What would you do?

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John Fortier

John Fortier

Feeling the Heat
Sep 29, 2013
450
We went to a dealer in Sept. and looking at a Quadrafire insert. Money being an issue ,He sold us on a floor model Thelin Providence insert. Saved $1000.00 on it $ 2999.00. and it came with a thermostat. Well it didn't come with a thermostat..fought to get a $15.00 one.They install..1 month later the installer had no clue on pellet stoves.he installed wood burners. 2 weeks later mad burn..Tech finally gets here and not only a bad chip onboard needs to be replaced but the flue is not sealed right. Part ordered..flue fixed. 3 weeks later chip is replaced and we have heat. Last 2 day things not right..find out My ignitor has died, I replaced the fuse and no go. Thanks to folks here I used hand sanitizer to fire it up. Whole reason was to not use oil. Our feeling with the unit is no confidence. It is under warrantee for 1 year but to much is going wrong. I would like the unit taken out and replaced by a unit of equal or greater value ( would pay the difference) Quadra or Harmen. We have had to endure time burning oil and frustration. Now is burning more pellet. Am I within my rights to groan for a new unit?
 
Do you know the manufacture date? Might give you an idea of how long it was a floor model...
 
Jeez, idk. Your dealer honored the warranty, so no issue there, but I do understand your lack of confidence in the stove. If he did take it back, I'd be very surprised if he gave you what you paid, unless he was gonna gouge you on the next one.

If it makes you feel better, my 5 day old Harman needed an ESP, and 3 months later a dist blower, both covered under warranty. However, I have no doubts about the quality of my stove, nor any worries about future nagging.....not by the stove anyway ;)
 
No tags are up front so I would have to pull the unit to try and find one. Love the heat and not liking the stove.
 
My fear is once the warrenty is done , then I need to pay. While the stove is down then I pay the oil tab. Costing me twice .
 
Maybe, once the igniter issue is dealt with, all the bumps in the road will be behind you.

Find the stove's DOB, and if it's nothing crazy, try not to worry about it. Most stoves will have hiccups here and there and Quad isn't known for putting out less than reliable stoves, in general.

ETA- Sorry, John. Just realized you bought a Thelin, not a Quad.
 
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Thinking the same way, replace all the new parts and its new again...but it was new.
 
Some people prefer stove without a igniter. One less chance for problems
You saved a lot of money buying a used stove or sometimes called a floor model. Sometimes there is a price to saving money. Igniters can be a problem look at all the AEs on the market and how fast they ate igniters. Most dealers will tell the now owners to have a extra igniter on hand as they are known to be a weak point.
 
This thread mentions tempco igniters at Graingers $22 in 2010 (Harman accentra insert igniter). Info is from a service tech. This one will be on the dealers dime but if and when you need another it would be worth it to check Graingers:)
 
A floor model is essentially a used stove, and an ignitor is a "wear" part , so it's normal for it to go. The only really rough part of the transaction was the original installer. Other than that, I think it's just a small bit of bad luck with the chip and an ignitor that finally went (and is now new). I have no idea on the reliability of the mfr / model, mind you. We had similar problems with our MVAE at first, but it eventually got cleared up and has been great past two seasons.
 
The stoves production date will be shown on the label with the serial number and the testing certification. I have been burning my Thelin for 6 winters, I am on my third ignitor and I just replaced the blower fan. Only other problem was I replaced a T-1 sensor that I broke replacing my ignitor. I am happy with mine.
 
I don't know anything about the stove you have. Yes there can be problems with any brand. A year and a half ago I bought a used enviro inset and had problems from day one.so I decided I was gnna cut my losses and get rid of this nightmare so the stove I payed a $1500 a year and a half ago I took a loss and got $200 trade in and bought a harman . All I can say is the harman is a night and day difference.i have been in your shoes so know how frustrating it can be. So if you can get something decent for it and get harman go for it . I did and thus far extremely happy with it. One thing I will add is make sure the place can install them.from my research I found that is key to having a good stove. My tech was great answering most of my questions even before I asked him. He had a real passion for harman stoves.what ever you decide good luck.
 
I would not sweat the igniter chalk it up as bad luck. Give it a couple months I think you still may have gotten a good deal with some bad luck.
 
Maybe it's just bad luck, but when I went shopping for a pellet stove, my local shop had a Thelin Tiburon on display. A very nice looking contemporary unit with built in backup battery. For half price. Why? They said they were getting out of Thelins due to an inability to get parts. I was pretty tempted by the Tiburon.

Their big seller is the Gnome, and there are lots of threads here with fans failing, pans not fitting and people not getting good customer service from Thelin.

In my opinion, I would make a decision based upon how much you feel you can rely upon your dealer, as Thelin seems poorly managed.
 
Update.. Stove was built in 2011 we paid $1000.00 less than list ( according to dealer). Stove was never used as a floor model being we were run out of the house on first burn and paint smell ( smoke alarms went off). They are coming out Tom. to replace the igniter free of charge. I am happy about how fast they are getting here as I have used up all our hand sanitizer. Question with the warranty..should it be from date bought or Friday from time it has been fixed because of failure?
 
I would try a shoot for when the chip was replaced at least. Would give you another month. Would probably be on the dealers dime as he probably registered it to get replacement chip.
 
Thanks Bio, that will carry me to Dec. 22nd. No need for a summer warranty.Even without the thermostat we are a toasty 74 just burning and cleaning more. It is also a pain to light with hand sanitizer!!!
 
Our first pellet stove could only run about 12 hours max before shut down and clean of pot. Edit , it was in 1983, the first Whitfield standalone pellet stove. Stoves have come along way.
 
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Normal run has been a every 2 day clean. I am now cleaning twice a day.
 
Sorry to say it this way but you purchased the stove with your eyes open, if you do not feel comfortable you need to suck it up and pay. It sounds like your dealer is being pretty good, be straight up with him and ask what it would cost you to swap it out. When I decided I wanted to go from my Englander to a Harman I knew it would cost me and made the decision to spend the money. Realistically your stove is probably worth the same next October as it is today, let your dealer fix it up and give it a little more time. It will also give you an opportunity to save up some extra cash and perhaps list it online and sell it for more than the dealer will give you in trade.
 
I am very happy with how the dealer is taking care of all that is and has gone on. I know what we bought, just didn't expect problems this fast. All in all..love the heat, savings and stove. Time will tell.
 
I would think the warranty started at time of install...As for problems when new, my auger motor had to be replaced on my Harman 3 months old.. so things happen..
 
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