New Racks have arrived. First Impression!

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Posted by John Q on April 18, 2003 at 09:37:17:

I shopped for racks made of plastic for several weeks, even posted here for feedback from owners of racks made of the new lightweight plastics. I just didn't want to build another melamine unit, heavy, hard to move around, but the cost is hard to beat. I also didn't want to be a guinea pig beta tester for a new material unless the manufacturer was willing to replace the unit if a major design flaw came up.
The features I was looking for were lightweight, stackable, proven heating system, tight fit at the top to avoid escapees, boxes that were available locally so I could purchase a full second set, and a return policy if the unit(s)did not meet all the advertised features/promises or my expectations.
I purchased 3 racks from Casey Hulse, Natures Spirit. The racks are well made, lightweight, use sterilite boxes that are available locally (one mfg. offered a discontinued box), have a good fit, tight tolerance, etc. So far I am very happy with the racks. I'll be setting them up this weekend and with two 11 inch strips of heat tape I don't expect any problems getting the boxes up to temp.
As far as the other models, the final models that I considered, well:
Repitat- could not start building my order for 2-3 weeks, a little higher priced, but they were my second choice and I would consider them in future purchases.
Boaphile- more expensive, due to the name IMO, but the main reason I did not buy from them was because they would not answer a single email, I emailed just a few basic questions. If a mfg. will not respond before they have your $$$, they are not likely to respond if you have a problem with the product.
Chameleon Condo- 7 day return policy for a completely new product, new plastic material, new heating material, just not long enough to test it out. Also, I have read that the new heat rope(s) do not spread the heat very well. They do offer the most rack for the $$$ but I decided to let someone else be the guinea pig beta tester.
One final comment, Casey does a great job of boxing up the racks but somehow UPS managed to damage a unit. Casey is sending a replacement unit. That's exactly what any customer should get when a unit is damaged in shipping.
John Q

Follow Ups:

Thanks for the information! n/m jfmoore 04/19/03 (0)
Link and a comment... chris_harper2 04/18/03 (0)
Do you have any links to the racks you mentioned? chupacabra1090 04/18/03 (0)