Customer Reviews

Haier HBF05EBSS Draft Beer Dispenser

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

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.

I have owned this beer dispenser for 11 months. In that time I have had 4 service calls all for the same problem, inability to control the temperature. At first when I got it I could not get the temperature to go below 47 degrees F. A service call was made and the thermostat and the thermocouple were replaced. It worked for about 5 weeks, and then the temperature went back to 47 and stayed there. Another service call and the same solution with the same results. It works for several weeks, and then the temperature starts drifting up. In December yet another service call for the same problem. Again the thermostat and the thermocouple were replaced. That fix lasted about four months. I thought it was finally OK. Well last month (May) it started drifting down. I kept turning the thermostat up, and the temperature kept going down after a few days. It settled at 32 degrees F, and I froze a quarter full keg, and some sodas I had in there. I got another keg and now with the thermostat turned all the way up to warm it stays at 30 degrees F. I have now frozen another keg. Again I have another call into Haier customer service and have asked for a replacement. Again, they said they will send a request to corporate and I will her from them in 72 hours. They said that five months ago I am still waiting. I owned a Danby before this. I set the temperature once and never had a problem. I got the Haier because I wanted a beer dispenser that would hold a half keg and the Danby was only good for quarter kegs. This thing is the pits. Do not buy!

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.

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.

DON'T BUY ONE!!! the worst customer service! they lie to you and tell you everything is going to be fixed. no response back even after about 10 phone calls over 1 month. Doesn't keep beer cold enough. the electrical plug in to the compressor shorted out and would not work, got the run around from haier customer service,(sounded good, don't believe it.)called the new york coporate office got sorry that's the warranty and will have to pay for the service tech. very dissatisfied with the QUOTE " BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE THEY ADVERTISE!" I hope everone boycots haier products.

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.

I've owned this product just over a year and should have returned it in the beginning. The fridge stopped working completely today and I lost almost a full keg. The temperature has never been cold enough and there has always been ice build up on the back panel that never defrosts. Lastly, their customer service department is rude and could care less!! Those researching for a keg fridge do yourself a favor and avoid Haier's Beer Dispenser BrewMaster. You'll be glad you did. After this experience I'm done with Haier products!!

The only reason I rated this product and company as a 1 was zero and negative ratings were not available. The product proved to be defective less than one month after use. Contacting Haier for authorized service was useless. Five of the five authorized service centers Haier provided me with for service said they would have nothing to do with this company. Some shared experiences that can not be documented. Forced to have to troubleshoot the problem myself (after having to refill 2 CO2 tanks within one week) I determined the problem to be a defecitive keg tap. Attempts to get Haier to send this part were useless. Most calls to their corporate offices went unanswered. If I was successful the service was terrible. Never once did they get back to me or respond as promised. This company is by far the worst I have ever dealt with. Their customer service is none terrible. Their products are terrible. I caution anyone not to purchase any product manufactured by Haier.

I purchased the brewmaster and after installation it failed to cool. I called customer serviced and was told that a technician would do an "In-house" service call. The technician came and fixed the problem...two hours later it was BROKE! I called for another service and the technician responded again the following day. I was then told that it was a bigger issue than he had thought, and parts needed to be ordered. He then stated that the parts would take at least TWO weeks to arrive. I called Haier customer service again and was told they were doing everything possible and I should be satisfied with the 1 year warranty and the "In-house" repairs.
I now have taken off two half days from work...
It is to late to return to the retailer.
AND the technician told me that he hates Haier products and he would never waste his money on them because they are JUNK!

Lesson: Stay away from Haier products.