I've burned wood in wood stoves for over 25 years; 18 of those in a Quadra Fire 3100 stove purchased in 1992, another in 2003 when we moved, and a 3rd stove in Dec. of 2010. Up until two winters ago, we did not experience a single problem with a Quadra Fire stove. The problems began with smoke in the room on light-up, and then a strong creosote smell when the stove was cold. This happened in the 5th burning season of a new stove. We burn dry wood, know better than to over-fire a stove, clean the flue and the stove at least once annually, check for blockages and pay attention to the air supply when lighting as well as burning. The point: Nothing, not a thing changed in the way we operated the stoves for 16 years.
We sought help from our local Quadra Fire dealer who offered up not a single suggestion of value and no solution. Thereafter, we visited another Quadra Fire dealer in NE Washington and, with their help, learned there were cracks in the steel inside the stove. There's no way we would have known to look for such things as they were hidden by firebrick and dark black in color. We were also instructed to remove the side panels (Sides and rear of stove), but were unable to do so as, in our model, they were welded to the stove box.
We were told that Quadra Fire had a "fix" for the cracking problem - a retrofit device fabricated from stainless steel. We didn't know if they would pay for the retrofit - we were left hanging in the middle of winter while they considered it - and were told they would not extend the warranty on the stove. Given no knowledge the "fix" would work, no ceiling on costs, and no warranty extension, we opted to purchase a new Millenium 3100 stove (which has been re-designed for reasons not known to us). In early December of 2010, the dealer installed the new stove and the problems described, went away. Our cost/penalty: over $1,800.00 - a cost we should not have had to bear.
I learned that Quadra Fire is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearth & Home Technologies, located in Lakeville, Minnesota and that Brad Determan is the President and CEO of the company. I sent a letter to him, dated December 5th, 2010 and another on December 18th, 2010, describing our unwanted experiences and asking them what they intended to do. Mr. Determan failed to answer either letter. On Friday, January 14th, 2011, I received a call from Jeff Hanel (Inside Sales/Marketing Claims/Consumer Care - Manager) who wanted information and who offered to settle any potential claim for "$100.00." I rejected the "offer" and sent another letter to Determan, addressing the ridiculous offer, and taking the position that the problem was with the stove. He did not respond to the letter. On Friday, January 21st, 2011, Mr. Hanel called again and left a message - about talking the first of the week. I sent off a note to wit: no talk - reduce your discussion/offer to writing.
Meanwhile, a web search turned up postings on your web site that mirror my own recent experiences, even if they involve different models. There's no doubt at all that Quadra Fire / Hearth & Home Technologies KNEW and KNOW of the problems at least some of their models, yet they stonewall you when you attempt to get answers and have them replace or even repair their products. One of your posting members (Firestarter) made reference to a Field Repair (I assume an order of some sort) from Quadra Fire to repair his stove (October 26th, 2007). I'd love to have a copy of that order!
So now what... I believe Quadra Fire - Hearth & Home Technologies - HNI Corp (The parent company - listed on the NYSE as "HNI") will not replace the stove and I do not believe they will even issue bulletins about the problems that at least several people have eperienced to their Dealers and Consumers. I believe they will not pay for the replacement of our stove, even though it's also one of their product. I believe they will try to place blame on us - claiming we over-fired their stove and that it was out of warranty (the latter might be true?) Suing a large company on your own is out of the question. Their attorneys would wear you out with motions and costs before you ever, if ever, got to a court and an enforceable judgment. A Class Action lawsuit is different, but I have not yet found any reference to such.
The only viable approach to resolving at least the faults with products and the exposure of consumers to health and safety issues seems to be actions by public agencies and fire marshal's responsible for protecting consumers and the more information that finds its way to this forum, and reported, will cause them to look into our experiences.
We sought help from our local Quadra Fire dealer who offered up not a single suggestion of value and no solution. Thereafter, we visited another Quadra Fire dealer in NE Washington and, with their help, learned there were cracks in the steel inside the stove. There's no way we would have known to look for such things as they were hidden by firebrick and dark black in color. We were also instructed to remove the side panels (Sides and rear of stove), but were unable to do so as, in our model, they were welded to the stove box.
We were told that Quadra Fire had a "fix" for the cracking problem - a retrofit device fabricated from stainless steel. We didn't know if they would pay for the retrofit - we were left hanging in the middle of winter while they considered it - and were told they would not extend the warranty on the stove. Given no knowledge the "fix" would work, no ceiling on costs, and no warranty extension, we opted to purchase a new Millenium 3100 stove (which has been re-designed for reasons not known to us). In early December of 2010, the dealer installed the new stove and the problems described, went away. Our cost/penalty: over $1,800.00 - a cost we should not have had to bear.
I learned that Quadra Fire is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearth & Home Technologies, located in Lakeville, Minnesota and that Brad Determan is the President and CEO of the company. I sent a letter to him, dated December 5th, 2010 and another on December 18th, 2010, describing our unwanted experiences and asking them what they intended to do. Mr. Determan failed to answer either letter. On Friday, January 14th, 2011, I received a call from Jeff Hanel (Inside Sales/Marketing Claims/Consumer Care - Manager) who wanted information and who offered to settle any potential claim for "$100.00." I rejected the "offer" and sent another letter to Determan, addressing the ridiculous offer, and taking the position that the problem was with the stove. He did not respond to the letter. On Friday, January 21st, 2011, Mr. Hanel called again and left a message - about talking the first of the week. I sent off a note to wit: no talk - reduce your discussion/offer to writing.
Meanwhile, a web search turned up postings on your web site that mirror my own recent experiences, even if they involve different models. There's no doubt at all that Quadra Fire / Hearth & Home Technologies KNEW and KNOW of the problems at least some of their models, yet they stonewall you when you attempt to get answers and have them replace or even repair their products. One of your posting members (Firestarter) made reference to a Field Repair (I assume an order of some sort) from Quadra Fire to repair his stove (October 26th, 2007). I'd love to have a copy of that order!
So now what... I believe Quadra Fire - Hearth & Home Technologies - HNI Corp (The parent company - listed on the NYSE as "HNI") will not replace the stove and I do not believe they will even issue bulletins about the problems that at least several people have eperienced to their Dealers and Consumers. I believe they will not pay for the replacement of our stove, even though it's also one of their product. I believe they will try to place blame on us - claiming we over-fired their stove and that it was out of warranty (the latter might be true?) Suing a large company on your own is out of the question. Their attorneys would wear you out with motions and costs before you ever, if ever, got to a court and an enforceable judgment. A Class Action lawsuit is different, but I have not yet found any reference to such.
The only viable approach to resolving at least the faults with products and the exposure of consumers to health and safety issues seems to be actions by public agencies and fire marshal's responsible for protecting consumers and the more information that finds its way to this forum, and reported, will cause them to look into our experiences.
