† August 31, 2008

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Vermont Castings Warranty Woes

I am new to this forum and have only found it because of some major trouble I have run into.  What led me to this forum in the first place was that my wife was searching the web for warranty info on Vermont Castings.  What she found was a thread on this forum which stated that existing warranties on Vermont Castings wood stoves would no longer be honored by the new company which bought it after it went bankrupt.

Here is a testament to this reality.  Please forgive me for the length of this entry.  But please read it, I would like to know if anyone has any ideas on what I could do.

In September of 2007 I bought a non-catalytic large Dutchwest model number 2479.  As far as installation and operation I have followed the instructions to the letter.  I am kind of anal that way.  Within three months of the purchase, the upper refractory began to crack.  And my doubts about the stove which I had been proud to purchase began to fester. I informed my dealer.  They said they would take care of it.  Following a long wait and needing to clean the chimney, I finally had a look at the brick from the back and noticed it was a more serious problem then I had initially thought.  Basically, it directly effects the ever-burn system, the company professed to be the best in the business.  I got on the dealers case about it and after some time a new refractory arrived.  Following the instructions and not over tightening, I installed the new refractory and during the first small fire I burned, it began to crack.  In exactly the same place.  My wife actually heard it begin.

My doubts were now not only beginning to fester, but keeping me up at night, listening to every little sound the stove made.  The picture of the little girl sleeping peacefully on the pamphlet no longer gave me any comfort.

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This was just the beginning.  Please bear with me as I continue.

In having to deal with my problems, I noticed that the cast iron ever-burn unit was chipped on one of the flanges that the cover screws onto.  I hadn’t noticed this during the installation.  Frankly, I wasn’t looking for defects or damage considering the testimony from the dealer, that this was a top of the line stove and Vermont Castings stood behind their product.  But the truth is, the stove was chipped when I removed it from the crate.  Which led me to wonder… had it been dropped or something during its assembly and was this the reason I was running into these problems?

Continuing… during the repairs not only did I notice the chip, but I also tested the front loading door seal.  Following the instructions and putting a piece of paper between the door and the stove I pulled and it did not tear.  I adjusted up and down but no matter what I did, in the middle of the door the newspaper did not rip.  I changed the seal, no difference.  Then I looked at the side loading door and I noticed the refractory on it was beginning to crack at the screw in the middle which holds it on and it was warping, leaving quarter inch gaps at the top and bottom.  I informed my dealer.  They told me that they had sent the information to the manufacturer.

This was in the fall and I gave them all summer to get back to me but I heard nothing.

Now winter is approaching and I need to provide heat for my family but am afraid to light a fire in a stove which I have only run one season.  So I called my dealer to find out what is happening.  The employee which had served me was on sick leave and I was put through to the owner of the dealership.  As I had already done last fall with his employee, I went through the list of issues with him.

The conversation left me feeling that he was fishing for a way out by casting the blame my way.  Questions such as what kind of chimney I have?  What wood I burn?  And statements such as, "We have never heard of anything like this happening before."  "It’s the top of the line stove."  Left me wondering, but still hoping that he would do me right.  Unaware of the bankruptcy and warranty issues, I gave him a couple of options.  Number one, that they come to my house and repair all that was at issue.  Or number two, replace the stove taking into consideration my suspicions regarding the chipped cast iron.  He told me they could do number one, fix it, but that most likely the problems would persist.  And why would he assume that, if he didn’t also assume that I was abusing the stove in some way?

So I will state it here.  I burn nothing but winter cut, minimal two year seasoned, hard wood.  Even my kindling is hard, which I hatchet in the basement.  I don’t overload or have ever over-burned and have never hit the bricks.  Not once.  In fact, I use a glove so that I can place the logs in the stove as carefully as possible.  The one season I did burn this stove was using wood I had cut to length for my old Fisher which was a smaller unit.  And my chimney is straight up from the stove 8 inch insulated stainless connected by double walled stove pipes.  Also, I have been burning wood for ten years in my old Fisher and have never run into any problems like this.

I know I have been too long at this, so I will do my best to sum up.

I gave him a couple of days to get back to me and then I called him back.  Like a salesman, he told me he was just sitting down with the distributor and that he had told him of my problems and together they had come up with two options.  Number one, they would come and fix everything but all warranties on the unit would be void.  Or Number two, that they would replace my "cast iron top of the line stove" with a metal one.  I believe this is what’s called, insult to injury.  I had been patient, my patience had reached its limit.  I countered his two options with two more of my own.  Replace the stove with the one I purchased or give me a full refund.  He said they would not do that.  I flipped out and in no uncertain terms gave him a third option.  That I would load the @#%!!*$ stove onto my trailer and dump it in his yard.  Then I hung up on him.

I am an artist and the detail and precision I put into my work is the same as I put into everything else I do, including cutting splitting stacking wood and lighting a fire to keep my family warm.  But despite everything I do, it would seem that in this world, it's just not good enough for the shysters who inhabit it.

I told my wife how the conversation went down.  She said she would call him and I told her go ahead but that my hopes for decency had all but evaporated.

In her conversation with the dealer she got the same feeling I initially felt.  That this guy was fishing for any excuse.  But her being a bit more gracious than I had ended the conversation with him, he told her that he would send some technicians over to inspect the stove.

The next day they came.  I had cooled down, but trust in their independent assessment was suspect.  I showed them the chip.  The tech guy said, like it was the proper way to do it, "Well that could have happened when you laid the stove on its side to put the legs on."  This guy was supposed to be a professional?  As I have said, I followed the instructions to the letter, including removing the stove from the crate and besides that, this thing weighs 500 lbs. and I could not lay and then pick it back up if I wanted to.  I showed him the door and how it wiggles up and down on the hinges.  He performed the paper test and like magic the paper tore.  Which left me a little confused, because I had done that millions of times without that result.  Then he tested my wood.  I needed run into the house to get something but my wife watched as he searched the log, finally finding a spot where the meter went red.  This is the reading he showed me when I came back.  My wife said the rest of the readings were green and good.  Besides that fact, the wood I burned last year was older than what he tested.  So they left and still we hoped that the dealer would do the right thing, but that paper test bothered me and later that night I thought I would perform it myself using the same paper he used and low and behold it came out without a tear.  Of course I could make it tear if I want it too.  A little slight of hand folks?  I would think so.

Last two options here.  They replace the stove, or I take them to court.

My wife called because he no longer wanted to talk to me.  The technical inspection went as follows: The bricks cracked because I was overloading the stove and jamming the side door shut with logs that were too large.  I have nothing over 16 inches and that stove is rated for 24.  They said the seal was perfect.  But I have told you about that slight of hand and it doesn’t take Chris Angel to figure that one out.  The chip out of the ever-burn unit was of no consequence.  They would not replace the stove or reimburse us.  See you in court and this time he hung up.  Whatever happened to the customer always being right?  Not wanting to get political, but it is most definitely time for a "change".

Question: If this thing is supposed to be the Ferrari of wood stoves, it should have been replaced for the chip itself, regardless of any of the rest of it.  Would Ferrari sell a car if it had a dent in it?

"If you were not 100% satisfied with our service, please tell us.  If you were, please tell others."  The motto at the bottom of the bill of the dealer I bought the stove from.  I guess you are free to tell them, but it doesn't mean they will go out of their way to make things right.  And I am telling others.   Just not what they want me to.

Here we go… the cherry on top of this pile of %#@*.  Yesterday I went to the mail and my insurance company wants me to update the information regarding my solid fuel heating system.  As it sits, it will most likely not pass a WETT inspection, never mind allow me to sleep at night.

Tuesday I will call another dealer to inspect the stove but with this warranty disintegration I have a sinking feeling that this winter I will be literally left in the cold.

I live in Canada.  Anyone have any ideas?

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