Are spare parts and technical support available locally?

Let me start with a call I got last year.

A mining client in Zambia’s Copperbelt – we’ll call him Michael – rang me at 7am on a Monday. His 80-ton scale had stopped working over the weekend. The indicator showed “error” on all load cells.

Turns out there was a lightning strike near the site on Saturday night. Surge protection wasn’t properly installed (not our scale, someone else’s). Fried the junction board and three load cells.

Michael called the original supplier – a trader in South Africa who’d resold a Chinese scale. No answer on Sunday. Monday they said: “We’ll order parts from China. Four to six weeks.”

So, what usually breaks first?

From hundreds of African installations, here’s the failure rank:

1. Load cells – 60% of failures. Usually water ingress, lightning, or just old age. Cheap IP67 cells die faster. Good IP68 stainless lasts longer, but nothing lasts forever in a mine or coastal site.

2. Junction box – 20%. Water gets in through cable glands or condensation. Even sealed boxes can fail if silica gel isn’t replaced yearly.

3. Indicator (display) – 10%. Power surges, lightning, or just a dropped handheld remote. Sometimes just a blown fuse.

4. Cables – 5%. Rodents chew through them. Be careful: a half-chewed cable can give intermittent errors that are hard to find.

5. Deck or mechanical – 5%. Usually after many years – bent beams, seized bolts, worn end plates.

What about technical support – remote vs on-site?

Not every problem needs a technician to travel. A good supplier should offer:

Level 1 – Remote diagnostics (free, same day)

- Customer describes symptoms (e.g., “Indicator shows weight but doesn’t change when truck drives on”)

- We walk them through basic checks: power, cables, loose connections, test weigh with known weight

- 60% of issues get solved remotely. Often just a loose cable or someone changed a setting by accident.

Level 2 – On-site support via local partner (48–72 hours typical)

- Load cell replacement, junction box swap, indicator reconfiguration

- Should cost $300–$800 depending on travel distance

Level 3 – Supplier sends own technician (1–2 weeks, expensive)

- Only for major installations or warranty claims where local capability isn’t enough

- Cost: $2,500–$4,000 plus flights and accommodation

At Fujian Fangda Weighbridge Manufacturer, China, we don’t just sell weighbridges. We stock parts, we answer calls, and we show up. Not because we’re perfect – but because we’ve been doing this in Africa long enough to know that’s what keeps our clients coming back.

Need to check if we have parts for your existing scale? Or want a list of recommended spares to keep on your shelf? Just ask. We’ll tell you honestly.

Fujian Fangda Weighing Instruments provides a full range of electronic weighbridge from 30 tons to 200 tons