certainly annoying, but not a massive deal. Ask them to straighten them out with a little fin comb.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Straightening-Condensers-Conditioner-Refrigerator-Refrigeration/dp/B07VNDT21Z

@batalto what a great little tool, thanks! I'll ask them or if not do it myself

Some of our fins were damaged too when the unit arrived, but it's not a massive problem in the greater scheme of things. The fin combs, from what I've heard, work quite well. 

some come out if the box like that, so presumably the manufacturers know and don’t deem it important

Theres a technical argument that a little bit of resistance creates turbulence and improves heat transfer…so it’s probably not all bad!

but hey I guess it’s easier to demonise installers, than blame manufacturers for poor packaging,  what is it about this country and tradesmen!

@alec-morrow I'm not demonising anyone, I don't think that's fair. This installation is the most expensive purchase we've ever made second only to our house, and we expected it to come in good condition. Is that unreasonable?

Also if having bent out of shape fins helped with performance, don't you think the manufacturers would have tried that? I'm imagining imperfections like these will also increase noise levels. 

Far more care should be taken during packaging and transporting of air source heat pumps. These are heavy machines; ours weighed just under 200kg, and the delivery guy put it on a trolley, banged it while dragging along the gravel so it’s little surprise we had bent fins given how delicate they are. More thought should go into this - our £300 TV came packaged like it was a Fabergé egg, but our £8,000 heat pump was protected by some cardboard and insulation wrap. 

I'm sure if their new car had visible damage, most owners would (rightly) insist on it being fixed or replaced.  Installers who put in ASHPs with damaged fins are really lucky they are not being asked to repair or replace. I suspect consumer law would back the customer.  

Posted by: @kev-m

↑

I'm sure if their new car had visible damage, most owners would (rightly) insist on it being fixed or replaced.  Installers who put in ASHPs with damaged fins are really lucky they are not being asked to repair or replace. I suspect consumer law would back the customer.  

Fortunately my installers said they'll come to straighten them next week.

We can't really ask for them to replace it because it'll probably be another month without a heating system.

Posted by: @kev-m

↑

I suspect consumer law would back the customer.  

Based on my recent forays into consumer protections and ombudsman cases, I'm not so sure. That should be case on paper, but in reality things get really murky. I'll be posting an article on our most recent experience and it's not very heartening. 

Posted by: @editor

↑

our £8,000 heat pump was protected by some cardboard and insulation wrap. 

• Our ecodan came on a pallet, with polystyrene corners and the lot wrapped in clear plastic.

My outdoor unit had similar damage to the fins - it looks like it's only very small areas and ours was similar - the bottom corner had obviously been bashed a bit and there were a couple of small dents elsewhere. They are easy enough to straighten, you can do it with a fingernail but obviously a comb would be better. 

They are very easily bent so it's not surprising that they get damaged in transit or installation. From what I have read, unless the damage is severe or over a large area then it will make minimal difference to the efficiency of the unit. I was more annoyed that the builders (doing other work, nothing to do with the installation) scratched the top cover of the outdoor unit. I don't know what metal the covers are made out of but I wonder if it might corrode as the scratches go right through the paint in a couple of places.