Exploded Quadrafire Mt Vernon E2

[Harvey Schneider]

I wonder if this falls under the juristiction of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The agency takes a dim view of appliances hurting consumers.
Without oversight, I can't imagine Quadrifire wanting to make the details of their investigation public.
Like all corporations, they have a responsibility to their owners to protect themselves from losses. You should make sure that they believe you are ready to do the same.
I don't believe in frivolous litigation but a subtle mention of having your lawyer look into the situation would make them more anxious to see that you are happy.

 

[Old Spartan]

If there is an inherent design flaw or manufacturing defect you think we will hear about that?

Certainly ,,,,,, If it is a design or manufacturing flaw it will have been repeated with numerous stoves of that make/model. It will therefore become apparent regardless of the manufacturer's actions.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If there is an inherent design flaw or manufacturing defect you think we will hear about that?

Depends upon what they have to do to correct it as to whether a inherent issue (if any) becomes known. Service bulletins do get issued and things do become known.

 

[chken]

I did share with her how unhappy we have been with Wood Heat's response to our previous stove issues and with the installer who left us with our old stove no longer working (but pocketed the check), and with the new stove faulting from the second day.

I guess this is why the stove kept shutting down?

Now I'm wondering about the installation. I would video the removal of the unit, and then take good photos of the vent connection. What fault codes did the stove show?

 

[jatoxico]

Certainly ,,,,,, If it is a design or manufacturing flaw it will have been repeated with numerous stoves of that make/model. It will therefore become apparent regardless of the manufacturer's actions

Depends upon what they have to do to correct it as to whether a inherent issue (if any) becomes known. Service bulletins do get issued and things do become known.

Since I'm not involved in any way in the stove industry I don't know what the common practice is so it will be interesting to see how Quad handles this. If as you say they issue some type of warrantied fix in the form of a service bulletin or part recall/replace for other stoves in the field I will be impressed as this amounts to them discovering a design flaw. That would likely take some time I would guess.

Of course it may be an install issue and I don't want to proceed on the assumption that Quad's product was at fault. Either way I will be surprised if Quad doesn't make it right w/ the OP.

 

[begreen]

I did share with her how unhappy we have been with Wood Heat's response to our previous stove issues and with the installer who left us with our old stove no longer working (but pocketed the check), and with the new stove faulting from the second day.

I guess this is why the stove kept shutting down?

Is anyone checking the installation to make sure that there is no fault there? In particular I too am wondering about the vent installation.

 

[pageyjim]

I would hire a company to come out and check it before it was removed. This should be resolved all quite easily but could become a finger pointing exercise.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

As I recall, the OP had many problems with this install / dealer from day one (I could be confusing this with another thread, of course). But assuming that's the case, I would video everything now, and video the removal of the stove. To be frank, I have trouble envisioning a properly installed and fueled stove exploding. Something seems very off here. Good luck with it, but this is just way outside the norm for a pellet stove.

 

[saskwoodburner]

By your own admission however, you were aware of an issue (stove kept shutting down) but you continued to attempt to start it. In itself, that can be construed as negligence on your part so it will all depend entirely on what the OEM decides and of course how much bad press versus good press they decide on enduring.

I couldn't help but think the same thing, when something keeps shutting down, it's doesn't mean hit the reset button and it's all good.

 

[gfreek]

Hopefully, there will be some type of explanation for what happened & we can all learn something from it..

 

[tjnamtiw]

The more I read about this 'exploding' stove, the more skeptical I become. There were 'problems' from day one but what were they? Was the stove burning poorly causing the glass to get coated with creosote? Did the homeowner try to clean the 'glass' with a scraper, razor blade, or steel wool, which would scratch the 'glass' and create stress risers that would propagate when the admitted overdose of pellets finally ignited with the usual poof? Some serious analysis of the saved pieces of glass should uncover that possibility.

We are all pointing fingers at the manufacturer without REALLY knowing the background facts.

 

[Hobokenkitchen]

The more I read about this 'exploding' stove, the more skeptical I become. There were 'problems' from day one but what were they? Was the stove burning poorly causing the glass to get coated with creosote? Did the homeowner try to clean the 'glass' with a scraper, razor blade, or steel wool, which would scratch the 'glass' and create stress risers that would propagate when the admitted overdose of pellets finally ignited with the usual poof? Some serious analysis of the saved pieces of glass should uncover that possibility.

We are all pointing fingers at the manufacturer without REALLY knowing the background facts.

The problem was that the stove shut down in the middle of the night the second night it was on.

Then it shut down once every couple of days from then on. Often at inconvenient times of night.

My husband would thoroughly clean the stove and then start it up again. It would burn fine for 12/ 24/ 36 hours and then shut down again. We were cleaning the stove around once every day (way more than you should have to) and we're using around 3 bags of pellets per day (apparently also way more than normal).

No issues with the glass - we just cleaned it with plain water on a paper towel. No razor blades (!) steel wool (!!) or anything else.

Several times (like 3 or 4) over the month that we had the stove the shut down was accompanied with a 'whirring' sound. That's when we thought the feed tube was blocked.

I am honestly completely taken aback by the accusations that we are somehow at fault for this. We have read all the directions, watched countless YouTube videos on cleaning, asked lots of questions here and called and emailed the supplier on many occasions.

Had anyone told us that we should not restart it because it might EXPLODE we would obviously not have restarted it ever.

I did a lot of research on pellets, both on here and on google. We even rented a van and drove an hour to buy a test ton of Barefoot pellets because we heard they were the best. In addition we bought Energex which we had good luck with last year and O'Malleys which were recommended as the most premium pellet the supplier carried.

We paid for a top of the line stove, paid the store to install it and have followed every direction since receiving the stove.

Thankfully neither the tech who came to view it, nor the manufacturer have given the slightest indication that we did anything wrong. If they do I would seriously consider involving an attorney because frankly the idea that this has been somehow our own fault is completely unfair and ridiculous.

You should not have to be a 'minister of fire' to effectively run a pellet stove.

 

[Hobokenkitchen]

Also could you please clarify what you mean by 'admitted overdose of pellets'?
Because the stove auto feeds pellets. So what do you mean 'admitted overdose'?

 

[the cug]

the glass should not have exploded. i'm on your side hobo. I cant believe that we have to be so careful not to scratch the glass cause it might weaken it. what a crock of s#%&.

 

[Lake Girl]

Hoboken, very sorry to hear of the extreme problems you have had with the stove, dealer and install ... hoping Quadrafire will set it right for you. As others have suggested, photos and videos would be a good thing... along with emails and dates/contents of contact with the dealer and Quad starting from the original order and install. Hopefully you won't need the documentation but best to be prepared.

As to tj, he does have a lot of experience with these stoves and this is so far out of the norm so was probably more musing about what potentially went wrong and looking at all potential angles of the problem - not that you or your hubby did anything wrong. You would be surprised at some of the stories we hear on stove treatment or lack thereof. However, we're not there, did not see the install, the shutdowns, or the explosion of the door glass so all just speculation.

The question on the overdose of pellets - hubby dislodged jammed pellets from chute, cleaned up and started stove... I read this as he removed pellets from the stove firebox interior and burn-pot. If he left these in the burn-pot and then started stove, the pellet load would be larger...

Please keep us posted on response from Quadrafire. Hopefully they keep it simple...

 

[LordmetalZ28]

The problem was that the stove shut down in the middle of the night the second night it was on.

Then it shut down once every couple of days from then on. Often at inconvenient times of night.

My husband would thoroughly clean the stove and then start it up again. It would burn fine for 12/ 24/ 36 hours and then shut down again. We were cleaning the stove around once every day (way more than you should have to) and we're using around 3 bags of pellets per day (apparently also way more than normal).

No issues with the glass - we just cleaned it with plain water on a paper towel. No razor blades (!) steel wool (!!) or anything else.

Several times (like 3 or 4) over the month that we had the stove the shut down was accompanied with a 'whirring' sound. That's when we thought the feed tube was blocked.

I am honestly completely taken aback by the accusations that we are somehow at fault for this. We have read all the directions, watched countless YouTube videos on cleaning, asked lots of questions here and called and emailed the supplier on many occasions.

Had anyone told us that we should not restart it because it might EXPLODE we would obviously not have restarted it ever.

I did a lot of research on pellets, both on here and on google. We even rented a van and drove an hour to buy a test ton of Barefoot pellets because we heard they were the best. In addition we bought Energex which we had good luck with last year and O'Malleys which were recommended as the most premium pellet the supplier carried.

We paid for a top of the line stove, paid the store to install it and have followed every direction since receiving the stove.

Thankfully neither the tech who came to view it, nor the manufacturer have given the slightest indication that we did anything wrong. If they do I would seriously consider involving an attorney because frankly the idea that this has been somehow our own fault is completely unfair and ridiculous.

You should not have to be a 'minister of fire' to effectively run a pellet stove.

Im just gonna put this out there cause Its strange and I was thinking about you this weekend. Now ive burned a ton of green supremes and a few bags of fiber energy products. I just recently switched over to o malleys and on my second bag got an overheat alarm. Now my trouble shooting has concluded it was a bad snap disk switch. But this is something to think about. Omalleys is the hottest pellet ive ever run and ive heard this by many other people. Maybe theres something odd in this years batch. I could be totally wrong. But somethings fishy im sure you would agree

 

[LordmetalZ28]

I wish you the best with this issue. Keep me . Posted and well try and help you figure this out. Overheating is very plausable

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Let's see does everyone understand that when you change pellets you must adjust the fuel/air ratio for a proper burn or else you can indeed over feed that pellet roaster.

On the quads it is what setting the flame height is all about, on other stoves it is in the fuel and air trim controls and on other stoves it is the damper.

So when you change pellets you must adjust the stove or you run into niceties such as over limit shut downs, a haze of reddish brown sticky stuff on the stove glass, more fuel in the burn pot at start up, and if the entire system is close to needing a deep cleaning, lots of smoke in the firebox to be followed by a likely boom, what happens then depends upon how bad things in the vent and stove really are.

So all this talk about automatic feed is only correct if the stove has been properly adjusted to the fuel it is burning.

Welcome to wood burning 101.

 

[john193]

Just to clarify. The flame height adjustment is the feed rating on this stove. It controls the feed motor. The default value is 0.

The MV is a fully automated stove. This is sounding to be a freak accident for the most part. To imply that you need to babysit this stove goes against everything the stove was designed for. The MV is a 'set it and forget it' appliance. Heck, I burn hardwood on the softwood setting.

No need to re analyze and read into this further. There are people with physical access to the stove looking at it.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

 

[F4jock]

First, very glad you are all OK. Could have been messy.

That said, I tend to agree that I'd not let someone yank the stove without getting my own, professional examination of it and the installation. Pellet stoves don't just explode. Something was very wrong and, above all, you don't want a repeat performance!

Please be aware that the following thoughts and musings are all mine:

There are some dealers that post here. Although Quads are a reliable stove those blaming you may have a technical point but may also be defending either the stove they have or the stove they sell.

I'd never have another Quad in my house again. Regardless of what the manufacturer said or did I wouldn't be able to sleep well.

No, you don't have to be a "Minister of Fire" to operate a pellet stove but some are more automated than others. Now I'm going to take heat for this (Pun intended!) because I'm an unabashed devotee and seven-year user of Harman, but if you want versatility and automation that's how I'd go. They are almost impossible to mis-operate. Hell, our housekeeper house sits for us when we vacation and she, the least technically oriented person I know, can keep the thing going with no problem. I clean it before we leave and she just adds pellets.

Finally, were I you I'd lose the emphasis on having pellet heat when you get home and concentrate on getting a stove that you can operate safely, simply, and with confidence.

 

[pageyjim]

A lot of talk about the feed rate, this happened at startup. Is the startup feed rate on this stove fixed?

 

[john193]

First, very glad you are all OK. Could have been messy.

That said, I tend to agree that I'd not let someone yank the stove without getting my own, professional examination of it and the installation. Pellet stoves don't just explode. Something was very wrong and, above all, you don't want a repeat performance!

Please be aware that the following thoughts and musings are all mine:

There are some dealers that post here. Although Quads are a reliable stove those blaming you may have a technical point but may also be defending either the stove they have or the stove they sell.

I'd never have another Quad in my house again. Regardless of what the manufacturer said or did I wouldn't be able to sleep well.

No, you don't have to be a "Minister of Fire" to operate a pellet stove but some are more automated than others. Now I'm going to take heat for this (Pun intended!) because I'm an unabashed devotee and seven-year user of Harman, but if you want versatility and automation that's how I'd go. They are almost impossible to mis-operate. Hell, our housekeeper house sits for us when we vacation and she, the least technically oriented person I know, can keep the thing going with no problem. I clean it before we leave and she just adds pellets.

Finally, were I you I'd lose the emphasis on having pellet heat when you get home and concentrate on getting a stove that you can operate safely, simply, and with confidence.

Quads and harmans are made by the same manufacturer. The MVE2 uses Harman technology in its operation (ESP probe tech).

 

[F4jock]

Quads and harmans are made by the same manufacturer. The MVE2 uses Harman technology in its operation (ESP probe tech).

Different operating philosophy.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

A lot of talk about the feed rate, this happened at startup. Is the startup feed rate on this stove fixed?

Not if there were extra pellets in the burn pot prior to start being pushed.

Funny thing about dumping pellets into a hot burn pot from an auger jam and then adding more by activating the ignition system.

I would expect the start up load to be timed which is not always the same as being totally fixed when dealing with solid fuels.

ETA: While the event happened at flame on, the sequence could actually have been a long time in the making.