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List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $499.99
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It was 'ignaugurated' at a party I hosted, and the 5 gal keg didn't last long! (Of course, it was a good beer...locally brewed Pacific Coast Emerald Ale.)
Be prepared: After it's set up and you've had people over, you're going to be QUITE popular! Expect comments like "I'm going to be over at your place every afternoon." Haier America should realize their best marketing ploy is satisfied customers. I've had it two weeks and Haier may be selling 3 additional units soon.
OK, so what about the product rating, especially in light of all the negative comments provided earlier? Well, here's my take on it:
Set up was fairly simple, if you discount the fact that one part was missing (see below).
Quality seems to be adequate. They use quality parts, e.g., the CO2 regulator and dispensing valve.
It's keeping my second (post party) keg perfectly chilled and pressurized. (Since the first keg only lasted several hours, we can't base much judgement on that.)
It's wonderful to come home to a fresh, draft beer!
Finding a place to refill the CO2 canister can be difficult. Most commercial places will only exchange (take your brand new canister and give you a used, filled canister). I finally found a fire extinguisher service that does refills after making MANY calls.
Does this make it perfect? Hardly.
My experience confirms that Haier America has poor customer service. I purcased the unit a week in advance of a party I was hosting. After getting it home and setting it up, I realized (according to the manual) that it was missing the washer that goes between the CO2 tank and the regulator. I called Haier customer service the following morning and was shocked by how they treated me. The basic tone of their response was "tough luck." I would have to follow their procedures which were: 1) fax or send via US mail my purchase receipt 2) Allow them two business days from their receipt of this to get back to me 3) After doing a 'confirmation' they would send me the washer within two weeks.
I was irate and told them so! I had purchased the unit specifically for my upcoming party and now would not be able to use it! Their reponse: "These are our procedures."
I did two things after this:
1) I located the manufacturer of the CO2 regulator and contacted them about the possibility of getting a washer. They informed me that the regulator was redesigned and did not need a washer. Haier was supposed to include an update with their user manual (they didn't, and customer service obviously wasn't aware of this change).
2) I located information on Haier America and faxed their CEO an scathing letter telling him what I thought about spending $500 for something and not being able to use it at the function I bought it for! Lo and behold, the next day I received a call from their corporate offices saying they would be overnighting me the missing washer. I explained I had learned it wasn't needed, but the woman calling me wasn't taking any chances. She overnighted it to me anyway. Moral of the story: Make your voice heard when you recieve bad service.
Anyway, my 'washerless' set up is now working fine and I'm loving the unit.
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As the other reviewers have stated, the dispenser freezes in the back and does not thaw, nor does the temperature of the dispenser work correctly, mine runs warm even at the highest setting. Although customer service will document your call in Ottawa, their corporate office in New York will not return my call. The three repair numbers customer service gave me did no good as I was also told by one repair person that Haier does not reimburse the repairs and as a result they will not come out to my home. Customer service told me twice that they have recommended to the corporate office to replace my unit, but of the five to six calls I have placed over the past two months, I have not received any calls that any progress or action will be taken. I have been trying to get my dispenser serviced since September.
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Overall, as far as the product goes, I have to say I'm quite happy with the beer dispenser. No problems with the temperature adjustment (but then, I'm not trying to keep my beer at 34 degrees), it pours nicely, the components seem to be high quality aside from the plastic hose clamps for the CO2 line, but those were easy to replace with metal ones at the hardware store.
However, I have to agree with the other reviewers, Haier's customer service is...challenging. My wife bought me the dispenser for Christmas (that's true love). She had it delivered to a neighbor's house so I wouldn't suspect anything. On December 26, I went to retrieve the box and set it up in my basement. Upon opening the unit, I discovered that a significant number of parts were missing LIKE THE ENTIRE CO2 SYSTEM, TAP, AND KEG CONNECTION. Basically I had a $600 mini-fridge. You'd think someone in shipping might notice that the box was 25 pound light, but, whatever.
I called Haier, and they were fairly helpful at first. They told me I should fax a list of the missing parts along with my proof of purchase, which I did. They then told me it would be a couple days to "validate" my claim, a couple days to process the order, and then two weeks for the parts to arrive. I called back every few days to see how things were going, and it was easy to get a real person on the phone each time, but these people weren't able to offer much information.
Apparently, Haier's parts warehouse is located on the dark side of the moon, because it was impossible for customer service to tell me when or how the parts would be shipping. No way to get a tracking number, no way to know if the parts were in stock, nothing. So, I waited patiently for three weeks. When the parts didn't show up, I called back and, surprise, they couldn't tell me what happened. I talked to a supervisor at Haier, and she told me the same thing. She started to resubmit the order, but several parts were now showing up as backordered on her screen, with no ETA available.
At this point, I was done with Haier. I called Amazon and explained my situation, and I said I wanted to get an exchange or a refund. At first, I was told to "contact the manufacturer." When I explained that I'd been doing that for the past month with no luck, they agreed to exchange it, no problem. They also said I wasn't the only one this happened to. Within two days, a replacement was on its way, and I had a tracking number. Thank you, Amazon.
So, I didn't have tap beer for Christmas, or New Year's, or my birthday, but I've got it for the Super Bowl, and it's good.
Honest reviews on Haier HBF05EBSS Draft Beer Dispenser
The place I get my kegs from gave me the right washer so I have not had any problems on that side whatsoever.
This was an impulse buy for me. Sure I did some research then one Saturday I was having a party and went and picked this up at the local Brandsmart. Beer would come out cold, not as cold as I'd like but not too warm. One thing I learned right away, you have to let the keg sit overnight before tapping inside the cooler. I'm new to this, so I did not know the pitfalls of tapping a warm keg. I came on here and read some of the reviews. It was not until about a month later that the temperature issue became a problem. I hesitated but took a previous poster's advice and now the beer is as cold as I like. I recommenc going for a half to 3/4 turn on the screw as opposed to a full one. You dont want the thing to run so much that it burns out. I would find it odd how the cooler would cycle on for about 5 minutes then off for 20. Now its on for 20-30 and off for the same. Nonetheless, my Michelob Light has never tasted better. I have not had to deal with Haier directly and from the looks of it, I hope I wont have to. This unit is a good value. Once you get past the temperature issue, you cant ask for a better deal. Both the tap and faucet are good quality as well as he Co2 tank. I recommend you get a better regulator with the "mickey mouse ears". One to tell you the pressure and the other how much gas is left in the tank. .
Yes I recommend this.
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I purchased this product about a month ago, when Best Buy had it on sale for $499. It was a little bit of an impulse buy, so when I got a chance I jumped online to read some reviews. I was seriously concerned about the negative reviews here and at other sites, which were mainly concerning lack of service from the authorized service centers, but which also seemed to show a pattern where the kegerator would not keep the beer cold enough.
I promised myself that if I was happy with the product after a reasonable amount of time, I would post a review, just to balance things out.
I personally don't keep the beer below 34 degrees. Depending on what point in the cooling cycle the kegerator is, my beer is usually between 34 and 38 degrees. This is plenty cold enough for me but then again, I don't need a nipple for my beer mug. 8-) I have been happy with the cooling ability of the unit.
I'm still concerned that if I have any service issues, there may be a problem, fortunately I purchased the 3 year warranty offered by Best Buy for $24.95. Hopefully, that will allow me to get a replacement unit if I do have any issues.
At the sale price I was able to obtain the unit for, I think this is about the best bang for the buck (unless you make your own) for a kegerator that takes half barrels.
