*sigh* cracked welds in my Pacific Engery Vista repair or replace

[Mountain Man]

I got an email response from my dealer today...apparently the factory was on shutdown for two weeks and reopened today...My dealer said the distributor contacted PE and they are not only going to honor their warranty, they are going to replace my whole stove. I always say its not what happens to you , its how you handle it...I love my current PE stove and am happy to see PE is handling this with customer satisfaction in mind...Despite my stove issues, I will be again be a proud owner of a PE Alderlea T-6 and will promote my satisfaction...They all have some issues and PE is choosing to make it right. Thank you Pacific Energy!!

 

[begreen]

Sweet, that means you get the new EBT.

 

[Mountain Man]

Is that a good thing? I blocked my old one off with tape so I could control my stove again...

 

[Mountain Man]

Begreen, found my answer in some of your older posts...the EBT2 supplies air only to the secondary's

 

[begreen]

Yes, the EBT2 is a totally different design. It regulates the secondary air like a barometric damper. It should work great.

 

[Chamel]

As an old arc welder, I too think it looks like slag. Odd since most robotic welding is done with gas and no flux. First thing I would do is wack it with a chipping hammer.

Thanks for everyone's opinions. What's slag? I'm little hesitant to chip it off. I'm too afraid I'll do some damage to the stove. Do you guys think there would be any problem just leaving it there? Maybe I'll some send the photos to PE and ask for their opinion for some reassurance. Great to hear that they're replacing your stove Mountain Man. Thanks again Pacific Energy!

 

[begreen]

Slag is welding debris. There is no risk or harm with chipping it off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_(welding)

 

[Jags]

Those welds are from a mig welder. I doubt that the blob is slag to begin with. Some of the welds shown in theses pics are ....errrr....questionable.

 

[begreen]

You have a better eye for this than I. I was wondering if someone came back in with a rod and touched up that corner?

 

[Jags]

You have a better eye for this than I. I was wondering if someone came back in with a rod and touched up that corner?

That could be a possibility but I kinda doubt it...if you really blow that pic up, you can actually see the splatter and junk typical of a wire welder. They had the temp cranked too high and just made a mess of that spot. Even if it is slag from a touch up or something, I doubt seriously that it would survive the hot/cool cycle of the stove without popping off. Slag is generally pretty fragile (on a good weld) and will often pop off on its own when the weld cools.

ETA: Some of those weld/cracks really have me puzzled. Especially the one where the weld itself actually cracked down the middle. There must really be some uneven pressure being applied to those areas during the heat/cool cycles. I know there are a couple of "real" welders on the site I was hoping would pipe up, like @Dune .

 

[Hogwildz]

If I remember correctly, most of the welds are done by automation. But, there are a few welds done by hand where the robot can't get to.

 

[Chamel]

That could be a possibility but I kinda doubt it...if you really blow that pic up, you can actually see the splatter and junk typical of a wire welder. They had the temp cranked too high and just made a mess of that spot. Even if it is slag from a touch up or something, I doubt seriously that it would survive the hot/cool cycle of the stove without popping off. Slag is generally pretty fragile (on a good weld) and will often pop off on its own when the weld cools.

ETA: Some of those weld/cracks really have me puzzled. Especially the one where the weld itself actually cracked down the middle. There must really be some uneven pressure being applied to those areas during the heat/cool cycles. I know there are a couple of "real" welders on the site I was hoping would pipe up, like @Dune .

Those welds are from a mig welder. I doubt that the blob is slag to begin with. Some of the welds shown in theses pics are ....errrr....questionable.

I'm soooo disappointed to hear this...Now I don't know what to do. Honestly I wish I could get some of my money back to buy another stove and end this nightmare. I do see that wire welder splattery stuff towards the upper corner of the doors. Is this stove even useable? I just know it's just going to crack again. I'm no welding expert, but I took a look again at some of the the welds and they just look sloppy. Maybe I'm being too picky I wish they would have check the welds before sending the replacement. Maybe I should start looking for another stove. Here's some better/more pics of the welds on the replacement stove. The first picture is on the same spot we were talking about. Stove collar is looking like there's a gap. Pics look different cause I used flash on my camera this time.

P.S. I'm glad your getting a replacement stove Mountain Man!

more images:

 

[begreen]

What is your dealer doing to help you?

 

[Chamel]

What is your dealer doing to help you?

My dealer got me the replacement stove. I haven't mentioned anything to the dealer about the questionable crack in the replacement stove. Do you think I should? I don't want to be a pain in their butt though. I would feel so bad to have their people lug another stove up and down my stairs.

 

[begreen]

Not the prettiest welding though I don't see a crack or reason not to burn in the stove. Show the pictures to the dealer if you are not pleased or just burn and continue to check the stove at the end of the season for flaws.

 

[DougA]

The photo with the word 'crack' on it does not appear to be anything serious to me. I weld but am no where near an expert and it looks more like the end of one weld overlapping another.

I agree, show these to the dealer and note your concerns, then I would use the stove and see what the welds look like after burn-in, then at the end of the season.

If things look bad then, you've got before and after proof the stove was poorly welded and I would demand a replacement and go to another brand.

 

[Fastdonzi]

in the 1st pic in post #37 it looks like that short weld has Gaps around it, one at the lower front and one at the top rear of the weld.. Kinda looks like they were filling in a gap..

 

[Jags]

I'm no welding expert,

Full disclosure - neither am I. I agree that I don't see anything that I would consider dangerous from the pics, but I am probably not qualified to confirm that. Get your dealer involved. Start with the pics and then start with the questions.

 

[Highbeam]

FYI, arc welding and probably most other welding leaves spatter like that too.