Problems
The Kipor Generator Saga
I recently bought a second hand KGE3000Ti Kipor Inverter generator from
Agripower in Princess street Onehunga, NZ on Trademe. This was advertised as in
good running order but with oil leak. On returning home and trying to get the
generator to run for more than 30 seconds proved to be challenge. Bolts were
missing, incorrect bolts fitted ( to long and rubbing against fuel tank)
fuel line clips not fitted just to mention a few things.
I have just found out that Agripower were parallel importing these generators so
buyer beware.
A faulty fuel pump was the problem so I contacted South Pacific
Shipping Repairs in Huia Street, Otahuhu (the Auckland service center) for a
pump. Yes they had one in stock so gave credit card details and address.
That was on Monday and by Thurs after another phone call they still had not
shipped part saying that it takes 4 days to get credit card approval by them.
I feel let down by Agripower and would be extremely cautious if
I ever had to deal with them again.
South Pacific Shipping Repairs Credit card facilities are well out of date
so don't try using a credit card there unless you are asking for a long wait!
Energiser & Star Power NiMh Batteries
I have 6 Energizer batteries, 4 are 2500mAh and 2 are 2100mAh.
These batteries won't hold their charge for more than a few days, they have to
be used immediately after charging, same or next day, or they will be flat when you need them.
Their capacity is well below what is stated. They are not far from being
cycled into the rubbish bin.
These batteries have been charged and cycled using a Powerex MH-C9000 charger
which records the charge and the time as well as the discharge and time.
I definitely would not buy any more Energizer rechargeable.
I know 4 other people who have experienced the same problem with energizer
batteries.
The Star power brand batteries are rated at 3500 mAh which
sounds great but in reality they only perform at less than 1/3 there stated
capacity.
Again I would not purchase these batteries again.
4 year old Powerex 1600mAh perform better.
The best brand I have tested is the Vapextech, even at 3 years
old they are still performing near capacity.
The Prolink brand has also given good service over 2 years still running at near
capacity.
Trademe user justwholesale are selling new products but
will dodge their warranty obligations any way they can. I bought a
universal 100W AC DC charger for laptop that failed in less than 2.5 months and
they say because I replaced a fuse in the DC adapter with a lesser size, that
the warranty is invalid.
I then proceeded to disassemble charger and found the heat sinks for the
transistors were not installed properly from manufacture and were not contacting
the outer case to dissipate the heat, but alas to late, it had already cooked
the transistors.
Every caution needs to be taken if you choose to deal with this trader.
Don't expect a replacement if it fails under warranty.
After the above experience, I bought a different model universal
charger Model BL-100w-2to1 from goodman6 and this works fine on 12
volt but when it was used on 230v it locked up the mouse pad on laptop. (note
with original HP charger mouse pad works fine). they had a 45 warranty on new
product and fault wasn't discovered until 60days when I had the reason to use it
on 230V. Yes you guessed right no warranty. Upon testing the output from the
charger it has an AC voltage of between 13-15V to earth. This means that if it
were used with a laptop with metal casing you could get an electric shock. Does one say that Chinese made
chargers are junk!
Guess I will just have to look around and find a charger that is not made in
China, but this could be a mammoth task.