Quote:
Originally Posted by bgurden
i definitely looked at the regalia. it came down to the regalia and the m-15. i could not justify the extra cost for myself. lampworking is not my fulltime job. i do work in the medical profession and am not naive in regards to the concentrators. i spoke to friends who are respiratory therapists before i bought a refurbished machine. they explained to me that these machines were built to last and be durable. cant have a concentrator fail with a pt that needs 02 right? my post was not intended to slam the regalia nor its distributor at all and i apologize if you were offended.
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Apology accepted. And please accept my apologies if I have offended you.
It has not been my intent to "slam" the competition, either. My intent all along has been to raise awareness and educate people about lampwork set-ups. What you just posted here is actually part of why there is a need for it. It appears that you are under the impression that either the M-15 is simply a reconditioned medical unit
or that something, even when grossly modified, always retains the original integrity built into it by the original manufacturer. The part I'm getting this from is, "they explained to me that these machines were built to last and be durable. cant have a concentrator fail with a pt that needs 02 right?"
Concentrators do have to be durable, and, as in most things in life, some brands tend to outlast others. Machines can be reconitioned to perform like new, but even so, they are not new and not all machines are reconditioned to the point where they are again acceptable for medical use. Once something has been
modified, however, it no longer has the same integrity (for lack of a better word) that the original manufacturer built into it.
I am going to try to say the following as best I can - just keeping to facts of the matter, not opinion. The M-15 is not simply a reconditioned medical unit. It once was a medical unit, and I think that the base unit it is built on is relevant, but regardless, it has been modified to do things that the original manufacturer never intended for it to do.
As with all things, there are benfits and limitations and this is no exception. I feel that as long as people understand what they are really getting and what they can realistically expect, that their decision is based at least in part on solid information and facts rather than just emotion, then I feel that they have made an educated decision. And that is good! Even if that decision does not benefit me financially, it still benefits me because it is benefitting my community - people are thinking and are educating themselves.
There is a difference in quality and integrity between machines - between the Regalia and the M-15, between the M-15 and the unmodified reconditioned units, between the Regalia and the unmodified reconditioned units, and even among the various unmodified reconditioned units, themselves and between the various other new machines out there. There are differences and I believe that it benefits the concentrator-interested members of the lampworking community to be aware and to be educated on the various aspects of their choices. There are also going to be differences in how the various machines perform under various conditions and usage. Further, what is satisfactory to one user may not be satisfactory to another. Of course the personal satisfaction testimonial is part of the picture, but it should not be the sole factor when rendering a decision. Scientific data, data that can be measured/verified by anyone with the right tools, is an objective way to measure performance. Data is data, regardless of who collects it. This is why I started my analyzer project and why I am not measuring all the machines, myself.
There will always be people who will buy equipment based on quality and work around the cost. There will always be people who will buy equipment based on cost and work around the quality. That's just a fact of life and I try to help people with their decisions based on their needs and philosophy every day. I don't promote one philosophy over the other.
ETA: Just to clarify, I do have a preference in philosposhies, but when someone tells me their needs and their situation, I work with them and don't push one philosophy over the other.
I really do hope that you are happy with your purchase (it sounds like you are) and go on to make some really great glass and have fun for a very long time without any problems whatsoever with your equipment.