Exploded E2. Need some advice on replacement.

[bags]

I think anything is better than what they have dealt with up until this point. Coal and living in PA work well together. Every type of heat has its pros and cons so the OP needs to figure out what works best for them. I'd likely go coal before wood if that was an option but they picked a pellet stove for the reasons they did. They simply got a defective unit. Cut and dry! This is Quad's problem and not the OP's. It is that simple. They need to right their wrong and own some responsibility here. Not offer excuses and half assed trick fixes.

It pisses me off that the dealer or whoever is suggesting them to enslave themselves chucking wood into a wood burner at this point. What a joke and an insult! That's not a good solution. How is becoming a wood schlepping slave a better solution to a good proper running pellet stove? It's not. Just another piss poor excuse or abusive option to an already terrible deal.

I have nothing against Quad and feel they put out a good dependable product. I almost bought one. They just did not live up to that with this stove and situation. Defects and problems happen as we see here. The dealer and Quad needs to man up and deal with their problem and make things MORE than good IMO. How pissed would you be if you just shelled out a bunch of cash and experienced these results? Then to sweeten the mess you continue to get jacked around and stroked.......

Hopefully the issue gets resolved in a fair way. As for now what the OP is stating it looks like they are being guilt tripped on BS. "You had the settings wrong" or "You wouldn't have had this happen IF you weren't burning junk pellets." Yeah, OK, tell me another one moron. Unacceptable excuses. Plain and simple.

 

[Burd]

I'm really sorry this is happening to you. Quadra fire has been around a long time and they know there Stuff. I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of this.
I really doubt that any manufacture would put out a product that would explode. If your installl or your setting were off do to the tech or the comsumer the stove just won't put out the BTU. As for as pellet causing this. Very doubtful. The word exploded to me is a joke..
Has anyone really thought about this before posting. If the manufacture was putting out stoves that EXPLODED we would be hearing about it alot.(Think about it) Now that it's all over the net Quadra fire is getting to the bottom off the word Exploded.
Let get back to the glass.Was the glass installed to tight? Did the Metal Warp to cause the the glass to shatter.
Your pictures show nothing more then broken glass with a Warped frame. When ceramic glass breaks it will shatter and fly all over the place.
Get your self NEW DOOR and learn about your Space Heater.
If other stove are EXPLODING I want to Know about it.
I'm sure that Wood Heat and Quad will take care off the issue.

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm really sorry this is happening to you. Quadra fire has been around a long time and they know there Stuff. I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of this.
I really doubt that any manufacture would put out a product that would explode. If your installl or your setting were off do to the tech or the comsumer the stove just won't put out the BTU. As for as pellet causing this. Very doubtful. The word exploded to me is a joke..
Has anyone really thought about this before posting. If the manufacture was putting out stoves that EXPLODED we would be hearing about it alot.(Think about it) Now that it's all over the net Quadra fire is getting to the bottom off the word Exploded.
Let get back to the glass.Was the glass installed to tight? Did the Metal Warp to cause the the glass to shatter.
Your pictures show nothing more then broken glass with a Warped frame. When ceramic glass breaks it will shatter and fly all over the place.
Get your self NEW DOOR and learn about your Space Heater.
If other stove are EXPLODING I want to Know about it.
I'm sure that Wood Heat and Quad will take care off the issue.

Ok, so it didn't EXPLODE. Who cares !! It's all warped and it's out of the house as well it should be. Let Quad take it home with them, they can experiment with the foolish thing to their hearts content and do what ever with it after that. Meanwhile these folks paid for something in full and are getting no use for the money.

 

[Burd]

Ok, so it didn't EXPLODE. Who cares !! It's all warped and it's out of the house as well it should be. Let Quad take it home with them, they can experiment with the foolish thing to their hearts content and do what ever with it after that. Meanwhile these folks paid for something in full and are getting no use for the money.

It's hard to satisfy everyone especially the consumer that thinks that there pellet stove is a primary heat source.

 

[alternativeheat]

It's hard to satisfy everyone especially the consumer that thinks that there pellet stove is a primary heat source.

I'd be thinking I paid around or maybe over $5000 for something that failed all together. Primary or secondary, it shouldn't have a warp-age and blown glass issue. Period. Heating a single room to around 70 deg is what she seemed to be happy with, you wouldn't expect that without a melt down ? I sure would. And no I would not expect the same unit that exhibited that failure to be placed back in my house.. This absolutely is not the home owners problem. The Quad blew it's guts inside their house, and based off reports we see here in the forum the installer set up the thing unsatisfactorily well. In fact admittedly doesn't know how to set it up correctly. The least Quad and the installer can do is give them a new unit. No, things weren't going too bad till the clown ( and I say that respectfully knowing that he has to try and do what his company wants of him) suggested the new door and then reinstall the failed unit.

 

[Hobokenkitchen]

It's hard to satisfy everyone especially the consumer that thinks that there pellet stove is a primary heat source.

The reason I am posting here is to try and learn as much as I can from people who know a lot more about stoves than we do to ensure that we don't end up in this kind of position again. That said, I'm not sure of your point. If you don't like the word explosion what word do you suggest I use to illustrate a loud 'boom' sound followed by glass flying out of the stove and all over my husband and floor?

So your suggestion is that we accept a new door and learn what? To ship pellets from the west coast and never, ever miss a clinker again?
Thanks for your input, but no.

 

[bogieb]

I'm really sorry this is happening to you. Quadra fire has been around a long time and they know there Stuff. I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of this.
I really doubt that any manufacture would put out a product that would explode. If your installl or your setting were off do to the tech or the comsumer the stove just won't put out the BTU. As for as pellet causing this. Very doubtful. The word exploded to me is a joke..
Has anyone really thought about this before posting. If the manufacture was putting out stoves that EXPLODED we would be hearing about it alot.(Think about it) Now that it's all over the net Quadra fire is getting to the bottom off the word Exploded.
Let get back to the glass.Was the glass installed to tight? Did the Metal Warp to cause the the glass to shatter.
Your pictures show nothing more then broken glass with a Warped frame. When ceramic glass breaks it will shatter and fly all over the place.
Get your self NEW DOOR and learn about your Space Heater.
If other stove are EXPLODING I want to Know about it.
I'm sure that Wood Heat and Quad will take care off the issue.

Since the OP did not install a new door, new glass, or any part of the stove (it was set up and installed by the dealer), then even if the glass was installed too tightly, that is on the manufacture (unless the dealer is installing the glass in the door these days?).

And, I guess that makes it all better that only the glass exploded (yes, I am using that term as to what happens when the glass is blown outwards into someone's face - per previous posts). The glass did not just shatter and start dropping shards - the pieces were forcefully propelled outwards and injured someone.

You are right, Quad has a good reputation and, you just don't hear about any stove, much less a Quad doing such a thing (especially because of poor pellets, and a missed clinker - there would be reports of stoves doing this all the time if that was the case). That is why people are urging her not to take the stove back with a new door - the manufacturer should be eager to take it back to the shop and study it to find out for sure what happened. It may even be something so stupid a shipping damage - but they should want to know and not just offer a new door.

 

[Burd]

I'm really sorry that that I'm coming off wrong but truth be told it didn't explod. Did the glass shatter with out a doubt.
Have the unit replaced.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Demand a new stove and install. Make sure it is outputting the right amount of energy.
If not, get a refund and go elsewhere.

 

[xSpecBx]

Also keep in mind, when dealing with the engineer from Quad, while he may be there to help you (as a quad owner myself I want to truly believe that is the case) they may also being trying to get as much information as possible to determine if this was a manufacturing defect (isolated incident), user error, or a major design flaw (probably the worst case for Quad). From what I have read and seen, my guess would be something was installed incorrectly or not sized properly, but that is based on the limited information provided.

Either way, I would be looking for a new stove from Quad, whether its an AE or E2 or working with the parent company to get a Harman somehow, I would no accept the damaged stove with a new door and I would think Quad would want it to make sure they don't have a major design issue. My guess is they don't given that this is the first case of this anyone here seems to be aware of.

 

[Burd]

So the engineer is recommending that we go back to the E2 and he sticks around to install it and make sure the settings are good and give my husband extensive lessons on how to use it. He said we will not experience the shut down/ blockages issues if the settings are correct.

Long story short Quadrafire flew in their engineer from Washington State to PA to check out the E2 and to oversee the installation of a replacement AE.
The install happened yesterday morning. By this morning it was still only 53 degrees in the room (thermostat is right above the stove). The engineer came back and spent an hour and a half with my husband and put the AE on high. At the end it was 54 degrees.

So we're back to square 1. Engineer agrees is should be much warmer with this stove... but it isn't. : (

The engineer thinks the explosion with the E2 was a 'perfect storm' scenario. The install was fine, but the settings were incorrect. He didn't like the pellet quality, there was a missed clinker close to the igniter and there was a pellet jam in the feed tube due to the incorrect settings.
He said we were cleaning it over and above he necessary amounts, but apparently a clinker got missed in the burn pot and with the other factors caused it to explode.
The installer wasn't familiar enough with the stove to really show us what needed to be done and Quadrafire was unhappy about that and spent hours with the installer here yesterday showing them how to do everything.

So the engineer is recommending that we go back to the E2 and he sticks around to install it and make sure the settings are good and give my husband extensive lessons on how to use it. He said we will not experience the shut down/ blockages issues if the settings are correct.

I don't know what to do. The AE clearly won't work for us as it's just too cold in here.
I want to do the E2 with the engineer here to sort everything out but I'm afraid of it, which he understands.

The other option is wood? I haven't done any research on wood although he said Quadrafire makes wood stoves. Any suggestions on what to do? Should we just go with a wood insert stove instead or give the E2 another chance?

I think we are at Wood Heat's mercy with whether they will 'let' us do a wood stove which is another frustration. All this conversation with Quadrafire and then we have to go and do it all again with Wood Heat to get anything done.

Does anyone have any input?

Thanks! I'm calling him back shortly to let him know our decision. Help?!

Have the engineer install the E2

 

[F4jock]

The reason I am posting here is to try and learn as much as I can from people who know a lot more about stoves than we do to ensure that we don't end up in this kind of position again. That said, I'm not sure of your point. If you don't like the word explosion what word do you suggest I use to illustrate a loud 'boom' sound followed by glass flying out of the stove and all over my husband and floor?

So your suggestion is that we accept a new door and learn what? To ship pellets from the west coast and never, ever miss a clinker again?
Thanks for your input, but no.

In plain, simple terms: 1) Get a lawyer and, 2) if you are going to stay with alternative heat, get a Harman. 3) Get on with your lives.

That's it. Everything else is extraneous.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Why get a lawyer? Equipment malfunctions and it seems like they have been trying to make it right. What demand has been made by the customer that has not been met by the company?

A lawyer should be the last option...not the second. If she goes that route, she could get a settlement for damages but the lawyer will take 50% of it and it will take forever. I think she needs a heating solution now, not 3 years from now.
Lawyers are really good at making sure they stay rich. Thats about all they are good at.

 

[F4jock]

Why get a lawyer? Equipment malfunctions and it seems like they have been trying to make it right. What demand has been made by the customer that has not been met by the company?

A lawyer should be the last option...not the second. If she goes that route, she could get a settlement for damages but the lawyer will take 50% of it and it will take forever. I think she needs a heating solution now, not 3 years from now.
Lawyers are really good at making sure they stay rich. Thats about all they are good at.

Yeah. Just keep going in circles. Great advice! Go with people who have NOT satisfied her fears. Get a new stove that doesn't heat and forget that the other one could have burned down my house and harmed my family.

What do you do? Sell stoves? "Malfunction?" Bit of an understatement, no?

Lawyers are a tool. The threat of a lawsuit just may get the OP the peace of mind and resolution she wants without going to court. Right now they have a cold house and are worried. Your "solution" doesn't help them a bit!

 

[alternativeheat]

Why get a lawyer? Equipment malfunctions and it seems like they have been trying to make it right. What demand has been made by the customer that has not been met by the company?

A lawyer should be the last option...not the second. If she goes that route, she could get a settlement for damages but the lawyer will take 50% of it and it will take forever. I think she needs a heating solution now, not 3 years from now.
Lawyers are really good at making sure they stay rich. Thats about all they are good at.

I'm inclined to agree, this thing hasn't run it's course yet. But then nobody needs to know my personal opinion about lawyers, though you could find the same view by opening the bible ( yes some of us still do that, just about every lesson of life is already written there )..

 

[maple1]

JMO - but going through this experience would be enough to make me just forget about pellets all together, and just try to get out of it with them as best you can. A full refund would be ideal.

Sure, it is likely a freak accident, and sure, chances that it would happen again might be beyond calculating, and sure, that would likely be reduced even more by going to another brand of stove. But even going through all that, and telling myself that over & over again - it would likely not help me sleep better at night after experiencing it the once. It comes down to peace of mind, and I wouldn't be able to get that by getting another pellet stove and staying with pellets - the mind sometimes operates on its own angles not matter how much you tell it not to, and stress is a strange thing.

You mentioned wood - if you want to really stay warm, I would put in an add-on wood furnace. Furnaces are meant to heat your whole house, as opposed to the limits of a space heater. If you want ambiance, I would also think about a smallish wood stove for when that is wanted - you might do both for not much more than you have into this one pellet stove. If you don't want wood, put in a new heat pump. And sleep well at night. Hard to put a price on being able to sleep at night.

 

[Burd]

Yeah. Just keep going in circles. Great advice! Go with people who have NOT satisfied her fears. Get a new stove that doesn't heat and forget that the other one could have burned down my house and harmed my family.

What do you do? Sell stoves? "Malfunction?" Bit of an understatement, no?

Lawyers are a tool. The threat of a lawsuit just may get the OP the peace of mind and resolution she wants without going to court. Right now they have a cold house and are worried. Your "solution" doesn't help them a bit!

I think she should just by a new heater.

 

[F4jock]

I'm inclined to agree, this thing hasn't run it's course yet. But then nobody needs to know my personal opinion about lawyers, though you could find the same view by opening the bible ( yes some of us still do that, just about every lesson of life is already written there )..

The OP doesn't want it to "Run its course." She wants a resolution she's comfortable with. . . . Now!

 

[Burd]

JMO - but going through this experience would be enough to make me just forget about pellets all together, and just try to get out of it with them as best you can. A full refund would be ideal.

Sure, it is likely a freak accident, and sure, chances that it would happen again might be beyond calculating, and sure, that would likely be reduced even more by going to another brand of stove. But even going through all that, and telling myself that over & over again - it would likely not help me sleep better at night after experiencing it the once. It comes down to peace of mind, and I wouldn't be able to get that by getting another pellet stove and staying with pellets - the mind sometimes operates on its own angles not matter how much you tell it not to, and stress is a strange thing.

You mentioned wood - if you want to really stay warm, I would put in an add-on wood furnace. Furnaces are meant to heat your whole house, as opposed to the limits of a space heater. If you want ambiance, I would also think about a smallish wood stove for when that is wanted - you might do both for not much more than you have into this one pellet stove. If you don't want wood, put in a new heat pump. And sleep well at night. Hard to put a price on being able to sleep at night.

Well said. But wood heat isn't her answer as the glass could break(explode) as well

 

[alternativeheat]

The OP doesn't want it to "Run its course." She wants a resolution she's comfortable with. . . . Now!

I know that. Unfortunately everything in life runs it's course and that's that. Life itself runs it's course. Even with a lawyer, it will run it's course, a different course is all. I've seen where that actually can slow things down, by the way. . Now companies dig their heels in , sometimes. You no longer deal with the company directly, two lawyers handle the whole show. The company no longer speaks to you. And as has been pointed out, lawyers are in business to make money.

 

[F4jock]

I know that. Unfortunately everything in life runs it's course and that's that. Life itself runs it's course. Even with a lawyer, it will run it's course, a different course is all. I've seen where that actually can slow things down, by the way. . Now companies dig their heels in , sometimes. You no longer deal with the company directly, two lawyers handle the whole show. The company no longer speaks to you. And as has been pointed out, lawyers are in business to make money.

The first part is pure speculation.

And as for being in business to make money, in one way or another we all are. Irrelevant. Oh and obviously biased.

 

[maple1]

I would also hold off on the lawyer for now. The making money part I wouldn't say is irrelevant - the longer they drag things out, the more money they make. And once a lawyer contacts them, that will be the end of any contact you have with them. But I wouldn't rule it out - there comes times when one is needed. I don't think she's there quite yet - but it might not be long at this rate.

 

[bags]

The OP has kept the status updated and the real issue is getting side lined here. The OP paid for a good new stove and "dealer" install and has not received the goods PAID for. The engineer is there now and only offering sub par solutions up to this point which is equating to the OP getting a raw deal. That said it isn't over until it's over and I feel the OP is willing and TRYING to get things worked out but doesn't want to settle for a bag of tricks either or the meager offerings to this point. Would you be happy with what has been offered and suggested thus far. I wouldn't.

She is here asking for opinions of others that know a little more about pellet stoves and what is normal. Nothing she HAS experienced is normal. She is questioning the scenarios "perfect storm" , "junk pellets", and other things stated by the engineer and dealer who both clearly seem to be placing the blame some place other than where it belongs.

Let's say you just bought a new car. Paid for it and it was not a cheap old used high mile rust bucket sled. Now you are taking a little trip in you new "dealer prepped" car and the engine blows up, the hood flew up blocking your view on the expressway with your toddler in the back seat, and shattered the windshield you are now picking out of your face. Is that normal for a new car to do or would you be a concern motorist?

No one is really knocking a Quad but this particular stove seems to not have been hitting on all cylinders and now the dealer and engineer is pointing the finger at you because you were doing 5 MPH over the speed limit. This is what is going on here so far. It's not the drivers fault.