Bad Batch of SPAL Fans...Beware!

[beater74]

So was the second fan shipped in a SPAL box? Seems like someone got busted trying to substitute a cheaper product hoping nobody would notice! Seems kinda shady!

[LASER]

Busted. And hoping Spal does not find out I bet.

If Griffin admits to selling the Chinese knock off Spal gets pissed, if they insist it wan an accident they look stupid but maybe Spal doesn't kill them. I am just guessing what happened, I wish everyone involved the best.

[fuggy]

Originally Posted by Griffin Radiator

We here at Griffin Thermal Products have been notified of the recent fan situation involving both Griffin Thermal Products and Spal USA. The fans in question are NOT Spal fans. Spal USA is our most trusted fan supplier and have been providing us with the highest quality products for close to 30 years. Spal USA has an extraordinary quality record and maintains both its manufacturing ISO certification (ISO 9001) and its environmental ISO certification (ISO 14001:2004). Spal USA is a world class organization.
The fans in question are the result of a Griffin manufacturing error. Currently Griffin Thermal Products is expanding to a new facility. In an effort to have zero downtime through our moving process our manufacturing is taking place in both the new and old locations. The fans in question were not in the appropriate manufacturing position which caused the inaccurate fulfillment of an order.
As a manufacture of cooling components for many industries Griffin has several varieties of cooling fans. Even though Spal USA is our most trusted fan supplier we do carry other brands for certain applications. In this particular situation the wrong brand was supplied to the customer.
We here at Griffin take full responsibility for this fan issue and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. Griffin Thermal Products has resolved the issue and would like to note that the fans in question are not Spal fans. Spal USA is our most trusted electric cooling fan supplier.

You should let your customers know that they are not getting a quality fan when they receive the product. Or let them have a choice of paying a little more $ and not have to leave the rig on the trail because of an inferior product failed. Sending the OP junk twice in a row is dumb.

[RubiconJeepGuy]

Originally Posted by Griffin Radiator

We here at Griffin Thermal Products have been notified of the recent fan situation involving both Griffin Thermal Products and Spal USA. The fans in question are NOT Spal fans. Spal USA is our most trusted fan supplier and have been providing us with the highest quality products for close to 30 years. Spal USA has an extraordinary quality record and maintains both its manufacturing ISO certification (ISO 9001) and its environmental ISO certification (ISO 14001:2004). Spal USA is a world class organization.
The fans in question are the result of a Griffin manufacturing error. Currently Griffin Thermal Products is expanding to a new facility. In an effort to have zero downtime through our moving process our manufacturing is taking place in both the new and old locations. The fans in question were not in the appropriate manufacturing position which caused the inaccurate fulfillment of an order.
As a manufacture of cooling components for many industries Griffin has several varieties of cooling fans. Even though Spal USA is our most trusted fan supplier we do carry other brands for certain applications. In this particular situation the wrong brand was supplied to the customer.
We here at Griffin take full responsibility for this fan issue and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. Griffin Thermal Products has resolved the issue and would like to note that the fans in question are not Spal fans. Spal USA is our most trusted electric cooling fan supplier.

...twice! Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you guys stepping up to make it right in the end. But sending me the same knock off for the first replacement after describing what happened with pics sent?....IN an actual SPAL box? I was even asked when it happened the first time "What is the serial number on the fan?.....You don't see SPAL anywhere on the fan?".

I didn't actually go into detail on the epic I had because of all this, but it was 3 days of a journey that I really didn't want nor planned to take. The guy I talked to about the first fan (NOT Benji BTW...that guy rocks!), didn't seem real concerned about my problem and didn't seem too concerned about the situation I was in. To be honest, I really didn't get the feeling that he was going to get a replacement out when I hung up the phone. But, he did come through on shipping it out and it showed up the next day, even if it was the same piece of junk I just blew up already.

I know it's all done & over and I have a real SPAL fan now, but man I wish he would have checked to see that I was finally getting a real SPAL after #1.

I guess it could have been worse...at least I didn't have to deal with anyone from Ballistic

[RubiconJeepGuy]

Originally Posted by fuggy

You should let your customers know that they are not getting a quality fan when they receive the product. Or let them have a choice of paying a little more $ and not have to leave the rig on the trail because of an inferior product failed. Sending the OP junk twice in a row is dumb.

For the record, my original order was supposed to have a genuine SPAL fan.

[whypave]

What I don't understand is how are those other fans supposed to be setup in the applications they are for? The way your fan melted down says to me that going to a 50 or even 60 amp wiring setup wouldn't have fixed anything. So saying that this fan is used in another application really doesn't make sense to me. Where would you have an application where you want your fan to melt down and potentially catch your vehicle on fire?

I've had a trip or two ruined due to my own dumb mistakes but I can only imagine how livid the OP is to find out that his trip was fubared due to a knock off fan that doesn't look like it has any hope of working under any conditions.

[BigWoodyWag]

I want to know how did these fans get into a SPAL box and shipped and represented as such?

[beater74]

seems like a lot of copy and pasting and a bullshit story.

Originally Posted by Griffin Radiator

We here at Griffin Thermal Products have been notified of the recent fan situation involving both Griffin Thermal Products and Spal USA. The fans in question are NOT Spal fans. Spal USA is our most trusted fan supplier and have been providing us with the highest quality products for close to 30 years. Spal USA has an extraordinary quality record and maintains both its manufacturing ISO certification (ISO 9001) and its environmental ISO certification (ISO 14001:2004). Spal USA is a world class organization.
The fans in question are the result of a Griffin manufacturing error. Currently Griffin Thermal Products is expanding to a new facility. In an effort to have zero downtime through our moving process our manufacturing is taking place in both the new and old locations. The fans in question were not in the appropriate manufacturing position which caused the inaccurate fulfillment of an order.
As a manufacture of cooling components for many industries Griffin has several varieties of cooling fans. Even though Spal USA is our most trusted fan supplier we do carry other brands for certain applications. In this particular situation the wrong brand was supplied to the customer.
We here at Griffin take full responsibility for this fan issue and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. Griffin Thermal Products has resolved the issue and would like to note that the fans in question are not Spal fans. Spal USA is our most trusted electric cooling fan supplier.

[daddytall]

Why would a company offer such a inferior copy of a product in a nearly identical appearance? This reeks of "nobody will notice". I really appreciate all Griffin does for KOH but come on guys, wtf is really going on? I understand offering different price points but we are really expected to believe the wrong part got put in the wrong box and just happens to be a knock off that looks identical to what is represented on the packaging? Has anyone ordered the chepo and accidently got the SPAL? What is the proper packaging for this similar to SPAL fan look like?
I don't usually call bs on some internet story that I don't have the full info on but from what I read here it's getting thick.

[Travis Waldher]

Originally Posted by whypave

What I don't understand is how are those other fans supposed to be setup in the applications they are for? The way your fan melted down says to me that going to a 50 or even 60 amp wiring setup wouldn't have fixed anything. So saying that this fan is used in another application really doesn't make sense to me. Where would you have an application where you want your fan to melt down and potentially catch your vehicle on fire?

I've had a trip or two ruined due to my own dumb mistakes but I can only imagine how livid the OP is to find out that his trip was fubared due to a knock off fan that doesn't look like it has any hope of working under any conditions.

That's what I'm not getting.

With the fan's wiring melting/burning, either something is wrong with the design/build of the motor or the wiring was undersized for the job.

But to say that the fan was meant for another application... which application would that be? Do they sell 6V fans?

[pwschuh]

I had a new 16" SPAL fan on a high HP O/T car go bad last year. It was making noises and slowing down. It was supplied by a radiator manufacturer. SPAL replaced it and the new one has been fine.

[laproscopic]

Ron Davis

[miniwally]

Originally Posted by Travis Waldher

That's what I'm not getting.

With the fan's wiring melting/burning, either something is wrong with the design/build of the motor or the wiring was undersized for the job.

But to say that the fan was meant for another application... which application would that be? Do they sell 6V fans?

I know that Griffin makes stuff for airplanes and a lot of other types of vehicles. Perhaps the "knock off fan" is supposed to run on a different voltage?

Or if you don't pay for a Spal fan you get the knock off and this is the case where someone get the shaft cause of their facility move?

It seems like if the knock off fan couldn't run for more than a few days (if the application and voltage was correct) it's not a product that any company would want to have their name involved with.

[jimmysc13]

maybe it's just summits site, but it seems that they do sell a good bit of radiators with just "fans".

http://www.summitracing.com/search/B.../?autoview=SKU

I looked at 5 to 10 and saw no mention of SPAL in any of the descriptions.

I've ran (knownly) cheap CHEAP knock off fans, and never had a problem with them in many race cars. But then again we don't run the fans for hours on end. Typically they only come on when in the draft.

I'd think that if you have to run you're fan any time you're driving your vehicle, that you should get the cooling system working correctly.

IE: the fan kicks on and off as the temp goes up and comes down, if its set on a temp switch. Or you just turn it on and off as needed.

[hurleygo3]

Originally Posted by laproscopic

Ron Davis

True if price is not a factor.

[camo]

Originally Posted by hurleygo3

True if price is not a factor.

Just order it with the cheap knock off fan

[jeep937]

This is nuts for a company like Griffin to get caught up in.. I run GM LS1 LT1 Fans and just love the old GM reliability..

[GMGuy]

Originally Posted by whypave

What I don't understand is how are those other fans supposed to be setup in the applications they are for? The way your fan melted down says to me that going to a 50 or even 60 amp wiring setup wouldn't have fixed anything. So saying that this fan is used in another application really doesn't make sense to me. Where would you have an application where you want your fan to melt down and potentially catch your vehicle on fire?

Different voltage rating, somebody probably figured that they looked the same, so they must be the same and hey! Its cheaper--I'm getting a bonus!

What bothers me, and not just this incident, but industry in general, is the way everything is repackaged without any real regard to what is going into that package.

Alex.

[leeman1790]

I would of gone to a parts store for a cheapy after that 2nd fan died and worried about getting it replaced after the trip.

[Mh4Runner]

Originally Posted by Griffin Radiator

The fans in question were not in the appropriate manufacturing position which caused the inaccurate fulfillment of an order.

Nice wording guys.

[RubiconJeepGuy]

Originally Posted by leeman1790

I would of gone to a parts store for a cheapy after that 2nd fan died and worried about getting it replaced after the trip.

I tried that. Couldn't find one on the Western slopes.

[TheRevolution]

holy crap this is suprising!

[keller]

I am really surprised you let a fan ruin your big trip.


Go to random junk yard. Grab fan. Zipidy do da that bitch on there and keep wheelin.




And that pretty fucked up on Griffins part.

[xj9140]

This is why I like a mechanical fan.

[keller]

Originally Posted by xj9140

This is why I like a mechanical fan.

Kinda funny (too me anyway) that you brought this up.



I watched 2 radiators get taken out by mechanical fans in the last week.