Chaska Recall

[drewjube]

Hi All,

I have a Chaska and Chaska XL. Recently, the pilot on the Chaska extinguished and I was not able to relight it, so put in a call to my dealer to have it fixed. The dealer told me he would not be able to send someone out until January, but also mentioned that my timing was good, as there was an "upgrade" available for the Chaska and Chaska XL. That piqued my curiosity, so I googled and found out (belatedly) that both models I have are the subject of a safety recall:

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014...-Gas-Fireplaces-and-Fireplace-Inserts/#remedy

Aside from being peeved that neither Kozy Heat (with which I registered the inserts) nor my dealer had bothered to inform me of the safety recall and then the dealer not coming straight out and saying it, I wanted to ask the experts here their thoughts on the recall and the potential risk.

Also, if anyone has advice on why a pilot would extinguish and how that can be reignited, I'd love to hear it. Thanks, everyone.

 

[DAKSY]

Hey, drewjube. I just wanted to let you know that you're not being totally ignored. I attempted to download the manuals for your models,
so I could look at the systems, but the filters here at work won't let me. I have AutoCAD classes in the evenings, &
that doesn't leave a whole lotta free time.. I'm off tomorrow & I'll see if I can get your info & report back. It sounds to me like you've got
a couple of IPI systems there & usually a failure to light is due to a grounding issue. Like I said, till I can see the schematics...

 

[drewjube]

Thanks, DAKSY -- I really appreciate your time and advice. I don't think I've ever seen a forum with more expertise and friendly folk willing to share it. Thank you!

 

[Ironhorse74]

That is a fairly old recall. Several months anyway. As I understand the recall, your unit has an American Flame valve. They change out the valve assembly to an SIT system. The American flame valve can leak past the pilot with the pilot off. My information is second hand so it may not be perfect but it is close.

Brad

 

[drewjube]

Thanks, Brad.

 

[Chars]

Thanks, Brad.

The dealer I went to sells FP xtrodnaire & kozy heat chaska. Another one I am evaluating in my price range is white mountain hearth. Don't know which one is good. Recall on kozy heat is bothering me. Please share any feedback people have.

 

[Tech Guru]

Kozy Heat's recall was no different than what affected any Manufacturer using that American Flame system back then. They've since switched over to the SIT Proflame 2 IPI system, which happened in 2012. But the haven't used the American Flame system in units since 2010 production (with a brief two year stop with SIT Proflame 1 between them), so as long as you're looking at a current product dealer, and not somebody sitting on old stock, you'll be well past any worries of recalled products.

 

[drewjube]

I should emphasize that we ourselves did not suffer any incidents due to the American Flame system and I'm not aware that any injuries or damage were reported anywhere. Our dealer did complete the switch out on both our gas inserts and we have been using them this winter without any problems. Our Kozy Heat Chaskas have performed well (except for the time I described in the original post) and we're happy with them.