GetOffYourGas said:
WetEV said:
GetOffYourGas said:
Lol!
I was referring to slightly more modern technologies, though. Like space travel, supercomputers, and airplanes. Also, I was very careful to say "most" and not "all".
So, nice try. It was amusing though.
Taking a long view, China has been the most technologically advanced country most of the time.
Sometime around 1400AD, Europe started a technology explosion that China didn't match.
China was farming with iron plows when Europe and the rest of the world was pushing sticks into the ground. China was still farming with iron plows when much of the world was farming with tractors.
The future? Humility is a virtue. Hubris isn't.
Fair enough. And the opposite of Humility isn't actually Hubris - it's simply Pride. Good ol' 'merican pride. You wouldn't think it's a vice in our modern society, though.
These things have a cycle to them: American stuff, initially quite good (Like Detroit Switch and Fuse, i.e. 'Square-D) 100 years ago, lately has gotten to be suspect. If you go to the 'Big Box' stores you'll see plastered over the Square-D QO (at one time the most POPULAR breaker around, being basically the same since 1955) "THE WORLD'S FINEST!". I question that claim. I had a 1970 vintage QO 6 circuit, 100 ampere panel blow out its welded neutral bar, on a 50 ampere, 120Vee/208 3 wire feed (where the neutral current is admittedly 100% of the leg current). In other words the thing couldn't even take 1/2 of its rated capacity. They sell essentially the same thing today at HD and Lowe's, the door-less models. You might as well save money and get the so-so HOMELINE stuff since its the exact same parts internally, and priced at less than 2/3 of the QO stuff.
My Schneider (aka Square-D) 7 1/2 year old 30 ampere wall box is essentially the same thing they sell today, without the holster for the cord. But I had to use Box Lugs to keep the thing from overheating.
The Chinese stuff, and the homemade one, as I say run stone cold.
Whereas, a drill press my dad bought from China 15 years ago had a stuck centrifugal switch that you had to hit the side of the motor with a hammer to get it to release the 'start' winding so the motor wouldn't burn up. It worked ok but you shouldn't have to put up with that. Also, another 'Sears' China Junk Drill Press had its cheap permanent-split capacitor fail within 2 weeks of purchase. I got sick of the junk and put an expensive oil capacitor in it, and its been fine ever since.
But lately, just as Japan's Sony and Korea's LG started producing quality products during the later 60's, so the stuff from China seems to be 'maturing' - the 3 horsepower Harbor "Junk" tools 3500 RPM motor I put on an engine-less 2 stage snowblower really shined this last winter, allowing operation up to 250% (around 7 1/2 hp developed) - and when doing the conversion I "THOUGHT" I had under-powered the Snow Blower since it originally had a 7 hp engine on it - the very HEAVY wet snow we received in April bogged down ALL the other snow blowers on the street, whereas mine just kept barreling through it, although I could tell the motor was really working.
My point is that the typical "Chinese Junk" has matured to the stage, (like Japan 50 years ago), that some of the stuff is actually getting pretty good. The doubly priced 'Marathon' (another historically fine name) Chinese Junk from Tractor Supply is just still junk as the capacitors in the motors are no good.
