Blame the timing, not the tech. Every piece of gear I've ever owned dies right when I actually need it, like they all went to the same school of bad timing. It's not just drives either, cars blow head gaskets on road trips, phones die at the airport, washers break the day before company comes over. The universe loves a good punchline, that's for sure. Your photos might be gone, but at least you got a story out of it, lol. Backups are only good until they're not, and then you just rebuild and move on.

Funny, my cheap heater lasted 4 seasons out at Seldovia, so maybe the regulator just got a bad batch.

Cost efficiency thinking" lol that's just corporate for we dont actually wanna pay what we posted. Honestly sounds like they wanted you to lowball yourself so they could save a few grand, and 10 seconds of silence isnt a big deal. Plenty of places post ranges then act like you're crazy for asking the top number, its a game they play.