Pacific Energy cracked welds

"PE has stated that the repair will be covered under warranty. I’ll wait a bit and see if the distributor gets back to me. "

Just send a copy (electronic or paper) of PE's email to the distributor/dealer. That should end the discussion. If it doesn't, I'd ask the dealer what more they need to honor the warranty.

hemlock said:

A little update - Sent another e-mail staing that the $150 is unacceptable. PE has stated that the repair will be covered under warranty. I'll wait a bit and see if the distributor gets back to me. PE themselves seem to be being reasonable I have to say. It seems that there may be a disconnect between PE and the dealer. I have half a mind to push for a new firebox.
P.S. - I'm just cranky because its cold out, my stove is sitting there empty, and I'm having to burn oil.

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From what I saw in those pictures I wouldn't let those welds stop you from burning in it since they aren't outer firebox welds.

DanCorcoran said:

"PE has stated that the repair will be covered under warranty. I’ll wait a bit and see if the distributor gets back to me. "

Just send a copy (electronic or paper) of PE's email to the distributor/dealer. That should end the discussion. If it doesn't, I'd ask the dealer what more they need to honor the warranty.

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Very good to hear! I know when I find something that is broken I usually lose any sight of objectivity and want it fixed immediately so as hard as it is hang in there it sounds like they are planning on making it right.

Just looked at mine, one side is fine but the.other looks like the weld is stating to come out.

We've sold Hundreds of PE stoves since 2006. Literally truckloads. Never had a call on a cracked weld. Had a couple calls on "don't throw any heat/can't get it goin" (the wet wood guys), and 2 baffles replaced under wtty in 5 yrs of selling and servicing them. I heat my place w/ one since 2007, avg 4 cord a year. Thing is as solid as they day it was built. Steel stoves can get bad welds, or simply welds that fail.... much like a cast unit can develop a stress crack, or not have enough cement/gasket stuck in a seam somewhere. I've seen stoves of every type utterly fail, warp, crack, self destruct. It happens. PE should make good on it, and based on the pics, it aint a hard fix at all.

I have not inquired on having mine fixed yet. I must confess that I have been waiting to see how Hemlock resolves his ordeal. I have to wonder what would happen if nothing was done to the welds at all? I think mine are in the same location as Hemlock's. (I need to thoroughly check elsewhere though.) Maybe someone can answer that or speculate at least. I also wonder if having it welded will be long lasting, or will it be just as likely to crack again? There is also the hassle of having to disconnect the stove, hauling it somewhere without damaging it, finding a welder, hoping he knows what he's doing, hoping he can weld it properly, hoping he doesn't damage anything else and hoping I can get it back to the house and reinstalled without damaging it.

But then again, I paid quite a bit of money for the stove (at least to me I did), and the stove should not be having any issues for what little time I have owned it.

summit said:

We've sold Hundreds of PE stoves since 2006. Literally truckloads. Never had a call on a cracked weld. Had a couple calls on "don't throw any heat/can't get it goin" (the wet wood guys), and 2 baffles replaced under wtty in 5 yrs of selling and servicing them. I heat my place w/ one since 2007, avg 4 cord a year. Thing is as solid as they day it was built. Steel stoves can get bad welds, or simply welds that fail.... much like a cast unit can develop a stress crack, or not have enough cement/gasket stuck in a seam somewhere. I've seen stoves of every type utterly fail, warp, crack, self destruct. It happens. PE should make good on it, and based on the pics, it aint a hard fix at all.

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I think the PE stoves are pretty good stoves and I imagine that the ratio of buyers that inquire about a new PE and also study-up on a new stoves on Hearth.com is pretty low. Having dealers that pitch a good stove and looks great and has a great warranty is about all most need to hear - but...

If I'm PE, I'm throwing all sorts of resources on this problem as highlighted on this forum - else, they got a public relations black-eye and a trust problem with standing behind their stoves - let alone the design of them. Everytime someone inquires or does some searching on this forum there are going to be lingering questions. PE stoves are very expensive and they need to get after these cracked welds in such a way that makes the owner very happy with their stove and to make the company appear to be a stand-up outfit to deal with.

I don't know if you have a direct line to PE, but it might be good to give them a heads-up their product is in question on this forum.

Thanks!
Bill

leeave96 said:

summit said:

We've sold Hundreds of PE stoves since 2006. Literally truckloads. Never had a call on a cracked weld. Had a couple calls on "don't throw any heat/can't get it goin" (the wet wood guys), and 2 baffles replaced under wtty in 5 yrs of selling and servicing them. I heat my place w/ one since 2007, avg 4 cord a year. Thing is as solid as they day it was built. Steel stoves can get bad welds, or simply welds that fail.... much like a cast unit can develop a stress crack, or not have enough cement/gasket stuck in a seam somewhere. I've seen stoves of every type utterly fail, warp, crack, self destruct. It happens. PE should make good on it, and based on the pics, it aint a hard fix at all.

Click to expand...

I think the PE stoves are pretty good stoves and I imagine that the ratio of buyers that inquire about a new PE and also study-up on a new stoves on Hearth.com is pretty low. Having dealers that pitch a good stove and looks great and has a great warranty is about all most need to hear - but...

If I'm PE, I'm throwing all sorts of resources on this problem as highlighted on this forum - else, they got a public relations black-eye and a trust problem with standing behind their stoves - let alone the design of them. Everytime someone inquires or does some searching on this forum there are going to be lingering questions. PE stoves are very expensive and they need to get after these cracked welds in such a way that makes the owner very happy with their stove and to make the company appear to be a stand-up outfit to deal with.

I don't know if you have a direct line to PE, but it might be good to give them a heads-up their product is in question on this forum.

Thanks!
Bill

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Bill,
Summit sounds like he knows how good these stoves really are.. When people research (Google) these stoves Hearth.com comes up all the time so this info does get out there.. Unfortunately bad news travels like wildfire regardless how much good news there is.. I still like these stoves and I think there is more to this story than what we're reading here.. I would love to see PE post in here to defend their position and tell their side of the story.. To me it sounds like the dealer may be a big part of the problem as they should have handled this matter with a sense of urgency to avoid what we have here. We could go on and on about this problem.. Let's see how it plays out from here..

Ray

hemlock said:

I would like to say that by starting this thread, my intent was not to smear PE in any way. For the most part, the stove has been excellent. In my communication with PE, they have been very reasonable. Yes, I'm not terribley impressed that the welds let go after 4 years (who would be), and that the dealer seems to be dragging their feet on the matter. If I've dragged PE's name down (and it appers I may have) - that was not my intent, and perhaps this thread should be snuffed out until the issue is resolved, as to not shed PE in an unfair light.

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Hemlock,
At no point have I felt anyone was trying to smear PE.. We all just want to see PE come through and resolve this issue.. If anything we are cheering them on to to do the right thing nd in the end I feel they will.. As wood burners we tend to back each other through our common bonds.. My feeling all along is the dealer has been the problem and they should be ashamed of themselves! I will be factoring in a dealer's performance as part of my decision..

Ray

hemlock said:

I would like to say that by starting this thread, my intent was not to smear PE in any way. For the most part, the stove has been excellent. In my communication with PE, they have been very reasonable. Yes, I'm not terribley impressed that the welds let go after 4 years (who would be), and that the dealer seems to be dragging their feet on the matter. If I've dragged PE's name down (and it appers I may have) - that was not my intent, and perhaps this thread should be snuffed out until the issue is resolved, as to not shed PE in an unfair light.

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Don't worry Hemlock, at no point would we think that you are smearing PE. If anything, we would rather be bragging how great our stoves are. However, due to these circumstances, our confidence in our stoves has diminished.

The frustration I experienced last year was because I noticed evidence of cracks in my repaired welds. I attempted to contact (via email and phone) the PE contact I dealt with my original warranty claim just to ask if the stove was safe to burn over the winter. To this day, I have not received any response or reply, despite leaving emails (with pictures of the cracks) and voice messages. When I called, they would always ask who was calling, and then state he wasn't in the office. I was hoping for better customer service.

I think the bigger issue is in regard to what is making the cracks in the first place and does it reduce the lifespan/safety of the stove? In Hogz and my situations, the outside steel of the firebox was cracking too. My stove it was just one spot on the door rim. Hogz was worse with the stove face on either side of the door cracking. Repairing the welds is fine, if the repair fixes the problem. However, if the repairs don't hold, what should be done? Also, depending on the usage of the stove, will the cracking stop at the internal weld or will they migrate to the exterior steel of the firebox? An exterior crack has the potential of causing over-firing, making a bad situation worse and dangerous.

These are questions that need to be asked and answered. If they cannot be answered, then repairing the weld is just a band-aid solution to a bigger problem.

hemlock said:

Final word - PE has come through. Recieved a call from their distributor saying they will remove the stove and repair the cracked welds. They have lived up to their warranty and good name. Thank you Pacific Energy.

On that note - I truly hope I have not soured anyone on PE, or hope that I have not brought their name down at all. Once again, that was not the intent of this thread in any way, shape or form. The stove, (and I'm sure all others by PE) are very well made. Incidents like this happen, and the company has honoured their end of the warranty just as they said they would. That should speak volumes about the company. Don't hesitate to buy a Pacific Energy. As the dealer/distributor pointed out, this should be taken in context - as a percentage of good stoves to ones with defects, the numbers of defective stoves is near zero.

Further to that - I hope the mods will consider deleting this thread. I regret that I may have been too hasty in starting this thread. Upon re-reading it, it does cast Pacific Energy in an unfairly negative light, and I would not like to think it swayed a potential customer away from purchasing a PE product. My initial frustration with the problem should not negatively reflect upon Pacific Energy at all.

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Threads like these are needed, to help those who may need it.
No one is perfect, no company is perfect this shows both sides . A defect in a stove and a company that stands by their product / backs warranty..
Now we need to find out if there are any others who didn't get their issue taken care of

hemlock said:

Final word - PE has come through. Recieved a call from their distributor saying they will remove the stove and repair the cracked welds. They have lived up to their warranty and good name. Thank you Pacific Energy.

On that note - I truly hope I have not soured anyone on PE, or hope that I have not brought their name down at all. Once again, that was not the intent of this thread in any way, shape or form. The stove, (and I'm sure all others by PE) are very well made. Incidents like this happen, and the company has honoured their end of the warranty just as they said they would. That should speak volumes about the company. Don't hesitate to buy a Pacific Energy. As the dealer/distributor pointed out, this should be taken in context - as a percentage of good stoves to ones with defects, the numbers of defective stoves is near zero.

Further to that - I hope the mods will consider deleting this thread. I regret that I may have been too hasty in starting this thread. Upon re-reading it, it does cast Pacific Energy in an unfairly negative light, and I would not like to think it swayed a potential customer away from purchasing a PE product. My initial frustration with the problem should not negatively reflect upon Pacific Energy at all.

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That's fantastic! If anything this thread needs to stay alive so everyone knows that PE stands behind their products.. I now look at PE in a new light and they are back into the running for a new stove! Trust me if any other company were in question I want to know about it.. Personally I feel it took too long for this to get resolved so that still weighs on my mind.. Keeps us posted on the final results..

Ray

While it seems that the OP has been taken care of................ VERBALLY only. Actions will be required for the actual repair.
There are other people in this thread that have had the same issues. I dont think one has had a person come to his/her home representing PE and done a physical thing. Costs $ maybe but nothing else. Allot of time consumed for these people also. Think about it and correct me if I am wrong. In a friendly way of course. :coolsmile:

hemlock said:

raybonz said:

hemlock said:

Final word - PE has come through. Recieved a call from their distributor saying they will remove the stove and repair the cracked welds. They have lived up to their warranty and good name. Thank you Pacific Energy.

On that note - I truly hope I have not soured anyone on PE, or hope that I have not brought their name down at all. Once again, that was not the intent of this thread in any way, shape or form. The stove, (and I'm sure all others by PE) are very well made. Incidents like this happen, and the company has honoured their end of the warranty just as they said they would. That should speak volumes about the company. Don't hesitate to buy a Pacific Energy. As the dealer/distributor pointed out, this should be taken in context - as a percentage of good stoves to ones with defects, the numbers of defective stoves is near zero.

Further to that - I hope the mods will consider deleting this thread. I regret that I may have been too hasty in starting this thread. Upon re-reading it, it does cast Pacific Energy in an unfairly negative light, and I would not like to think it swayed a potential customer away from purchasing a PE product. My initial frustration with the problem should not negatively reflect upon Pacific Energy at all.

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That's fantastic! If anything this thread needs to stay alive so everyone knows that PE stands behind their products.. I now look at PE in a new light and they are back into the running for a new stove! Trust me if any other company were in question I want to know about it.. Personally I feel it took too long for this to get resolved so that still weighs on my mind.. Keeps us posted on the final results..

Ray

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I wouldn't let the time it took sway you. I have no reason to believe there won't be a positive outcome. As for the timeframe - it wasn't really that bad in hindsight. I work in an industry where problem resolution is spoken of in terms of hours and sometimes lose sight of the fact that this is not the norm for many other industries. A few weeks for a stove isn't so bad, all things considered.

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There are many here that heat with wood exclusively and they would disagree with that slow response as would I... Sorry but this a heater not a radio that you can live without.. My 2 cents..

Ray

Good point Ray, if my stove becomes unuseable I would have to put something in it's place or freeze.

oldspark said:

Good point Ray, if my stove becomes unuseable I would have to put something in it's place or freeze.

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It is for this reason that I am carefully considering my choice for my next stove.. Right now Woodstock appears to be the leader for reliability, factory responsiveness and overall owner satisfaction.. Something I can't ignore but am weighing all my options..

Ray

Ray,

Another option is to buy two or three Englander 30's for the price of one PE stove and have a ready set of spare parts - after all, they're both steel plate stoves....

It's good to see PE fixing the stove. Even with the broken welds, I think they make a fine stove and would definately consider an Alderlea. On the other hand, it's hard to beat Woodstock's customer service - coupled with a great looking stove. I just wish they had a few more models to choose from like the soapstone stoves of Hearthstone.

Bill