Appointment and Installation Time
Made an appointment by calling Maxden on their hotline on Monday, and managed to get installation on Thursday of the same week. Very fast response! Weekends will generally be fully booked in the near future if one is looking for emergency replacement, as the installation (removal of old hopper and installation of new one) takes 3 hours, and each Maxden installer can only visit 2 households per day, one per AM/PM. My installation took place from 2-5 pm. Be sure to allocate sufficient time for the installation if taking leave. Half day leave should suffice.
Installer
Desmond was my installer. Friendly and full of advice, he noted that he was the owner of Maxden. He usually doesn't do the heavy lifting, but his worker is currently on long MC. I didn't probe further, but the impression i get is Desmond is that he's the only one doing installations at the moment.
Maxden Rubbish Chute Hopper Model
Desmond noted that the hopper being installed was the 6th generation.
Company History
The company has apparently been around for 18 years, and there are 1st gen Maxden hoppers out there still functioning and owners who do not want to upgrade.
Installation Process
Desmond arrived on time (he gave a arrival timing of 2-3pm), with a trolley load of equipment.
Since my old hopper was sitting inside a cabinet, Desmond carefully removed the cabinet doors, before removing my old hopper. Liberal dosages of insecticide was applied to kill any cockroaches hiding in my old hopper before it was removed and placed outside of my unit.
Desmond put on an industrial-strength mask to protect himself from both the rubbish chute and insecticide vapours.
I didn't observe in detail the rest of the installation process, but suffice to say he did a very thorough and clean job. Some debris was still lying around at the end of the job, but overall he kept the work site very clean for such a dirty job (all dead cockroaches were taken care of - swept up and thrown down the chute :P) The outcome can be seen below. Desmond was quite satisfied with his handiwork, and so was I.
Advice on Maintenance
Following the installation, Desmond also patiently provided advice on how to maintain the hopper. Cockroaches will inevitably be crushed when they try to scurry into the unit while the chute is being closed. The bodies, if left untouched, can affect the seal of the unit. So the Maxden recommendation was to do a through cleaning of the chute every 6 months with a brush to clean up any cockroach remains, plus wipe with a damp cloth and cooking oil. The general cleaning advice was also indicated in the receipt given.
One key feature for the 6th Gen hopper was the ability to take out 4 screws by the inner walls of the hopper, which hold in place two attachments, in order to open the hopper 90 degrees instead of 45 degrees. This is very useful to gain unobstructed access to the bottom part of the hopper for a thorough cleaning job. I'm hesitant about doing so, however, as the risk is high that one may be very tentative during the unscrewing/screwing on process due to the dirtiness, and drop the screws or attachments into the chute. And i can('t) imagine how disgusting the job will be... Replacement attachments cost $11 (as of Dec 2015).
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| Screws holding the attachments (not shown) that will limit the hopper to opening at 45 deg. |
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| Any dead cockroaches stuck at the bottom part of hopper is hard to clean if hopper is only opened at 45 deg. |
In general, only dishwashing detergent should be used to clean the hopper. Harsher liquids like Clorox should be avoided in order not to degrade the seal of the hopper - the black parts in the 2 pics above, behind which sits the magnets that provide the sealing power to keep cockroaches and smell from coming into your unit.
Maintenance Services
If one wants to avoid the intimate contact that comes along with cleaning the hopper, Desmond mentioned Maxden also provided maintenance services. While the maintenance service is "free", $50 is chargeable for transportation.
Total cost
$480 (as of Dec 2015)
including installation and 3 year warranty to shut out cockroaches during fumigation
Verdict
The whole installation process was very professional. The verdict is still out on the effectiveness, but i do like what i see currently. Strongly recommended if one is open to paying above market rates for value.
Contact Details
Tel: 62783552
Desmond (Maxden boss)'s HP: 97819133
Email: enquiry@maxden.com.sg
Website: www.maxden.com.sg
I'd recommend calling the general enquiry line. Maxden was slow to respond to my initial email, and asked me to call the hotline in the end.
