Product review (3 stars): Graphic switch overlay failure due to cheap material
Our Zephyr Hurricane range hood is fine, but I am disgusted with the graphic overlay on the membrane switch on the front of the unit. Clearly, they used cheap polycarbonate, which has failed after seven years. My husband and I both come from an industry that involves membrane switch and overlay manufacture, and we know too well what a cheap film can do to the appearance of an appliance. That's why we promoted the use of polyester rather than polycabonate for graphic overlays. The on/off dome on ours has split and is about to fall off. It's an aesthetic problem, but one that should not be occurring on a unit that costs nearly $600. But even a standard polycarbonate dome should survive 250,000 actuations. By our calculation, ours has not even had to withstand one third of that. Very poor choice of materials, I'd say. If the overlay had been manufactured with polyester film, it would likely outlast the life of the appliance.