Exploded Quadrafire Mt Vernon E2

[Hobokenkitchen]

The tech from Wood Heat came this morning and he thinks it is a unit issue and it was excessive heat that caused it. Apparently he could see twisted metal.
He was very nice and seemed responsive.

I called back the lady I have been speaking to at Quadrafire and she is going to talk to the tech and bring the unit back so they can examine it. I get the impression that Quadrafire is taking this very seriously and wants to make everything right.

I hope I am correct in this - I guess I will see what happens.

We leave for vacation todayand I asked her to call me and let me know what the plan is because we would like to have heat as soon as we get back!

It does keep playing in my head what could have happened if our toddler had been standing there or if my husband had got the glass in his eyes. I am so grateful that this wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I don't think I am comfortable having the same unit back in the house even though logically I know this almost certainly wouldn't happen to us twice!

 

[Bioburner]

If it goes back you probably won't have it come back but will have a replacement. Make sure the venting is OK too.
Hopefully will have a new stove waiting for you when you get back from vacation.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

Damn. I guess those o malleys are the hottest pellet after all

 

[chken]

Excessive heat?!? Hmmm....I'm a little skeptical. Twisted metal could be from the explosion and not from the heat.

 

[alternativeheat]

Excessive heat?!? Hmmm....I'm a little skeptical. Twisted metal could be from the explosion and not from the heat.

First thing I thought of as well. I guess it could have gotten super heated on another burn then cooled and this start up did it in.

But the good news is they are pulling the unit and sending it away. Good chance they will never see that stove again. I'm real sure Quad understands the OP's concerns enough that they wouldn't send it back to them refurbished. One would hope that is the case anyway. There are a lot of Quads out there certainly not doing this !! And the "stove issue" the tech speaks of certainly isn't the OP's problem at this point, they just want safe heat.

 

[bags]

t Quadrafire is taking this very seriously and wants to make everything right.

I'd say it's in everyone's best interest including Quad's to take this very seriously. They could have had a big law suit on their hands and people can and do get injured when things blow up and glass flies. Luckily you were very fortunate there. I wonder if the glass was a very tight fit initially and then with some heat it broke? But you had used the stove previously too. I think everyone would like to hear what the explanation is if they can even conclude one. I can understand you being a bit gun shy due to what happened but don't think this is likely to happen again but anything is possible.

Get a different brand if that will make you feel at ease. It is understandable that you have lost some confidence with what happened. Have a better vacation and let us know what happens with Quad etc;

 

[bogieb]

Excessive heat?!? Hmmm....I'm a little skeptical. Twisted metal could be from the explosion and not from the heat.

I'm thinking the tech was setting up the expectation that it was the customer's fault for over-firing (most manuals state that over-firing is not covered by warranty). I would be more concerned over what Quad says about the twisted metal and not the tech though.

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm thinking the tech was setting up the expectation that it was the customer's fault for over-firing (most manuals state that over-firing is not covered by warranty). I would be more concerned over what Quad says about the twisted metal and not the tech though.

I have a little more trust in the tech being honest, I'd like to think that first anyway..

The only thing I will say to that otherwise, is the home owner can't do anything logically in their own power to over fire a Harman! I'd be shooting for one of them. If a Harman over fires it absolutely is the stoves fault or deliberate tampering.. And these folks sure don't sound like the tampering type to me. At the same time it seems unlikely that a second defective Quad would be delivered.

 

[gfreek]

He was very nice and seemed responsive.

I hope he was ! The stove blew the glass off in to pieces for heavens sake....And of course he said it was over fired, the install was not at fault or the stove. Anyhow, enjoy your vacation and hope this gets sorted out to your satisfaction..

 

[BrotherBart]

I'm thinking the tech was setting up the expectation that it was the customer's fault for over-firing (most manuals state that over-firing is not covered by warranty). I would be more concerned over what Quad says about the twisted metal and not the tech though.

Hard to defend their stove overfiring since it is supposed to shut down if it gets too hot. Wood stove, yes. Pellet puppy, nope.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

It is easy to over-fire a pellet stove, whether it causes a problem at the time of the over-firing or after is horse of a different polka dot color.

Be careful BB because a sensor has to actually signal that it saw the condition in order to start the shut down let alone complete it, remember the sooted up POF switches failing to detect that there is a fire in the stove in time to declare we have a good. ignition.

 

[BrotherBart]

Saying it is hard for a manufacturer to blame overheating on the stove owner.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Well I didn't want to get into that at the moment since I don't have enough information about this particular case.

In general, if you disrupt the fuel/air ratio over a period of time the resultant combustion byproducts are all that is needed to damage a stove. I will leave that out there hanging for everyone's contemplation.

The manufacturer has said nothing and will likely say nothing until they at least get to see the stove.

 

[jatoxico]

If there is an inherent design flaw or manufacturing defect you think we will hear about that?

 

[pageyjim]

IMO it is hard to say it "overheated" or was "overfired" when it happened on an automatic startup.

 

[bcarton]

Unless someone with some serious forensic skills looks at that stove before it gets moved, the chances of getting a good answer for why this failure occurred are pretty low. I'm just glad that no one go seriously hurt, and these folks still have their home.

Personally I would not let anyone touch that stove, let alone remove it. Come to my door with a written agreement for a full replacement, new install by a different team, a complete cleanup of the mess, and promise to fix any hidden damage - then we'll talk.

Brand new stove, professionally installed. I'm sure the customer paid big bucks. No way would I let anyone off the hook until I got what I paid for. New stove that works per spec, install by certified tech, house and health no better or worse than the day before the install.

 

[Hobokenkitchen]

I think for us everything depends on what Quadrafire comes to us with

If I feel like they are half assing or in any way trying to blame us I will stop being so nice about it all fast.

Right now I am really happy with the response we've had from them and if they follow through as I hope they will then I would actually feel very secure with them as I would know they stand by their product and will take care of us.
That's how I'm feeling now, but nothing has been done yet and I don't know what they are planning to offer to do.
Hopefully they will live up to our hopes and expectations.

When I said we just wanted safe, reliable heat with a responsive supplier she said that was a very reasonable expectation. So we'll see.

 

[Hobokenkitchen]

I did share with her how unhappy we have been with Wood Heat's response to our previous stove issues and with the installer who left us with our old stove no longer working (but pocketed the check), and with the new stove faulting from the second day.

I guess this is why the stove kept shutting down?

 

[alternativeheat]

I did share with her how unhappy we have been with Wood Heat's response to our previous stove issues and with the installer who left us with our old stove no longer working (but pocketed the check), and with the new stove faulting from the second day.

I guess this is why the stove kept shutting down?

If the stove was messing up from day two then you should have, if nothing else, phone records of your calls to Wood Heat for help.. And yes it is conceivable that the stove could have been in an over heat situation, the sensors sensed that and shut it down as per programmed instruction. I don't know that is what happened just saying it is conceivable.

Meanwhile no decent sized company, or any company for that matter, wants a dissatisfied customer and much less a dissatisfied customer who had their product blow up in the customers living room.

 

[gfreek]

Meanwhile no decent sized company, or any company for that matter, wants a dissatisfied customer and much less a dissatisfied customer who had their product blow up in the customers living room.

Agree

 

[bogieb]

Maybe the tech is honest, maybe not,

Saying it is hard for a manufacturer to blame overheating on the stove owner.

On the Title Page of her manual (and many, many other manuals) is this warning:

"Do not overfire - If heater or chimney connector glows, you are overfiring. Overfiring will void your warranty."

I don't know how easy, or hard, it is to overfire a pellet stove, just saying that almost every manual I went thru when I was looking for a used stove, had that caution right up front - and I downloaded a bucketload of manuals.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I guess that you'll wait and see what the OEM decides.

I'm thinking that the stove kept telling you to quit and get me fixed (in it's own way by shutting down) but you choose to ignore that so it finally popped it's cork. Sounds like a case where the stove had more sense than the owners.

If it was me, I would have handled things differently as in seeking other outside help and/or coming to a site such as this for advice (before the stove popped) but thats just me.

I'm sure the outcome will be enlightening.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Hard to defend their stove overfiring since it is supposed to shut down if it gets too hot. Wood stove, yes. Pellet puppy, nope.

It obviously was trying and had been trying (to shut down) numerous times prior to the incident (as stated in the OP's own words)...... but the husband kept starting it. I find that interesting. You get a check engine/stop engine light in your car and you investigate the problem or risk blowing the motor, whats the obvious course of action? I doin't believe it's attempting to start the engine numerous times (with the warning light on) but maybe I'm the odd man out....

 

[Hobokenkitchen]

Sidecar Flip. Perhaps you should check out my previous posts?
I did come here. I did seek help. From the second day. We didn't just ignore the problem.

Forgive us for wanting to be warm in sub freezing temperatures with a toddler. And we had NO IDEA a pellet stove could explode. And it sounds like no one here did either.

 

[SidecarFlip]

No issue with me. I'm curious as to what the OEM comes up with. I'm reasonably sure you'll get a new appliance.

It's difficult to troubleshoot and diagnose an issue via second party communication on a site like this or over the phone to the manufacturer, we get involved in that everyday in our business and we like to have physical contact with the issue rather than... Much easier that way.We 'ballpark' an issue on the phone and do that numerous times daily but always recommend the customer either brings in the problem unit or we go to the customer and recommend remediation.

By your own admission however, you were aware of an issue (stove kept shutting down) but you continued to attempt to start it. In itself, that can be construed as negligence on your part so it will all depend entirely on what the OEM decides and of course how much bad press versus good press they decide on enduring.

The Internet isn't the wonderful place it's made out to be.

I'm sure you'll keep everyone apprised as to the outcome, pro or con.