What's wrong with the FN 142

[NOLA Chins]

I don't dislike the FN 142, nor am I in love with the alternative, but there are some 'shortcomings' which should not be overlooked.

1. No front to back shelves because of the big doors.
2. The big doors can make containing chins who want out interesting.
3. Pans must be made. They fit so-so and are often bent in shipping.
4. The pans leave a potentially dangerous gap around the sides. They do not fit flush to the bars.
5. Shelves must be knotched to fit the corners.
6. No drop-in grids available. You are locked in to bedding or liners unless you can make your own.
7. 1x5 bar spacing makes it more difficult to hang stuff securely and is potentially dangerous to a wall surfing chin.
8. Same spacing makes it difficult to securely mount waterbottles at the proper height.
9. Doors don't always latch securely unless you are careful.
10. Finish is so-so quality
11. Made of cheap foreign steel.
12. Design was ripped off from Guy at QC years ago.

None of these are deal breakers, just points to consider.

 

[ChrisSmith1980]

Thankls,I see your points.I notice my chins like to wall surf alot in my QC to the next shelf up.I dont think that would be to safe for them on the 142.Thanks i think ill stick with my QC and that saves me money.I need to get them a wheel anyways and if i would have got the fn 142 i wouldnt be able to get them a wheel.

 

[NOLA Chins]

The 1" spacing in the QC Mansion is better, but not real safe either.

 

[Stackie]

Rick, do you have a FN? Just wondering. Anyway, I have 3, and would like to weigh in on some of your points.

1. No front to back shelves because of the big doors.
I have front to back shelves. You just get shelves that have the bolts on the sides, and leave the bolts out on the front. No big deal.


2. The big doors can make containing chins who want out interesting.
My chins always want out and I have never had problems keeping them contained. Leave one closed if you have a very determined chin. The big doors provide so much more ease in cleaning cages, adding accessories, reaching what would be hard to reach areas, etc etc etc...

3. Pans must be made. They fit so-so and are often bent in shipping.
My pans fit perfect, you just have to work a little to get them in b/c they fit so snug. I have ordered 4 sets of pans, none of mine have been bent. You only hear about the ones being bent b/c people will come here and complain, but the countless others who have gotten them don't post just to say they came perfectly.
With fleece liners, you don't necessarily need to order the pans, anyway. The pans were mainly for keeping bedding inside.

4. The pans leave a potentially dangerous gap around the sides. They do not fit flush to the bars.
I have not seen this in any of my FN's.

5. Shelves must be knotched to fit the corners.
I've never had to notch any of my shelves that fit in the corners.

6. No drop-in grids available. You are locked in to bedding or liners unless you can make your own.
I'd rather have a solid floor anyway.

7. 1x5 bar spacing makes it more difficult to hang stuff securely and is potentially dangerous to a wall surfing chin.
Everything in my cages that are hung are extremely secure. Any cage is dangerous to a wall surfing chin unless it has extremely small bar spacing that a chin foot could not fit through.

8. Same spacing makes it difficult to securely mount waterbottles at the proper height.
With very minor alterations, this can be fixed. I got some stainless steel wire, cut it to size and bent it, and hung my bottles. It's hard to explain without a picture.

9. Doors don't always latch securely unless you are careful.
They don't latch securely if you are aren't paying attention. If you close the doors right, they latch just fine.

10. Finish is so-so quality
I find them to be of very good quality, and many other people do as well. It also looks very nice and not so industrial looking, like the QC cages.

11. Made of cheap foreign steel.
All of my bars are in tact, strong, and none are bent or broken, so it's fine with me.

12. Design was ripped off from Guy at QC years ago.
I don't know what to say about this. It's part of the business world I guess.

I can list several things off the top of my head as to why I don't like QC mansions, but I don't have one so I won't. IMO, and in many others, FN's are great cages and I have never had any problems with them.

d if i would have got the fn 142 i wouldnt be able to get them a wheel.

Why not? I have wheels in all of my FN's. I have seen both Chin Spins and flying saucers in them.

 

[tunes]

I guess a good question would be - has anybody ever had a chin get it's leg stuck while wall surfing in a ferret nation cage? I don't recall this ever being an issue for anybody at any time. I'm assuming we would have heard about it if it had happened.

I guess you can look for stuff to pick apart in any cage and any situation if you look hard enough. I have to agree with Stack's points though. I can't recall anybody complaining about any of the issues you've raised Rick. People who own Ferret Nations do nothing but sing their praises, so your warn list seems kinda odd.

 

[Stackie]

I guess a good question would be - has anybody ever had a chin get it's leg stuck while wall surfing in a ferret nation cage? I don't recall this ever being an issue for anybody at any time. I'm assuming we would have heard about it if it had happened.

I have 3 chins who wall surf in their cage, have had the cages for about 2 years now, and none of them have gotten their legs caught and/or injured.

 

[Solarsis]

I have to echo what Stackie said. The FN is a great cage for many people and I personally find them better for me than the QC cages.

1. I have front to back shelving that is as solidly placed as the side to side shelves I also have. We just bolted down one side and the back of the shelf.

2. I have one chin who's a slippery bug and I can contain her just fine if I open one door at a time.

3. My pans are also nice and snug, no bends. It happens to some but I can't say I've seen it personally...and the pan folks will replace a bent one if you call

4. Don't have a gap either

5. I don't notch my shelves either and they fit fine

6. I much prefer a solid floor to a grid one...much easier on little feet and one less area where toes could get caught.

7. You can find ways to hang things securely really easily. I've never had a problem in that cage.

8. I use the Edstrom bottles and have never had a problem hanging them properly on the cage.

9. I've had way more latch issues with other cages I've owned in the past. I actually find the latches to be really easy to use, even one-handed and distracted by other things.

10. Not sure what's wrong with the finish. I think it's good too and also prefer the less industrial look of this cage. I don't own a QC cage but I've seen many that friends have owned.

11. Same as Stackie. All my bars are solid, intact and not broken. The cage is solid and I haven't seen anything "cheap" on it.

12. This may or may not be true. I'm not in a position to say either way. I'm just not sure I'd be so quick to believe this without some sort of valid proof. People have been known to be envious... I think it's a big claim to make without having had that proof though.

 

[mszrawny]

I agree with the statements that were said before. Also to add its was not the FN's fault some pans were bent when shipped right? and for me if you think its not a nice cage then leave it no one if forcing you to like it . Everyone has their own opinion, likes and dislikes. Me I love my FN and wouldn't change it for anything yes its huge and takes the big chunk of space in my room but for my chins to be happy I really don't care. I really dont have any problems with all of the things you listed and the one I got was already used and its 2 yrs old when I got it the only thing was the screws are rusty. That's it. and for your last point was there really a proof that this happened? as Solarsis said it's hard to believe when you don't have a proof.

 

[NOLA Chins]

Yes I have a FN 142 and have had it for a few months now. I was pointing out my observations.

The pans do not fit flush with sides- sorry. Yes they can be hard to get in and out, but that wasn't my point. The vertical bars are set back into the square horizontal bars. This leaves a gap between the tops of the pans and the vertical bars. I don't understand how anyone else's can be different than the many I have seen and the one I have.

The FN bars are centered in their mounting square bars. Anything fixed to corner can't fit flush. Go argue with the laws of physics, not me.

As to pans being dented, I got my first dented pan yesterday, but only 1 out of 5. There are evidently lots of complaints 'cause I took the info off of Bass's pan section.

The latching info I was warned of by another owner and I have experienced. Not a design flaw, just something that happens to at least 2 people.

Please tell me how you can run a shelf front-to-back that isn't attached to the sides.

Some people do like the drop-in grids. It is just an issue to keep in mind.

The finish on one of my cages is cracked and chipped away in small places. No big deal, but it's there. Sorry for the reality check.

If you want to argue the merits of Chinese steel, go ahead.

So you all really think the cage is perfect? You wouldn't change anything?

As I wrote, not deal breakers, just some points to ponder. Very strange that not a single point has any validity to you all.

 

[NOLA Chins]

>me if you think its not a nice cage then leave it no one if forcing you to like it . Everyone has their own opinion, likes and dislikes

And I expressed mine. Your post is really quite rude. I never said it's not a nice cage. For my views, see my webpage. I recommend the cage highly, along with others. Is it perfect IN MY OPINION? Of course not.

 

[Stackie]

I took a look at my pans. They very little gap that I saw is not enough for me to worry and to pose a threat to my chins. I think you are being quite nit-picky here.

If the corner shelves can't fit according to the laws of physics, then my cages must be defying those laws because they all fit just fine.

Dented pans are most likely the fault of the shipping company, not Bass Equipment's.

You can't run a shelf front to back without attaching to the sides. You must have attachment bolts in the back of the shelf and on the sides of the shelf. Just don't put any attachment bolts on the front of the shelf where it meets the door.

Just a speculation as to why your cage is cracked and chipped- it could have been handling roughly. However, I have moved my cages down two flights of stairs fully assembled, one of them was even dropped down a flight of stairs by accident- no cracks or anything resulted...not even chipping of the coating. My cages that are two years old have no signs of wear, and still look brand new after I wash all the dust off of them of course.

I never said the cage was perfect. But I have never had any of the problems you mention about the cage.. And no, I can not think of anything I would change about the cage, keeping in mind that they are aimed towards ferrets and warrant a bit of modification for chins. I am willing to perform those modifications for the quality of the cage.

 

[NOLA Chins]

>I took a look at my pans. They very little gap that I saw is not enough for me to worry and to pose a threat to my chins. I think you are being quite nit-picky here.

Well, that's up to you.

>And no, I can not think of anything I would change about the cage, keeping in mind that they are aimed towards ferrets and warrant a bit of modification for chins. I am willing to perform those modifications for the quality of the cage.

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

[Kalandra]

Stacie, If they fit that snuggly, how hard are bass pans to get out if you need to remove a pan?

 

[Stackie]

>
>And no, I can not think of anything I would change about the cage, keeping in mind that they are aimed towards ferrets and warrant a bit of modification for chins. I am willing to perform those modifications for the quality of the cage.

ROTFLMAO!!!

Okay? What's so funny about that statement? Let's not resort to sarcasm and rudeness, let's be grown-ups and have a sophisticated discussion.

Julie, honestly I couldn't tell you. I've never tried to get the pans out of my cages because I just clean them while in place. It would probably be quite a job to get the pans out, though.

 

[Kalandra]

Thanks. Was wondering as I think I may get a couple of bass pans to give a little more sides to prevent poo from being kicked out. I'd rather they fit very snuggly than be loose and easy to remove though!

 

[Stackie]

Thanks. Was wondering as I think I may get a couple of bass pans to give a little more sides to prevent poo from being kicked out. I'd rather they fit very snuggly than be loose and easy to remove though!

They definitely fit very snuggly and do a great job of keeping poop in! They are very easy to clean while in the cage too, so I really don't see any reason to have to get them out since the bottoms won't be getting dirty anyway. The only reason I would take them out was if I was disassembling the cage..and then it would be easy to get them out, because you could just unscrew the sides of the cage and slide the pan out that way.

 

[NOLA Chins]

>Okay? What's so funny about that statement?

I was applauding what I thought was your sense of humor- sorry.

As to shelves fitting flush: I am using flush in the dictionary and carpentry sense. Do your shelves fit snuggly against the sides of the bars on both of the sides without bending said bars and at the same time fit against all 4 sides (not 2) of the corner the shelf is pushed up against? If so, I would love to see a picture of this I have cut a lot of shelves for FN 142's and had to notch all the back corners. It would be of great help to know how to skip this step.

Whether the resulting space is of importance to you - probably not- it may be deemed of importance by some others.

 

[NOLA Chins]

As to the pans, they fit the bottom frame very snuggly but they come out without too much difficulty. Mine come out regular to clean around the outside edges of the pan and the gap between the pan and the cage bars, but then, my chins make messes and pee over the sides sometimes. Do you have shorter pans now?

 

[NOLA Chins]

http://www.bassequipment.com/Kennels/Plastic+Pans/default.aspx

Quote: "ABS Pans: A breakthrough in pan design! Heavy duty, rustproof ABS plastic construction that virtually eliminates the shipping damage that plague metal pans." unquote

I wouldn't use a plastic pan and am not suggesting this is a good alternative.

 

[Solarsis]

The pans do not fit flush with sides- sorry. Yes they can be hard to get in and out, but that wasn't my point. The vertical bars are set back into the square horizontal bars. This leaves a gap between the tops of the pans and the vertical bars. I don't understand how anyone else's can be different than the many I have seen and the one I have.

The FN bars are centered in their mounting square bars. Anything fixed to corner can't fit flush. Go argue with the laws of physics, not me.

Just so you can see that not everyone is having the same experience you are having, I've attached a few pics of the pan and shelf to bar spacing in my cage.

Please tell me how you can run a shelf front-to-back that isn't attached to the sides.

Your original statement said "No front to back shelves because of the big doors." There was nothing mentioned about not attaching shelves to the side. If you attach them, it's possible to have front to back shelves. I've never really heard of shelves that don't need to be attached in some way, unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean.

The finish on one of my cages is cracked and chipped away in small places. No big deal, but it's there. Sorry for the reality check.

I haven't heard of this being a huge common occurrence in these cages. As Stackie mentioned, our cages have been moved and even dropped without a chip. As much as you want to give your "reality check" on this, so do we to make it a fair evaluation for others who read this.

If you want to argue the merits of Chinese steel, go ahead.

Is your cage's steal bent or broken in any way? If so, did it break on its own or did you do something to it? Again, I have not heard of this being a common occurrence. I don't care where the steel is from. I let the performance of the cage speak for itself.

So you all really think the cage is perfect? You wouldn't change anything?

As I wrote, not deal breakers, just some points to ponder. Very strange that not a single point has any validity to you all.

I never said it was a perfect cage, but I also want to provide a balanced view of negative points. I felt some of the points were pretty moot and others just plain unsubstantiated based on my experience as well as the experience of others I know. No need to get so defensive. Just like you, we are giving our opinion of the cage as well.