Stove retailers must be hurtin'!

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egclassic

Feeling the Heat
Jan 1, 2011
261
SW Ohio
Got a letter from the company that installed my stove today, It said "Fall is Almost here, schedule your cleaning today!"
It's barely the end of July!
Anyway, it went on to say that "if you had a liner installed (which I Did) the manufacturer requires an annual inspection to be performed to keep the lifetime warranty valid".
Does this sound right, or are they just trying to use scare tactics? Don't get me wrong, if I need to I will. In the 4 months I had my stove in use last year, I ran a brush through it at least 2-3 times(overkill I know) but my wood was less than desirable.
Thoughts?
I am going to check my warranty paperwork while I wait for your comments.
Thank you!
 
If you are going to hire a sweep this is the best time to do it before everybody wakes up and starts booking them solid. As to the warranty, yep pretty much every one of them has that in it.

Great way to get out of covering warranty issues.
 
Got it! Thanks for the info.
 
What brand of liner is it? You might try calling them to see if they will accept you doing your own cleaning for the warranty's sake. Of course, it won't be in writing, so....
 
"Fall is almost here."

Well, the heating season begins here next month! Yes, it is getting close even though we are sweating through this heat.
 
This is actually a good time for companies to send out reminders for a sweep. Otherwise they get really jammed up in the Fall, which really starts about the end of August for stove shops and sweeps. I would read the warranty to see if the annual inspection is actually required. The only thing that should matter is if the stove is properly maintained.
 
Ya just go down to the county clerk's office and get a DBA sole proprietorship business license for twenty bucks as Joe Schmoe Chimney Sweep.
 
My guess is that the warranty is worthless if a claim was filed after a few years of use anyway. Stainless steel liners, especially rigid ones, don't exactly have moving parts and aside from repeadedly having flue fires, it should last a long time - 20 plus years, if you just keep it brushed regularily. I would, however, be sure to use a poly brush vs a steel brush.

My Rhino rigid liner has a lifetime warranty and I'm sure there is some fine print somewhere, but I sweep it myself and if that voids the warranty - oh well.

If I were you, I'd take a chance that the liner will out last you - even if you brush it and the warranty expires and save some $$$'s

Good luck!
Bill
 
leeave96 said:
My guess is that the warranty is worthless if a claim was filed after a few years of use anyway. Stainless steel liners, especially rigid ones, don't exactly have moving parts and aside from repeadedly having flue fires, it should last a long time - 20 plus years, if you just keep it brushed regularily. I would, however, be sure to use a poly brush vs a steel brush.

My Rhino rigid liner has a lifetime warranty and I'm sure there is some fine print somewhere, but I sweep it myself and if that voids the warranty - oh well.

If I were you, I'd take a chance that the liner will out last you - even if you brush it and the warranty expires and save some $$$'s


Good luck!
Bill

I just checked the warranty and sure enough, it must be annually(or no more than 18 months) cleaned and inspected by a professional sweep.
Seems pointless for me to pay someone to do something I can do myself, at least the cleaning part.
Even at a "discounted rate" of $160 per year, seems after about 5-6 years, I'd have spent enough for a new liner anyway and I'm sure it'll last at least that long. What to do, what to do???????
 
"Even at a “discounted rate†of $160 per year, seems after about 5-6 years, I’d have spent enough for a new liner anyway and I’m sure it’ll last at least that long."

That's the way I look at it. My best friend had his heat pump die and when the guy came out and fixed it he told him that he needed to have it serviced annually. Joe asked him how much he owed him for the first repair after ten years of no servicing. The guy said $125. Joe just thanked him and payed him and grinned.

That liner is gonna last a lot longer than five or six years.
 
I think this is the right time to start thinking about scheduling a cleaning if need be . . . I suspect I'll have a few fires on cooler evenings by the end of next month . . . and I'm starting to see more folks thinking ahead to the heating season as I've seen a slight uptick in the number of woodstove and pelletstove inspections.
 
So Jake. Is the snow machine ready to go?
 
My sweep wants me to schedule in spring. They are too busy installing and doing masonry repairs in the fall and winter.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
So Jake. Is the snow machine ready to go?

Always . . . just need to fuel 'er up and dump in some two stroke oil and it's ready . . . although I may have the local high school vocational program take a look at it and see if the belt needs replacing or if it needs any grease.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
So Jake. Is the snow machine ready to go?

To be truthful . . . I'm still having fun swimming and riding the ATV . . . and camping . . . camping/geocaching and kayaking this weekend in the North Maine Woods.
 
firefighterjake said:
I think this is the right time to start thinking about scheduling a cleaning if need be . . . I suspect I'll have a few fires on cooler evenings by the end of next month . . . and I'm starting to see more folks thinking ahead to the heating season as I've seen a slight uptick in the number of woodstove and pelletstove inspections.

I just have a problem payin someone $100+ to do something so easy and that only takes 1/2hour(or less) to do.
In my line of work, we do alot of PM's, and while I agree that a little preventative maintenance goes a long way, you can also over do it.
As far as the inspection part goes, what do they inspect? Theres not much to see. I carry a 200' sewer camera on my truck and I thought about running it down the liner. Is this something a sweep will do also? I have thought about "rigging" up a brush on my camera so that I can actually watch as I clean my chimney, the push rod on the camera is very similiar to the flexible rods.
 
I have always cleaned my own chimneys but I can see having somebody come out and do it. The price is about what you pay for a yearly service for an oil burner or heat pump or whatever. I am thinking about starting to use the sweep my neighbor uses. While he is up there he cleans the gutters. And I have started getting really leery of of going out to the edge of that two story roof. :red:

Of course the guy can clean the gutters and run a brush down the liners but he better keep his hands off of my stoves. :lol:
 
egclassic said:
firefighterjake said:
I think this is the right time to start thinking about scheduling a cleaning if need be . . . I suspect I'll have a few fires on cooler evenings by the end of next month . . . and I'm starting to see more folks thinking ahead to the heating season as I've seen a slight uptick in the number of woodstove and pelletstove inspections.

I just have a problem payin someone $100+ to do something so easy and that only takes 1/2hour(or less) to do.
In my line of work, we do alot of PM's, and while I agree that a little preventative maintenance goes a long way, you can also over do it.
As far as the inspection part goes, what do they inspect? Theres not much to see. I carry a 200' sewer camera on my truck and I thought about running it down the liner. Is this something a sweep will do also? I have thought about "rigging" up a brush on my camera so that I can actually watch as I clean my chimney, the push rod on the camera is very similiar to the flexible rods.

Cheapskate myself . . . and since I can easily do a sweep from the ground I bought my own brushes . . . however for some folks without ladders, fear of heights, steep roofs, very tall chimneys, etc. it may make sense to hire a sweep who has the equipment and insurance.

Gotta disagree with over-doing preventative maintenance . . . I never yet have heard of anyone here that has thought they sweep their chimney too often . . . on the other hand I have read and personally seen a number of times when the home owner should have cleaned their chimney a little more frequently. That said . . . I sweep my chimney monthly . . . a) because in my line of work I would never hear the end of it if I had a chimney fire, b) it's a 10-15 minute job for me and c) it gives me peace of mind . . . over-kill to be sure . . . but better safe than sorry and I can guarantee you that I will not have a chimney fire.

Inspection . . . you would have to ask an actual sweep what they inspect . . . I suspect they would look for cracked clay liners with masonry chimneys, firmly connected Class A chimneys, etc. . . . When I was talking about "inspections" I was referring to the fact that I am going out and inspecting a bunch of new installs and signing off on old installs for insurance companies . . . we don't actually climb on the roof to do an inspection of the chimney, but just do a basic inspection of the stove and chimney from the ground . . . which is good . . . since I did condemn a woodstove that a lady has used for years -- huge crack in it -- said she only called us since she had moved out and the insurance company didn't require an inspection for her, but did require the inspection for her daughter who was living in the home.
 
firefighterjake said:
egclassic said:
firefighterjake said:
I think this is the right time to start thinking about scheduling a cleaning if need be . . . I suspect I'll have a few fires on cooler evenings by the end of next month . . . and I'm starting to see more folks thinking ahead to the heating season as I've seen a slight uptick in the number of woodstove and pelletstove inspections.

I just have a problem payin someone $100+ to do something so easy and that only takes 1/2hour(or less) to do.
In my line of work, we do alot of PM's, and while I agree that a little preventative maintenance goes a long way, you can also over do it.
As far as the inspection part goes, what do they inspect? Theres not much to see. I carry a 200' sewer camera on my truck and I thought about running it down the liner. Is this something a sweep will do also? I have thought about "rigging" up a brush on my camera so that I can actually watch as I clean my chimney, the push rod on the camera is very similiar to the flexible rods.

Cheapskate myself . . . and since I can easily do a sweep from the ground I bought my own brushes . . . however for some folks without ladders, fear of heights, steep roofs, very tall chimneys, etc. it may make sense to hire a sweep who has the equipment and insurance.

Gotta disagree with over-doing preventative maintenance . . . I never yet have heard of anyone here that has thought they sweep their chimney too often . . . on the other hand I have read and personally seen a number of times when the home owner should have cleaned their chimney a little more frequently. That said . . . I sweep my chimney monthly . . . a) because in my line of work I would never hear the end of it if I had a chimney fire, b) it's a 10-15 minute job for me and c) it gives me peace of mind . . . over-kill to be sure . . . but better safe than sorry and I can guarantee you that I will not have a chimney fire.

Inspection . . . you would have to ask an actual sweep what they inspect . . . I suspect they would look for cracked clay liners with masonry chimneys, firmly connected Class A chimneys, etc. . . . When I was talking about "inspections" I was referring to the fact that I am going out and inspecting a bunch of new installs and signing off on old installs for insurance companies . . . we don't actually climb on the roof to do an inspection of the chimney, but just do a basic inspection of the stove and chimney from the ground . . . which is good . . . since I did condemn a woodstove that a lady has used for years -- huge crack in it -- said she only called us since she had moved out and the insurance company didn't require an inspection for her, but did require the inspection for her daughter who was living in the home.

Sorry, I was not referring to preventative maintenance on chimneys, but some other stuff we do at work. That being said, some things are not PM'ed (I know, not a word) enough. As far as the inspection, my warranty calls for a professional sweep and inspection by the sweep every year.
Today I was on the phone with the owner of an HVAC supply house I deal with and we started talking about liners. Of course NOW I find out that he sells the same liners and my cost would be $300 for a 20'! ( I paid $1100 parts and labor)
Kinda makes my decision a little easier. I would think that, as long as you regularly clean your chimney, an inspection every 4-5 years would be sufficient.
 
My sweeping gets done in May, they give a 15% discount. I would love to sweep my own chimney but I'm as stable on a ladder as an alcoholic on a Saturday night. Plus it's the only requirement I see from the insurance company, it must be professionally cleaned and inspected once a calendar year. I asked the insurance company if I needed to send it to them, she said only if there is a fire so keep the receipt in a fireproof safe.
 
Myself I think you have a good company there.
Sending out reminders to do cleaning and also reminding you that it is required for your warranty, sounds like good customer service.
Many companies are done with you the second they receive your check.
It is also good for their business since scheduling them now is better for all parties instead of waiting till you need to lite it off.
 
Had my system cleaned just over a week ago. They arrived at 11:00 and were walking out the door at 11:25. They never went up on the roof, did everything from inside. I thought they would at least go up there to check and see if everything was sealed up tight. They said everything looked good and that I didn't have enough ash to even cover the bottom of the firebox. Spending $162 w/tax plus a tip on top of that makes me think I should invest in a few tools.
 
Dang, the guy who just installed my stove said as long as I avoided the fall rush it would be $85 to clean and inspect the chimney.


fv
 
I will probably do it once in awhile professionally to get the inspection of a pro.

That being said, for you guys who do it yourselves from inside the house, what do you do to control the dust/dirt that's flying?
 
Check with your state consumer protection agency or attorney general. Some states may have laws that curb warranty escape clauses.
 
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