New Pacific Energy FP30 Installation Progress Thread

[bcrtops]

Well from others in the industry up here in BC I've heard the exact opposite. At one of my WETT courses last spring a distributor rep was getting razzed about how all of their PE warranty claims got the rubber stamp no matter how blatant operator misuse may have appeared. Have you had a warranty claim?

I think the biggest problem here is in the "supply chain". Never got to the warranty claim -- tried to. We have a convoluted system here in OR/WA of the manufacturer, then the supplier/wholesaler, & (finally), the dealer. My original purchase was from a dealer that went out of business a couple yrs. later, so you end up dealing with a dealer you did not buy from & the supplier (never the factory/manufacturer).

My hinge issue was easier to fix myself, rather than spending hours dealing with dealer & supplier. I could see that it was going nowhere at a very fast pace! (And only wanting new pins the correct length & new washers). Their glass "warranty" is 99.999% useless, as the glass will never break in the fashion their "picture" shows, hence they won't replace it.

PE is a Canadian product, & they probably work harder up there to keep their customers happy. Like, I've said, it is a great product. My fixes were inexpensive & fairly easy. After 8 yrs. of use, I am not disappointed in even replacing glass (just don't claim it is warranted) -- just buy it aftermarket. The PE price for the glass is way over 2x what retail cost should be! (About 3-4x wholesale cost for that matter).

 

[Squisher]

Interesting. Similar to up here I think in that the there's PE, then a distributor, and then the dealers. It seemed to me at the time of the 'razzing' in the course it was over warped baffles.

Like yourself I'd be po'd if I had to jump through a bunch of hoops just to see a bunch more hoops ahead. I'm hopeful that I won't have any warranty issue ever. And from what I see in the field I believe this to be a distinct possibility.

 

[Squisher]

Not to sound antagonistic but glass seems like a tough thing to warranty. I mean it's easy to break by the user and after the stove has been well broken in what sort of manufacturers defect would cause it to fail out of the blue?

Again don't take this question the wrong way. I'm just curious.

 

[bcrtops]

Interesting. Similar to up here I think in that the there's PE, then a distributor, and then the dealers. It seemed to me at the time of the 'razzing' in the course it was over warped baffles.

Like yourself I'd be po'd if I had to jump through a bunch of hoops just to see a bunch more hoops ahead. I'm hopeful that I won't have any warranty issue ever. And from what I see in the field I believe this to be a distinct possibility.

Yes, good product & you probably won't have an issue with it.
It would be interesting to know if anyone has actually got a baffle replaced on their so-called "lifetime" warranty. My baffle is in good shape & only has a slight "belly" on the bottom -- it gets removed & cleaned every year. PE are great products, but they certainly could improve their CS (like have some) @ the manufacturer level.

 

[bcrtops]

Not to sound antagonistic but glass seems like a tough thing to warranty. I mean it's easy to break by the user and after the stove has been well broken in what sort of manufacturers defect would cause it to fail out of the blue?

Again don't take this question the wrong way. I'm just curious.

Did not intend to hi-jack this thread, sorry about that.
Will attempt an answer & let this rest.

Cold stove, summer time, had not had a fire in it for days. Wife & I heard a loud "ping", & a minute later another loud "ping". Being night time, got a flashlight & peered into stove, thinking a fruit bat had maybe dropped down the stack. Nothing. Next morning, when daylight shinning on it could see the glass cracked -- a 1/4 circle crack that goes around one of the glass clips. Obviously a stress crack. But, not a heat-related stress fracture as PE apparently defines one to be -- as the cracking needs to be like their picture only, or they will not replace. Very unusual, & if this happens it generally happens in the first few firings & is related to warpage of the glass, or the glass warping under heat.

Lets get back to topic.

 

[begreen]

I seem to recall @thechimneysweep has indicated in the past that he's done some warranty baffle replacements. They're not common.

 

[Squisher]

Well to sort of get back on topic. The more I look at pics of these fp30's the more I really like the looks of them. I've always been a fan of the 'black box that gets hot' style of woodstoves which is probably what drew me to PE's myself. Knowing their firebox is very similar to my summit I cannot see them being anything less than very capable heaters.

 

[bcrtops]

Well to sort of get back on topic. The more I look at pics of these fp30's the more I really like the looks of them. I've always been a fan of the 'black box that gets hot' style of woodstoves which is probably what drew me to PE's myself. Knowing their firebox is very similar to my summit I cannot see them being anything less than very capable heaters.

Yes, nice unit. The total welded & enclosed steel firebox is one of the "biggest" features of the PE lineup. The baffle system is, also, a big draw & improvement over the tube systems (at least for maintenance). KISS is always best for maintaining.

 

[Hogwildz]

Yes, their Customer Service is basically non- existent. They never reply to emails, phone messages, etc. They make you go through the dealer. Also, their, so-called warranty is about as good as the paper it is written on -- good luck getting anything fixed on warranty, as it will always be an owner-error issue, or some other excuse for correcting the problem.

This is very unfortunate for they make a great product. Their stoves are some of the best designed on the market. I still recommend them, as they are such a good product. Just be sure to get a good installer, that will back the product & the installation. If you self-install, you need to be aware that you are "on your own" & any issues will be your fault whether of not they actually are a product problem or not. If they just had good CS & stood behind the product, they would be absolute "top of the line".

If the dealer is not stepping up, then call PE and let them know so. They will make something happen. They want you to attempt to go through the dealer first, but as I said, if the dealer balks, then contact PE and let them know the problems, and lack of action by the dealer.

 

[bcrtops]

If the dealer is not stepping up, then call PE and let them know so. They will make something happen. They want you to attempt to go through the dealer first, but as I said, if the dealer balks, then contact PE and let them know the problems, and lack of action by the dealer.

Unfortunately PE apparently has no interest in answering your emails. They, also, have no interest in calling you back, after leaving messages in their horrible phone answering system. Just my experience with them. I do hope others experiences are better. (Oh, & no response from their online -- fill out the form thingy either). They make some great product(s), but their CS @ factory level is, for all practical purposes non-existent.

(This is not the only stove manufacturer that operates this way -- they seem to have the philosophy that CS is not needed at the manufacturer level. If stove manufacturers would have good CS dept. they would have a lot more happy customers!)

Again, back to topic.

 

[Hogwildz]

Never had to leave a message for them, always got a rep. Sucks to be you I guess.

 

[begreen]

I have on occasion had communications with PE. Their tech support response time seemed no better or worse than other companies I've contacted. Fortunately, the communications was for others and I personally have not had to deal with a repair. If I do I have a first rate dealer to fall back on.

 

[mcdougy]

Was hoping to get some help from some of you fp30 or summit owners. I am in the process of cutting wood for a fp30 that I plan to purchase, I was given the recommendation to cut length between 16"-18" , but I'm now wondering how much splitting I should be doing? I plan to run the stove 24/7 when heat is required. I have read that some are recommending big splits on a reload with some smaller stuff on top. What is a big split? I don't want to be under/over splitting my wood. Since I have the axe out, I want to do it right the first time. Can someone post some pics of what they recomend for spit size? Try to get something in the pic that references size if possible.
Cheers

 

[Mike M.]

Just split some small and some large. That will give you flexibility during cold and super cold temps. Also it depends on the wood type you are burning and how dry the splits are. If softwood split larger, if hardwood split a little smaller to make sure they dry out.

 

[mcdougy]

Initially it will be ash, but that source will run out then I will get into maple and beech.

 

[Hogwildz]

Split the ash, maple & beech mixed with 50%-75% large (8"+splits) the remainder mediums(6") & smalls(4"). Those are all high ash woods, so expect to scoop ash out every few days.

 

[mcdougy]

Ok, next fp30 or summit question......how much wood are using for entire season?, house age and size?, are you burning 24/7?

 

[saydinli]

House is 2800 sq ft. , 4years old good insulation . I've been burning 7/24 since Nov 7 and I started with 4 chords of mixed hardwood. Probably 2 chords left. We'll see how long it lasts but this may not be a good year for actual usage because there will be about 6 weeks this winter where it won't be in use plus I probably burned more wood than needed in the beginning just from learning how the FP30 burns.


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[mcdougy]

House is 2800 sq ft. , 4years old good insulation . I've been burning 7/24 since Nov 7 and I started with 4 chords of mixed hardwood. Probably 2 chords left. We'll see how long it lasts but this may not be a good year for actual usage because there will be about 6 weeks this winter where it won't be in use plus I probably burned more wood than needed in the beginning just from learning how the FP30 burns.


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Ok, and this should have been in my original question....how much auxiliary fuel are you using?
And please explain what you learned?

 

[Hogwildz]

Was hoping to get some help from some of you fp30 or summit owners. I am in the process of cutting wood for a fp30 that I plan to purchase, I was given the recommendation to cut length between 16"-18" , but I'm now wondering how much splitting I should be doing? I plan to run the stove 24/7 when heat is required. I have read that some are recommending big splits on a reload with some smaller stuff on top. What is a big split? I don't want to be under/over splitting my wood. Since I have the axe out, I want to do it right the first time. Can someone post some pics of what they recomend for spit size? Try to get something in the pic that references size if possible.
Cheers

Here is my typical reload, should give you an idea on size. This will go 12+ hrs with perfect amount of heat & coals for reload. The thing is, these are all 3+ years old. Big splits of Oak will sit 3yrs minimum here before they are burnt.

 

[saydinli]

Ok, and this should have been in my original question....how much auxiliary fuel are you using?
And please explain what you learned?

We haven't used our oil furnace at all this winter. We filled the oil tank last April and then topped it up this October. The only thing using the oil now is the hot water heater. We will need to use the furnace for 3 weeks while the finishing work is being done on it and then later in the winter for 3 weeks as well. I don't expect to use more than 1 tank of oil for those 6 weeks the FP30 is not running.
Things I've learned are:

- it loves big splits
- it breathes very easily so I blocked half of the OAK from the outside.
- learned when to turn the air control down to prevent a runaway.
- the remote vent to the basement does a decent job in our basement up to -10 but after that it struggles. We have a walkout basement with 3 large windows and 1 set of French doors on 1 end and 1 regular outside door on the other end which makes it difficult to heat when temps really drop. I'd imagine a completely below grade basement would be better for sure.
- dry wood makes a BIG difference.

Those are most of the things I've learned running it so far.

It's funny when I read back my list, how much of this stuff I had read on these forums from other PE users like begreen and Hodwildz amongst others. They've all been a big help.

Thanks guys.




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[bfast250]

@saydinli - did you include the walkout basement sq footage in your 2800 sq feet?

I am putting in the FP30 this year and have a similar setup. I have a 2100 sq ft ranch and an additional1500 sq ft of finished, insulated basement which is also a walkout. Wondering if the FP30 will be able to heat the walkout as you did?

 

[saydinli]

@saydinli - did you include the walkout basement sq footage in your 2800 sq feet?

I am putting in the FP30 this year and have a similar setup. I have a 2100 sq ft ranch and an additional1500 sq ft of finished, insulated basement which is also a walkout. Wondering if the FP30 will be able to heat the walkout as you did?

No that 2800 doesn't include the basement.



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[mcdougy]

Saydinili, winter wasn't very severe this year....how did you make out with the new appliance? Do you utilize the extra heat ducts often? With 2800sq ft were you running the stove pretty hard? I'm about to build a big ranch as well and wondering how you are making out. What was your wood consumption like and how often were you burning? GIVE US A UPDATE PLEASE.....✌️

 

[saydinli]

Saydinili, winter wasn't very severe this year....how did you make out with the new appliance? Do you utilize the extra heat ducts often? With 2800sq ft were you running the stove pretty hard? I'm about to build a big ranch as well and wondering how you are making out. What was your wood consumption like and how often were you burning? GIVE US A UPDATE PLEASE.....✌️

Ok here's an update now that I have most of a season under my belt with the FP30.

As long as the unit was burning, I had the remote duct fans running due to having a rather cool basement due to location, high winds and lots of large windows and doors.
I'd say that we didn't really have to run the unit hard all that much.Maybe 12-15 days of constant full loads this winter, but I can easily say it kept our house at 70-72F for 8-10 hours no problem with a full load when it was -13F outside. The basement was about 60-62F. I know for sure with a full basement (no walkout), it would easy be 68-70F. Most of the time we'll run about half load most days. I also run the low speed circulating fan on my furnace to move the air around and even out the temps a but.

As for wood consumption, I started with 4 cords of mixed hardwood on Nov 3rd and have been burning 24/7 since (except for 3 days we were away). I'm down to about half a cord left. But I know next year I'll use less for sure because there definitely is a learning curve to efficient burning and I probably used a half cord or more than I should have. So next year I'll be ordering 5 cords for insurance.

One of the blower fans rattles once the unit is at a certain temp and it is running approx half speed. Our dealer is going to replace it under warranty before the stone work as it is easier to replace when not closed up, and also take a look at the whole unit for any other issues like the baffle which is a bit warped but still works fine.

All I can say is that I would recommend an FP30 for anyone that is looking for a great ZC unit. The fireshow is amazing , the heat output is amazing, and the build quality and simplicity is amazing. We are very happy with ours. .

As for the stone work, we have had to postpone the stone work till March due to other commitments we have.