A disappointment, and a warning

First Id like to say that this is not at offense to anyone who purchases from midwest or anything like that, I am just giving a warning about the merchandise this company sells. I have noticed that several things I purchased from midwest tends to be dented and dinged to hell. For example i purchased the dual kegging system from them, both my kegs had dents all over them one was dented where the input of the gas was. With the regulators that came with the system, they were very unreliable and annoying to adjust since it would sometimes just go up by itself. This caused over carbing to my beer, I called and they admitted it was the pin valve that was not working properly. So after i got that situation handled I posted a review of the kit and it has yet to be posted up on the sight after 2 weeks from when i put my review up. I dont care about what they sent to me any more I ordered a new regulator from beverage factory(hopefully it will work better, its the best one they have/the premium dual reg) But I just want to give people warning of some of the stuff they sell. Buy new if you actually decide to purchase from them..

Sounds like you ordered used kegs and got used kegs. They replaced a faulty part. Situation resolved.

I may have been hasty in closing your thread. In the interest of gathering all the facts rather than making a snap judgment, I'll leave it open for now.

Yeah, unless you shelled out for brand new kegs, it's perfectly normal for them to show up all dented to hell. It says right in the description that they're reconditioned kegs. Then it sounds like they did the right thing about the regulator and fixed the situation.

It does sound like you ordered/got used kegs. They did fix your regulator issue. I've used them in the past...no issue. There are plenty of other online companies...order from a few, stick with your favorites...that's what our capitalist society is all about! Cheers.

Yes indeed they did everything to help, this was my first reconditioned keg purchase, I just wasn't expecting the kegs to be like that, definitely will remember that for my future purchases, for now I'm going to change all the parts and the o-rings, re-lube it and it should be good to go

Cheers

i'll echo everyone else - used kegs are often heavily used - these things have been slung around stores, warehouses and trucks most of their life - they can range from great to rough, with shortages great will be harder and harder to get. but when you get a 4-pack for a hundred something, the price of one brand new keg, it puts it into perspective. soaking the kegs in PBW in the bathtub and taking some bartenders friend to the outside finish often cleans them up pretty nice.

regulators, especially the budget-priced ones, can be very hit or miss in my experience - i only buy the micromatic premium series regulators - they have not failed me yet - economy type regulators i can't give the same endorsement.

I also bet the christmas rush has put reviewing and posting customer comments at the bottom of their priority list (or at least low).

I got the keg system from them too. Both regulators had to be replaced. I wrote that in a review and it didn't get posted. The reviews are one sided and worthless.

The replacements have been good for close to a year now. I knew it was a cheapo before I bought it. If they posted all the negative reviews on these cheap regulators they would sell less kits. If they put in quality regulators the price would have to be higher and they would sell less kits. They should just not post any reviews.

My friend got me a gift card from Midwest Supplies for Christmas. It showed up on his credit card statement as a charge from MIDWEST HYDROPONICS. His wife saw it and got PISSED because hydroponic charges were showing up on his card and he had no explanation why.

Dogphish said:

My friend got me a gift card from Midwest Supplies for Christmas. It showed up on his credit card statement as a charge from MIDWEST HYDROPONICS. His wife saw it and got PISSED because hydroponic charges were showing up on his card and he had no explanation why.

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Maybe your buddy should have told his wife that he was getting you a gift card for Christmas.

Dogphish said:

My friend got me a gift card from Midwest Supplies for Christmas. It showed up on his credit card statement as a charge from MIDWEST HYDROPONICS. His wife saw it and got PISSED because hydroponic charges were showing up on his card and he had no explanation why.

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That is actually kind of funny....

Dogphish said:

My friend got me a gift card from Midwest Supplies for Christmas. It showed up on his credit card statement as a charge from MIDWEST HYDROPONICS. His wife saw it and got PISSED because hydroponic charges were showing up on his card and he had no explanation why.

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Wow. I'm confused here. What exactly is wrong with hydroponic charges that would cause anger? Maybe I'm a bit desensitized since my little town of 7,500 people has four dedicated hydroponic stores. Is she afraid it will be construed as something to do with cannabis?

ricand said:

wow. I'm confused here. What exactly is wrong with hydroponic charges that would cause anger? Maybe i'm a bit desensitized since my little town of 7,500 people has four dedicated hydroponic stores. Is she afraid it will be construed as something to do with cannabis?

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+1

JasonInBTR said:

That is actually kind of funny....

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I noticed that on my last order as well. I looked at the statement and said WTF? I thought it was a bogus charge at first. LOL

the point of the story was: you order beer supplies and it shows up on your credit card statement as hydroponics?

the wife asked him why there were hydroponics being charged to the card, and he had no answer. so, she naturally though it was some kind of conspiracy until he figured out it was the home brew gift card. she knew he got me a gift card, but none of us knew it would go on his record as "hydroponics".

I will jump in here and take my beating with the OP for saying something against midwest. I ordered a kit from them that arrived at the house as a box full of grains. The bag broke they replaced it but the planned brew day was lost.

Yes they fixed the problem and I appreciated it, I am trying new stores out now not just because of that incident but it was an excuse to shop around.

jpc said:

Sounds to me like your friend's wife is an over-controlling biotch, and your friend is a pvssy-whipped idiot. Why should he have to explain a charge on HIS card?

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that is a bit harsh.

It's already been said but I'll +1 it lol.

Used kegs are a crap shoot. I've gotten some that are as good as new but a little dirtier than new and I've gotten some that are dented to crap. They are guaranteed to hold pressure and be functional.

The keg thing is not a problem with Midwest. Used kegs are used kegs. This is the same for any retailers selling them. Take it for what it is or shell out some serious dough for new cornies (not worth it IMO).

I ordered a reg and co2 tank got a reg and a corny called them , said keep corny and co2 tank arrived 2 days later . Problem solved an a extra corny . Used kegs usually look like crap but if they function all that matters to me , Why they sell replacement parts.

It never fails to amaze me when people expect a business to be perfect. Nobody is perfect. The sign of a good business is when they promptly and adequately fix their mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes, even if you like to pretend you don't.

One of my carboys came permanently dented. I contacted them and they sent a brand new one to me FREE of any charges. They didn't even ask me to return it or anything. I was very impressed with their service.

sasjodi said:

First Id like to say that this is not at offense to anyone who purchases from midwest or anything like that, I am just giving a warning about the merchandise this company sells. I have noticed that several things I purchased from midwest tends to be dented and dinged to hell. For example i purchased the dual kegging system from them, both my kegs had dents all over them one was dented where the input of the gas was. With the regulators that came with the system, they were very unreliable and annoying to adjust since it would sometimes just go up by itself. This caused over carbing to my beer, I called and they admitted it was the pin valve that was not working properly. So after i got that situation handled...

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I guess the difference between you and me is that I would expect the things you experienced. I guess it might be a surprise if you aren't familiar with the cost of new cornies or a high quality gas regulator. If homebrew shops are going to sell kegging kits for $175, I'm expecting to get low end stuff. If you want to pay $300+ for a new keg, tank and quality regulator, be my guest.

I think it's funny that you say they 'admitted' it was the pin valve, like it was some admission of guilt that they knew they sold you something faulty . C'mon, that's ridiculous. You had a problem with a product, you called the supplier and they were knowledgeable enough to know what the problem was without even inspecting the product, then they replaced it (free of charge, I assume). Sounds like good customer service.

Complaining about a reconditioned keg being dented is like complaining that water is wet.

IceFisherChris said:

One of my carboys came permanently dented. I contacted them and they sent a brand new one to me FREE of any charges. They didn't even ask me to return it or anything. I was very impressed with their service.

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I hope it was a Better Bottle, otherwise I'm pretty freaking confused.

JKorovos, it was not about anything like that, Ive had suppliers sit and deny everything that goes wrong with products they supply, I may have stated it in the wrong way but I meant it in a good way as in they agreed that it was defective, I wasnt at all expecting that after having the device for over 2 months..I just was overall disappointed at the condition of the kegs but it is what it is and it is a used keg that has been through hell and back and it is going to have dings

If the keg holds liquid and pressure, be glad you have one. If the regulator doesn't work, try paying the price for quality equipment.
To All:
Cheap stuff isn't good and good stuff isn't cheap.
If you order product and it arrives damaged don't be a ********* and blame it on the shipper then bad mouth them.
If a company solves the problem, don't be a ********* and bad mouth them. They are getting screwed in the deal too.

Much time is spent on how a company must behave or people run around yelling about how bad they are.
Most people need to spend as much time focusing on how to be a good customer.

This whole thing is like going to a restaurant for the first time, not liking the fish, then telling people how bad the food was at the place even though they comped the meal for you.

Would you order that fish again even if they comped it for you, although it was awful? No obviously not, I never said anything about shipping, nor did I see it as the shippers fault or anyone's at this point, I had the reg for some time before it went out.. meaning ups had nothing to do with it. I do agree though cheap stuff is going to be cheap stuff and again after saying it so many times , I am new to kegging, I have only been doing it it for a couple of months. The prices are still a little new, just got to give it some adjustments

Cheers

Obviously I wouldn't order the fish again, I'd order something else. The point was that there are people who will judge a place on a single incident. The guy who hates the fish and decides he won't go back will never get a chance to enjoy the best steak of his life.

You sound like you are a new brewer. Welcome to the club. As a word of advice, it is generally a better idea to call Midwest directly to voice your complaints. They can fix the problem for you and hopefully earn your repeated business.

Starting a thread of this nature on a very popular forum, about Midwest, a well-known and reputable vendor, is bound to cause a lot or arguments and bad feelings all around. Besides that, it won't do anything to resolve your issue.

Plenty of people get the kits you are talking about and have no problems. I have the same regulator as you. It works great. Maybe you should start a thread to make sure you are using it correctly. Maybe you did get a bad one. But for such a cheap part, they likely would have sent you another free of charge.

Mike thanks for the welcome, I'm still a little new to kegging and I am on my 8th batch of all grain which has been like heaven ever since I started. I wasnt expecting so many people replying but I am happy people gave their input, it actually changed my view also. I wish i could say that the regs are really good quality but the reality is that they are not, they are not built to last to long, you have to come out of the pocket and spend a little more money to get quality. NorthernLad can we get some of that steak it sounds delicious I get what your saying about your metaphor,sounds good. I will keep trying more vendors and see how it goes, midwest has been pretty good..

sasjodi said:

With the regulators that came with the system, they were very unreliable and annoying to adjust since it would sometimes just go up by itself. This caused over carbing to my beer, I called and they admitted it was the pin valve that was not working properly.

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So can I assume the dual regulator you sold me, which you said was "practically new" from Midwest is one of these faulty ones?

If so, did you test them for continued faultiness before selling them?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/dual-co2-regulators-212443/

It was tested and the pin was replaced BrewCampbell no worries

sasjodi said:

It was tested and the pin was replaced BrewCampbell no worries

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awesome, thanks.

I'm confused about the sold regulator. Is that the same regulator that you are complaining about?

Really, I just wanted to say that I have used Midwest for years for both equipment and supplies. They have always been great. Only once did I have a problem and they fixed it immediately and free of charge. They even asked when I was brewing and overnighted it so I wouldn't miss my brew day.

By the way, they also sell hydroponic supplies that's why it says hydroponic on your statement. I'm sure you already know that but just in case others didn't.

As was said before, no one is perfect.

Midwest has been great for me. I bought (probably) the same budget kegging setup the OP did. Sure, the pressure creeps a little bit. The regs will probably be relegated to a mobile keg setup eventually. Most importantly, they were cheap...and Midwest stood behind them.

I ordered a second regulator from them. SWMBO stopped in their store to pick up the nipple I needed and I spent 10 minutes on the phone with one of the floor guys, eventually realizing I had purchased the wrong regulator. Next time I was in the store, they exchanged the reg, got me the correct nipple and took me to the back of the store to put it together and leak test it for me. In the process, (somehow) one of the regulators died during assembly. They grabbed another one off the shelf, no questions asked, and put it together for me.

So far the only complaints I have of Midwest:
If you're in the store, it's hard to talk to someone because they're always so busy.
The crush on their big mill is a bit coarse for my liking.
It's tough to find stuff in a store when you don't have a search bar walking around with you.

Other than that, I wish more of my shopping experiences were like the ones I have with Midwest.

You can always adjust the mill yourself ya know

I get a bit frustrated when I am waiting for someone to get me the ingredients list for all grain kits. But getting my own grain is so fun.

I've been ordering from Midwest since I started brewing a few years ago - never had anything other than good experiences. I will echo what others have said that good stuff costs money.

I can do good, cheap and fast - pick 2.