No Vermont Castings Warranties?

[BrotherBart]

Since the company was sold there aren't much in the way of docs to read like there are when the courts are involved. But I would bet that since it, except for some fairly large chunks, swallowed it whole HHT is probably going to stand by the warranties.

And it was pretty much public knowledge that Dane has some future bennies coming based on sales increases. So if they can keep shoving everybody's heartthrob of pellet stoves out the door this year he should make out just fine.

 

[humpin iron]

I have very reliable inside info: VC owners from before the buy out are on their own. HHT will honor Harmons past, HHT did not take the real estate off Danes hands

 

[webbie]

Wow, that is major news - and regrettable! I don't think this has ever happened to this degree (so many customers left holding bag from major manufacturer).....

The new company is gonna take a major hit in reputation because of that, but I don't suppose they care much. They probably have plans to sell to big boxes, etc.......then they can go broke again and leave the mess to someone else.......

Well, I guess it opens the door to 1-900-FIX MY VC

BB, are your ears on?

 

[BrotherBart]

Well, I guess it opens the door to 1-900-FIX MY VC

BB, are your ears on?

I am thinking 1-800-ELKIMMEG here. MA subsidiary of Alternative Heating Services of Virginia.

 

[webbie]

Can you outsource it to China or Mexico and make more $$ ?

 

[begreen]

I am thinking 1-800-ELKIMMEG here. MA subsidiary of Alternative Heating Services of Virginia.

:lol: :lol: BB U Bad!

 

[webbie]

I'm not worried...elk will call VC and they will come to their senses.
;-)

After all, they didn't go bankrupt, they went..........ah, just a little burp....

 

[webbie]

Well,

fixmyvc.com
fixavc.com
and
vcsucks.com (for the person who cannot get their fixed-if they fail to honor warranties)

are all available.

 

[begreen]

I'm not worried...elk will call VC and they will come to their senses.
;-)

After all, they didn't go bankrupt, they went..........ah, just a little burp....

More like a bad fart at this point.

 

[BrotherBart]

They will probably be just fine. This reminds me of all of the buy-outs of Harley Davidson. And some of the crap that got produced along the way. Cult members buy their eyewear at Maggie's Optical - Home of Fine Rose Colored Glasses. A big problem is going to be that the two major lines are cat and ever burn stoves. With dealers trying to avoid learning curve products and questions about this warranty stuff this shall be interesting to watch.

A leveraged employee buyout, pretty much out of the question in bankruptcy, would have portended better for the company I think but $40 mil would have been impossible to come up with along with interim operating capitol.

 

[[email protected]]

Vermont Castings is not honoring warranties. My dealer just confirmed this. The catalyst in my 2 year old Winter Warm Small insert failed and it had a three year replacement warranty. My dealer confirmed the catalyst failed but they also said that Vermont Castings is no longer honoring warrnaties. The dealer called their distributor to confirm.

So, the Vermont Castings' warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. Guess I won't buy that VC stove for my cabin! I'll probably go with Jotul or Quadrafire.

 

[webbie]

Vermont Castings is not honoring warranties. My dealer just confirmed this. The catalyst in my 2 year old Winter Warm Small insert failed and it had a three year replacement warranty. My dealer confirmed the catalyst failed but they also said that Vermont Castings is no longer honoring warrnaties. The dealer called their distributor to confirm.

So, the Vermont Castings' warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. Guess I won't buy that VC stove for my cabin! I'll probably go with Jotul or Quadrafire.

Suggestion on the cat.....find the manufacturer of the cat (this should be able to be dug up).....

Contact them - the cat should be covered somewhat.

Also, the cat warranty coverage is LAW (EPA), so I don't think VC can do what they are doing without voiding their listings or something else. A little threatening to VC may go a long way (you will report it to the EPA< etc.).......

 

[BurningIsLove]

I can't even get through to my dealer to find out the status....they claim its a 'zoo' in the store, which isnt surprising. they said they may be able to call back in a week. During which time my stove is partially disassembled and cannot be reassembled until I get this straightened out.... I wanted to get some small fires going too, argh this is crazy

 

[BurningIsLove]

Got through to my stove dealer at long last.....not good news. He said that they were not honoring anything prior to Jan1, 2008 just like the official statement. He said that VC was making exceptions on a case by case basis, but they had never heard of it actually happening.

Even more troubling, he was skeptical that he would even be able to get basic replacement parts regardless of warranty status, most notably both refractory firebrick pieces and even a shoe gasket. But yet they still are selling them in the store, so I dont understand how that makes any sense.

He put me on hold and called someone at VC who also had no knowledge of the shoe re-design, draft problems, or refractory material degradation issues.

 

[BurningIsLove]

OK, MUCH better news.... on the advice of Gooserider, called the place in Chelmsford and had a great conversation w/ one of the guys there. For a new VC dealer, he was better informed than the dealer I bought my stove from. The VC engineer he spoke to said the shoe gasket is unneeded. It's primarily in there for shipping purposes to keep the shoe tight and avoid rattling around, and also for the initial burn in fires. He said just slide it back in carefully and burn away w/o replacing the gasket.

On the refractory material itself, he said the 'scaling' as they called it is completely normal. He said as long as there were no long, continuous cracks or holes and it was keeping together on its own w/o stove cement or other materials, then scaling it part of the expected wear and it should not be replaced. He did recommend that after every cord of wood burned, to pull the shoe out and vacuum inside, and that will help a lot w/ performance.

I feel soooo much better as I didnt see any contiguous cracks or holes, and my shoe is in great shape. Guess it's always good to get a second opinion, huh? Gonna put the stove back together and wait for some cold weather!

 

[Diabel]

That is indeed good news as for the "scaling" part! Mine does not appear to have any crack on it either.

BIL, how much ash did you find behind the shoe once removed? I did not remove mine....perhaps I should have! This will be my third season burning pretty much 24/7. I wonder what the symptoms of too much ash behind the shoe would be!

The unit seems to me performing quite well, have not noticed anything unusual..

 

[BurningIsLove]

I found about a handful of ash including the larger chips. There was also a fair amount in between the refractory brackets, side walls, etc that I carefully vacuumed out. This is where the service manual also recommends cleaning out ash. If this is your 3rd 24x7 season on this stove, as it is mine, I suggest you pull the shoe out and clean it out.

Since this dealer recommended not replacing the gasket, I slid my shoe back in. There is, as expected without the gasket, a larger gap along the top of the shoe which runs most of its length in the 'fountain' area. Will post a pic soon. I guess the next question is, whether flame can be sucked in that gap and potentially make direct contact w/ the refractory material? The holes in the shoe lead into large open channels that would prevent direct fire on refractory contact. I didnt really examine how big the gap was before removing the shoes as I expected to replace (or not tear) the gasket upon removal.

Diabel, if you do decide to remove the shoe, can you snap a picture of that gap before removal for comparison? A pic of a new stove would be nice as well, but I'm more interested in the used stove pic as the dealer said that gasket is destroyed very early in a stove's life.

 

[Diabel]

Thanks BIL,

I will be visiting one of my clients on Wed. There is a VC dealer on the strip, I will make sure to bring my camera & snap few pic of DW & Encore (he has both on the floor). Also, I will take a pic of mine, however right now it is ready for lighting...I will take the kindling out in the morning & snap few shots.

 

[Hermie]

If it is true it would be a public relations nightmare (and that is the last thing they need right now).

Well, I am caught up in this nightmare. I purchased a Vermont Casting Dutch West #2479 in November of 2007 from a dealer here in NJ. I recently ordered parts that were under warranty. Now I get a call from the dealer stating that I have to pay for the parts since my warranty is null and void. I talked to a Monessen customer service rep, then a CFM rep for Vermont Casting and was told that I am "out of luck". My next call was to my MasterCard to help with the matter. This is a great way for Vermont Castings to treat their customers, new ownership or not. I am disgusted

 

[swestall]

Well, I pretty much figured that it was all over when my VC Non-Cat didn't work. Heck, CFM wasn't really HOT on providing warranty coverage; why would a new owner.

I just chalk it up to life experience.

One thing I'll tell you, I have a little problem (stone alignment) with the Mansfield. Hearthstone is all over it working to make sure I'm happy. They are going to take it back to the Factory and perform a total rebuild then bring it back and install it again. And, they are going to leave that till next spring as its a bit late to be taking it out now. So, there's the difference.

I just loved my VC Cat stoves and all I can say is the whole thing is just too bad. But, I'll never be fooled again by them or go back just because someone decided to buy them.

Best of luck to all who own them. I have two Defiant units one CAT and one Non-CAT. Perhaps if I wait long enough I'll be able to get my $$ back by selling them for hard to get parts!