Looks like Pioneer Breaker is still cheating us

I wish I'd seen the threads about Pioneer Breaker (eBay name electrical_parts) before I placed an order with them. I ordered three contactors that were clearly advertised as 120v coils, but they appear to have sent me 24v coils.

The sticker on the contactors that lists the specs has the "24v" blacked out with Sharpie.

The boxes that they came in have stickers that say "120v coil but they are stuck directly OVER original labels that say "24v." You can see the label that I removed and stuck to the front of the box in the picture below, and the original label that was under it.

Without knowing the actual rating of the coil, I can't tell if they have already swapped out the coil for a 120v coil (and put them in relabeled boxes) or if it's just mislabeled. The seller is working with me to resolve the issue, so I want to give them the benefit of the doubt (hence the heavy editing of this post).

Duly noted. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm going to backpedal a bit on this and maybe give the seller the benefit of the doubt. I think the argument is that they already swapped the 24v coil for a 120v coil, but there are no markings on the coil itself (which is removable) and without having any reference on which to measure resistance or anything I can't tell if the coil is 24v or 120v.

So, MAYBE I got the 120v coils I ordered, but there's no real way to know other than the sticker on the box. OP edited.

If it's a 24V coil and you energize it with 120 the result may not be desirable but if it is a 120V coil and you energize it with 24V it will probably chatter and not close properly. I suggest you try that. You can get a door bell transformer at any hardware store.

I don't think that I would do business with this company. read this, http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1112/111208jacksonville.htm of course the picture included with the article is wrong, but you get the idea.

Is the company still owned by him?

If you purchased this on eBay, I would send them an email and complain that the description was incorrect as it did not say that it was mislabeled, and maybe even paypal. I, personally, would test it before using. I don't mess around with electricity.

And just for fun:

I remember someone coming on here saying that they (pioneer breaker, aka electrical_parts) had cleaned up their act and that they were under new management (although still owned by the same scum bag).

Honestly I don't think there's any reason to give them another chance. Their actions were deliberate. They were ripping people off and selling potentially unsafe electrical equipment. Let the company die.

Then burn it with fire...and then burn the ashes.

I would just return it and not bother testing. Contact PayPal and get your money back. Whether it was a mislabel or its the wrong part is not something that I would entertain. Was it supposed to be new? If so why is it in there wrong box? Like I said, I wouldn't bother, I'd end up being all paranoid whenever it came time to use it.

jaydlaw said:

I would just return it and not bother testing. Contact PayPal and get your money back. Whether it was a mislabel or its the wrong part is not something that I would entertain. Was it supposed to be new? If so why is it in there wrong box? Like I said, I wouldn't bother, I'd end up being all paranoid whenever it came time to use it.

Click to expand...

There's always the possibility that it was all in my head. Maybe it was really swapped for a 120v coil and put in a box that labeled it as such, and that's why the 24v was blacked out and the old label was covered. There's no markings to say it is, but that's not proof that it isn't.

I have new contactors on the way and our dispute has been resolved so I'm happy.

I just bought three of these from another forum member and was a little worried when I saw this thread last night. Two of my contractors have the 24V marked out with a magic marker, but the third one still shows 24V on the lable. All three have coils that are labeled 120V. So, today I tried them with 24 volts - nothing. With 120V the contractors clicked - no smoke, no sparks and no drama. So, I'm good at least.

audiophool said:

I just bought three of these from another forum member and was a little worried when I saw this thread last night. Two of my contractors have the 24V marked out with a magic marker, but the third one still shows 24V on the lable. All three have coils that are labeled 120V. So, today I tried them with 24 volts - nothing. With 120V the contractors clicked - no smoke, no sparks and no drama. So, I'm good at least.

Click to expand...

My coils had no label at all that I could find.