I have won the battle!!! Defective stove being replaced!

[Swedishchef]

Hey guys

For those of you who remember, I have an Osburn 2300. It heats very well. However, as stated in multiple other threads, every time I light it up, a foul smell rises from the stove top for the first 2 hours or so. My entire house smells, my wife gets angry and you know the rest

Well, 3 weeks ago the company sent someone to pick it up (it should have been the distributor but they have very poor service so I dealt directly with the company). The guy who picked it up said he would be surprised if they replaced it.

Today I got a call from the customer service representative. He called me to tell me that they tested it in their labs, AND I WAS RIGHT, THERE IS A FOUL SMELL BEING EMITTED FROM THE STOVE! They said they fall upon a case like mine once every 5-10 years or so. They inspected every aspect of the stove with scopes, they grinded the paint off, etc. It simply still smells.

SOOOOO, they are sending me a brand new stove! YAY. I was gonna try to find some money to buy a Jotul F500 but since I am getting a new stove for free, I can't refuse (especially with a kid on the way, basement being finished and landscaping to get done).

I guess I won the battle versus Goliath!

Thanks for your support and help throughout!

ANdrew

 

[Lucky Phil]

Congratulations. It's nice to see the little guy win once in a while.

 

[Swedishchef]

I guess. I was very pleased. The tone of voice used by the client service rep seemed to give me the feeling he was going to tell me that I was crazy. I guess I am not "crazy" with smells but I am sure I may be a little off the rocker.

A.

 

[BrotherBart]

Glad to see them admit it. Once it was out of your hands it would have been really easy to just say "Don't smell nuthin." Kudos to them.

Back in the sixties I had a stereo that was screwed up from day one. Finally the dealer agreed to send it for warranty. I got it back and they told me they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Funny that the one I got back that worked didn't have the mark I had hidden under the turntable.

Enjoy that heater next season.

 

[Swedishchef]

BB: I agree. They could have easily said " I smell nothing" and sent it back. I too made a small mark underneath incase they tried to pull the old "it's a new one" trick on me.

When I spoke to customer service after I had to stove picked up to be shipped to the dealer, I advised them that I had taken air samples to perform gas chromatography, Infra Red spectrum analysis and other analysis via a friend of mine who works in an analytical chemistry lab. I did take samples and would have sent them. I think they got my point.

I can't wait to let er rip next season. Espcially now that I have 1,5 inches of spray foam on my concrete walls with R-14 roxul between the studs on top of that. It's gonna heat like a pig. Time to put air vents in my floor upstairs to let the heat rise.

Andrew

 

[Todd]

Great news! It would be interesting to find out what's causing that smell.

 

[pen]

As much as them selling a bad stove may turn some people off to that company, going to this extent in fixing the solution means everything. ANY company can have a fluke. It's a shame it has taken so long for you to have this resolution, but glad to hear 1. you are not crazy and 2. you will wind up happy.

Good luck. The only thing I would additionally wish to know (just because of being the curious sort) is what exactly they wind up contributing this problem to. To me, the problem defies most probable explanations. since we certainly have explored the options here.

pen

 

[begreen]

Good news. Thanks for the update. I hope the new stove puts these hassles far behind and that stinker is melted down to scrap. (I still think someone left their limburger sandwich in the heat exchanger.)

 

[savageactor7]

Huh they tested it and still couldn't come up with a reason why? I remember another poster having that same problem with another stove and he got another stove too. Lets hope that foul stove doesn't taint the wood burning process for your wife.

 

[Fsappo]

I always view customer complaints as a chance to make that customer love my company even more by the way the complaint is handled. Even though this was a drawn out process, perhaps the publicizing of the happy ended will do some to enhance the reputation of the manufacturer.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

sbi still make osburn?
they are a stand up crew, not suprised the maker stands behind thier stoves

 

[Nonprophet]

Congratulations You did all the right things, stood your ground, and in the end the company stood behind it's product, albeit after a lot of unnecessary trouble and angst on your part. Hopefully the new stove will serve you well for many years to come!!

NP

 

[Swedishchef]

Pen: agreed. I am glad to know that I am not crazy and I simply hope my wife is not tained by this mishap. We are having our first child this summer (well, first one for me that I know of) and I wanna keep him warm with wood! I think it's simply a bad batch of steel. Something of the sort.

BeGreen: we need a new boat anchor for my boat at work. I think I'll see if I can use the stove.

Savage: that's right. They could not come up with a reason. They inspected the stove inside and out (with scopes), grinded down the top and yet they said it helped but a smell still came from it. They are completely stumped. God knows what it is. provided it wasn't a cancer causing substance, I don't care. I have a new stove on the way!!

Wood Heat Stoves: yup, SBI still make OSburn. They are great products (cost vs quality). That 2300 can put out heat unlike most stoves on the market. 30 800 Btu/hr is not bad at all.

Nonprophet: thanks! Yeah, I stood my ground. This is my first time that I have ever been unsatisfied with a big purchase (the stove was $2000). I wasn't letting it go that easily. In the end, I got what I wanted: a new stove! I can't wait to get the new one and let it burn!

Andrew

 

[BrotherBart]

The steel mill just called. They ask that you give Bill a decent burial. They have always wondered what happened to him.

 

[Swedishchef]

Ha ha. I thought there could be a dead body involved in this somehow...

It is nice though that I am getting a new stove out of this ordeal.

A