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I just bought this New Water Tower and the work men ship is "A" Class.  Be very careful when handling this item as many of the connecting rods are made from thin plastic and they will break off if you look at them wrong.  Do not touch them.  A word of caution.  Unboxing --- Take out all of the staples located in the top section of the packaging.  Do not take out the staples in the bottom section.  Use a needle point pliers and be careful to pull out each of those staples -- gently.  Once the top cover is gently removed, you can pull the tank from the package.  If you wish to put your tower back into the package, just use small pieces of Scotch Tape to secure the the area were the staples were.

Everything in this accessory is well built.

The biggest problem I had was the Spigot/Counter Weight Mechanism.   Do Not Turn This Accessory Upside Down.  The Spigot is attached to a fine chain and  the counter weight is also attached to the chain.  This is the second one of these towers I own.  The first one came with the counter weight broken off of the chain in the bottom of the packaging.  There were NO instructions with this accessory especially on how the Spigot Mechanism is suppose to work.  I learned by trial and error. (Make sure you save your cash register slip if you need to exchange the item).  PLEASE NOTE:   Always pay your items via Credit Card at Menards.  Reason for this is that at the return department, there are usually 2 Computers that are free to the public.  If you lose your cash register receipt, you can stick your card into the computer slot and look up the lost cash register receipt.  Then you can print it out and take it to the clerk in this department and either exchange your item or get your cash back on to your credit card.     Back to the water tower:  If you wish to lower the spigot, just gently pull down on the loose chain connected  to the spigot.   The weight hangs loosely and knocks into the spigot and surrounding wood.  The big problem is the weight, It needs some kind of guide to keep it from knocking into it's surrounding area when moving.  Raising the spigot was easy...just put your finger on the spigot and push it up.

This is a very nice accessory and for $39.99, the price is very decent.  I could easily use one of my 10 LED lights (which uses 2 pen light batteries) that I bought at the dollar store and give this accessory some illuminated fun.  A flashing red LED could be added to the top of the tank.  The tank top cover is gray, and adding an LED flashing light could easily be done by painting the power wires gray.

Oh yes, Jack (Mr. John Menard German Shepard) makes his presence in this accessory too!

Highly recommended.    Sincerely yours,    railbear601

I do not have any pictures of this item, but you can see a picture of this nifty water tower by clicking on Menards Ad in the "O" Gauge Forum Advertising Section.   

Last edited by railbear601
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@railbear601 posted:

Be very careful when handling this item as many of the connecting rods are made from thin plastic and they will break off if you look at them wrong.  Do not touch them.

The biggest problem I had was the Spigot/Counter Weight Mechanism.  The Spigot is attached to a fine chain and  the counter weight is also attached to the chain.  This is the second one of these towers I own.  The first one came with the counter weight broken off of the chain in the bottom of the packaging.  There were NO instructions with this accessory especially on how the Spigot Mechanism is suppose to work.  I learned by trial and error. (Make sure you save your cash register slip if you need to exchange the item). The weight hangs loosely and knocks into the spigot and surrounding wood.  The big problem is the weight, It needs some kind of guide to keep it from knocking into it's surrounding area when moving. 

........Everything in this accessory is well built.

   

(Well, apparently not everything. Save that cash register slip for your exchange!)   

@AlanRail posted:

the banding on the tower appears randomly spaced. it should be farther apart at the top and closer spacing toward the bottom.

this looks like another of their structures that was designed by the dog.

No, no, no.  Jack has real talent.  He would not make a mistake like that, even though he often does not look up when he salutes water towers, he is an alert dog and would have noticed that the bands or cables should be spaced farther apart at the top and close together at the bottom.  Probably someone was asleep at the factory,

I recently recieved two of these towers, and nice as they are, had the same problem with the counterweight. Have not unpacked the second one yet, but the first one had broken its chain off near the water spout, and was caught up in the lower framework. It took a while to sort it all out and glue the upper chain support pivot back together. I imagine rhe second one will have similar issues when I unpack it.

The counterweight should have been lighter; it is way heavier and bigger than it needs to be. But the big thing is it should have been wired or zip tied to the framework, so it can't thrash around during shipping. Just my 2 cents worth.

Otherwise they are a great model!

Rod

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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