Mt. Vernon installed - now working 2 days later after some "issues"

[John97]

The Mt. Vernon thermostat controls all functions of the unit, I believe you have to use the one that comes with it.

It won't be alot of work. I expect to be able to do it in under an hour. I just gotta drill a hole in the floor next to my hearth for the wire to come up from my crawlspace. I'll just drop the wire down through the wall into the crawlspace, run it over to the hole and push it through.

 

[kilbury]

Bummer but it happens. Rather than doing all that work to run thermostat wiring, have you thought about a wireless thermostat? I like the Acumen.

Not an option with the AE. I would love that, from an installers standpoint

 

[JoeS]

Boy I thought something was really wrong. This maybe frustrating but by Saturday you should be fine. I could write a book about my first AE. Lets just say after a year of endless issues my dealer had to pull the stove and replace it with another unit. Hope everything works out, good looking stove. Also hope your dealer is as good as mine if you do have any other issues!

 

[smg64ct]

When I had my Mt Vernon installed, they left me a long wire and I had to finish the job. As far as good customer service that went out the window a long time ago. You would think in this state of the economy they would be bending over backwards to make you happy. My stove had problems in the beginning that should have been caught early. The stove is working great now. Good luck with your stove. Looks great!!

 

[hooter04]

Thats why I'm glad my dealer always does a preburn before delivery.They detected a bad thermocouple before I got it,thankgod.

 

[smwilliamson]

Here in lies the problem with dealer only services and third party installers, a problem in wood burning for centuries. Lets look at the chimney as an example. Mason builds it but doesnt clean it. Chimney sweep cleans it but cannot build it. Homeowner provides fuel but isnt educated by the mason or the chimney sweep how to use it or care for it. Now, lets add wires and controls, dealers, installers and manufacturers.

Not instaling a thermostat which is required to operate the stove is lazy. Not having a basic control part is negligent. Not performing a pre burn from the factory or the dealer is ignorant...yet we want biomass to grow and create jobs....but no one wants to actually do the work right or assume resposibilty.

No wonder the oil and gas heating guys are still in business. Shame.

 

[John97]

Here in lies the problem with dealer only services and third party installers, a problem in wood burning for centuries. Lets look at the chimney as an example. Mason builds it but doesnt clean it. Chimney sweep cleans it but cannot build it. Homeowner provides fuel but isnt educated by the mason or the chimney sweep how to use it or care for it. Now, lets add wires and controls, dealers, installers and manufacturers.

Not instaling a thermostat which is required to operate the stove is criminal. Not having a basic control part is negligent. Not performing a pre burn from the factory or the dealer is ignorant...yet we want biomass to grow and create jobs....but no one wants to actually do the work right or assume resposibilty.

No wonder the oil and gas heating guys are still in business. Shame.

Very insightful. A pre-burn definitely would have uncovered this issue.

 

[76brian]

Well it could have been a lot worse, but it would still be frustrating for sure.

Good Luck for Saturday, hope you'll have a warm Christmas!

 

[GrahamInVa]

Here in lies the problem with dealer only services and third party installers, a problem in wood burning for centuries. Lets look at the chimney as an example. Mason builds it but doesnt clean it. Chimney sweep cleans it but cannot build it. Homeowner provides fuel but isnt educated by the mason or the chimney sweep how to use it or care for it. Now, lets add wires and controls, dealers, installers and manufacturers.

Not instaling a thermostat which is required to operate the stove is criminal. Not having a basic control part is negligent. Not performing a pre burn from the factory or the dealer is ignorant...yet we want biomass to grow and create jobs....but no one wants to actually do the work right or assume resposibilty.

No wonder the oil and gas heating guys are still in business. Shame.

Very insightful. A pre-burn definitely would have uncovered this issue.

It would also eliminate the possibility of the "stink" that is associated with paint curing process when you run it for the first time.

 

[John97]

I made myself useful today and ran my thermostat wire and installed the thermostat on the wall. Thanks to balls of fire for his help. I used solid-core CAT5e cable since I have a whole spool of it.

Here's a few pictures: the thermostat installation, the OAK intake outside, and the pinched optical sensor wiring...

 

[smwilliamson]

Does anyone here realize how easy it is to splice a millivolt wire? My god.... if at least to get the unit running until a fresh part arrives. This is what happens when all the money is collected before the job is finished. LAZY! No motivation, complete lack of education, but don't feel bad...this is typical of the industry....a bunch of folks selling and installing a lot of stuff they know not too much about. You'll like the stove when they get it running. Out of curiosity, if you require a service call under warranty, who's coming out? Trained dealer employee or third party? Time will tell.

 

[John97]

Trust me, I have resisted the urge to splice those wires myself, reinstall the sensor, and fire up my stove.

But since they probably have to return the part to HHT for warranty/credit, I am not going to screw with it.

As far as service, I know they have service guys that are full-time. The installer was just as pissed as I was and he told me he'd bring the part out himself if they'd let him. Shortly after he left, I got the phone call telling me that is exactly what was going to happen.

 

[cuznvin]

I would have never paid in full until AFTER it was installed. I would also call the dealer and give him a piece of my mind after everything is fixed.

 

[76brian]

I would also call the dealer and give him a piece of my mind after everything is fixed.

I'd be tempted to do that as well for sure if I was in his shoes. The only thing that might stop me is the thought that if I ever had a warranty issue down the road, I might not get the best/quickest service if they remember me.

 

[cuznvin]

I would also call the dealer and give him a piece of my mind after everything is fixed.

I'd be tempted to do that as well for sure. The only thing that might stop me is the thought that if I ever had a warranty issue down the road, I might not get the best/quickest service if they remember me.

they didnt give you good service as it is..Are there any other dealers in the area that sell that stove?

 

[Petewood159]

Lucky thing you got a good installer because it sounds like the dealers a clown. I love the cast iron inserts, very rich looking. Big money ,but well worth it. I'm sure it will be all worked out before long and you and your wife can finally enjoy your Christmas holiday.
Pete.

 

[John97]

I have to visit the dealer, because I gotta pick up more pellets that are already paid for. I am sure there will be a discussion.

This could have been handled real easy. I have a credit with them of like $145 bucks, which I planned on using just to get more pellets. They said the OAK install charge would have been $225. I brought up my credit, figuring I'd give them an easy out. If they would have used my credit to cover the OAK install and covered the rest with the installer everyone would have been happy. It was their mistake, and I think it only would have been fair for them to cover the $80 bucks. THAT would have been good customer service, IMHO. $80 is nothing out of a total sale over $6000 for the stove, installation, and pellets.

 

[Frogwood]

Hang in there brother and give us an update tomorrow when, hopefully, things are running smoothly.

 

[whit]

Lets look at the chimney as an example. Mason builds it but doesnt clean it. Chimney sweep cleans it but cannot build it.

Um, my chimney sweep also builds chimneys. Most of them do around here.

I sure agree that the thermostat thing is pretty close to plain fraud. It's part of the system they gave a price on installing. It's like you bought a new car, went to pick it up, and the dealer told you you'd have to mount the tires yourself before you could drive it away - or pay them extra to do that for you.

 

[John97]

It took me a total of an hour to do the thermostat job from the moment I walked into my garage and cut 20 feet of cable off the spool to the moment I plugged the stove in to make sure the thermostat lit up. So, it really was no big deal and if I was told about it when I bought the insert, I would have prewired ahead of time. I am an IT guy and one of the things I do is pull cable. My entire house is wired for gigabit ethernet, so this was no big deal.

The whole OAK thing is what enrages me the most.

 

[jtakeman]

I hope all goes well and you get to see fire real soon! ;-)

 

[whit]

The whole OAK thing is what enrages me the most.

I used to work for a retail consultant. Big time guy who had clients fly him all over the world to tell them how to run their stores better. One thing he always emphasized was you make things right by your customers. If you make a mistake, you eat the mistake. Word of mouth is far more important than any other advertising - even for the biggest operations that spend millions on the advertising side.

Now, you haven't identified your dealer here. But I'll bet you'll be talking to, say, 20 or 40 of your friends over the next year telling them the same colorful story you've told us. The one whose whole lesson is "Don't go near this flaky dealer."

On the other hand, if the dealer had said, "Oops, I left out the OAK installation fee. My mistake. My loss." then you'd be spending the coming months telling the guests who admire your stove how not just the stove's great, but the dealer was a real stand-up guy. You would have sold stoves for him. You would have done him more good than a display add in the local weekly, cheaper.

That dealer is a freaking idiot.

 

[flynfrfun]

Did he give you a receipt when you paid for the stove itemizing the OAK installation? If so, then you can hold him to it.

 

[Fish On]

sorry to hear your headaches with the dealer. its a shame that they just want to sell a product and forget details of other things that are important

your installer sounds like a good guy coming xmas eve to finish a job, im sure he would want t to be with his family and not dealing for the dealer mistake. if i understand this right the installer is a sub contractor for the stove shop.


The good news is that it will be cold and you will be warm and enjoying a beer in front of your stove when it is done.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Interesting that the photo eye, it is called the Optical Assembly Kit was bad. It mounts on top of the auger motor. The screws are hard to remove the 1st time! I know of a couple of stoves where that needed to be replaced after 3 years and also the Flame was set too high in the thermostat causing more errors. Once the flame was set to -4 everything was ok.