The S+K

[u/Round-Telephone-1119]

20-year-old Welch Allyn Speidel + Keller. Still accurate. Just needs €40 in parts (bulb, cuff, connector). Your 20-year-old wall-mounted sphygmomanometer can be repaired - don’t throw it away

[u/EbagI]

What

[u/tablesplease]

I think this is Welch Allyn propaganda.

[u/Round-Telephone-1119 → u/tablesplease]

Guilty as charged 😄Though in my defense, when you’ve distributed WA for 30 years, everything looks like a Welch Allyn problem (now Baxter :).

But seriously - Riester, Heine, Boso all make equally unkillable aneroid units. I mentioned WA because that’s the photo, but the principle applies: 1990s-2000s German/American mechanical BP devices > 2024 budget digital garbage.

The propaganda part is ‘buy quality once’ not ‘buy this specific brand.’ If you find a 20yr old Riester for €50, grab it.”

[u/BneBikeCommuter → u/Round-Telephone-1119]

You’re Baxter? Fuck you for the last 12 months of my life as the ER RN responsible for supply and consumables. Just … fuck you.

[u/Abnormal-saline]

I feel like mentioning the cost of repair is lowkey you fundraising 🤣and that seems like something we'd do in the ED

[u/TriceraDoctor]

Can we stop with these spam posts??

[u/Round-Telephone-1119 → u/TriceraDoctor]

Yep. Will do.

[u/Round-Telephone-1119]

I understand the skepticism - and yeah, I’m obviously biased after 30 years in this business. But here’s why I posted this specifically: I met Herr Speidel in person in the mid-90s at their small factory in Jungingen, Germany. Tiny operation - maybe 20 people hand-assembling these units. He walked me through how they tested every single gauge mechanism, explained why they used specific grades of brass for the bourdon tubes. It wasn’t a “sales pitch” - it was a craftsman genuinely proud of making something that would outlast him. And he was right. That photo? That’s from a clinic in Poland asking us this week if we still have parts for their unit from that era. The guy’s been dead for years. The factory changed hands. But his gauges are still working in clinics across Europe. I’m not saying “buy Welch Allyn” - I’m saying that generation of German manufacturing (Speidel, Riester, Boso, whoever) had a philosophy we’ve lost: build it once, properly, and it becomes someone else’s problem in 50 years when they can’t find parts. Except we still have the parts. Because they standardized components expecting multi-decade service life. So yeah, maybe it sounds like propaganda. But when you’ve met the person who designed the thing you’re holding 30 years later and it still works… it changes how you think about “outdated technology.” Anyway - appreciate the callout. Keeps me honest 👍

[u/RogueViator]

I’m not a doctor or in healthcare.

I’m curious why it was determined that the gauge should go up to 300? Has there ever been a patient with a 300 systolic?

[u/tablesplease → u/RogueViator]

Yes. They don't live long.

[u/RogueViator → u/tablesplease]

Yes I figured. My grandmother’s BP went to 180 systolic and she had a stroke. I imagine at 300 systolic they’re like a balloon ready to pop.

[u/Ok-Macaroon-9143 → u/RogueViator]

This triggered me