Is IFHS sphere shop open at the moment?

[sonoramicommando]

I've been trying to get hold of them over the past couple of weeks but no response.
Cheers
Sam

[sonoramicommando]

No one?
FYI I just bought a shipset of spheres and some of them came with defects and wanted to discuss the matter but they don't seem too keen to talk.

[elma]

Thats quite worrying, if ifhs are going downhill theres no quality spheres left.

[sonoramicommando]

Some of the spheres came with nicks on the fitting lip, I wasn't worried about them. One though came with the lip deformed, almost as if it was dropped. I couldn't find any cracks under magnifying glass so I put that in as well but can't say I am happy with what I got.
What gets me more is the fact that they haven't responded to my emails - which got me asking whether they are on holiday or temporarily shut at the moment.

[white exec]

Do we know anything about the origin/quality of Tecnosir's spheres?
http://www.tecnosir.com/ammortizzatori_ ... matici.php
These are the folk that produce the C720 re-gassing kit.

Important that we have a source of high-quality spheres, in addition to Citroen.

[ekjdm14]

Some of the spheres came with nicks on the fitting lip, I wasn't worried about them. One though came with the lip deformed, almost as if it was dropped. I couldn't find any cracks under magnifying glass so I put that in as well but can't say I am happy with what I got.
What gets me more is the fact that they haven't responded to my emails - which got me asking whether they are on holiday or temporarily shut at the moment.

That is a bit worrying, what carrier were they sent by? I've had some delivered by DHL that looked as if they'd been used in a frenetic game of Boules, plenty of thread filing needed on one.

[white exec]

Don't these pattern spheres come boxed, with thread protectors? Or is that just the genuine Citroen ones?

[Mandrake]

The IFHS sphere's I've bought (most recently 3 years ago though) have come with caps over the threads, yes.

I've also seen problems though - one sphere I bought for my previous Xantia had a poor weld around the neck of the sphere so that a bump of weld was sticking out enough to foul the top of the cylinder when screwing it on... I had to file it back before I could use it...

[elma]

I'm yet to have a bad sphere from ifhs which is why i have recommended them for some years. I'm concerned though, I was planning on swapping £250 with them for some spheres in the near future.
I may well reconsider keeping the Xantia if this is how things are going. I'll still finish restoring it but then I'll sell and get a camper van. I wanted the Xantia and a motorhome but I'm thinking even though the car has 10yrs plus left in it whats the point if you can't obtain basic service items.

[CitroJim]

The potential answer to your dilemma James is to invest in a re-gassing kit... Something like the Technosir kit Chris has mentioned above...

Maybe make it a group investment to spread the cost...

[Mandrake]

I may well reconsider keeping the Xantia if this is how things are going. I'll still finish restoring it but then I'll sell and get a camper van. I wanted the Xantia and a motorhome but I'm thinking even though the car has 10yrs plus left in it whats the point if you can't obtain basic service items.

Don't let a few dodgy spheres put you off elma.

They only need replacing about every 4 years - mine are due to possibly be replaced again next year (they're 3 years old now, but the ride is still very good so I'm not sure if they will need replacing that soon!) so the next set of spheres I fit will probably see out the remaining useful life of the car!

I very much doubt you'll get another 10 years out of a 20 year old Xantia V6 as a daily driver. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of mine, but largely because it's now my second car with a ridiculously low yearly mileage thanks to the Ion doing the daily driver duties. The Xantia will remain for long trips, large loads and fun.

[CitroJim]

The Xantia will remain for long trips, large loads and fun.

Precisely why I have a 207. That's for the daily grind, Gabriel is for long trips and the Activa is strictly rallies and fun...

[elma]

The spheres aren't to blame, it's just the final straw. The heater elbow is a joke, £125 for a wrong but genuine one or £25 for a LHD one from Poland that probably won't fit. Then theres the coolant bottle, swirl tank, air box pipework, drop links and the list goes on.

I've had it with Citroen, I was about to spend about £1000 over a few months to have a car that will never be worth over £500, it's a terrible waste of my very meagre resources. Even doing the bare minimum to sell it on as a safe useable car will cost more than I can expect to sell it for. I've already spent enough last month on it to buy a cheap runabout and I'd be spending enough for another 2 this month, it's ludicrous. I do Love the car but it needs an owner with triple my income minimum.

I need to do some maths as it's either being sold as it is or it's getting stripped for parts and scrapped if it turns out to be better for my wallet. I'm beyond caring now, I can't afford to spend the money this car needs to get what I want from it. Previously I tolerated it but now I need to think about sorting out debts and earning more money, not spending it on a car. It did put a brief smile on my face but now we are done.

[sonoramicommando]

The package came via La Poste.
The spheres came in individual box with the protective cap - the thing is, the one with the deformed lip didn't have any damage on the protective cap, so I presume it was damaged prior to packaging and slipped through QC.
The box of shipset spheres were reasonably well packaged but I would have put more packaging material at the top and bottom of the box.
I do have issue with the way individual box is packaged, as the seal sits in its position with the protective cap on AND the fitting side pointing down, which pinched and deformed a number of seals due to weight of the sphere, either in transit or in storage. I had to fork out for genuine Citroen items for them.
Again, unable to communicate the issue with them grinds my gear the most - I was led to believe they have a good reputation, and hoping they are not responding not because they don't want to reimburse.
Cheers
Sam

[Hell Razor5543]

I have used AEP Direct in the past, and they supplied IFHS spheres. I have just checked, and the AEP Direct website is up and running;

http://www.aepdirect.com/