"Scandia" Knock-Off, Made in Taiwan

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Mothman

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Aug 6, 2008
4
Connecticut
Hi, sorry for the brisk intro but I just registered today with a problem. We moved into our house 8 months or so ago and found a wood-stove in the basement. Last week we paid a guy $500 to clean it up and re-caulk the seams and put it position in our fireplace. It's a Scandia knock-off, made in Taiwan, apparently for Franklin Casting..?

Now, we're about to hook it up and it turns out that the thing is cursed by all respectable agencies and we have nothing by way of manufacturer's guidelines for permit purposes from the town. The guy we hired did seem a little too rustic in his philosophy - told us not to even get a permit - and now we've spent all that money and it looks like we might not be able to even use this piece of %$^& in our home!!

Any pointers towards where we might find the requisite paperwork enough to convince them to give us a permit is MOST APPRECIATED.


As I say, sorry to rush in without properly introducing myself, but I just got a stricken phone-call from the wife and we're both boiling mad over this matter!


Thanks,

Ian
 
So now you're giving me the treatment I saw them giving you on another thread, huh?

Is it really that bad? I noticed you seemed to determine to conquer it in your own thread. If that is the case I want to tear our woodstove guy a new 'un cos he should have known...
 
I'm sorry to hear this. These stoves were cheap knock offs. If you search the forum here you will find many posts about Scandia knock off stoves. It's unlikely that you would find any paperwork qualifying it for installation.

IMHO, the stove may be only worth it's weight as scrap or a yard decoration. The fellow who did the work should have known this and charged way to much for a simple cleanup and gasketing. They didn't cost more than half that price when new if I recall.

If you want to get a proper stove, stop here and do the research. We would be glad to help.
 
"So now you’re giving me the treatment I saw them giving you on another thread, huh? "

I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't want to make you feel bad- but from what I have heard of these stoves, I would worry about safety with stoves like this.
 
The long and short of it is that Franklin imported Taiwan made copies of Jotul and Vermont castings stoves into the country 30 years ago. Subsequently those two companies sued them out of existence. The stoves were made long before Pac Rim countries were capable of making decent quality castings so the safety of the stove is highly suspect.

This guy has a Scandia for sale on Craigslist and appears to have the instruction sheet for them that might or might not please your local Authority Having Jurisdiction but even if it did most of us here will urge you not to light fires inside your home in one of these things.

(broken link removed to http://allentown.craigslist.org/hsh/776319251.html)
 
Adios Pantalones said:
"So now you’re giving me the treatment I saw them giving you on another thread, huh? "

I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't want to make you feel bad- but from what I have heard of these stoves, I would worry about safety with stoves like this.

Sorry, I have you mistaken for another with a similar name/avatar message.

Thanks for all your advice, I guess we got screwed out of $500 by this idiot then...?
 
Yeah, you got ripped off. I would be contacting that guy and trying to get some money back. At the very least get him to come get the stove and haul it to the dump.
 
OK thanks. he's a bit of a "chartacter" AKA a drunk, and cashed every cheque we gave him instantly. maybe I'll just kill him instead. (Joke)
 
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In that case, he probably didn't know anything about the stove. How could he know? It's not exactly common knowledge except among stove geeks like those on this forum (myself included). Live and learn. Get the dude to haul your stove to the dump- it's the least he can do.
 
What is scrap iron going for these days?
 
About six hundred on craigslist north of the Mason Dixon and with a new paint job.
 
I feel you learned a valuble lesson as I and my wifes side of the family know now, if a contractor says you don't need a permit, GO to the town and find out if you do. It is just another paper trail to keep you safe. (and for the town to make $)
My wife is a research hound, and she will research something to death in most cases.
I am too now. Have not reached her level but I will research. There is SO much info on the internet these days. If you don't have time, please MAKE time.
I think this is one of those life lessons. $500 gone. But here is another way of looking at it.

You could of lit a fire and something could of gone terribly wrong, such as losing the house, smoke damage, even loss of life. I am not familar with this brand, but I trust this forum.

My fireplace story concerns the chimney, 1 year, I had waited to see in the paper who had the cheeeeeeaaaapest price to do chimney cleaning in the Fall. 1 I found was $75. After making the appointment, the 1 guy shows up in a Beamer 3 hours late(not a speck of dirt on him), with his partner(extremely dirty) in a rickety pick up . this $75 job became a $375 dollar job upon completion (top of chimney was not sealed). The annoying Beamer guy kept trying to get me focused on his wife who was a laywer, through conversation(like he is untouchable), while the other guy was on top of the chimney. I started feeling more and more uneasy as the conversation continued. I think I would of paid him double just to leave.

Also as the guy on top ran the broom down the chimney, the other guy was vaccuming and got a little speck of soot on his shirt sleeve and got all bent out of shape. He then asked me for a paper towel .

I was soooo happy when they left only to find the damper was closed and after opening the damper, they left a large amount of "sooty surprise". Lesson learned.

These guys here told me how to get a reputable chimney cleaning service. I paid $125. To me it was worth every penny. All questions answered, friendly, and in the yellow pages as well as established for many years.
I even got call back from the company making sure everything went well. Good luck with everything! Chris
 
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