# Eheim Classic 2217 - China



## kpi31 (14 May 2011)

Have been considering buying two Eheim Classic 2217s for my 240L tank. Have read the reviews, which basically call this model a great, no frills filter with very little that can go wrong. What's thrown me for a loop is news about the Classic Series being produced in China instead of Germany. My question for anyone with recently purchased 2217s is:

Does your box/material say anything about the filter being produced in PRC (People's Republic of China)?

If so, how would you rate its quality? Any operational problems like leaking double tap connectors, poor construction, etc?

Generally speaking, how reliable is this product range? Is it easy enough to prime? Can I simply use a powerhead or pump at the intake pipe to prime this filter by pushing water through the system while maybe shaking it to let the air out?

Thanks


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## ceg4048 (15 May 2011)

Hi,
   Click here=> Results of Advanced Search using "Eheim 2217" as a search parameter

FYI, as a direct result of global economy and integration, it no longer matters where products are produced. Skilled workers, access to raw materials, adherence to process specifications + quality control procedures and modern factories render geographic location transparent.

Cheers,


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## RudeDogg1 (15 May 2011)

not strictly true, we make stuff for the armed forces (body armour covers, rucksack, holsters and the like) we send alot of work to romania and lithuania. We have tried sending work to china but the quality isnt anywhere near as good. Worse so if u get them to suply and cut their own material its dreadfull. To this day we still only use the eu. As the saying goes buy cheap and you buy twice. Some things are fine tho im not rubbishing everything they make just mean your statement isnt true


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## ceg4048 (16 May 2011)

Yes, you're right, but also, not everything made in England or Germany is automatically better than equivalent products made elsewhere. That means that no factory is perfect. In order to determine why the production has flaws one has to determine where the quality control went wrong. The fault analysis may reveal a workmanship, training, material or Quality Control escapement. This can happen in any factory anywhere. Did you realize that some of the airplanes you fly on when going on holiday were made under license in China? They are just as good as the ones made in America. In fact very few of the parts that make up airplanes or cars or cameras or televisions or stereos are actually produced in the country of origin. They are all sub-contracted to factories in India or China or Malaysia or Thailand or South Korea or wherever. Some of the sub-contractors are direct subsidiaries of the parent company and others are independent.

Often, it's a simple matter of time for the sub-contracting country to develop the infrastructure or for a factory in that country to streamline it's processes that will eventually consistently produce quality products.

In any case the point I'm trying to make is that it's a grave mistake to assume that just because an Eheim filter or other product is made in China that it is automatically inferior to the German made version. This is the mistake we all made when Japan's little Nissan Corporation started producing and exporting the mundane Datsun B210, which at the time, was considered inferior to the English equivalents. We know how that story ended...

Cheers,


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## RudeDogg1 (16 May 2011)

Couldn't agree more u can't just assume something will be poo just from where it was made


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## kpi31 (16 May 2011)

Thanks guys for your comments. Just heard back from Eheim USA and they've confirmed that the Classic range are being produced in China since early 2000....that's over a decade of working any manufacturing kinks out of the system, assuming Eheim quality control is in place. Should have found some blogs if there were any major/consistent quality issues. Every external filter I've researched have some bad reviews online and given that the Eheim Classic range is at least a couple of decades old and pretty basic tech, I think I'll give them a shot and see how it all pans out. Will keep my fingers crossed that my first foray into external filters doesn't end up with me mopping up my bedroom floor!!

Just one question, has anyone tried to prime an external filter by forcing water through the system with a powerhead/pump?


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## dw1305 (16 May 2011)

Hi all,
I like Eheim Classics, whenever I'm tempted to buy some-thing else, I always think of Clive's immortal description of an external filter as a "_pump in a bucket_".  I 1/2 fill mine with ceramic rings and add a sponge pre-filter. There are very few moving parts and Eheim have made the same filter for 30 years. Simple but effective.  Why only 1/2 full of media ? If you have an over-sized filter and you then have a higher fish load you can add more media, if your filter is already at full capacity you have to buy another filter. 


> Just one question, has anyone tried to prime an external filter by forcing water through the system with a powerhead/pump?


You don't need to, priming these is really easy, details here <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=15341>.

cheers Darrel


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