Fluxeon Annie Annealer Delivery Issues

[NorCalMikie]

Ordered a new Husqvarna riding mower on 5/9/21 from Sears. Was told a couple of weeks to have it delivered. Got a call a couple of weeks ago that it would take longer then that and the mower would not be "built" till the end of this month so we're looking at mid August for delivery.
No rain, no grass growing so no mowing needed.
Saw mentioned at a couple of places on the www that delivery could be 6 to 8 + weeks after ordering a rider.
Places that normally stock 10 to 15 riders have ZERO stock. Covid related?
No parts available? Nobody to install those parts? Everybody off collecting those extended unemployment checks and making more than in they were working? Funny that their wages were fine "before" the government hand outs.


Blew the back glass out of my camper shell. Complete unit replacement, not just the glass. Can't get the unit, no glass available. Black tinted glass. No rain so no problems. It's parked under the car port. Cancel your order and you may never get what you want, at least for another year or so.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE.

 

[BlueWater]

I think that for the most part, people and vendors in our sport are of utmost integrity but we are a tiny market..one that can't support truly big vendors. Often, what some consider a pretty big fish in our game, does it as a second job and often alone or with limited help. I get your point but unless you put yourself, your livelihood and your families future on the line to do it better, maybe you should try WalMart for your needs.

Not that I dont appreciate any and all of my customers, but I do have a limit as to what I'll tolerate from anyone who hasn't tried to make a living supplying a very small market, relying on component availability while competing with much bigger industry for said product...Did I mention..during a global pandemic?

Frankly, while I appreciate your opinion, it seems to be one of a person that has no real world experience, but expectations of someone used to instant gratification from places like walmart and amazon. Tell them who the heck you are next time they fail to satisfy you. I'm sure they'll remember you and how much you spent with them.

Nice, but misguided.

I don't mind finding product not on a shelf. That's not the point. Supply chain issues can strike all shops, for any number of reasons. That's the real world, and I get it, and operate in it just like everybody else.

What the OP specified was a case of apparent lying by the vendor. Which is what I was commenting on.

Some people think lying is kosher. For whatever motivation they rationalize to themselves. Often, it's to gloss over a seemingly uncomfortable situation the person isn't able to deal with honestly and straightforwardly. But such lying over situations isn't required, if supply isn't there or timing has changed. Life happens, of course. Only mindless utopians won't ever accept anything else.

But that hardly requires lies as response to customers. The typical "Oh, it's shipping today and we'll provide a tracking number," but then ending up failing to ship. Followed by another such instance, and another ... commitments to perform based on whatever falsehood they chose to believe, done to appease but only cutting their own legs out from under them.

Again: having supply issues from time to time <> justification for lying to others.

The former is a fact of life, and an unavoidable feature of modern consumerism and so-called "just-in-time" inventorying tactics. The latter, however, is not a requisite feature of dealing with people, despite some people without integrity choosing to make that a fact of their lives.

One's the reality of tight supply chain coordination. The other's a personal choice of "those" sorts of people we've all met here and there.

Big, big, difference.

 

[No.343]

sorry but you are not alone. I payed for mine back in january got it in june i bugged him every other week
i left him lone he when he a couple weeks that turned into a month or so . but on a happy side of
things. it works great. i like garrett i wish he would just give up date once a month or so. rick

My dates and experience were almost identical to Rick's. A monthly update would have made me very happy also.

 

[dc.fireman]

My dates and experience were almost identical to Rick's. A monthly update would have made me very happy also.

My experiences early on were quite similar to both of yours. The original excuse given to me for the delay was not COVID-19 related, rather, the website was 'hacked', causing 6 month shipping delay from start to finish.

I did receive the annealer, and it does in fact anneal.

 

[Rick300]

I received mine a couple of weeks ago and I'm happy with it. It's extremely fast and easy to use but the one thing I don't understand is why they don't make a case of some kind to keep everything together as one unit. I had to make a stand with a "trap door" lever and then a base plate to bolt the separate units to. Seems to me that it wouldn't be that difficult for them to make something to make it look attractive instead of a mad science project.

 

[Rook 6]

Got mine two weeks ago and I am satisfied so far with it. Ordered mine in early February. I will simply agree with the gist of others here that a frank-honest once a month general update to waiting customers would go a long way to keeping feathers unruffled. Regardless of vendor or other issues.

 

[Triple BB]

Anyone still buying from this guy? Been waiting since April. Was getting promised ship dates. Now nothing. Pretty much thinking I've been ripped off. Pay attention to this thread if you're thinking about buying.

 

[Rick300]

Anyone still buying from this guy? Been waiting since April. Was getting promised ship dates. Now nothing. Pretty much thinking I've been ripped off. Pay attention to this thread if you're thinking about buying.

It took me 5 months to get mine. He is having all sorts of supply and employee issues so it might be delayed but you won't get ripped off. I think he is trying to do the best he can with the hand he has been dealt.

 

[garandman]

It took me 5 months to get mine. He is having all sorts of supply and employee issues so it might be delayed but you won't get ripped off. I think he is trying to do the best he can with the hand he has been dealt.

I think you got a look at it from the business owner's perspective. It's difficult. If he tells everyone that he has no idea when he will possibly deliver, then no one will buy. And he will go out of business. They make promises to us based on promises made to them from vendors, suppliers adn even employees. Its a Vegas crap shoot., these days.

In reality we see numerous people on this thread have gotten their shipments but highly delayed. The supply chain issues are real especially on anything electronic. (Looked in car dealers new car lots lately?) Fluxeon is standing at the back of the line compared to the Mega retailers and Mega manufacturers. The government is paying people not to work. It is a truly lousy time to be a business owner in this country. And particularly a small manufacturer. Literally everything is stacked against you. The gov't is more concerned with China's profits and successes than yours.

What looks like dishonesty may be nothing more than the business owner simply trying to meet customer demand in a hellacious environment... having to extend customer delivery dates cuz vendors extended your delivert dates.

I plunked down money a few days ago, and maybe my tune will be different in 6 months (which, really, is typical build time for a custom rifle) When I talked to him, he sounded beat down. (He actually answered the phone in a coupla rings) I highly doubt he's sittin' around watching Law and Order reruns, laughing to himself for every deposit that comes in (maybe I;m wrong....) Then he gets called everything but the Son of Sam serial killer in gun forums like this. At some point, ppl just say "Screw it!" and take the gov't handouts instead. That'll fix the delayed deliveries / unmet promises ... with not being able to get an Annie at all ever.

 

[Bugsy in Aus]

I've placed and order in June: based in Oz I didn't have huge expectations for something quick with international shipping grinding to halt:
Then when a shipping notification came through in August - I was elated: got plenty of brass lined up to anneal.
But nothing still today : i contacted the shipping company to be told they haven't had instructions to collect.
Ive emailed Fluxeon a few times now - with no response.

I see everyone saying that things are tough to secure at present - but some level of communication would go a long way to customer satisfaction. Bad news is better than none - its called managing expectations!!!

As of now I couldn't recommend this product to anyone based on my incomplete experience already.

The AMP will capture this market if Fluxeon can not learnt to talk to its customers - they will just stop ordering or someone else will start up and capture this price point in the market.

That aside can anyone chime in with their thoughts on the machine and any tips with the time on various brass they anneal??? is the Tempalac worth using???

 

[powderbrake]

I've placed and order in June: based in Oz I didn't have huge expectations for something quick with international shipping grinding to halt:
Then when a shipping notification came through in August - I was elated: got plenty of brass lined up to anneal.
But nothing still today : i contacted the shipping company to be told they haven't had instructions to collect.
Ive emailed Fluxeon a few times now - with no response.

I see everyone saying that things are tough to secure at present - but some level of communication would go a long way to customer satisfaction. Bad news is better than none - its called managing expectations!!!

As of now I couldn't recommend this product to anyone based on my incomplete experience already.

The AMP will capture this market if Fluxeon can not learnt to talk to its customers - they will just stop ordering or someone else will start up and capture this price point in the market.

That aside can anyone chime in with their thoughts on the machine and any tips with the time on various brass they anneal??? is the Tempalac worth using???

I got my Annie back in 2016, and I am very pleased with it. There were a couple "hitches" in the delivery process, but Fluxeon delivered a fine product and I recommend it.

The Annie is a complete annealer, with the timer built in, and it is easy to adjust. The numbers I use are:

223 1.8 sec
22-250 2.7
30-06 1.8
7mm Mag 1.9
6mmBR 2.5

I did a write up on how I "packaged" my Annie:

write up

I do recommend you use the watercooled coil. His design for water cooling has changed from when I built mine, and he has a fan and tank and pump for only $68.

For a simple, low cost way to use it see post #43 by Norm Mantzen.

I used the 750 Tempilac on the necks, very easy to see the color change. This can give you a good starting point, and you can then adjust timing from there to your preference.

 

[Bugsy in Aus]

i finally got my Annie late Dec.
garrett did make contact after id emailed a few times stating my dis pleasure on how it is been handle.
any way as expressed by others, component shortages are the bigg issue just like most industries at presen.

played around with today, found the water fittings to be rather fussy with sealing up, spent some time tweaking the angle of the hoses. built a basic stand for it to create a drop through hole for cases once annealled.
some tips for others (may seem obvious).

use the tempalac to determine how much case should be in the coil. coat it all down the side, not on the shoulder of case. be prepared to waste 5-10 cases to get a rough time for your cartridge.
set up a trial where you expect to waste a few more cases. measure the cases (head space compartor) should all be the same from firing.
i went in 0.2sec intervals up till i melted a case. run each case through your FL die (without expander inside) and measure again. you’ll quickly learn they bump a lot more than your control case. you’ll need to reset your die for soft cases.
i next measured the internal neck diameter and ran the cases through a mandrel. take note of when it gets very easy compared to the control case. measure the diameter again.
from this look for point in your test data where it appears to make a good difference and you saw the neck glow when annealing.
this isnt fool proof but should help a little