Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Username: Password:

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Messages - ticapa

Pages: [1] 2
1
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 06, 2020, 07:09:50 AM »
Update to all!

I worked with Ryan this year and a dealer in Eastern NY and we have resolved this issue.  Upon cleaning out the furnace in 2020 the deterioration has not gone away and was slowly growing. Ryan and his team deserve a lot of credit for helping and working with me.  We removed the old furnace and he located one here in NY that we where able to swap with.  I have not heard if the old furnace made it back to the factory yet of not. 

So with some modifications and plumbing upgrades we are now heating with a G400 again.   For all that are wondering about some of the upgrades.  I put in a hot water mesh screen with drain and bypass in the main house circuit to help get the fines out before the heat exchangers.  we also relocated circulators to back of the unit and put in line temperature gauges.   All is working well and temperature drops and stack temperatures are exceptional.

Thanks again to Ryan and Heatmasters for correcting a bad situation and helping me.

2
WoodMaster / Re: Bought by CB?
« on: January 15, 2020, 06:17:55 AM »
I am seeing the rights/patents to a EPA approved furnace being bought here.  hmmm.

3
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: January 08, 2020, 06:35:27 AM »
With out bashing your response I would like to clarify two things in your response.
  1. You speak of all the factory modifications necessary on the furnace I have.  What modifications?   How come no one showed up to do any of these modifications to my furnace?   I registered the warranty even had the dealer check on the warranty before I picked the unit up in his yard.  So I guess the unit is different or they didn't get the mods done on this unit.
  2. You stated that "you and Marty" about ash build up and acid deterioration.  My only statement on the metal deterioration is the years it sat with out being used.  It was opened and closed the boiler was able to take in moisture causing the metal to start deterioration before it was even fired.  We all know that SS will rust we are aware if there is chips or filings they will start the surface rust too.  So my reason to clarify this part of your statement is it comes off to the reader that I let ash building sit there with out heat causing the deterioration.  If you read the post and look at the pictures we take pretty darn good care of everything around this farm.  Unless the acid is building in the ash bed while it is burning I don't see how acid got in there while not hot. Cleaned and oiled every season.

The photo attached shows our farm and wood shed buildings home etc.  As you can see I work hard to keep an organized and neat farm.  I am just upset that I was accused by the factory of doing something to cause this deterioration that I did not do and never happened.  That is the root of the problem.  I could type for days on other small issues from doing my own warranty work at my expense to everything else.  I won't I will just chock that up to one of my learning experiences in life.

4
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: January 07, 2020, 05:00:19 PM »
--Shepard Boy--
Please read this entire thread.   You will see your answers to "dealer" and "clout" .  You will also see if you read everything why I started this post. 

Also let me set this straight!!!  There is no conspiracy.  This post was started to find the "Cause" and the "Solution".   I would say the thread has brought out a more possible cause then the letter to me stated. 

To all of you experienced and top rated authors I appreciate your input and wisdom.  My father always said if you learn one thing everyday it was a good day.  I have learned much from all of the posts on this forum and I hope others have as well.  That to me is great considering I have been burning outdoor boiler's for over 25 years.  Having been through and around several manufacture's some in business some out to be able to learn more from this forum is great! 
Quote
Sounds like a conspiracy

Lastly your "Conspiracy" theory is BS.  I did reach out to slijim in 2016 when I was installing this unit just to run some ideas by him.  He was great answered the questions and helped with the set up over the phone.  He lives in colder then me country and knew what the heck he was talking about with no BS.  He also spoke very highly of the Steeltech product at that time too.   What happened to him and the companies relationship between now and then I don't know and don't CARE.   So yes, I reached out to him from an old number recently to find out more info. Why?  Well if you read through this whole thread his statements as to the possible cause make perfect sense.   

5
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 31, 2019, 06:43:47 AM »
Quote
I wonder if you could work out a trade next summer when heating season is over.

I realize most of you on here are dealers and I certainly respect that.  I myself have thought of becoming a dealer but between 75 head of black Angus, field crops, working equipment repair shop on the farm with my son's and a 40 hr week town job my time would never allow it.   I am not out here to cause you any harm on this forum.  I am just trying to get the proper fix to a bad purchase.  I had many reasons to buy this stove in 2016 and one of them was how much the dealer said the factory will stand behind their product.  The dealer (who is out of business now) had a very clean setup, a building stocked with parts, a good way to load and unload stoves, good knowledge of his product at the time and talked very highly of the owners.  When I was at his yard looking in 2016 he had a used stove that the company took out and replaced (G200 model) that was purely replaced because the owner had NEGLECTED the stove.  WOW! That was warranty to a guy like me and man that sold me at the time figured I had nothing to worry about if this stove was faulty they had my back.  Guess what it appears I was wrong. 

My stove has been meticulously taken care of cleaned, sampled water, ash in lower burn chamber always removed timely.  Shop vacuumed whole unit between each season.  Installed under a shed roof hell I even have washed the outside with soap and water. 

So now I hope you dealers on here are seeing why I have started this thread!  I am down right frustrated with the factories response to my problem it is UNACCEPTABLE.   To tell me overheating caused it was wrong!  SlimJim has made the most sense to my problem yet.  He has brought up a cause to my issues that makes common sense.  No one at the factory did that.  I also now realize from receiving the wrong by-pass door and plenum height to tank bottom problem that this stove design was drastically modified.

I have responded to the factory in written form to their letter to me.  I just hope in the weeks to come I can come to this forum with good things to say about Steeltech and their owners. Time will tell and we will see. 

E Yoder hopefully they listen to their respectable dealers trying to make a living from their product.

6
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 31, 2019, 06:18:23 AM »
Quote
For my own curiosity, what kind of temps are you seeing out of the stack?

I have never seen the low number they put in their flyer except right after the install start up.    I have seen up to 750 degree's when I am missing insulation over the top of the plenum.  500 let's me know I better be looking at the furnace and find the issue.  400 is where it usually runs.

Are you guys seeing lots of ash and material come out of you chimney's after a season of running?  I have 2 and 1/2 pieces of 8" insulated pipe and the material that comes out of this "green" clean pipe is to me unacceptable.   I do have a cap.   When I can get one of the boys to run the loader I will get you a good picture.  Also cause I know it will come out our wood is two season stacked before burned. it is dry.

7
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 30, 2019, 07:04:54 AM »
Quote
So to summarize things, your concern is the gap at the top of the lower brick, metal on the firebox floor, and the warped smoke bypass, correct?

Pitted metal top concern.  When measured is over 85% through on largest pitts.  Life span of the stove has become a very concerning problem with this issue.  How would you suggest I guarantee a 12 year minimum life for this stove?

Plenum space (gap) is next concern as this stove was researched and purchased on it's efficiency ratings.   They go right up the chimney when that gap is open as your stack temps reach high numbers.  High stack temp = poor efficiency on gasser correct?

3 burn season a bypass door warps that since new I had been fighting to keep sealed.  Made factory and dealer representatives aware of this sealing issue many times and not told to bolt or weld shut until the beginning of the 4 season and I had to build my own door.  So how much extra wood in 3 seasons has this stove cost me?  Just to give everyone an idea of my inventory we started this season with 30.19 FULL cords of wood stacked in shed.

Many other smaller issues that I have had to re-fabricate or engineer to make work.  ex. mounting of fan, electrical issues, etc. 

So yes three major concerns.

8
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 29, 2019, 05:02:41 PM »
 :post:

SlimJim, First I hope you would not be banned for the truth!  That is why I am a member of this forum and monitor it to find the truth and a solution to the problem and the cause of the problem.

I would have never brought this issue to this forum but I have been a mechanic/fabricator for 25+ years and the factory response letter accusing me of "overheating " the boiler is wrong and insulting.  Example, of overheated steel is non better then 9-11 in NYC (God Bless all the men and women who lost lives and survived). 

Your explanation above makes perfect sense as the first burn season I had that bypass door out to reseal it several times at a cost to ME.  No reimbursement for warranty work performed by the purchaser.  Also in season 2&3 I fought with that door and did not get the bolt it shut or weld it closed factory recommendation until the fall of this year.  Again a Heatmasters fail in my opinion.  I have sent another e-mail/letter to the factory this weekend  voicing my frustration we will see if the respond and back up their unit as it should be.  My hopes are not high.

9
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 29, 2019, 02:45:34 PM »
Couple more answers The dealer quit selling Heatmasters after 2017.  New dealer in area who is trying but does not have the experience necessary to handle these complex issues and also has not bothered to come look at this unit with many invites.  I have dealt with Heatmasters warranty dept directly and also have found another contact who has been helpful too. 

Unit was not a "rebuilt" unit it had been to shows and sat outside on the dealers lot since May 2014.  Could this be why the SS steel is pitted?  In my metal/welding experience HELL yes this could be why and should have been looked into by factory and warranty dept.
Quote
Looks like pitting in the metal to me and that for sure isn’t a 1 year old stove, it looks like somebody was selling off some very old stock.
I brought this up to the warranty dept when I first found the pitting.  I was shot down!

("Ahh, does yours also have the cleanest door on top for the turbolators?

Far as the gap between the horseshoe refractory and the bottom of the top chamber, its supposed to be there, if the lower refractory fits too tight they will break. It does look a little excessive though.

I’m still not understanding where the bad spots are though, your’s is before my time. Personally though it looks more like corrosion if a little moisture mixed with some ash and made a weak acid.")

Yes Clean out door on top.  Yes excessive gap over plenum as they have since changed the design.  If I leave that gap open efficiency goes up the stack and shows with infrared thermometer in stack temps.   Yes I thought of moisture and ash making acid but I say impossible as we slowly build an ash bed with extremely dry wood to guarantee that is not the case.  If it is then it is a design failure and should be completely covered under warranty.

This stove is a complete disappointment in structural integrity from the get go.  But the most frustrating thing is a letter from the factory with a wrong date and accusing me of burning it too hot and causing the pitting that way! 

10
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 29, 2019, 02:14:48 PM »
OK to clarify I will attach the plate photo here for all to see.  But first what everyone needs to understand is I purchased the stove in October of 2016  I installed it right away and the first pictures above are from right after the first season June 2017.  Yes every year it has gotten progressively worse and I have been anal retentive about documenting everything from water sample results to clean out pictures after the season.

It was manufactured in May of 2014 I knew this at purchase and made sure the dealer contacted the factory to guarantee a full new unit warranty from date of purchase.  The rep from the factory whom I have spoken with and emailed many times about the issues confirmed this coverage.  The problem how ever is we purchased it assuming we could get a minimum 12 year use out of it to justify the cost of the unit.  I am going to be lucky if we get another season after this one out of it. 

The only person who has been to see the stove was the dealer that sold it to me in the summer of 2017 he saw it  after the first season.  The problem is he no longer is a dealer sold out of his business that summer.  Imagine that.  Yes this is our 4th season we are going into with a very expensive unit that is hanging on like a thread.   The new door and plenum problems are new after last seasons (2019) burn. 

So let me ask all of you on here would you not expect that stove to last 12 seasons?  My Central boiler that we installed in 1999 at our other house 1/2 mile away is still running as I type this with no issues.   Will this Heatmaster make it?  In my opinion as it is getting worse every year no way.

11
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 28, 2019, 11:06:02 AM »
Ok a little more info on the other problems this past year.  First is you can see old door on the tire and the reason the rope is out which you can see well is the warp.  Second is the door the factory sent (long one) wrong and the one I had to build next to it.  Third picture is door installed by me this year and now bolted shut to hopefully lose no heat out the top.

Not sure on the take on this whole forum of everyone here but I am throwing this out there.  The most frustrating thing is we pay big $$$ for these units up front for the warranty that is built into the price which I understand, but when you do all your own warranty work why do we pay for it?  This is just wrong and I am having a hard time recommending these units (any brand) to anyone as there is no dealer warranty support that I know of on any of them.

12
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 28, 2019, 10:41:20 AM »
It is on the left side of the plenum hole as you can see in this photo.  It is also started on the right too.  I am anal about cleaning the stove every year at shut down.  I am sure there is many stoves out there like this but if you don't get in there with a respirator and goggles and plan on getting dirty you probably will never see it.

I probably never would have started this post but I am a little concerned when I received for the first time a letter to me from heat masters dated 12/22/2018.  It also is discouraging when they are not fully investigating the problem and tell me via letter that I burned it too hot and that is the cause.  I have been burning out door boilers for 21+ years and am kicking myself for not keeping my original Central boiler that is still running to this day.  As far as I am concerned Headmasters has dropped the ball on this one.  They have had an open invitation to our farm since the day I found the issue of course no one came.  So how can they tell someone what caused it with out looking at it. 

Two other problems with this stove too. 1. Bypass door warped when it didn't shut fully and heat went passed it last year. I had to have one bent and build it myself as they could not find original blueprint for this stove.  2. They have not been able to send me the right insulation used between the plenum and bottom of the firebox so every time I clean the ash I end up wasting money on 1" door rope to seal the hole.  If it is open your flame does not come to the front as per design.  I will attach pictures of this to.

13
HeatMaster / Re: G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 28, 2019, 06:13:33 AM »
Sorry don't have my picture sizing right here is another one.

14
HeatMaster / G400 Metal deterioration
« on: December 28, 2019, 06:11:50 AM »
This is what our furnace looked like after one year of burning.  I am posting on here to start a thread and see if any others have had this issue.  I have been in contact with the factory and finally got an answer with a letter dated from over a year ago.  Not Good.  Please let me know if anyone has seen this.  Also in the letter I was informed it was from burning the stove too hot.  Impossible as the deteriorated area is under ash in the firebox.  Frustration maxed out now.

15
Advanced Plumbing / Re: Manifold Design for a G400
« on: October 26, 2016, 08:08:39 PM »
Copper looks great.  I did all the inside on both building's with copper or Stainless steel looks neater and more professional.  At the boiler I brought the farmer in me out and went cheap this time and used what was laying around.  Need to control costs some times.. ::)

Pages: [1] 2