Big thumbs up to Coleman

Submitted: Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 16:32
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I would just like to let everyone know of the great service we received from Coleman on Friday. We were camping at Shallow Crossing and had taken our new Coleman Hot Water on Demand unit to use for showering and washing up etc...... We had followed all the instructions before leaving home and had purchased all genuine accessories to use with the unit. We arrived at camp on Thursday afternoon and during the early evening had used the unit a couple of times for cuppa's etc.. Come night fall we wanted hot water but the unit wouldn't ignite. We had spark, but it just wouldn't kick over, so hubbie unhooked the gas bottle and tried it on a Coleman canister. Still no luck. So he tried it on the other Coleman canister, again no luck. So that night I had to boil water in the wok over a portable cooker. The next morning we decided to kick the generator over to see if the battery in the unit needed charging. We let it get back to full charge but still no joy. By now I was getting a little stressed as I wanted a hot shower. As we had no phone service hubbie drove the 13km's back to the highway and then another few more km's until he could get mobile service. He rang the bloke we bought it new from who passed on the name of his rep at Coleman, hubbie rang him and the guy at Coleman sent hubbie into Ulladulla where the Coleman rep had rang ahead and organised a new unit for us. They also organised for us to keep the charged battery out of the old unit and the new battery.
In all it was a 85km round trip, but I think the customer service from Coleman was outstanding. Ahhh and the joy of a hot shower later that day - priceless!
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Reply By: Goldfind (Dunsborough) - Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 16:38

Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 16:38
Hi Flashcher,

Yes we also have a Coleman that we use only for hot showers when in the bush. I have had the same problem on the odd occasion and it seems to be to do with keeping the internal battery fully charged. I now carry a spare 12 volt car battery and leave it alongside the Coleman, so I can just plug it in and keep it charged. I've had no problems since then.

Regards Wayne .H
AnswerID: 409923

Reply By: Cruiser .- Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 16:39

Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 16:39
flasher,

Good stuff.

We need to hear more of sort of thing.

Its about time more businesses gave good service rather than the bad service that seems to be around these days.

Cheers,

Cruiser
AnswerID: 409924

Reply By: ljsroslyn - Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 17:52

Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 17:52
I have to second the good service from Coleman. Mid last year whilst on a 5 week trip our five year old Coleman refused to work no matter what we did. On returning home we returned it to the salesman who had moved jobs in the meantime, knew how long we had had it for, said it was still under warranty and if we could find the receipt it would be replaced. A mad scramble through our filing system produced the receipt and husband came home with a brand new unit. Needless to say we were extremely happy with the outcome
AnswerID: 409933

Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:08

Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:08
Good result flashcher.

I too have a Coleman shower unit, but it is a $30 battery operated unit with an immersible pump.
You heat the water in a kettle or billy on the camp fire, add to a bucket until you have the right temperature and proceed to shower.

Not quite as quick as the "Hot water on Demand" but a lot less stressful methinks.

We could not justify the cost of the smicky unit but I'm sure you will receive great service from it all the same.

Coleman have some great products.

Bill.

Bill


I'm diagonally parked in a parallel Universe!

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AnswerID: 409950

Reply By: Crackles - Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:19

Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:19
Coleman certainly need to keep up the excellent after sales service with these hot water systems until they iron the bugs out as they seem to be developing a reputation for failing a little too often. When the Coleman rep came to our club to showcase the units he burnt himself when the shower temp wouldn't drop, couldn't get the pump to work then on one he couldn't even get it to ignite. Needless to say he took them all home.
I buy quite a bit of Coleman gear but doubt that this water unit is living up to their normally high quality. I'll continue to heat my water up on one of their unleaded stoves :-)
Cheers Craig.............
AnswerID: 409953

Reply By: OREJAP - Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:19

Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:19
I posted on this site about Coleman HWOD system & can also vouch for their great service. Bought our Coleman with all the accessories and away we went camping. Started & used the unit 4 times & had the same experience as you Flashcher. Changed the gas bottles etc NO GO. When we arrived home I phoned Coleman & was told by a young lady to take it back to where we bought it from & exchange it for a new one. I asked her if there were problems with these units as per ignition or what? She didn't know but Coleman warranty covers replacement for new. Exchanged the Coleman & followed the instructions charging the battery for 12 hours before leaving to go camping....so away we go at the campsite everthing going well until time for SWMBO shower & yep you guessed it Coleman won't ignite No hot water. I tried all the gas bottles I could find & still no go. Recharged the battery over night & Coleman worked for a few times & then No Go!!! Thinking battery must be cactus I packed it up & went home. S/T the young lady at Coleman (again) & this time I asked to speak with a technician...I told him what the problem was & how I sort of fixed it & our preperation in charging the battery as per the instructions. He told me "There lies the problem. The instructions are wrong. You must charge the battery for at least 24 hours prior to using" This I did & never a problem I even purchased a second battery and if ever the Coleman wouldn't ignite...check the Gas & then just changed the battery it would then start first time every time. The only problem with the Coleman is you must charge the battery via the actual unit. I take an old 12 volt Lantern with the same rechargiong system as the Coleman so I just recharge the flat battery via an inverter for 24 hrs. Coleman certainly have great after sales service.
AnswerID: 409954

Reply By: Member - Flynnie (NSW) - Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:51

Monday, Mar 22, 2010 at 20:51
My unit failed last year. Coleman replaced it after the trip I was on and the new one has so far worked well. My faith in them was rather battered when I was talking to the shop keeper in a camping store at Emerald about what alternatives did they have and another person came in and said hers had just died.

The after sales support is the best I have encountered. However I would like to think that the bugs have been ironed out in the current units but I have doubts.

Doubt I will take it away on long trips again.

Flynnie
AnswerID: 409958

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