I bought a Drolet Eco 45 just before Christmas and had it installed. It ran perfectly for about 10 days. All of a sudden, it would go out, with a variety of error messages and a need to reset the sensor behind the baffle. I called my suppliers the next day, but just after I called, the stove seemed to reset itself and behave. It was fine again up until Jan 9th, when it started to act up again. It would start up, ignite, then run on one blower, then stop with an “E” messge. After 2 days of trying to reset it, I called Drolet, and the tech guy said in a heavy french accent “ah, I know what that is. I am sending you a replacement for the L160 sensor.” Well, 4 days later, no part. You would think that in the middle of winter, they would courier a part out. I called again, and a different rep, very short on customer service abilities, bluntly informed me that they had none of those parts, and they were back ordered to the end of this week (18th.) We would receive it “sometime next week.” I asked him why they had no stock of this part. He had no reason, then informed me that this is a heavy duty stove, and these parts can break down. Sometimes the sensors last a short while, and if I was lucky, I might find one that lasts 10 years.
What the heck????? I outlay a great deal of money for a piece of equpment to be told that there is a reliability question, and that this could be a frequent occurrence?
We called the area rep, Domic, for this area. We told him that there is no secondary heating in the house,trying to expecite matters.He assured us he would look into it, and call us back the very next morning. No call. As far as he knows, we froze to death in last nights -27. End of problem, I guess.
At this point, we have reverted to our oil heating at a dollar per litre, after having outlayed all our winter fuel budget on the Drolet,installation and pellets.
We can so far see what is apperently a poorly designed stove, poorly backed up by poorly trained people, and future winters of wondering whether our stove will quit at any time, leaving us in the lurch.
here is Drolet’s mission statement
Drolet - Our mission is to be a manufacturer that relies on the creativity of its employees to design, produce at the lowest possible cost and market high quality products that respect the environment and meet the needs of consumers in the solid and fossil fuel heating market, within niches that will enable our organization to achieve its socio-economic objectives.
Our principal objectives are:
1) To maintain a competent management team that respects all employees and provides them with a quality of working environment and level of job stability that enable the company to excel as a result of their creativity and skill;
2) To preserve a leading position in our target market niches, mainly by fostering sustained investment in research and development and retaining a high level of commercial ethic;
3) To sustain or improve the level of productivity with an approach of lean enterprise;
4) To preserve a good financial position and procure our stockholders with a fair return on their investment. The manufacturing sector is extremely demanding and the company should be capable of self-generating sufficient funds to pursue its mission despite significant variations in business cycles
Not a single mention of striving for customer service. Just a need to build cheap,sell high and maximise profit for the shareholders.
Potential stove purchasers-steer clear of Drolet
