Pacific Energy cracked welds

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hemlock

hemlock

Feeling the Heat
May 6, 2009
455
east coast canada
Hello,
Thought I would start a spin-off from another thread (if I'm out if line Mods, just delete it). It seems that welds cracking in the firebox of some of the PE stoves is not that isolated of an incident. I'm not attempting to stir anything up, or smear PE at all here (I like my Super 27), but I am curious how many others have experienced cracked welds in their PE stoves, and what if anything was done to repair or remedy it. Did you repair it yourself, or let PE or the distributor deal with it? Thanks in advance.

Edit/Update - PE and the dealer/distributor will honour the warranty in full.
Pacific Energy will stand by their product and warranty, offering full repairs to the stove, including removal and re-install. A stand-up company.
 
Did you search for cracks in pe stoves, I think there are several threads on here from the last couple of years.
 
cmonSTART said:
Out of curiosity, where are you noticing the cracks?
Click to expand...

Hello,
They are on the primary air channels at the top, just behind the door where they are welded on to the cross piece.
 
hemlock said:
cmonSTART said:
Out of curiosity, where are you noticing the cracks?
Click to expand...

Hello,
They are on the primary air channels at the top, just behind the door where they are welded on to the cross piece.
Click to expand...

Pictures?
 
I am seriously considering an Alderlea T-5 and hope this turns out well for you..

Ray
 
From the looks of the pictures it didn't look to concerning. Before I bought my stove I read the thread where Hogz had the bad welds and it seemed like they narrowed it down to a time frame where there were some bad welds in manufacturing. Just curious what year your stove is? maybe it falls within the time frame of the bad weld. I wish I could remember the name of the thread that the welds are talked about but I do remember that PE took care of the weld and made the problem right. One of the things that sold me on my PE was the fact that they did honor others warranty when there was a problem. Has your dealer gotten back with you yet?
 
certified106 said:
From the looks of the pictures it didn't look to concerning. Before I bought my stove I read the thread where Hogz had the bad welds and it seemed like they narrowed it down to a time frame where there were some bad welds in manufacturing. Just curious what year your stove is? maybe it falls within the time frame of the bad weld. I wish I could remember the name of the thread that the welds are talked about but I do remember that PE took care of the weld and made the problem right. One of the things that sold me on my PE was the fact that they did honor others warranty when there was a problem. Has your dealer gotten back with you yet?
Click to expand...

The stove is about 4/5 years old. Neither the dealer or Pacific Energy has returned any of my correspondence as of yet. I'll give them a few more days (I contacted them on Monday, so to be fair it's only been a couple of days). It really does appear to be bad welds the more I look at them. From past experience, it is somewhat rare to see an actual weld crack - generally they break right beside the weld if they are going to break at all. One weld in particular looks especially bad. There appears to be no penetration at all, indicating not enough heat (on this weld, the crack is right beside the bead).
I don't think they are anything to be to concerned about, as I'm pretty sure they don't compromise the structural integrity of the stove, nor do they seem to affect the stoves operation. If PE and the dealer ignore me, I may just drill a couple of small holes at the ends of the cracks and let them be.

Edit/Update - PE and the dealer/distributor will honour the warranty in full.
 
Welds themselves very seldom crack, as they are much stronger than the metal they are in. the metal around the welds usually cracks from flexing, expanding and contracting. If they are just in the secondary air boxes then they affect little if small cracks. easy to repair. But I agree that You should not have to in the first place. Both my liberties developed cracks in the secondary air boxes, Lopi wanted the stoves shipped to the factory for repair. Whatever, just grabed the buz box and fixed it on the spot. free fix, but no more warranty. what good is a warranty if I dont have a stove for 6-8 weeks during the middle of winter.
 
Out of curiosity, I just checked my stove and see that I have the same cracks on both sides of the firebox. It's a Vista Classic manufactured in November 2007. The crack is more pronounced on the latch side. The crack on the opposite side is not as long, but identical. That stinks. I was hoping to avoid any issues like this for a while. This was my third season of burning. The stove has never been pushed hard. I have burned around a cord a year, so 3 to maybe 4 cords at most have been burned in the stove.

Please let us know what you find out from PE.
 
Nic36 said:
Out of curiosity, I just checked my stove and see that I have the same cracks on both sides of the firebox. It's a Vista Classic manufactured in November 2007. The crack is more pronounced on the latch side. The crack on the opposite side is not as long, but identical. That stinks. I was hoping to avoid any issues like this for a while. This was my third season of burning. The stove has never been pushed hard. I have burned around a cord a year, so 3 to maybe 4 cords at most have been burned in the stove.

Please let us know what you find out from PE.
Click to expand...

My PE is also a 2007. Perhaps it was a production issue particular to that year. I'll let you know what they say.

Edit - Update - PE has informed me that they will pay up to $150 to have the cracks welded.
 
hemlock said:
Nic36 said:
Out of curiosity, I just checked my stove and see that I have the same cracks on both sides of the firebox. It's a Vista Classic manufactured in November 2007. The crack is more pronounced on the latch side. The crack on the opposite side is not as long, but identical. That stinks. I was hoping to avoid any issues like this for a while. This was my third season of burning. The stove has never been pushed hard. I have burned around a cord a year, so 3 to maybe 4 cords at most have been burned in the stove.

Please let us know what you find out from PE.
Click to expand...

My PE is also a 2007. Perhaps it was a production issue particular to that year. I'll let you know what they say.

Edit - Update - PE has informed me that they will pay up to $150 to have the cracks welded.
Click to expand...
This is the first I have heard of a $150.00 cap on repairs. It doesn't seem to be in line with PE's 5 year comprehensive warranty.

In my situation, I was able to get the dealer to remove the firebox and send it for repair on PE's dime. The dealer's welder didn't think the weld repairs could be done, so it was sent to PE's welder. Then the dealer reinstalled the stove, even though I did the original install. That probably cost more than $150.00.

I had to argue a bit for the removal and reinstall, but my reasoning was that I installed it without any expectation of having to remove it after four years. I bought a PE in the first place because I heard they were solidly built. Also, a 500 pound firebox isn't like a a defective ipod or something that is easy to send away for repair. I think those are pretty sound reasons.

After my first burn season with the repair welds, I noticed some slight cracking in the top left and right corner repaired welds. I will have to see the condition they are in after the second burn season, once I sweep the chimney. If they are worse, I don't think I am going to accept another repair welding job.
 
Sisu said:
hemlock said:
Nic36 said:
Out of curiosity, I just checked my stove and see that I have the same cracks on both sides of the firebox. It's a Vista Classic manufactured in November 2007. The crack is more pronounced on the latch side. The crack on the opposite side is not as long, but identical. That stinks. I was hoping to avoid any issues like this for a while. This was my third season of burning. The stove has never been pushed hard. I have burned around a cord a year, so 3 to maybe 4 cords at most have been burned in the stove.

Please let us know what you find out from PE.
Click to expand...

My PE is also a 2007. Perhaps it was a production issue particular to that year. I'll let you know what they say.

Edit - Update - PE has informed me that they will pay up to $150 to have the cracks welded.
Click to expand...
This is the first I have heard of a $150.00 cap on repairs. It doesn't seem to be in line with PE's 5 year comprehensive warranty.

In my situation, I was able to get the dealer to remove the firebox and send it for repair on PE's dime. The dealer's welder didn't think the weld repairs could be done, so it was sent to PE's welder. Then the dealer reinstalled the stove, even though I did the original install. That probably cost more than $150.00.

I had to argue a bit for the removal and reinstall, but my reasoning was that I installed it without any expectation of having to remove it after four years. I bought a PE in the first place because I heard they were solidly built. Also, a 500 pound firebox isn't like a a defective ipod or something that is easy to send away for repair. I think those are pretty sound reasons.

After my first burn season with the repair welds, I noticed some slight cracking in the top left and right corner repaired welds. I will have to see the condition they are in after the second burn season, once I sweep the chimney. If they are worse, I don't think I am going to accept another repair welding job.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not that impressed. I can't get a welder out here for $150.00, and I'm not moving the thing myself. Guess I'll fix it on my own. This spells the end of me and PE when the time comes. Can't see spending the extra money on stoves that crack and poor technical support.

Edit/Update - PE and the dealer/distributor will honour the warranty in full.
 
hemlock said:
Sisu said:
hemlock said:
Nic36 said:
Out of curiosity, I just checked my stove and see that I have the same cracks on both sides of the firebox. It's a Vista Classic manufactured in November 2007. The crack is more pronounced on the latch side. The crack on the opposite side is not as long, but identical. That stinks. I was hoping to avoid any issues like this for a while. This was my third season of burning. The stove has never been pushed hard. I have burned around a cord a year, so 3 to maybe 4 cords at most have been burned in the stove.

Please let us know what you find out from PE.
Click to expand...

My PE is also a 2007. Perhaps it was a production issue particular to that year. I'll let you know what they say.

Edit - Update - PE has informed me that they will pay up to $150 to have the cracks welded.
Click to expand...
This is the first I have heard of a $150.00 cap on repairs. It doesn't seem to be in line with PE's 5 year comprehensive warranty.

In my situation, I was able to get the dealer to remove the firebox and send it for repair on PE's dime. The dealer's welder didn't think the weld repairs could be done, so it was sent to PE's welder. Then the dealer reinstalled the stove, even though I did the original install. That probably cost more than $150.00.

I had to argue a bit for the removal and reinstall, but my reasoning was that I installed it without any expectation of having to remove it after four years. I bought a PE in the first place because I heard they were solidly built. Also, a 500 pound firebox isn't like a a defective ipod or something that is easy to send away for repair. I think those are pretty sound reasons.

After my first burn season with the repair welds, I noticed some slight cracking in the top left and right corner repaired welds. I will have to see the condition they are in after the second burn season, once I sweep the chimney. If they are worse, I don't think I am going to accept another repair welding job.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not that impressed. I can't get a welder out here for $150.00, and I'm not moving the thing myself. Guess I'll fix it on my own. This spells the end of me and PE when the time comes. Can't see spending the extra money on stoves that crack and poor technical support.
Click to expand...
Dont quit now put the heat on them, tell him you are going to shout this from the roof tops, one of the reasons I bought a PE was because of the warranty and they better put up or shut up.
 
oldspark said:
Dont quit now put the heat on them, tell him you are going to shout this from the roof tops, one of the reasons I bought a PE was because of the warranty and they better put up or shut up.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Don't give up now. The five year warranty should be covering the costs associated with any repair or replacement. Do they stand behind their warranty or not?!

When I first posted about the cracks in my firebox, Tom "TheChimneySweep" posted stories about PE owners who over-fired their stoves and yet received complete stove replacements. It seems either the bad-actors are rewarded or that PE's warranty "golden years" are over.
 
Took the advice. E-mailed the dealer and told him this is not enough. You pay good money for these stoves, they shouldn't break after 4 years. Either they honour their warranty or they don't - plain and simple. I'll keep you posted.
 
hemlock said:
Took the advice. E-mailed the dealer and told him this is not enough. You pay good money for these stoves, they shouldn't break after 4 years - plain and simple. I'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...

Good luck!

On a side note, I noticed that PE has changed their website wording on their 5 year comprehensive warranty. Two years ago it said:

"5 Year Comprehensive

Pacific Energy will replace any part found to be defective (parts and labor) for five years from the date of purchase. This coverage includes electrical components (blowers, speed controls and thermal switches)."

Now their website states:

"5 Year Comprehensive
Pacific Energy will replace or repair any part found to be defective (parts and labor) for five years from the date of purchase. This coverage includes electrical components (blowers, speed controls and thermal switches)."

Just remember, parts and labour are covered. No where does it state that it will repair a firebox up to a cost of $150.00.
 
Don't let up on them there's no reason for the cracks to happen.Even if you overfired the stove on a continuous basis. The engineers should have designed the stove knowing that SOME will test them to the limits. My quadrafire 5700 cracked and the replacement was quick with no hassle,a new stove 5700. Didn't keep it though to many NEW design changes that compromised it's heating ability. Good luck.
 
Sounds like they are very different scenarios. The 5700 was dangerous to use with two large side cracks to the exterior.
 
This thread is interesting to me as I have a love/hate relationship with mail order and factory through dealer only purchases.

I have had two warranty issues with my Woodstock Keystone - not an inexpensive stove. The first was a broken door latch - that my Son broke. I tried to pay, Woodstock would have none of it and sent me a new one on their dime, I paid shipping. The second was the catalyst combustor. That one could have been my fault, but I think the cat was a dud. None the less, Woodstock sent me a new one on their dime, I paid the shipping. Woodstock is a mail order stove only, but customer service is outstanding.

The other stove of mine is a low priced Englander 30. $649 plus free shipping to my door. No dealer for it either, but phone support any time I need it. I don't consider $649 as throw away money, but it is small compared to Woodstock pricing and I figure if I have a stove problem that can't get fixed under warranty, I'll either fix it or find another stove. Somehow I think the Englander is going to be a great stove.

Then there's the dealers. Some welcome me in as often as I like - they understand I'm window shopping, but may buy a big ticket item at some point down the road. I find these dealers few and far between. Most dealers are very good to me when I've got my wallet open ready to spend - otherwise, I'm waisting their time. Then sometimes they really get irritated it I ask questions or heaven forbid try to return something. BUT, I like supporting the dealers when I can and that's generally my first stop. I just mark them off if they act like they deserve my business. With mail order, I can window shop as long as I want and no pressure to buy.

So what to do when and if I decide to upgrade the Englander to a fancier stove? Right now I am watching this PE deal unfold. I hope they make it right because in the end, PE is a steel plate a steel stove, not unlike the Englander, just heavier made and with the Alderlea series, easier on my eyes.

I've got my fingers crossed that PE will fix your stoves to satisifaction for your sake and for my future purchase considerations.

Good luck,
Bill
 
Man I hope this turns out well.. That $150.00 limit sounds bogus to me! The way I see it is PE should pay for removing the defective part then repair and reinstall it and if that repair fails they must replace it.. For $2000+ I expect much better!!!

Ray
 
I'm sorry. Wood stoves should not crack in normal usage. One or two every once in a while just happens. But when a lot of them are doing it that is a design issue. Not a bad day at the office for the robot welder.
 
From what has been presented, hemlock's stove did not crack. From the picture posted it looked like a small crack in the weld. It looks unusual and very different from Sisu's issue. I don't mean to trivialize the situation, but I also don't think it should be exaggerated either.
 
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