again....Harman

[ilmbg]

Again, ( or I should say still) I am trying to get my Harman Accentra stand alone to work. The store I bought mine from has tried to help with the problems over the 4+ years that I have had this, but now, due to the poor quality of the stoves and service, they have quit carrying Harman. they said it was a nightmare to deal with them, and they were a dealer!

I have talked with a Ken Burns- I talked to him several weeks ago for about 1-2 hours total.

He told me of some shortcomings of Harman- I have tried all of them, and still not working well.

When the stove is firing, you are not supposed to be able to hold your hand at the front grill- he said it should be like opening an oven at 350 degrees. Well, I can HOLD my hand there indefinately. Not exactly very warm. there is a mutitude of other problems that have been with the stove since day one.

Another problem, is that the combustion panels do not fit right- they are supposed to be tight against the curved part.

I have now tried to get Ken Banks, rep in the Colorado, Montana,Wyoming- I don't know where else- has not returned my attempt to get in touch.

What about a class action?

I saw the survey- good to fill it out, but I think they already know that people are unhappy- they just don't care.

 

[BignBeefy]

It sounds to me like u have a crappy dealer and defective stove.Why didnt they replace it for you after the first year?If the panels dont fit,why wasnt it replaced then? What would a class action do? Make lawyers more money?
Class action suits are useless in my opninion,since you get nothing in the end. Did you actually try and contact Harman itself and not a rep? If they dont respond,contact a lawyer and have him contact them.

I walked into a stove shop yesterday in Medford or Malden,ma and I was completely amazed at how useless some people in this buisness are. No parts,no pellets,not even a brush and I was just browsing. I think your biggest mistake was the dealer you got strung along by. That stove should have been replaced if it was in fact defective

 

[tinkabranc]

Again, ( or I should say still) I am trying to get my Harman Accentra stand alone to work. The store I bought mine from has tried to help with the problems over the 4+ years that I have had this, but now, due to the poor quality of the stoves and service, they have quit carrying Harman. they said it was a nightmare to deal with them, and they were a dealer!

I have talked with a Ken Burns- I talked to him several weeks ago for about 1-2 hours total.

He told me of some shortcomings of Harman- I have tried all of them, and still not working well.

When the stove is firing, you are not supposed to be able to hold your hand at the front grill- he said it should be like opening an oven at 350 degrees. Well, I can HOLD my hand there indefinately. Not exactly very warm. there is a mutitude of other problems that have been with the stove since day one.

Another problem, is that the combustion panels do not fit right- they are supposed to be tight against the curved part.

I have now tried to get Ken Banks, rep in the Colorado, Montana,Wyoming- I don't know where else- has not returned my attempt to get in touch.

What about a class action?

I saw the survey- good to fill it out, but I think they already know that people are unhappy- they just don't care.

Class action for what?? Just not being happy with certain dealers?
You panels have been ill fitting for 4 years?
Something doesn't sound right.

 

[ilmbg]

As far as class action, I don't know for 'what'. Harman refusing to take care of customers? I have no idea- if I were a lawyer I'd know!

I don't know about the panel not fitting for these years- the store did not know about this, I don't think, because they never had me check this. The store said that there were only about 4 things that can go wrong- the combustion/distribution blower, the thermostat, the 'mother board'/the auger. Nothing was ever mentioned about the panel.

Yes, the stove has never worked right- but I thought the 'gentle'soft' heat was standard with pellet stoves- they never told me that it should be warmer, hotter, either. I have since been in other people's homes who have different brands of pellet stoves- and oh, what a difference! theirs really puts out the heat- not like my 'gentle' heat at all.

When the store told me pellet stoves were 'much gentler/softer heat', I know know that it is not true. Whether they were trying to let me think that pellet stoves did not heat like a wood stove or what, I do not know.

Yes, something is NOT right- that is why I am so disgusted with Harman- this $3,000 has not kept me warm! And I feel like I have been pushed into the corner for the whole time I have owned it

I am 200 miles away from the store (I am remote), so I can't just have them come look at it again. Everything is done over the phone, and because of this I might be getting the run around.

 

[STOVEGUY11]

Something is not right here. You should have had the dealer fix the problem right off the bat. Now 4 years later, many things are no longer under warranty. Any other dealers that can help fix your problem in your area?

 

[Lorilooo]

It almost sounds to me like they might have sold you a defective stove that they knew had a problem with it...or perhaps it was a floor model?? Never buy the floor model of anything...nine times out of ten there is either something wrong with it, parts are missing, etc.

 

[slink]

PM me and give me a history of the issues and what had been tried. I will see what I can do to help. Please don't rag in Harman if the dealer is the route problem. The Harman stoves are very different compared to most other brands and if the dealer wouldn't learn what to do to fix it then shame on them.

Again, ( or I should say still) I am trying to get my Harman Accentra stand alone to work. The store I bought mine from has tried to help with the problems over the 4+ years that I have had this, but now, due to the poor quality of the stoves and service, they have quit carrying Harman. they said it was a nightmare to deal with them, and they were a dealer!

I have talked with a Ken Burns- I talked to him several weeks ago for about 1-2 hours total.

He told me of some shortcomings of Harman- I have tried all of them, and still not working well.

When the stove is firing, you are not supposed to be able to hold your hand at the front grill- he said it should be like opening an oven at 350 degrees. Well, I can HOLD my hand there indefinately. Not exactly very warm. there is a mutitude of other problems that have been with the stove since day one.

Another problem, is that the combustion panels do not fit right- they are supposed to be tight against the curved part.

I have now tried to get Ken Banks, rep in the Colorado, Montana,Wyoming- I don't know where else- has not returned my attempt to get in touch.

What about a class action?

I saw the survey- good to fill it out, but I think they already know that people are unhappy- they just don't care.

 

[smirnov3]

I have an accentra, and I also have the 'gentle / soft' heat problem

What I think is causing my problem is that the stove is not feeding pellets at the full rate

it's maximum pellet feedrate is about 3.2 lbs/ hour, when it is rated for 5 lbs / hour

One stove guy that I talked to on Hearth.net said that it's probably the vacuum guage - he said that many accentras shipped with a guage that was too sensative. And when it trips, the Auger stops feeding pellets.

Not certain he had the right diagnoses.
On the other hand, the stove repair guy that the store sent swore the stove was working at 100%, which is nonesense

I decided not to worry about it, since the 3.2 lb feed keeps my house warm enough 90% of the time (oil makes up the differance on the coldest nights, when I turn it on anyway to heat the upstairs).

 

[ilmbg]

I didn't buy the floor model- it was in a box and unused.
Yes, I have been getting the run around for 4 years- that is why I am so damned frustrated! It seems that maybe they figure- 'Ah- she's 200 miles away- don't bother with her', and 'she's a girl- she doesn't know crap'.
Needless to say- I try my best to stop anyone from buying Harman.
Now, this afternoon the area rep called back- said he is trying to get Harman to ok a fireplace store 120 miles away to come look at it.

Said to start it next time in 'Manual' mode- take a handfull of pellets and throw them in when there is a good fire going- that should smother the current fire and make alot of smoke- then look into the grill at the front of the stove- see if I can see any smoke. If so, an internal gasket is leaking. Right now it is 70 degrees...

Hopefully he is trying???? Do I get my hopres up?

At the same time- I have a Fisher Paykel dishdrawer that both drawers quit Tuesday- not the same problem with each of them. They quit within 2 hours of each other. Same scenario- 3+ years old, used 6 months of the year, bottom one used about 5 times- just to make sure it worked. Top used about 1 time a week or less, 6 months a year. I can't talk to a Fisher Paykel tech- 'It is not allowed' What crap!t

Each of these were supposed to be 'the best'- now I find out they are junk, and I can't get help with fixing them. I guess this is the American Way. No wonder we are in such dire need of help in every aspect of our being. "Hey- I made it, you bought it- see ya' attitude.

Have also called the appliance repair man- 3 days running' :

Day 1 : 'Could I please talk to the repair person/owner, so I can see if I need to have him come out to look at my dishwasher?
'Certainly Ms Deb- he will call you back as soon as he gets in'
4 hours later: 'Is Guy in yet?- he hasn't called me yet'
' Oh- he had to go do two other jobs- he will call you back as soon as he is done, I promise.'

Day 2: 'I called yesterday two times- you said Guy would call back- he never did'
'Oh- he didn't? I'll call him right now while you are on the phone to see what is going on' (In about 2 minutes later) 'Guy will call you as soon as he gets back to the office- that should be about 2
hours'
Closing time- I call: 'Again, Guy did not call- does he not want to return my call- if so, just say so-' 'OH NO!- he is just a little busy- he'll call as soon as he gets here'

Day 3: 'Well, what is going on- this is the 3rd day, and he still hasn't called?' 'MS Deb- I'll get him on his cell phone, and see when he will call.' (2 minutes later) ' Guy will call as soon as he gets this job done'

Well- tomorrow is day 4 - no call yet. This is the only certified person in 120 miles-....

You better believe- if I ever get these people in my Critical Care Unit- and they tell me that their chest pain is worse- or if I see a fatal pattern on the screen... I will crawl- not walk, or run to the nearest crash cart! I may even drop a medication or two, and have to start over..... Oh my, Mr Guy- so sorry......

Bignbeefy- forgot to tell you that harman does not accept calls from customers.....