Who pays for shipping?

[daveswoodhauler]

Well, the dealer called back after speaking with Travis Industries. They are going to pick up the stove and bring back to their shop, grind down the welds, clean it up, and reweld. They advised that the welds were more superficial than anything, and would not be any harm in running the stove as it is now.
Basically, I just wanted it repaired as I didn't want the cracks to get larger and become a bigger issue down the road.
This will actually work out pretty well, as I can have the chimney sweep come out while the stove is at the shop.

 

[johnn]

Two cracks are enough!! :coolmad: Worry no-more ;-) I`m not superstitious by nature, however, yesterdays Doctor visit with x-ray,,revealed a break in the support rod holding my Fibia together which was installed back in Dec. Even the highest Tech metals are inherent to stress. As explained, the healing process incures movement of the bone, applying stress on the plate, and in conjunction with walking and theraphy the plate failed at its weakest point (a screw hole). Thursday morning I get a new one :cheese: However I dont think its covered by a Warranty Glad I have not upgraded stoves this year,,as my wood supply will be well underseasoned.
I`m glad you found the other crack,,and must say , the physical similarities in the cracks and location, along with the obvious wider weld nearing the bottom, lead me to feel there was still a fit issue (gapped). A gap could have been opened up during the tacking process , and the welder, rather than reworking the tacks, could have assumed he could make the weld.
On another theory: Looking at the cracks enlarged, show movement, or seperation of the two pieces at the crack, indicating physical stress relieving itself. If by chance the firebox and air manifold were not 90 degress to each other (perhaps indicating warping) then there would be a gap at some point where the two needed to be tacked together. I noticed a dent in the manifold of the last picture you posted,,,this could have been a result of using a spreader tool to close a gap before welding off (could be a weld close to the dent and possibly a dent in the right side manifold in a similiar location) This could be indicative of applying physical stress at the identical points of failure. Hhmmm. Thermal stress from seaming gap,,,mechanical stress from applied force,,, thin walled tubing for heat conductivity to heat air,,, combined with the air quenching flow inside the tubing while the outside is exposed to the firebox temps= unsupported theory :roll:
From my view point, I`d offer for argument each point,, if you indeed meet with opposition.

 

[summit]

Lopi stoves are notorius for this kinda stuff... but it usually takes quite a few years to minifest... this is a warranty issue, and if the stove is >5 yrs than it should be covered under the warranty, and you could make a case up to 7 yrs as per their warranty. we sell these, but these problems you usually see after 10 + yrs. those tubes and air inlets get pretty hot!

Thanks Summit. When you run into issues like this, do you offer a replacement? (Not looking to gain here, just want the stove corrected)

depends on the severity, this is just secondary air channels, and i would offer to re weld the seams, as well as check out the other welds. I have seen welds on lopis bust loose, but the company would never give you the appropriate amount of credit back to swap a stove. Re-welding would do just as well w/ half the headache.

 

[johnn]

I would have to agree with summit. I feel now that the pieces have broken, (a bit more than just cracking),,,I feel they have relieved the mechanical stress. It would not require much heat at all to repair these welds. Good prep work and an accomplished welder should be able to make the repair. Those are tighter quarters than I would want to work,,for sure. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Well, after speaking with the dealer, they are going to arrange shipment directly back to Travis for repair vs having the dealer complete it.
I noticed another problem with a weld on the top/outside of the stove...basically where the liner connects with the stove...there is another small crack in the weld...cant post a pic as it ins the air channel which is only like an inch in height...wonder what other problems I will see with the stove when they take it out of the hearth.
After I told the dealer of the third problem, I'm sure he was pushing for Travis to deal with it vs trying to complete at their shop.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Ok, you all know I had some problems with the welds on my stove, and after some additional examination there is a problem with another weld on the exterior of the firebox, where the liner meets with the top of the unit.

So, dealer has been working with Travis on the issue, and has come to determine that they are going to send the unit back for repair to Travis. (Not replace)

Here is the problem, Travis is only going to pay shipping charges one way, and the dealer doesn't want to eat the return charge coming home. (I agree with the dealer on this)

Anyway, read the warrantee, and to my surprise, it states that Travis will only pay for a one way ship....this sucks for me.

Wouldn't it just be more resonable for travis to ship out a new stove for dealer to install, and dealer send back my defected one. (I know the cracks are not huge, but 3 cracks on welds in 3 different areas....never overfired, and only burn 8-10 hours day for 3-4 days/week)

I bought the Travis on good reviews and service, but I am thinking I should have read the warrantee a bit closer.

Not sure of the shipping costs....but I am guessing appx $200 each way. (East to West Coast)

Any advise?

 

[BrotherBart]

I doubt that you or Travis either one can ship that stove coast to coast for just $200 each way but I would explain to Travis that it doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense for you to pay to ship something back that is most likely going to be scraped. So at the very least a Travis rep needs to look at the stove either at your place or the dealer's and make the determination if it is a replacement or repair deal first.

If they had any intention of just repairing it they would be having the dealer looked for a good local welding shop where you live.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

I doubt that you or Travis either one can ship that stove coast to coast for just $200 each way but I would explain to Travis that it doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense for you to pay to ship something back that is most likely going to be scraped. So at the very least a Travis rep needs to look at the stove either at your place or the dealer's and make the determination if it is a replacement or repair deal first.

If they had any intention of just repairing it they would be having the dealer looked for a good local welding shop where you live.

Thanks BB. At first when I only saw one crack, the dealer was going to have it re-welded in their shop, in which I was ok with. (Seems like most posters here felt a reweld would be ok) After finding the 2nd and 3rd cracks, I think the dealer thought it would be better to have the mfg repair, as it would seem I just got a bum stove, and probably doesn't want to deal with another problem down the road should another one surface. (I think I can agree with the dealers side of the case) The unit is defective, and I am guessing that perhaps Travis has a contract with the dealer and will only allow so much money to the dealer for repairs on stoves, and the dealer might not want to take a chance on this one. Any comments from Stove Shops here? Again, Thanks BB

 

[Delta-T]

3 structural/workmanship defects appear in the 1st year of use? isn't there some type of "lemon" law or something protecting you from having to keep that unit? Best case scenario they reweld (hopefully a diff welder at the factory than the one who did the job originally) and solve your current issue with the machine...Worst case they reweld and cause greater fatigue to cover up the cracks and only end up placing a band-aid on the problem leaving you to discover more fatigue points in the future. This is a tough one.

 

[summit]

many states have an implied wtty law up to four yrs.. check w/ your local AG office.. you should not have to pay for anything.. travis offers the "7yr real world wtty" for this to happen on a 1 yr old stove, someone fell asleep at the wheel on this one...

 

[Todd]

That sucks, you should get a new stove or refund. It could be repaired, but what are the chances other cracks will develop next year?

 

[Highbeam]

What good is having a local dealer if the dealer is simply going to send your stove back to Travis and charge YOU the freight? These guys need to earn their keep before all dealers disappear and we just mail order stoves from companies like woodstock.

That said, I trailer my tractor to the dealership for warranty repair and eat the cost of transport. I would understand if you pay half the cost of shipping to the dealership.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

The dealer isn't looking to charge me the freight, "yet"...right now they are debating the issue with Travis and my dealer had advised Travis that based on the workmanship defects the customer or dealer should not incur the cost of the 1 way shipment.....but Travis is stating that this is our deal and whats in the warrantee.
I am guessing Travis is going to say no, and then the dealer will probably wait a few feeks and then call me confirming the same.....then, it will be between me and the dealer, as the dealer will not want to spend $250-$300 or whatever it cost to ship....funny thing is this stove without the door/blower is only $1200 or so....repair costs, shipping costs each way.....pretty much add up to the cost of a new unit.
Understand your position on paying for the transport for your tractor repairs, but is your tractor less than 1 year old with minimal use? (Also you probably have a flatbed, so removing an insert and bringing to the dealer might be a little different than bringing your tractor in for repairs.....understand your point, but this is two different animals....plus, my warrantee is void if I don't have a certified installer put it in, so although I can complete the hookup myself with some help of the posters here, my warrantee after the repairs would be shot....and not the chance I want to take with basically a brand new unit. Appreciate your insight though.

 

[BrotherBart]

What good is having a local dealer if the dealer is simply going to send your stove back to Travis and charge YOU the freight? These guys need to earn their keep before all dealers disappear and we just mail order stoves from companies like woodstock.

10-4 on that. When my first 30-NC had a major defect Mike was gonna send me a stove and have this one hauled back. I decided to load it in a pickup and take it the 140 miles myself because I was concerned about what the freight company would do to the new one. And I knew before I bought the stove that return transport was on my dime.

Two things I see over and over here that need to be thought about ahead of time and mostly never are are "How the hell will I be able to clean the chimney if I do it like that?" and "How will the dealer handle warranty issues?"

 

[stoveguy2esw]

looking at all 3 pictures, the first looks like a failed weld at first but its actually cracked at the edge of the weld itself , not just "cold lapped" looking at the picture of the other corner thats also a crack in the steel not a seperated weld. interesting that the same failure is present on both sides, it looks like stress to me though i do not know whyit would be stresed that way. i dont know the stove's design either , no idea how the manifold is physically attached to the hull of the stove. its possible that the way its attached could be the underlying cause, might just be this stove in particular i havent heard much in the way of issues such as this with this brand of stove so i doubt its an actual design issue. its interesting just the same.

as for the shipping thing, you might see if the shipping can be paid to the stove manufacturer and they use that to pay your leg of the transfer as they (as we do) get some pretty impressive discounts due to the volume of product shipped, they may pass that savings on to you (this is how i'd handle it if it were my unit although if its somthing of this magnatude with one of my units under a year old all we would ask you to do is get it to a pick up point and the new one from the same point as i offered BB on his). could be quite a bit cheaper than paying the shipper directly.