Anchor Chain - China vs ACCO

[colemj]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

I tried to buy some ACCO chain recently in Langkawi but the supplier told me they had a problem with some ACCO chain rusting after only 6 months use.

Our ACCO chain also rusted in 6 months. It is 18 months old now and leaves rust everywhere. We anchor 365 days/year, so it gets a lot of usage, but I am still unimpressed with the quality and lifespan of the galvanizing.

Mark

[JiffyLube]

Originally Posted by bewitched

What has this got to do with chain?

Almost every time you hear about a defective product, I'll bet 8 times out of 10 the product was made in China. If anyone wants to buy chain in China with their record, then they should buy Chinese. Three reasons I won't buy from China are: 1. Bad overall quality record. 2. Bad human rights record. 3. I don't want to support a Communist country. It might have nothing to do with buying chain to some people, but to many people is does.

[JiffyLube]

I didn't mean to high jack this thread, so for now on I'll keep any further comments I have directed on chain...not politics.

[capt_douglas]

I don't know where the chain I get is made (the box store doesn't know and they buy from a number of distributors) but chances are it's not from China as it's not the cheapest link in the tub.

Backpeddling smoothly, there's one thing that I've never skimped on: ground tackle. I've lived through big blows, weeks in a coral infested anchorage, and months of peaceful calm. I'd recommend finding where your chain's made and buying non Chinese. I'm not anti-Chinese chain (yet) but I think its worth the extra couple hundred dollars for peace of mind.

[velero]

JusDreaming,

I was in the same boat last February and did a lot of research. I got my Acco chain from my local Fastenal store for around $3.5/ft plus some shipping, shipped to the store. I told them I could get the chain from Defender for $700/200 ft and they matched the price. I also saw marine grade chain at Lowes around $3.75/ft, I think it was made by Acco. Taking the chain to the boat in my car, well that another story.......
V49

[craigsmith]

Originally Posted by capt_douglas

I don't know where the chain I get is made (the box store doesn't know and they buy from a number of distributors) but chances are it's not from China as it's not the cheapest link in the tub.

The store you bought the chain from doesn't know, or prefers not to bother knowing, where the chain came from, and you're advising people to avoid all chain that happens to be made in a certain country? What brand is your chain? What manufacturer is staking their reputation on that brand? Is your chain certified? Proofed? By whom?

I've stayed out of this for the most part but... you must be kidding.

[Chief Engineer]

I won't buy Chinese Chain, Walmart anything or Cuban Cigars.

[Ocean Girl]

Originally Posted by colemj

Our ACCO chain also rusted in 6 months. It is 18 months old now and leaves rust everywhere. We anchor 365 days/year, so it gets a lot of usage, but I am still unimpressed with the quality and lifespan of the galvanizing.

Mark

It probably doesn't matter, but I was wondering what type of chain? HT? BBB? Did you contact ACCO about this problem and what was their response? Thanks for the input.
Erika

[colemj]

Erika,

It is 5/16" HT (G4). I did not contact ACCO because we are out cruising and have no way to send it back in or receive new chain from them. We have met several others with ACCO chain that rusted quickly who bought it in the same time frame as us, so perhaps there was a botched batch of galvanizing.

Mark

[capt_douglas]

Originally Posted by craigsmith

The store you bought the chain from doesn't know, or prefers not to bother knowing, where the chain came from, and you're advising people to avoid all chain that happens to be made in a certain country? What brand is your chain? What manufacturer is staking their reputation on that brand? Is your chain certified? Proofed? By whom?

I've stayed out of this for the most part but... you must be kidding.

I bought proof chain and had it tested. As a professional Captain, I need all the supporting documents I can produce. The chain met the claims of the chain mfgr.

I'm not suggesting avoiding any country when it comes to chain, but buying chain because it's the cheapest is not, in my opinion, a prudent decision.

There are countries who do big business making fake or low quality items and selling them to either unscrupulous, or unwitting, distributors. You can via web search, find chain manufacturers with good reputations. You can have your chain of choice independently tested.

[halberd]

Hello,

Though a few days has elapsed since you raised the issue of anchor chain, I would like to make the comment ..........The anchor, chain, and other rode make up a most essential part of your safety equipment that you carry on board.

Therefore in order to ensure that you, your crew and your vessel is not compromised in adverse weather conditions, if it was me I would source the best available.

I know that it is easy to say and may cause some financial pain initially, but what price does one put on their life and the life of others.

If you have bought the best you can you can at least derive the satisfaction knowing you have done all you could in the event of any unfortunate occurrence.

All the best and safe sailing to you.

[ude123]

Originally Posted by capt_douglas

There are countries who do big business making fake or low quality items and selling them to either unscrupulous, or unwitting, distributors.

Capt Abbott:

Don't you think it's a little unfair to say that whole there are 'countries' that do big business making fake or low quality items? Could you name any 'countries' that do this? I believe you may mean that there are 'companies' that may do this but I do not believe there are whole 'countries' doing this(read my earlier post on this thread). And are there any companies in our own country, USA, who may do this also? (how about unscrupulous contractors in our country or American car companies in the 80's, just to name a couple) I also do not believe there are any 'unwitting' distributors in the USA either(why do we always use the 'victim' card and not take responsibility?), as it's the responsibility of the distributor to deliver what they offer for sale(meaning you QC your product BEFORE you ship to the end user(your customer) and if it's not up to standards then you don't ship and YOU take the loss instead of shipping inferior quality and having your customer take the loss while you still take a profit(it's this kind of distributor that gives everybody a bad name)). Ignorance of the quality of your product is not an 'excuse' to sell substandard products. Why do people look at the country of origin rather than inspect the quality and then determine if the product is for them or not? This is going to anger some but there are some things that a certain Asian country(Hint: starts with a C and ends with an A) can produce with much higher quality than ANY manufacturer in the US(AND at a lower cost!!!). Guess what people(my fellow Americans), we are not the only people on this planet and there are others on this big blue marble we call Earth that can do the same things we can and are actually better at some things than we are. Wow, imagine that, other people that have the same abilities as we do(I think they are called humans too). Sorry for the sarcasm it's just that this provincial thinking is nuts. It doesn't matter what color your skin is, what language you speak, where you live on this planet, we are ALL humans with the same abilities(just some of us have had more opportunities than others).
Capt, I'd never doubt ANYTHING you would have to say about ANYTHING on the water as with your credentials there are only a handful of sailors that could but as far as speaking to manufacturing, distributors and country of origin I think that may be out of your realm of expertise. Not trying to offend just inform.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by ude123

... there are some things that a certain Asian country (Hint: starts with a C and ends with an A) can produce with much higher quality than ANY manufacturer in the US (AND at a lower cost!!!)...

For example?

[conachair]

Originally Posted by ude123
... there are some things that a certain Asian country (Hint: starts with a C and ends with an A) can produce with much higher quality than ANY manufacturer in the US (AND at a lower cost!!!)...

Originally Posted by GordMay

For example?

Tea?

[ude123]

Originally Posted by GordMay

For example?

Here's one Gordy:
A friend designed a high end aluminum mountain bike frame(4K- 6K retail) and was determined to have it produced in the US. He spent thousands of dollars trying but couldn't get the quality from ANY US aluminum company(and he tried many including the biggest). Sure the US companies could make a prototype correctly but none could do a production run with the high quality necessary. There was no problem finding a manufacturer in China(and with the added bonus that the frames costs much less). This is but one of the examples.

You know they build(assemble) BMW's in China just like we do in the US. I've been in both(the US and the Chinese) and there's no difference in quality(and I drive a German BMW that is the same as the rest). The only difference I see is that if you buy the Chinese model you have a lot bigger wallet left in your pocket.