Flexcon Industries USA lays claim to be the leading manufacturer of pre-pressurized diaphragm expansion tanks for water well jobs and other water tank applications. However buyer beware when choosing any tank such as Flexcon's Well-Rite Online Series where they have designed in a non-standard European threaded coupling THAT ONLY THEY CAN SUPPLY. Having inherited this tank and finding a metal fatigue fracture in the brass T-coupling we have been without water now for 3 days attempting to locate a replacement. The fact that Flexcon is the exclusive supplier for what should be an industry standard NPT fitting means that if you ever experience a failure or wish to do a modification to your tank involving this part, prepare to be without water for an extended period. Their distribution network for spare parts is limited and you may find yourself driving long distances to obtain replacements. Personally I would not recommend selecting a manufacturer who puts customer's interests in such jeopardy.
My name is Gerry Duggan and I am the VP of Sales Marketing at Flexcon Industries. We are indeed the leading manufacturer of pre-pressurized diaphragm tanks in large part due to the high quality products that we produce and the customer service that we provide. We manufacture premium products that are sold through the professional channel. I would like to comment at length regarding this thread and put all of the information out on the table.
The original writer is correct in that the union thread on our Online tank product is a proprietary design. This thread is not European, but is common on many backflow preventors manufactured and sold here in the US. In fact there is no ANSI standard for union threads.
Each online tank includes an adapter that makes the transition from the union thread to a standard MPT (1” or 1 ј” depending on tank size). In addition, we have made the specifications available to a number of independent manufacturers of well specialty products, who have made and sold tank tees that fit directly to our union connection.
A professional contractor in his area installed the original tank, and if contacted would have either had the parts readily available to solve the problem or the expertise to find the parts locally in a timely manner.
After numerous conversations with personnel here at the factory, I can only assume that the originator of this thread, Brunyard is in fact the person who originally contacted us on 9/13. One of our technical experts was told that the customer’s Online tank was leaking from a split in the short nipple that was located between the union connection and the control manifold. After being told that he should contact a professional, he was given the name of a Flexcon distributor near him who could help him find one. He was then told to contact Flexcon with any further questions.
The next day this person left a message that he had lost the phone number of the distributor and when contacted again, told our technical expert that the situation was well in hand. He then went on to ask a number of questions that went beyond the expertise of our technician and was referred to the head of RD at Flexcon Industries. After a bit of phone tag, the two spoke at length. The description of the broken part had now changed from the “short nipple” to the tank tee connected directly to the union connection. Flexcons Director of RD offered to send out a replacement tee but was told that the customer was receiving a part locally. So it would seem that the customer service aspect of this transaction was handled in a timely and professional manner by the employees of Flexcon Industries.
Brunyard contends that Flexcon should have made a direct shipment to him of a replacement part. This would have put Flexcon in the position of bypassing the channel (professional water well contractors and plumbers) who are the lifeblood of the company. Who do you call when your GM automobile needs a new clutch? General Motors or the local auto parts store or repair shop?
Brunyard says that Flexcon has an obligation to the consumer to notify and we do in fact notify our professional customers of the proprietary nature of the fitting. However as stated earlier, the specifications for the thread design were given to numerous other manufacturers so that they could design and sell products that would fit the Flexcon Online tanks.
If Brunyard had contacted a local professional immediately, his problem most likely would have been rectified in an efficient and timely manner.
Flexcon Industries is proud of the products that we manufacture and proud of the way we have chosen to do business. We employ highly qualified professionals who take the time and care about our products and our customers.
Gerry - thank you for your response in representing your company's products.
First some clarification - You write that, A professional contractor in his area installed the original tank, and if contacted would have either had the parts readily available to solve the problem or the expertise to find the parts locally in a timely manner. In fact it was the professional contractor (over 90 miles away) who I was referred to by the Flexcon distributor. I consider him a professional, and the fact that your distributor has to rely on a professional several counties away speaks clearly to the challenge in replacing a failed part when, by your own words, it is a proprietary design. Had this not been the Online tank, rather Flexcon's standard Well-Rite Series, then the system connection appears to be ANSI NPT compliant. In that case I would have restored tank operation using a local plumbing store resource, and we would not be having this conversation.
I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed by your comparison of our 3 days without drinking water to a GM automobile that needs a new clutch and asking whether I would contact General Motors or the local auto parts store or repair shop. If you actually believe that your proprietary designed fitting is stocked in plumbing stores across the country with this same automotive parts abundance, with all due respect you're getting terribly inaccurate information from your distribution channels. In fact when I contacted several local professionals to find this part, they referred me back to Flexcon. In other words your distributor did find the professional who was qualified. He was just not readily available due to his location.
Just so we don't get off on tangential issues here such as a short nipple vs. a tank tee, the point is this - industry standards exist and have survived throughout generations of product designs for many reasons, including ease of installation, maintainability, and life cycle cost management to include spare part replacement. De facto designs, such as Flexcon appears to be defending with the Online Series system connection coupling, are more likely to experience confusion when replaced due to availability issues. Consider this question - Why is the system connection coupling for Flexcon's entire product line not based on this proprietary design?
Again, thank you for your input here. As an end-user of your products I appreciate the opportunity to have this discussion. Your assessment that Flexcon customer service handled this properly is consistent with my views also. I don't recall saying otherwise. What I am challenging is the repair cycle in the field, and if you do find resources that permit me to purchase parts closer than 90 mile away, I am sincerely interested in knowing who they are.
Tags: buyer, beware, tank, Flexcon Industries, would have, products that, that Flexcon, customer service, have made, professional contractor, proprietary design, readily available, system connection, timely manner
