That cheap pulley I bought off Amazon cost me double in the end

I needed a new sheave for a freight elevator last month and figured I'd save $50 by going with a no-name brand off Amazon instead of the usual supplier. It was $65 delivered and looked fine out of the box. Got it installed, ran the car up and down maybe 20 times, and the thing started wobbling like crazy. Had to pull order a proper one from the local supply house for $120 and eat a whole afternoon of labor replacing it again. Anyone else ever get burned by going the cheap route on a critical part?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabeththomas22d ago

Oh come on. A sheave wobbling after 20 cycles? That's not a cheap part thing, that's a you installed it wrong thing. I've thrown no-name pulleys on all kinds of stuff at my shop and never had a single wobble. You probably just didn't torque the bolts right or the shaft is bent slightly. If you're running a freight elevator, that's a different beast I guess, but for most normal uses, cheap parts hold up fine if you know what you're doing. People blame the part too quick when it's usually user error.

maxpalmer21d ago

Man, it's funny you mention that. I got a buddy who rebuilt an old wood splitter and he was bragging about how he used some cheap bearings he found online. First time he fired it up, the whole pulley assembly started walking down the shaft like it was trying to run away. He swore up and down it was a bad part, but I walked over and saw he hadn't even put a key in the keyway. Just tightened the set screw and called it good. Some folks just get in a hurry and then want to blame the hardware store.