I apologize, this will be long. I have a Lopi Berkshire (propane). The stove is the only heat for a two story log style home. It is on the downstairs level and the main living space is upstairs. The stove was installed by previous owners just before our purchase, and the system has worked fine for two years. I finally turned the temp up to engage stove just before Thanksgiving. Immediately heard louder than normal noise when the stove would light and upon checking I found that the flame upon initial start would shoot about four inches above the blower grate on the top of stove. I Shut it down and two weeks later when I finally got a tech he said that burner pan had a crack in it, applied a sealer reinstalled and said all would be fine. It worked for about 2 1/2 weeks just fine and then started not coming on when the temp would drop below set level. After consulting manual I decided to open the front as if I were going to light pilot and the burner suddenly engaged. OK maybe I dislodged what ever was the problem, so I went to close and no sooner did I attempt to reinstall the grate the fire went out. After several attempts at this I finally realized that if I simply didn't tighten the grate all the way the fire stayed on and it worked. I still call the tech for service as this was not right. No response, ok, Holidays I would deal. After a week the same problem returned. This time the only way to get it to work was to move the burner pan to a different position as I had noticed that it was not sitting level. I propped the corner up by using a small metal nut(about 1/2 in.) now it worked again. During the waiting time I had to buy a source of alternative heat. Oil filled space heater. It leaked caught fire and now we have smoke and fire damage in house. Yesterday the tech finally came and this time he said it was just a loose wire, crimped it and said that it would be fine. For some reason however he chose to replace the batteries in my thermostat even tho it was working. About an hour after he left I was once again calling as the fireplace was not working again. He said that it was the manual switch that he had left it in the wrong position and it should be in the "on" position. I know this is wrong, but OK, I did it. 40 minutes later the fireplace had not shut off and I consulted the manual as I knew he was wrong when he told me to do this. Again I called, now he says it must be the thermostat and he just happens to have one he can sell me. WTF...
I am a single female, mechanically inclined and basically a MS fixit, but I do not wish to try extensive repairs on something that involves both electricity and propane, nor do I wish to freeze, burn my house down or be exploited by incompetent and/or swindling repairmen. HELP
I am a single female, mechanically inclined and basically a MS fixit, but I do not wish to try extensive repairs on something that involves both electricity and propane, nor do I wish to freeze, burn my house down or be exploited by incompetent and/or swindling repairmen. HELP
