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Unread 12-01-2004, 01:43 PM   #110
aaronspink
Cooling Neophyte
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bugsmasher
That was sort of the odd thing when I heard Panworlds numbers. According to those who have used them they seem to be exceptionally dependable pumps. As stated many times by people in this thread the MTBF numbers are pretty much conjectures and extrapolations. As such one company may claim X MTBF while another decides to play it safe and claim X-20% MTBF because when all is said and done....its not a proven number.
MTBF is not conjecture and extrapolation. There is a lot of hard science and testing involved in coming up with a true MTBF number. Accelerated testing, large lot testing, stress testing, spot testing, etc. It is generally not cheap (tying up upwards of hundreds or thousands of parts and related equipment for long periods of time). MTBF numbers also tend to be "downgraded" by a manufacturer to account to variations they couldn't tests for.

If someone is quoting an MTBF number they better damn well be able to demonstrate how they arrived at the number in a reasonable manner in a court of law OR they have really really bad legal advice.

Aaron Spink
speaking for myself inc.
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