More Breckwell problems

[MJayne]

I purchased a Breckwell P24I, a couple months ago and made the mistake of buying online. The stove arrived with some wires PULLED out the back, possibly from a forklift and I had to pay installers to put them back. Then the fan would oscillate when starting up. The dealer, sent me another control panel and then a fan, which I had to have installed, and it still had the problem. Then he said that he had spoken to Breckwell, who said that the control panel had to be re designed as it was taking out the fan, so he sent me another control panel and another fan. I installed the control panel first and then the fan. The repair guy said the housing on the fan was cool when he replace it, but the motor was HOT. Now the new fan is in and I hear a slight whistlling / ringing noise and it interferes with my TV. I think that I have been sent bad parts and I keep having to pay to have new parts installed Breckwell Tech support doesn't answer the phone anymore and I spoke with a sales rep once but he has not called back. The stove also hardly puts out any heat. AND I have only 20 bags of pellets left and everyone is out.

Biggest mistake I have made is buying this stove. I had a small Avalon Pendleton insert in before which I sold for $500 when I bought this piece of junk. It put out more heat than this one which is supposed to heat 2000 SF. Breckwell is owned by National Steel Crafters in Texas, but if you sue them the agent for service of process is in Oregon where I don't believe they have business activity. On the back of the Warranty which you don't get to see until you unpack your stove, it says that you agree to only have Oregon for any litigation. I don't even think that is legal as there was no contract or meeting of the minds to agree to that. Does anyone have any idea as to why the new fan interferes and has what seems to be interference NOISE?

 

[restorer]

I purchased a Breckwell P24I, a couple months ago and made the mistake of buying online. The stove arrived with some wires PULLED out the back, possibly from a forklift and I had to pay installers to put them back. Then the fan would oscillate when starting up. The dealer, sent me another control panel and then a fan, which I had to have installed, and it still had the problem. Then he said that he had spoken to Breckwell, who said that the control panel had to be re designed as it was taking out the fan, so he sent me another control panel and another fan. I installed the control panel first and then the fan. The repair guy said the housing on the fan was cool when he replace it, but the motor was HOT. Now the new fan is in and I hear a slight whistlling / ringing noise and it interferes with my TV. I think that I have been sent bad parts and I keep having to pay to have new parts installed Breckwell Tech support doesn't answer the phone anymore and I spoke with a sales rep once but he has not called back. The stove also hardly puts out any heat. AND I have only 20 bags of pellets left and everyone is out.

Biggest mistake I have made is buying this stove. I had a small Avalon Pendleton insert in before which I sold for $500 when I bought this piece of junk. It put out more heat than this one which is supposed to heat 2000 SF. Breckwell is owned by National Steel Crafters in Texas, but if you sue them the agent for service of process is in Oregon where I don't believe they have business activity. On the back of the Warranty which you don't get to see until you unpack your stove, it says that you agree to only have Oregon for any litigation. I don't even think that is legal as there was no contract or meeting of the minds to agree to that. Does anyone have any idea as to why the new fan interferes and has what seems to be interference NOISE?

So, Mjay, so what did you save buying on-line? A good local dealer would have been well worth the saving sat this time. Sorry you gave up a very good stove, for an internet deal. This forum tries to help owners and dealers, not take your rant for your mistake.

Sorry, fellow forum members and WebMaster and Moniters, jest got my knickers in a twist.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

warreties are facilitated throught the dealer, not the manufacture.
sorry your having problems with your pellet stove, i have no idea how to fix it.
I would put it on craigs list as a problem stove, sell it, and start over. Your not going to get any more help from the dealer, and the manufacture sounds like there done as well. If you want to save money on a stove, talk to mike over at englander stove works. Hes a member here, and even though lowes wont support your purchase, he will.

 

[Corie]

Yeah, I hate to say it, but sell the stove and start over. Its a shame to say it, but how many more boards, motors, etc can you replace before you've payed for another stove?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Now the new fan is in and I hear a slight whistlling / ringing noise and it interferes with my TV. Does anyone have any idea as to why the new fan interferes and has what seems to be interference NOISE?

does the interferance with the TV have to do with just loudness in the room , or with actual,lines on the screen or static from the speakers?
may be a bad ground in the motor or the circuit board. im sorry that i do not know more about the BW stove but i'll try to help as best i can. drop me a pm and ill discuss it with you if ya want, i dont do breckwell but i'll try if you are willing to work with me (for what its worth)

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Now the new fan is in and I hear a slight whistlling / ringing noise and it interferes with my TV. Does anyone have any idea as to why the new fan interferes and has what seems to be interference NOISE?

does the interferance with the TV have to do with just loudness in the room , or with actual,lines on the screen or static from the speakers?
may be a bad ground in the motor or the circuit board. im sorry that i do not know more about the BW stove but i'll try to help as best i can. drop me a pm and ill discuss it with you if ya want, i dont do breckwell but i'll try if you are willing to work with me (for what its worth)

Mike, i wanst volunteering you btw, i was hoping she might sell hers and buy one of yours

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i know buddy , im just addicted to fixing stuff. i apprecitate the plug though bro. might be a simple thing with the TV , but the heat thing may be a bit beyond me if its in the unit itself, i just done know their layout that well. but i know the principles pretty well and might just get lucky never know til ya try

 

[Bob512]

Sell it on e-bay and get on of these guys to suggest a new stove.

 

[hearthtools]

Few things:

This is why I no longer sell Breckwell.
We showed, burned and services the stove. Cost money to show the stove in our showroom.
We sold at List price (around 30% over cost before shipping to us)
People would spend 1 -2 hours of our sales peoples time and see the stoves burning in our store get our advise on how to install.
then go a buy online because the online dealers do not have the overhead we have and sell at 10% over cost.
SO WE WHERE THE SHOWROOM AND TECH SUPPORT FOR THE ONLINE DEALER.

Noise.
Your noise could be your wiring in the house. If you have a reversed Natural this could happen to some older TV's and Satalites.
Try plugging the stove into another outlet on a different circuit with a extension cord and connect the TV that makes noise to the same circuit also and see if the noise goes away.

Most pellets stoves are 110v and the control board REDUCES voltage of the blowers causing DIRTY VOLTAGE.
this will make noise if your House wires are CROSSED.


Stove:
If the wires were pulled you could have some (spade) Wire Terminals Lose. They may look good but if you realy look at every one you might find one not making contact inside the insulator.

If the installer is not familiar with the stove he could have connected the wires wrong.
Breckwell has the most cornfusing wire systems because unlike most pellet stoves they put all the limit switchs on the nutral leg instead of the HOT legs.
Look at the wire dialgram that came with the stove and trace evey wire back to be sure.
ONE wire wrong can F%^&* everything up.
I had this just last week my sevice tech could not get a 16 year old breckwell working after he changed all the limit switches
he had one wire wrong to one limit switch and the stove would not work correcly. I had to trace every wire back to see where the problem was.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Few things:


Noise.
Your noise could be your wiring in the house. If you have a reversed Natural this could happen to some older TV's and Satalites.
Try plugging the stove into another outlet on a different circuit with a extension cord and connect the TV that makes noise to the same circuit also and see if the noise goes away.

Most pellets stoves are 110v and the control board REDUCES voltage of the blowers causing DIRTY VOLTAGE.
this will make noise if your House wires are CROSSED.


Stove:
If the wires were pulled you could have some (spade) Wire Terminals Lose. They may look good but if you realy look at every one you might find one not making contact inside the insulator.

If the installer is not familiar with the stove he could have connected the wires wrong.
Breckwell has the most cornfusing wire systems because unlike most pellet stoves they put all the limit switchs on the nutral leg instead of the HOT legs.
Look at the wire dialgram that came with the stove and trace evey wire back to be sure.
ONE wire wrong can F%^&* everything up.
I had this just last week my sevice tech could not get a 16 year old breckwell working after he changed all the limit switches
he had one wire wrong to one limit switch and the stove would not work correcly. I had to trace every wire back to see where the problem was.

nice rod,
i didnt know about the limits not being on the hot side, i probably would have screwed that up , good to know. is the wiring that hard to follow? you were spot on with the noise thing , was figuring along those lines if it wasnt internal. not sure about the heat issue, was hoping to get an idea how long a bag of fuel was lasting to get a baseline to see what he should be getting out of the unit , check the hookup and other basic things that can be overlooked.

 

[sgcsalsero]

Now the new fan is in and I hear a slight whistlling / ringing noise and it interferes with my TV. Does anyone have any idea as to why the new fan interferes and has what seems to be interference NOISE?

does the interferance with the TV have to do with just loudness in the room , or with actual,lines on the screen or static from the speakers?
may be a bad ground in the motor or the circuit board. im sorry that i do not know more about the BW stove but i'll try to help as best i can. drop me a pm and ill discuss it with you if ya want, i dont do breckwell but i'll try if you are willing to work with me (for what its worth)

Mike, i wanst volunteering you btw, i was hoping she might sell hers and buy one of yours

"She" or "he" . . (assuming there may/may not be a comics connection)

 

[buildingmaint]

I have a Breckwell Big E utilty furness that I bought on -line. I have emailed Breckwell many many times and they have always responded withen a day and one time called me at home.They have answered all my quistions and I 'm quite happy with them. The techs name I delt with name was Bill Wilson I think. My stove was $ 800.00 cheaper online shipped to me from Washington ST to PA then to buy it local and pick it up myself.I called eight different places here in PA all were on the way high side .

 

[MJayne]

Uncle Rich, "So what did you save buying online..."

I was going to buy an Avalon locally but the top came up to my mantel when open because the stove is taller. I started looking online and came across the Breckwell online site. I chose the stove for the profile which is lower and wider than the Avalon. I called Breckwell and they said that there were no dealers in my area which is why I purchased online. There is only one dealer for Breckwell online and they are in WA. After my purchase, I found out that there WAS a dealer 1 1/2 hours away from my house and that he charges the same for their Breckwell, so give me a little slack here. Even if most of my post was ranting, I like to hear what problems others have with a product so I can make an informed decision when I buy.

The installers said that they definetly put the wires back right after the shipping company pulled them out. They are Good installers.

I tend to think that it is not my house wires that are causing the problem since the new problem with the 3rd fan and control panel is different. The TV gets regular static, both noise and picture, like a weak signal (I only have ears not cable) when the stove is on. When the TV is off I listen to the Stove and there is a faint ringy whistle, coming from the convection blower area, very subtle, but it wasn't there with the first fans. The first fans oscilated when the stove was starting up (high and low) and finally adjusted after acting like they might die. The dealer's explanation was that the fans were being ruined by the defective control panel. If the new Redesigned Control panel is more powerful or something, maybe there IS a problem with the wires having a lose connection, which shows up differently with the new redesigned Panel. I will ask the installers about the wiring connection in the insulators and about the limit switches on the nuetral leg rather than the hot leg, however I grilled them pretty good after the fixed it, asking if they were SURE, the broken wire was OK now. I think the wiring diagram could have been better. It's just so so.

Too bad this Stove wasn't purchased for my house in Coarsegold, cause I could have purchased from Rod at Hearthtools. A bag of good pellets lasts me 32 hours on #1, with no reset trim.

Thanks for responding people.

 

[restorer]

Uncle Rich, "So what did you save buying online..."

I was going to buy an Avalon locally but the top came up to my mantel when open because the stove is taller. I started looking online and came across the Breckwell online site. I chose the stove for the profile which is lower and wider than the Avalon. I called Breckwell and they said that there were no dealers in my area which is why I purchased online. There is only one dealer for Breckwell online and they are in WA. After my purchase, I found out that there WAS a dealer 1 1/2 hours away from my house and that he charges the same for their Breckwell, so give me a little slack here. Even if most of my post was ranting, I like to hear what problems others have with a product so I can make an informed decision when I buy.

I apologized to the forum, and now will apologize to you. I do think that the good deal is a specious come on. Sounds like you got the true lemon, and because you have no recourse with the seller you are stuck. Corie said it, dump the stove, unless you can somehow get the seller and manufacturer to replace the stove. Otherwise, you are pouring money down the drain. Seems no expert is willing to or able to solve a much to complex problem.

 

[hearthtools]

Uncle Rich, "So what did you save buying online..."



Too bad this Stove wasn't purchased for my house in Coarsegold, cause I could have purchased from Rod at Hearthtools. A bag of good pellets lasts me 32 hours on #1, with no reset trim.

Thanks for responding people.

You have a house in Coarsegold? LOL

Heat:
You say your stove is not putting out a lot of heat? Breckwells are known for being Unrealiable but NOT putting out heat is NOT a problem with Breckwells.
They heat Great.
are you sure the Jumpers are set for Thermostat or no thermostat.
because if you do not have a thermostat and the Jumpers are not set the stove may be running in LOW thermosat mode only.
about 1 # and hour.

 

[MJayne]

What are the jumpers? The switch at the top is all the way over to the right on Manual which is where I was told to put it if I had no thermostat. The stovet is burning a load in 32 hours on #1. They say it should last up to 60 hours but that would be with the reset trim on #1 and 3 (very lowest setting) which would be around 1 per hour. It is working enough to keep the house OK, now that it is not so cold outside, if I keep it on a high setting, but then it really sucks up the pellets. On #1 setting, I can put my feet with socks on, right on the unit for around a minute. That can't be the way it is suppsed to be. They get a little warm but not unbearable. The motor of the blower doesn't sound smooth, it's more like an old motor sound. Seems like they should replace my unit if it is under warranty if their parts haven't solved the problem.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

have you called your dealer about replacing the unit?

 

[MJayne]

He said, "Not until we exhaust the other possiblities" which was before he sent me another Control Panel and fan. And he does not pay for shipping OR Installation so that would be another $700 totoal.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Ouch, i think i would let them exaust all the other possibilites... that realy sucks, im not going to hound you about internet sales, but that is one reason our readers should reconsider who they buy from. I know your situation is unique.
So where exactly are you at now with the dealer and manufacture?

 

[MJayne]

Well, when I was cold and couldn't get anyone out yet to replace the second fan (the second control panelwas already installed) I called the dealer and complained. I told him that the installers wouldn't even return my call because they had agreed to do it the first time for $55 and complained and now they wouldn't even answer. I also told him that he was nickel and diming me to death and he said that $55 was all he paid and that the company only pays $35 for labor. He ended sending me only $35 for the first fan replacement, not the $55 he claims he pays. So I'm not sure if he will do anything. I had been on the phone with him so many times discussing the problem and was on the phone with him when the installers were putting back the wires which were pulled out and broken (only one broke I think). At the end of the last phone call I said F___ you in the phone and I'm not sure if he had already hung up. So that's where I'm at. with him. Stupid thing to say, but I was cold and upset.

The high frequency whining? What is that from? Does it mean the fan is going? Or is it a grounding problem or something? I think it's with the fan, not the newer control panel because I don't remember it being like that when the first fan was still in with the second control panel. After the second control panel was installed the fan still oscilated on start up as it had with the first control panel. I'm wondering if the dealer is taking the good parts out of his internet stoves and using them to sell to local customers who have a problem. It's just too ridiculous that two fans and one control panel would be screwed up (or maybe also two control panels). He had said that the first control panel had to be redesigned because it was taking out the fan, but the first fan still oscillated with the second control panel still in rather than whining as it does now. Maybe the first fan was already ruined from the first control panel or Maybe he's lying about that. I did talk to the Salesman, who said that he was a good dealer and when I told him what the dealer said that about the control panel he avoided confirming that, so I have no idea if that was ever really the problem. If the whining / whistling means I need a new fan, I want it shipped directly from the manufacturer and not from the dealer. I also need to fill out a complaint with the shipper because the wires were all out the back when it was delivered and I didn't reject it because I didn't know anything was wrong. I looked at it and said, "Boy they sure did a bad job of packing".

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Keep us updated. I dont think you will find the manufacture to willing to ship you a new unit direct. They are going to say that it is between you and your dealer. I could be wrong, but thats what my gut tells me. I still say forgo all of this, sell it, cut your losses, and buy a different product. I SURE as hell would not drop another $700 in it.