Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => WoodMaster => Topic started by: herefordgirl on October 24, 2008, 07:02:28 AM
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We installed a new woodmaster in the end of September replacing our old one which we had for 11 years (without any problems). The new one has a leak out the side of the front door as well as the door handle...we also took a stick and measured the depth of the water in the top where you fill it and it's down about 12 inches from the time of filling it at setup. Our dealer told us that it is just condensation and the water in the tank is evaporating....??????Anyway we gave it a month and it is still leaking water out the bottom corner of the door as well as the handle, the puddle of water is now about 3' wide and there is always so much creosote in the firebox that is is now all over the outside of the stove above the door and small chunks of it on the roof???? If we were newbies to the whole process it would be one thing but we aren't and this tells me that the only way condensation is getting in the box is that the inside jacket is leaking. So, we will be making our second call to the dealer and if the same story is told to us I guess we'll have to call the manufacturer and make a complaint. We are not looking for a fight but...There's always a few problems when things are manufactured and maybe we just got the bad apple. So, has anyone had this problem or is it just my furnace....by the way it is the 5500. And the argument that the wood was wet (told to us by the dealer) doesn't fly .
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You could dye check the water. Than you take a black light and it will glow where ever it's leaking. That will tell all. Also you should be reimburrsed for the dye kit if you find it is leaking.After all, they didn't think to do it. If it glows it goes.They use it to check radiators in cars, engine blocks, etc. When you mention you want to do that I think things will change. Dye dosen't lye. Sounds like some of the stove manufacturers just pumped out stoves to meet the demand in sales and got a little sloppy . Good luck.Hope this helps. Hate when people just can't step up to the plate. Post what you find if you can. Maybe you'll make an honest man out of the dealer. Dye can do funny things ;D
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The door jam is one of the easyest places for a furnace to leak. The furnace may have been built okay but later a weld may have been cracked. My father was a Wood Master dealer years ago and back then the company would stand behind their product. I am a Heat Master dealer now and do not have any contact with Wood Master but I would bet they are still a good company. If the dealer will not check out the furnace I would recomend calling Wood Master direct. Condensation does build up when the furnace is first fired but shouldn't last more than a day or two. I would guess you have a very small crack in the door jam. This crack may not even leak all the time but as the water heats and cools the crack will open and close. By removing the siding from the front of the furnace you would be able to tell what is happening.
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I have a very large house and have a large heat demand. I've owned a Central Boiler for several years now and the only time I've filled my burner throughout the year is when I have a leak of some sort. With your water temp being well below the temperature needed to change it to steam I think the only way your water would evaporate at such a rate would be if you were WAAAY above sea level where the pressure is much lower. Other than that I'm fairly certain you have a leak somewhere.
Let us know what you find out.
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DYE CHECK THE WATER! YOU'LL SEE EXACTLY WHERE IT'S LEAKING! I would never, ever take apart or work on a brand new stove. You paid for it to work as new! Get another stove. I'm sure there will be more leaks comming down the road. If you have to keep adding water, not only are you diluting your chemicals out , but introducing oxygen into the system with new water all the time, which spells corrosion.
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Charlie is right, I wouldn't begin to work on a stove that cost thousands. I was just saying that you don't even need dye to tell it's leaking. Anyone who loses that much water has a leak, period. A dealer that tells you that it's not leaking isn't being honest to you. Call the manufacturer directly if that's the case.
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I have had my woodmaster 4400 lit for three weeks and have not had to add any water at all.
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HFgirl,
Have you had any answers from either your dealer or Woodmaster since you last posted about your problems?
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I think I add water maybe once or twice in a full year. I'll manually add water from the top just to make sure the low water light indicator is not burned out. So it really never has come on. The light does work. My stove runs year round. On at 150 degrees and off once it reaches 170. Have radiant heat and a 612 gallon buffer tank. Those temps work for me. My Woodmaster has treated me well!Going on 7 years.
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So, the saga continues....the dealer came down and told us a few things...yeah right!
We put water in again a week before thanksgiving and are going to dip it again,.
The different dealer websites for this furnace say " R38 insulation (Snow will remain on the roof while burning)"...well, they should see how fast is melts on my roof...a few flakes and they are not even allowed to accumulate to 1/2" and .....we have long iciles hanging! I can't believe with how well they made the old Woodmasters, this one SUCKS! Will be calling the dealer and then the manufacturer about that along with the creosote residue that has dripped down from the door! Must be a LEMON...if not this company has gone down the tubes!
I'll keep you informed with the progress ...and thanks again, we will be doing the dye test!
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With the snow melting on your roof, maybe there's an open weld on your water side, above the water line. Putting hot water vapor under your roof.LOL! Hope Woodmaster takes care of whatever the issue is, for you..Charlie
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Woodmaster 4400 had to add water 2 times in one day.But that was only because the little flapper on the blower motor stayed open.Called the dealer and they fixed it for me everything is fine now.And there is snow on my roof.
Does anybody have a longer stack on the woodmaster the inspector for told me I had to add 4'
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Dirtslinger
I do. Added a 4 foot section from woodmaster. A chimney cap and one more important thing, a storm collar to keep the water from going down between the pipe and the top of the stove, in the event that the seal fails. For under 20 dollars you can keep your stove insulation dry and your stove from rusting out around the pipe. Cheap inurance that not many people have thought about. Put a bead of silicone around the storm collar were it meets the pipe. Anystove that has a top exiting pipe could sure benefit from a simple storm collar. Get a collar for your brand of pipe so it fits. Dealer should offer that ,but they don't! Going on 7 years with my 434 Woodmaster. Burn all year long. Hope this helps...Charlie
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Herfordgirl:
Call the 1800 number in the manual and ask for a guy named (G)lynn, he has a rough voice but is hilarious. I belive that he is an engineer or QA test lab person. Anyhow, he has more product knowledge of these boilers and other brands than about anyone on the planet I think. He will be able to diagnose your problem if there is one, tell you how to fix it and hook you up like right now.
I have had the issue that you describe with the creosote dripping out from the bottom side of the fan, this was caused by smoke feeding back into the fan, it is made worse by wet wood or burning right at the door. Anyhow, if you look up from the bottom of the door through the cut out that the fan blows there should be a metal guard that goes up into the door about 8" then 45's toward the furnace. I guess they had some of these guards rust or something. Mine was OK however the cresote did eventually ruin my fan which (G)lynn replaced for me, he also threw in some of the door rope, I put it in and no more problems for the past 2 years
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Herefordgirl,
We have not seen anything from you since Dec. the 8th. What have you found out about the issues that you were having with your new Woodmaster? Don't let all of us hanging out in mid air.Let us know whats going on.
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Herefordgirl,
Did anyone drowned from the water coming out of your stove? It's been a long time and no word from you about your problem stove.Maybe the dealer fixed the problem and you were so happy you forgot to tell us about it.
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Forget Woodmasters warranty after 5 years, Just start welding!!!!!!!!!
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Actually...we've been going round and round with these guys that I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER WM FURNACE AGAIN. I have now sent 2 letters one at the end of February (return receipt) and got a response from Lenn. He said that it is possible that they installed the wrong damper and that would answer many of the problems with the excess moisture , wood usage, leaking and the damper rod getting stuck. He said that some one would come and take a look at it...and here we wait. I sent another letter which they received on March 26 to both WM an my dealer and still waiting to hear from someone. the next letter is to be to the president of WM then the attorney general of NY whose office handles this type of situation. They are supposed to do all warranty work through the dealer and I have spoken other WM owners about this and they have the same complaints about this dealer...loves taking the $$ but not repairing things! They had to have yelling matches on the phone more tha a few times to get this guy to come check things out. So, is the problem the dealer or the company???? All I know is that about 3 weeks ago i took out my trusty camera and my old 12 inch ruler and took pictures of the two stalagmites coming up from the concrete below the stove door and they measured 4" across and 10 " high...both of them , from where the moisture is coming from out the door ! So let them tell me there is no moisture!!!
My letter to the president goes out tomorrow and we'll stay up on this with this board .....I still can't believe this whole situation since the last WM lasted 1o years and they always responded if there was an issue. I aguess they don't want to have to cough up a new stove (which is what they said would have to happen if they installed the wrong damper, apparantly the damper for the 4400 and the 5500 is almost identical)!
Thanks!
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Your best bet is to start with Attorney General. My stove leaked at 4-1/2 years and they patched it. Stove leaked at patch at 7-1/2 years and Woodmaster would repair it if I paid 80% of bill. Try to get your money back and buy or build something else. I just finished welding mine! They always want to make the problems your fault. Good Luck!!
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Yep...that's the route we are taking. Will let you know how we make out.