Hot Lunch..........

[Michael O'Neill]

Last winter my prized Stanley thermos got a little smashed "unusable" so I went to Target and bought a new one..... All well and good for about a month, I got ready to pour a cup of coffee and darn............... cold coffee...... Must have lost the vacuum, so I call Stanley, get a call center in a foreign country that shall remain up to your speculation, and after 15 minutes of a slight language barrier I have a new one on the way... Happy customer, Right??? I march right back down to Target and buy a widemouth Stanley for soups and stews, to show a little support for good customer service..... More to this story soon.....But when it gets here it has the same problem, pour hot coffee in it and within 5 minutes the outside of the bottle is getting very warm..... So I call Stanley back and explain the situation and the new person says... REALLY??? IS THAT WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON??? So I give up on getting a replacement for the replacement and buy a Thermos brand made by Nissan ...... It is working fine so far. but now the rest of the story, my wide mouth Stanley has lost its vacuum too... And Stanley wont send a replacement for it..... So I bought a Thermos "Nissan" to replace it with. Well today I got to work and cold stew.......... All of these have been made of stainless steel and all but one have failed... Bad luck I guess, I'll call Thermos and try for a replacement, But the question I have is, is this typical for new stainless bottles? Does anyone have any experience with the glass bottles and how do they compare to stainless for heat retention and durability. Im fairly gentle on them except for the one that got smashed.... Any other manufactures out there???



Thanks,

MIchael

[Jim Koepke]

Bad luck I guess, I'll call Thermos and try for a replacement

Your bad luck will be apparent when you call and find yourself talking to the same person you talked to the first time you called Stanley.

When I read the title, "Hot Lunch" it reminded me of when I worked on trains. There were some despicable people who would do something on the trains that we would call a "Hot Lunch" over the radio.

Sounds like it is the same thing, only over so called "customer (non) support."

jtk

[Jerome Stanek]

I have an old Thermos and I can put hot water in it at night and not put the stopper in and the water is still hot in the morning. My friend had the same one that would not keep coffee hot he called and got a new one. First time he used it he burned his mouth.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I had lousy luck with the Stanleys years ago and went to the Coleman. I hope they still make them, but the narrow and the wide mouths are true vacuum bottles with stainless steel, not glass. They are virtually indestructable and do a great job. Lots of the stainless ones on the market are not vacuum bottles, they are foam filled and only keep things hot for a short time. Read the box carefully before buying.

[Mac McQuinn]

Where are the Stanley items made? I've had good luck w/ a German made Kuchenprofi .75 L model, worthwhile tracking down.
Mac

[Greg Portland]

Michael,
I've had luck with this one from Klean Kanteen after having multiple failures with Stanley & Thermos products: http://www.amazon.com/Klean-Kanteen-Insulated-Bottle-Stainless/dp/B0053YUV1G

Note that they don't sell very large insulated sizes but it works very well for my coffee (drink spout sold separately).

[Michael O'Neill]

Thanks to everyone that replied. Both Stanley and Thermos are made in China...... Maybe its time for some German engineering...... just need to track it down....

Michael

[Greg Portland]

Michael, the Klean Kanteen that I mentioned before is made in China (but has been holding up better than the Stanley).

I was talking with a co-worker today and he has been using his Zojirushi for a couple of years with zero complaints:
http://www.zojirushi.com/user/scripts/user/prod_category.php?prod_category_id=5
http://www.rei.com/product/825833/zojirushi-tuff-sports-vacuum-bottle-1-liter

They're made in Japan if that matters & come in a wide range of sizes...

[Jerome Stanek]

My thermos band has been dropped more times than I can remember and it still is as good as new.

[Gene Howe]

We're not really particular about what we use for coffee or soup. We probably have a dozen different plastic coffee/tea/soda mugs that keep hot things hot and cold things cold. I sometimes pick one up free when filled with some drink they are pushing. I used to drive 95 miles to work. My coffee got drank on the road. When I got there, I'd get a refill that would last till past lunch (5 hr.s) and still be relatively warm.
Who made them or where, I have no idea. But, they do work.