# Will Tech Support Send Replacement HR44 Hard Drive?



## Gocanes (Jul 15, 2007)

Over the last few weeks it has become pretty clear that my HR44 hard drive is starting to die. The receiver won't respond in the morning many times and takes a RBR to bring back to life. During start-up it will find and correct disk errors (one time was over 2200).

Also, when it is working there will be random freezes/pixellation. When fast forwarding, I have had it just freeze for several minutes (I'm assuming it hit bad data).

Anyway, I do not want my HR-44 replaced (especially because that leads to the chance that they send an HR-34). I'm trying to determine what I should expect when I call and how much trouble I will need to go through. 

Will they be willing to just send me a replacement hard drive (even if I have to pay shipping) that I can replace on my own? Thanks to anybody that has knowledge of or experience with this type of situation.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

No, they will not send a Hard Drive. It is their policy that you not open any of their receivers.

They will send you a replacement receiver if you call and tell them of your problems.


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## Gocanes (Jul 15, 2007)

I assume that they won't care if I tell them that I won't accept an HR34? Will they just tell me that "a genie is a genie?"


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Never heard of them just sending a replacement drive.

Get a truck to roll, that way you can find out what is on the truck and reject it if it is a 34.

Good luck.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

You can purchase a HR44 from SolidSignal and ask DirecTV for credit towards the purchase.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Supposedly, if you get a replacement for a 44, it will be a 44 that they send. Truck roll is whatever they have.


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## bpratt (Nov 24, 2005)

Another solution might be to purchase and install an external disk. Once an external disk is connected, the internal disk will no longer be used.


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## Gocanes (Jul 15, 2007)

bpratt said:


> Another solution might be to purchase and install an external disk. Once an external disk is connected, the internal disk will no longer be used.


That's a good idea too. I guess then I can keep watching the current recordings by re-booting. I wonder if I can get them to give me bill credits for the cost of the external drive. Might be worth a try.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

MysteryMan said:


> You can purchase a HR44 from SolidSignal and ask DirecTV for credit towards the purchase.


What is the likelihood that this will have a happy result?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Gocanes said:


> I assume that they won't care if I tell them that I won't accept an HR34? * Will they just tell me that "a genie is a genie?"*


Imbecilic as that sounds, it's true. That's what we get for putting up with the "All HRs have equal functionality" crap.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Gocanes said:


> That's a good idea too. I guess then I can keep watching the current recordings by re-booting. I wonder if I can get them to give me bill credits for the cost of the external drive. Might be worth a try.


Gotta love optimists. :rolling:

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

harsh said:


> What is the likelihood that this will have a happy result?


Nil.

Rich


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## samthegam (Dec 11, 2011)

dpeters11 said:


> Supposedly, if you get a replacement for a 44, it will be a 44 that they send. Truck roll is whatever they have.


I had an HR44 and was sent an HR34 for replacement which I sent back and waited for a truck roll such as my luck I ended up with another HR34-700. The technician said all Genies are the same. The hard drive on my HR44 had failed too. What is it with the failed hard drives on a new receiver?


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

samthegam said:


> I had an HR44 and was sent an HR34 for replacement which I sent back and waited for a truck roll such as my luck I ended up with another HR34-700. The technician said all Genies are the same. The hard drive on my HR44 had failed too. What is it with the failed hard drives on a new receiver?


Hard drives are very unpredictable. They can fail in one week at the same time they can last for 5 or more years.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Gocanes said:


> That's a good idea too. I guess then I can keep watching the current recordings by re-booting. I wonder if I can get them to give me bill credits for the cost of the external drive. Might be worth a try.


I wouldn't bother; chances are minuscule, and it opens the worm regarding why you need the external. Also know that the external cannot be transferred to another DVR.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

harsh said:


> What is the likelihood that this will have a happy result?


Depends on him and his account. If he's like my folks, a simple conversation in a nice and honest and very frustrated way with a supervisor will make it very easy to happen. And that call happens before he gets one from solid signal and then calls back for the credit that is noted in his account when he activates the replacement.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Gocanes said:


> That's a good idea too. I guess then I can keep watching the current recordings by re-booting. I wonder if I can get them to give me bill credits for the cost of the external drive. Might be worth a try.


I would not do that myself, get a new unit and be done with it.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

peds48 said:


> Hard drives are very unpredictable. They can fail in one week at the same time they can last for 5 or more years.


So much for the external power supply that Directv would expect, to be the main issue most would have to easily replace.


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## adamson (Nov 9, 2007)

Gocanes said:


> Will they be willing to just send me a replacement hard drive (even if I have to pay shipping) that I can replace on my own? Thanks to anybody that has knowledge of or experience with this type of situation.


I wish this was the policy, and installed by a DTV tech. Although I have had zero to minor issues on my HR44-700. So frustrating having severe pixelating/stutter. May the majority never see that issue anymore.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

I have been dealing with the exact same drive trouble on my HR44 for months now.
I moved all my SL's to my other DVR and have been tediously watching down the saved movies on the drive.
I am going to add an external 2T to it after I do.
With all the HR44 drive troubles, I would not trust another HR44 they would send to replace it.



Gocanes said:


> That's a good idea too. I guess then I can keep watching the current recordings by re-booting. I wonder if I can get them to give me bill credits for the cost of the external drive. Might be worth a try.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

peds48 said:


> Hard drives are very unpredictable. They can fail in one week at the same time they can last for 5 or more years.


Kinda like every electrical device made by man.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

acostapimps said:


> So much for the external power supply that Directv would expect, to be the main issue most would have to easily replace.


Since I've only had PS problems with maybe 4 or 5 HRs, I can't imagine why they'd think that way. I think they did it to save some money.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

adamson said:


> I wish this was the policy, and installed by a DTV tech. Although I have had zero to minor issues on my HR44-700. So frustrating having severe pixelating/stutter. May the majority never see that issue anymore.


First, you're lucky if you ever see an installer who is technically competent enough to be called a Tech. Second, with that in mind, having them install a hard drive on the spot would be a stretch. I've had D* CSRs tell me that it would happen, but like most things they say it never happened. Most of the installers that have come to my home since 2008 have asked me what I wanted them to do. I usually had to show them how to do that. But I have an odd system.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

armophob said:


> I have been dealing with the exact same drive trouble on my HR44 for months now.
> I moved all my SL's to my other DVR and have been tediously watching down the saved movies on the drive.
> I am going to add an external 2T to it after I do.
> With all the HR44 drive troubles, I would not trust another HR44 they would send to replace it.


Well, coming from you, that doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling about getting a 44. I've never told my wife about the Genies, she would want one for her room. She records a lot of female stuff and is always asking me which HR she can use because her 24-500 doesn't have enough tuners.

Rich


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I haven't seen any more trouble with genie hard drives in 44 than any other DVR on this forum. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Rich said:


> First, you're lucky if you ever see an installer who is technically competent enough to be called a Tech.
> 
> Rich


excuse me? "Ever" is a strong word. And just because you have not seen one it does not mean they don exist. As a matter of fact you DO know one, you are chatting with him

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Bill Broderick (Aug 25, 2006)

peds48 said:


> excuse me? "Ever" is a strong word. And just because you have not seen one it does not mean they don exist. As a matter of fact you DO know one, you are chatting with him
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


However, you are the first one, who has been to my house, that I am comfortable to refer to as a "tech". Other than you, my personal experience with Mastec employees (at my home) has been far less than satisfactory.

To be fair, I did have a good experience with a tech who was doing an install at a friend's house while I was there.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

peds48 said:


> excuse me? "Ever" is a strong word. And just because you have not seen one it does not mean they don exist. As a matter of fact you DO know one, you are chatting with him
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Unfortunately, installers like yourself are extremely rare. I've had one tech I was fairly impressed with, but I think I usually get Jodean.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

When no education is required, it's hard to expect much from a "Tech".

Everyone and their brother is already pre qualified as a "tech" for directv.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

dpeters11 said:


> , but I think I usually get Jodean.


 !rolling

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Bill Broderick said:


> However, you are the first one, who has been to my house, that I am comfortable to refer to as a "tech". Other than you, my personal experience with Mastec employees (at my home) has been far less than satisfactory.
> 
> To be fair, I did have a good experience with a tech who was doing an install at a friend's house while I was there.


I've met two. One left the states. The other one is delivering groceries because he could not live on what he was making with D*'s contractor in our area. Big loss for me. But in all truth, he spent far more time picking my brain than actually doing anything during most of his visits.

I've been an electrical mechanic, a supervisor of mechanics and a manager of mechanical groups. I'm an accredited electrician in NJ also. No disrespect meant, I've always respected your opinions and found them interesting, but until I see a person with tools in hand, I don't form any opinions about their competency.

A few years ago, I was in the process of suing GM because of an unfixable problem with a car we bought for my wife. GM sent an engineer from Detroit to work on it and before he started tearing the car apart he spent about a half hour telling me how wonderful he was with the tools. When he finally shut up, I told him I'd never seen anyone use a wrench with his mouth and asked him to start working and stop talking about how competent he was. That was in the morning, by late afternoon I was back at the dealer, our car was in pieces scattered all over the place, the guy had wrecked the radio and he had run back to Detroit without doing anything but destroying our car. We got a new SUV out of that.

All that said, I don't know any installers I'd consider worthy of being called a technician. I've never seen anyone use a wrench using a keyboard either.

Rich


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## pappasbike (Sep 19, 2006)

The other installers/techs on here can tell you their experience but every installer I've talked to in my neighborhood over the last few weeks, we've had a lot of new neighbors move in, has told me that they only have 44s now. So get someone to come out. I did and just today got my 44 set up. No muss no fuss, you just mention video freezes and they reach right for the 44 and bring it in.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

damondlt said:


> When no education is required, it's hard to expect much from a "Tech".
> 
> Everyone and their brother is already pre qualified as a "tech" for directv.


In NJ and many other states, I'm sure, a "Tech" is someone who's gone to a trade school for a couple years. Then they have to pick up their tools and put that schoolhousing to use. That's the difficult part. You must have hands on training to supplement the schooling. That's what apprenticeships are all about. I had to put in four years of school and have 8,000 hours of on the job training to be accredited. And take an initial two thirds cut in pay. Fortunately my naval service qualified me for veteran's assistance and the loss of pay, while still a loss, was eased quite a bit. That lasted throughout my apprenticeship, but went down as my hours on the job, and subsequent pay raises, went up.

Rich


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Rich said:


> In NJ and many other states, I'm sure, a "Tech" is someone who's gone to a trade school for a couple years. Then they have to pick up their tools and put that schoolhousing to use. That's the difficult part. You must have hands on training to supplement the schooling. That's what apprenticeships are all about. I had to put in four years of school and have 8,000 hours of on the job training to be accredited. And take an initial two thirds cut in pay. Fortunately my naval service qualified me for veteran's assistance and the loss of pay, while still a loss, was eased quite a bit. That lasted throughout my apprenticeship, but went down as my hours on the job, and subsequent pay raises, went up.
> 
> Rich


That's exactly my point. There is no real requirement for working for Directv as an installer.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

damondlt said:


> That's exactly my point. There is no real requirement for working for Directv as an installer.


The first installer I got for HD reception was working for D* for three months, prior to that he was in pest control. Another job without any real training. A friend of mine worked for a big pest control company and he almost got fired because he new what an MSDS sheet was and how to use it. He received very little training, just be nice to the customers and do what they want. In other words, here's your truck, go forth and earn us some money.

The second installer came shortly thereafter, to fix the crappy job the first guy had done. When I asked him what he had done before and how long he had worked for D*, he gave me the same answer as the first guy. I guess the pest companies were lower paying jobs. And he was in his third month of work as an installer. He put in a new 20-700 and when he was done (believe me, I watched him all the way thru activation of that HR) I told him I wanted to shut off the blue ring. He was very reluctant about talking to me up to that point. He told me the blue ring could not be turned off. He was shocked when I shut it off. Asked him how much training he had and he told me he had a couple weeks in a room receiving instructions and then was sent out for a week with a guy with more experience. After that, the floodgates opened and he unloaded every question he could think of. An hour or so later he left. Did nothing but give me a different 20-700. Didn't fix the dish, which had no support legs and was obviously out of alignment. I got the impression that aligning the dish was beyond his capabilities. Any of you really want to call these guys Technicians?

Here's the job responsibilities and job requirements for a sat "technician" (they actually call them that).

*Job Responsibilities*
A Service and Satellite Installation Technician will work independently and will be responsible for the installation of our satellite TV systems in residences and businesses. You will provide technology service and support to all of our customers in addition to:


Ensuring customer satisfaction at the highest level
Determining the best location for customer satellites
Making sure the customer is comfortable with all aspects of running the system by providing thorough explanations
Running cables and hooking up receivers
Stocking vehicle with necessary equipment on a weekly basis
Continuing to learn about new technology
*We have a strict list of requirements as this job may not be for everyone, so please review this list. Candidates must meet ALL of the below requirements in order for us to be able to move forward in the interview process.*

*Job Requirements*


Be 21 years of age or older
Be legally able to work in the United States
Have a high school diploma or GED
Have a valid driver's license and clean driving record
Be able to pass pre-employment drug screen and MVR/DMV screen
Be able to lift at least 80 lbs
Be comfortable working at heights up to 40 feet
Weigh 250 lbs or less due to ladder safety
Be flexible to work weekends
You get paid for the quality and amount of work that you complete.
Kinda sounds like if you can walk in the door they'll hire you, no?

Rich


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Rich said:


> Kinda sounds like if you can walk in the door they'll hire you, no?
> 
> Rich


Yep.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Rich said:


> Kinda sounds like if you can walk in the door they'll hire you, no?
> 
> Rich


And thus they all quit after a short while...


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I'll bet I recently paid a plumber more in a 2 hour job that most any installer made in a day.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

dennisj00 said:


> I'll bet I recently paid a plumber more in a 2 hour job that most any installer made in a day.


Don't get me started on plumbers. Oops, you did. I could go on a really long rant about the deliberately delicate piping that is used in homes, the prices the plumbers charge are absolutely outrageous, the utter arrogance of the owners of plumbing companies and so forth, but if we want to do that we should open a new thread and really trash them. And I've done the same thing you have, paid a plumber for an hour or so of work at an unbelievable rate. You're right, an installer would have to run himself ragged to come close to what I've paid. Hell, if an installer comes to my home, and does what I want/need properly, he goes home with more than a normal day's pay. I've had installers tell me that. I truly believe they were sincere.

Rich


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Rich said:


> Don't get me started on plumbers. Oops, you did. I could go on a really long rant about the deliberately delicate piping that is used in homes, the prices the plumbers charge are absolutely outrageous, the utter arrogance of the owners of plumbing companies and so forth, but if we want to do that we should open a new thread and really trash them. And I've done the same thing you have, paid a plumber for an hour or so of work at an unbelievable rate. You're right, an installer would have to run himself ragged to come close to what I've paid. Hell, if an installer comes to my home, and does what I want/need properly, he goes home with more than a normal day's pay. I've had installers tell me that. I truly believe they were sincere.
> 
> Rich


Unfortunately, Rich, I could have also used 'electrician'.

On both jobs, if I had stepped back and made a trip to HD, I could have fixed both for $20 in parts and an hour each. The plumber even agreed that the way I described what he should do was better than what he planned. Thus, more expensive?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

dennisj00 said:


> Unfortunately, Rich, I could have also used 'electrician'.
> 
> On both jobs, if I had stepped back and made a trip to HD, I could have fixed both for $20 in parts and an hour each. The plumber even agreed that the way I described what he should do was better than what he planned. Thus, more expensive?


Being an electrician, let me give you and everybody else a tip, it's pretty hard to find a good one. I used to do work in homes until somebody sat me down and explained the liabilities caused by not being licensed in NJ. I used to make some pretty good money fixing what licensed electricians had done and always charged a really fair price. At one time, we had well over a hundred electricians in our maintenance department and several of them were licensed. I wouldn't have let them do anything in my house.

I know HD is selling black rubber fittings that use pipe clamps for connectors now. Looks like it's made from the same material as hydraulic hoses which can take thousands of pounds of pressure. I'm sure the stuff HD is selling isn't as good as that, but it's a lot better than the pitifully thin metal piping that plumbers have made a fortune on over the years installing and replacing when it failed. I kinda doubt the fittings, such as drain traps, will fail as quickly as the metal fittings do and they're really easy to install.

Simply put, if you can do it yourself, do it and save those ridiculously high rates they charge. Take a look at how much an electrician charges to replace a receptacle or a switch. You'll probably find guys that charge over $200 for that. I can change either of them in less than 15 minutes, usually. And the parts are cheap.

Rich


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

Watch it down quickly. Mine finally blue screened tonight. And nothing I do is working this time.
So I have 20+ movies and a couple series that I will have to get from Netfix if I can remember them.


Gocanes said:


> That's a good idea too. I guess then I can keep watching the current recordings by re-booting. I wonder if I can get them to give me bill credits for the cost of the external drive. Might be worth a try.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Rich said:


> I know HD is selling black rubber fittings that use pipe clamps for connectors now. Looks like it's made from the same material as hydraulic hoses which can take thousands of pounds of pressure. I'm sure the stuff HD is selling isn't as good as that, but it's a lot better than the pitifully thin metal piping that plumbers have made a fortune on over the years installing and replacing when it failed. I kinda doubt the fittings, such as drain traps, will fail as quickly as the metal fittings do and they're really easy to install.


PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) is absolutely awesome. It can freeze and thaw and doesn't transmit noise like steel pipe. Using anything else is extra work now and down the road. It goes around some corners without needing an elbow and you rarely have to think about how to get it to meet up with something.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Rich said:


> "All HRs have equal functionality" crap.
> 
> Rich


They do??? (I'm asking DirecTV, not Rich obviously)

One big difference is that the HR20 has built in OTA while every other DVR needs a pizza box sized 99% empty external tuner.

Then again DirecTV also considers actually being able to search for programs "just another feature" rather then critical core functionality.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

OH, we know that there are differences. HR20 can't do 3D (honestly not really an issue), some have ports not on another. Hard drive and processor differences. Colorspace difference on one. But in the base functionality, all can record and playback HD content either over satellite or Internet.

CSR's have that so ingrained, that I was told they couldn't even guarantee I'd get a Genie replacement for my original. And he knew of the differences. This was before the clients.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

harsh said:


> PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) is absolutely awesome. It can freeze and thaw and doesn't transmit noise like steel pipe. Using anything else is extra work now and down the road. It goes around some corners without needing an elbow and you rarely have to think about how to get it to meet up with something.


I spent a day at a hydraulic hose company around 1992 and they were trying to crack the plumbing racket at the time. Their products would have been a bit more expensive, but would have lasted virtually forever. Put a hose that will take thousands of pounds of pressure with ease on a home water system and I see them outliving several generations of people. In our plant, our pipefitters used black iron for all the rest rooms and places like that. We never had problems with leaky pipes. If you've ever used a caliper on a piece of that thin metal that the plumbers love you'd understand why they don't last. They're just too thin,

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> They do??? (I'm asking DirecTV, not Rich obviously)
> 
> One big difference is that the HR20 has built in OTA while every other DVR needs a pizza box sized 99% empty external tuner.
> 
> Then again DirecTV also considers actually being able to search for programs "just another feature" rather then critical core functionality.


Have some fun. Go over to the D* website and visit their forum. One of their prime shills is bound to utter that horrid phrase.

Rich


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Rich said:


> In our plant, our pipefitters used black iron for all the rest rooms and places like that. We never had problems with leaky pipes.


Thin is what makes copper better (unless freezing is a regular occurance). It fits in tight spaces better. It flexes better than black pipe and doesn't stress itself out as much under vibration as it has much lower mass. It's good for at least the same working pressure (300psi, remembering that PSI rating is related to both diameter and wall thickness). Pipe has that miserable need to twist to get pieces to stick together and that requires considerable experience and forethought. Black pipe is also quite susceptible to common chemicals both inside and out.

Most plumbing pros around here use copper but the home builders (where cost and speed are the primary concerns) use PEX. Copper is a waste of time (and now, quite a bit of money) to my way of thinking but you can bet as sure as sunrise that the average homeowner isn't going to try to work with it so the plumber will get called the next time something needs work. PVC is cheap, but it has most of the same fittings issues as copper (minus fighting connection by heat sinking the soldering process).

Compared to carbon steel hydraulic tubing, copper is about half the thickness to support 10% the pressure rating.


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