My new Jet AFS1000B air filter - a lemon

[radhak]

So whaddya know? The Jet AFS1000B air filter - that greatly debated and aspired-for new acquisition of mine - it don't do good.

As I said elsewhere, received it today, and it was in great shape. The packaging was pristine, and the unit looks slick. So good that I jinxed it by saying so as soon as I opened it up - 'wow, look at that nice box!'.

Well, put it on the floor and started it up, and it started with a great roar. Go upto 3rd speed and the noise it real loud. Not a normal loud, but a 'fan blade grating on tin' loud. I tried to ignore it, and tried out the buttons. All worked - the on/off, the timer; directly, and from the remote. I shut it off, tried it again. Same thing, worked, good.

Tried it a third time - third time unlucky, it simply hummed, and sat there.

Long story short, tried those buttons and the remote a dozen more times, and it only worked once or twice. Rest of the times, it did not even start.

Shone a flash light into the fan, and looks like a part of the internal housing had caved into the fan, sorta like a lopsided dent. Am very sure that's the noise, though unsure if that's causing the fan to stop completely. Not unlikely, though.

If push came to shove I could open up the box and tinker around, but do i need to? Plan to call them up tomorrow and see what they say. I could gnash my teeth to powder, am feeling really pissed.

Of course, it could have been worse - could have gone bad after i put it up on the roof .

Btw, the name is JET, but is the company name WMH Tool Group? The packing slip has that name and phone number.

[chopnhack]

**** that sucks Radhak. I would be p.o.'ed too. I am dreaming up some type of air cleaning solution for the shop and was looking into one of those units. Let me know how Jet's service helps you out.
Good Luck.

[Uncle Cracker]

WMH owns Jet and Powermatic. Their CS people should help you out, as they have a good reputation. Give them a chance before you panic.

[Carlos]

Did you remove the filters and then remove the packing material that's stuffed into the fan? You mentioned using a flashlight to look in, so it sounds like you haven't opened it yet?

[radhak]

I had to use the flashlight from the other side, when trying to see if the fan had any obstruction or such. From the side of the filters just the housing is visible, can't see the fan.

But you have a point - I never realized (at first) that I had to removing packing material from inside. I removed it only after I had started it the first time and heard that noise. Did I miss any instructions in my eagerness? Don't think so, but you never know.

Of course, when I pulled out the filters all that packing stuff were bunched up towards the filter end, none around the fan. Maybe that itself caused some knocks on the fan/housing. Letsee, shall call them now.

[MikeMcCoy]

It's been awhile since I got mine but there was either a packing slip or mention in the owners manual to remove the styro-foam from the insided.

[Garasaki]

I would just get a new one. EDIT what I mean is, I would call JET/Amazon and would not be satisfied with their response until they sent a replacement.

It's ridiculous to think you'd have to tinker with or modify a brand new item.

Jet send Eddie an entire new unit and let him keep the old one. I think a nonworking unit has a fair amount of value to a cheap DIYer because the blower assembly and motor could be replaced. Both cheap items. THe filters, electronics, and housing are what makes this unit nice.

[radhak]

Called up WMH. First, I was routed to the technical support, who tells me it must be something simple like 'a blown capacitor', so could I call up ___ (a local authorized repair shop)?

I asked for customer service again, and am told that I need to contact Amazon for returns. Amazon of course does not have a phone number, but they seem to have an online process for returning defective items. I went thru it only half-way, and am at the screen where it says,

For the items listed below, select if you would like a replacement or a refund. Then, in the comments box, please describe in more detail the problem you encountered with the item.

Please note: If you choose replacement, you'll be required to return the damaged item within 30 days to avoid being charged for both the replacement and the original. Additionally, we can only replace the exact item and version you ordered. If you would like to exchange your item(s) for something different (size, color, language, format, etc), please choose "refund" and place a new order for the desired item(s).

So looks like I might have to send this back on my own money? That's gonna be expensive! Before I go ahead, isn't there a number I could talk to somebody?

Just like that, I also called up that repair shop, and he himself advised me to return it - 'why do you want to accept a defective unit?' .

[Uncle Cracker]

Amazon has phone callback support from their website, where you enter your phone number and a human being calls you back immediately. Explain the problem, and see what they say. You should not have to pay return shipping. IIRC, Amazon may send you a prepaid return label, and all you will have to do is call the shipper for a pickup.

[LarryG]

Please note: If you choose replacement, you'll be required to return the damaged item within 30 days to avoid being charged for both the replacement and the original.

I've never had to return anything to amazon.com. However, from my experience with other vendors, this usually means that they will send you out a replacement item and a return label, as Uncle says. The return label may come under separate cover or it may be included with the replacement. If you don't get the defective item re-boxed and picked up within the specified time period, they'll charge your credit card for a second order equal to the amount of the original.

You should not have to pay anything extra out of pocket, even temporarily, for a problem that is not of your doing (i.e., you didn't change your mind about the item).

[radhak]

Thanks UC and Larry. I did use their call back service, and it went pretty smoothly. They are shipping out a replacement, and have emailed me a UPS mailing label to return the other one.

All in all, neatly handled. Only thing is a week more to go before I can get my hands on my filter . And now, with all trepidations - hopefully the new unit is in better shape.

In all this, landed myself into another mess - allowed the garage door to crush the packing box the filter came in . Ordinarily would not have mattered, it would have headed to the recycle bin, but now I gotta use it to return the defective filter - so lotsa tape to hold it in place, i guess .

[Uncle Cracker]

You could wait for the replacement, and use that box to ship the bad one back...

[eddy merckx]

I also had my Jet air filter conk out, just before Christmas. It was also the motor in this case. Also covered by warranty. Heck, I don't think there's anything else that could go wrong with one of these. It did take several weeks for the replacement to arrive--a long time for a box to come 70 miles. The new one seems just fine so far. It already works better than the old one ever did.

Look at the bright side--at least you didn't have to pull your original one off the ceiling and rehang the new one. That's just not fun!

Eddy

[lkazista]

NOt sure of the Jet, but my Delta showed up with 3 large pieces of styrofoam on the inside. BUT... Delta had a sticker over the on/off switch informing you of the fact that the foam existed.

My box showed up beat up, and my unit had a dented corner, but it worked fine, and has for well over a year now.

Lee

[ryan.s]

Jet doesn't have a sticker but they write it in bold in the instruction manual to remove the packing foam before use.

Eddy - How long did you use yours before the motor gave out? Did you see any signs of the motor crapping out before it actually did? When you say the new one is already working better than the old one ever did can you please elaborate? I just got one of these units last weekend and want to know if there's anything I should be looking out for.