Dangerous Wall Hanging Brackets - Be Warned
I recently purchased wall hanging brackets to mount my HD 55 Sentinel dehumidifier, which weighs 23kg. Despite the relatively high price of around £40 for two simple brackets, I expected them to be of exceptional quality, robust enough to safely support the dehumidifier.
However, upon receiving the brackets, I immediately had concerns about their durability. They appeared thin and flimsy, and the screws provided were only 2-3cm long, which seemed inadequate for securely mounting a heavy appliance. To address this, I purchased more heavy-duty screws and attempted to install one of the brackets.
To my dismay, the bracket bent and buckled under minimal pressure during a test installation. The second bracket also failed, bending when subjected to approximately 20kg of weight, even without the extension being fully utilized. Given that these brackets are designed to be extendable, it’s evident that they would struggle to support even 10kg when fully extended. This raises significant safety concerns, especially since the brackets were intended to be mounted above head height in a bathroom. The consequences of a failure in this context could have been disastrous.
While one could argue that the brackets are only required to support 12kg each over the length of the arm, the reality is that a product like this should be far more robust and safe. As a result, I had to purchase a much more substantial bracket from another hardware store for just £14, which can hold up to 100kg.
Moreover, when mounting the dehumidifier, there is a brief moment when the weight is not equally distributed, and I have no doubt that the inferior brackets I initially purchased would have bent and buckled during this process. These brackets appear to be cheaply made imports, constructed from paper-thin metal, and are being sold at a significant markup despite their potential to be a serious safety hazard.
I provided video evidence of these issues to the sales manager, Simon, and requested a refund. However, I was informed that I would need to return the product and would not receive a full refund due to delivery costs. This response is entirely unreasonable, given the substandard quality of the product.
I strongly advise others to avoid purchasing from this company, particularly for expensive items such as dehumidifiers, as the poor product quality is only compounded by unsatisfactory customer service.