New Forumj Member, New Stove :-(

[Forbin]

I finally took the plunge and bought a quadrafire castile fireplace Insert from a local dealer here in central Oklahoma about a month ago.

It's finally been cool enough here to use the stove in the morning a bit and while I love the stove I hate the installation I
received from the store where I bought the stove.

My 2 year old house has one of those zero clearance prefab fireplaces that are just terrible. The only thing they do for the house
is you can say "it has a fireplace" when you decide to sell.

The installer removed the refractories, dropped metal exhaust tubing down the existing metal flue. The installation manual shows
the correct installation in this case would have had a metal plate installed at the top of the firebox with the exhaust tubing centered
firmly in the plate.
However, in my installation the installer didn't even remove the damper. He just dropped the tubing down between the open damper
and the side of the metal flue.

Now you know what is happening. The vibration from the combustion blower is vibrating the metal exhaust against the metal flue
making an awful metallic vibration that almost sounds like a whine.
Sometimes it is loud enough to echo all up and down that metal flue.
Over time, I suppose it could even wear a hole through that exhaust tubing and then I'll have CO in the house.

I am going back to the dealer this morning to demand a proper installation.

Anyone have any input on how I should deal with the store? It's a local store called The Hearth Shop that deals exclusively in stoves,
inserts and fireplaces.

 

[mepellet]

I finally took the plunge and bought a quadrafire castile fireplace Insert from a local dealer here in central Oklahoma about a month ago.

It's finally been cool enough here to use the stove in the morning a bit and while I love the stove I hate the installation I
received from the store where I bought the stove.

My 2 year old house has one of those zero clearance prefab fireplaces that are just terrible. The only thing they do for the house
is you can say "it has a fireplace" when you decide to sell.

The installer removed the refractories, dropped metal exhaust tubing down the existing metal flue. The installation manual shows
the correct installation in this case would have had a metal plate installed at the top of the firebox with the exhaust tubing centered
firmly in the plate.
However, in my installation the installer didn't even remove the damper. He just dropped the tubing down between the open damper
and the side of the metal flue.

Now you know what is happening. The vibration from the combustion blower is vibrating the metal exhaust against the metal flue
making an awful metallic vibration that almost sounds like a whine.
Sometimes it is loud enough to echo all up and down that metal flue.
Over time, I suppose it could even wear a hole through that exhaust tubing and then I'll have CO in the house.

I am going back to the dealer this morning to demand a proper installation.

Anyone have any input on how I should deal with the store? It's a local store called The Hearth Shop that deals exclusively in stoves,
inserts and fireplaces.

Tell them that you paid for a proper installation and they didn't provide that so they can either come out and fix the situation on their dollar or you want a full refund.

 

[vinny11950]

Welcome and sorry to read about your bad installation.

While don't know much about Harman Inserts, I know about crappy installations.

I had my pellet stove installed improperly which resulted in smoke and loose wall thimble. Anyway, luckily I paid with my Chase credit card and was able to challenge the install charges when the installer refused to fix it or give me credit to hire another installer to fix.

If you paid cash, I guess you could threaten the better business bureau. However, give them a chance to make it right. Sometimes they just send out a person who is not familiar with a certain process.

I gave my install guy 5 weeks to fix it and all I got was run arounds. If you can challenge the credit card charge, make sure you call the credit card company and get the procedure on how to do it properly so you stand a chance to win. Also send the installer certified return receipt letters detailing your complaint, and specially detailing the correct install from the manual. Keep a copy of everything and then write a letter to credit card company with a packet of proofs (manuals, pictures and codes) as to why it was installed wrong.

However, I am always suspect of the installer who did it wrong the first time, doing it right the second. Especially if it is something major that shows lack of care and understanding. Unfortunately it is really hard to find a good installer.

I recommend you take pictures of the install, the house, and chimney and post them here in a new thread asking for more technical advice. Also ask if anyone knows a reliable installer in your area or how to find one.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Ian435]

My friend had a hack come out and hired by the company he bought the stove fom, they would have made better butchers.

I had a company come out and install my stove. They had to be reminded about venting clearances. The idiot terminated it six inches about the ground. And when inwent to check out the job he called me sneaky. Then i reminded him it was my house. He screwed the wall thimble right to the sheet rock without hollow wall anchors. Took a month to vibrate loose.
The point i am making is some of these guys are hacks.