liked the paslode just a little better. But not having any of the gas problems makes it morethan worth the switch.

[plhalle]

If a manufacturer produces a product that has a shelf life then they should have an avenue in place to replace product that is at the end of the shelf life for their stocking dealers.

That system is in place and works well - grocery stores.

Part of the issue is that sellers of hardware are not used to rotating stock or checking dates.

Peter

[Tom Bainbridge]

Peter, that is the attitude that both Paslode and their Suppliers should have

But they don't, in my experience

[Alaskan Son]

Peter, that is the attitude that both Paslode and their Suppliers should have

But they don't, in my experience

This would totally depend on the arrangement. Paslode may not guarantee anything with regard to shelf life in which case its totally on the distributor or the retail outlet to order correctly and check their stock. I don't believe its common practice in the hardware industry to guarantee shelf life at all. Its up to the stores to order the appropriate amounts and therefore their responsibility to be checking stock. Perhaps they should be giving you a discount for the expiring product.

If they do happen to have an arrangement that guarantees the product with regard to shelf life its still the stores responsibility to deal with it.

IMO there's no justification to be upset with Paslode for the expiring product or for not calling you back. They're not in the retail business for a reason, and there's no reason they should be dealing directly with the consumer. I imagine every company like them would have to start a whole new division just to deal with consumer relations.

[dgbldr]

If a manufacturer produces a product that has a shelf life then they should have an avenue in place to replace product that is at the end of the shelf life for their stocking dealers.

That system is in place and works well - grocery stores.
Peter

I don't think so.

My local grocery store doesn't get free replacements from the "manufacturer" for the meat and eggs they can't sell before the expiration date.

[Phil Pritchard]

Hi Tom

I got so hacked off with this and other problems with my 16 gauge and 18 gauge Passlodes a few years back that I switched to deWalt. Within a year I'd also binned the 1st fix gun and bought Senco (gas). In 4 years all I've ever needed to do to the DW guns is oil them. Never needed to send them in for repair or strip down other than unclipping the nose to sort out a jam (15 second task). Downside is that they are heavy and they're limited to 50/55mm pins on hard stuff like oak because they'll only sink 63s when the battery is completely charged. Personally, I don't find that a problem. The batteries are now going off so that means I'm considering whether to get new batteries or go for the Senco Fusion cordless nailers. Either way I won't ever go back to gas for 2nd fix.

Another approach might be to find an alternative gas supplier. The gas cannisters used in 16 gauge Hitachis and other guns are interchangeable with Passlodes and there are now several other suppliers in the market, e.g. BeA, Rawlplug (available at Selco), Draper, Senco, Stanley-Bostitch, etc. I've had 1st fix nails and gas from Selco and they're generally dated about 18 to 20 months, presumably because they're doing enough volume.

[hdrider_chgo]

I've said it before: The solution is CO2 bottle and conventional guns. Cheap and reliable, virtually nothing to go wrong, nothing to expire, no batteries.

[Lanya LaPunta]

I'm all for the idea of not using gas guns at all, however if you do...

What do you expect Paslode (or any other company for that matter) to do?

Just magically invent gas cartridges that last forever? Send free gas to all their distributors every time its getting close to the expiration date? Perhaps take over store management so gas is ordered properly (please note that this option would require telling the future and knowing exactly how many gas cartridges to purchase at any given time).

I don't think there's any reason to be upset at Paslode. There's nothing they can do. If you don't use the guns often enough to use up the gas quickly, maybe you shouldn't be using them at all. Just buy a small compressor and a hose.

Just my thoughts.

I don't know if it's a problem with Paslode or just certain immoral vendors.

I received a four pack of finish fuel cells (Bostitch yellow cans), just today, for my Bostitch 15 ga. angle finish gun.

They have an expiration date of July of 2010.

Unless I've time warped, today's date is May 14th of 2012.

In many/most cases, one cannot really blame the manufacturer.

Rather the unscrupulous and immoral vendor.

Who'd a thunk it?

[Lanya LaPunta]

I don't think so.

My local grocery store doesn't get free replacements from the "manufacturer" for the meat and eggs they can't sell before the expiration date.

Perhaps not with meat.

However, at least in the areas in which I have lived (that is when I have resided in the continental US and that's quite a few), bread companies routinely send their route sales reps and they take old stock off of the shelf and replace it with fresh. I've NEVER seen that not the case.

On eggs, it may depend upon the wholesaler, however, I've often observed the same.