A wire broke off the ignitor element in our Harman unit. I have ordered a replacement and it looks simple enough to fix myself. But before sourcing the part I had called about 5 different fireplace companies in the area, and it seems everyone has dropped all support for pellet stoves in recent years! Not only does no one sell them any more (other than Canadian Tire), but they all outright refused to even consider sending a repairperson to help.

It’s a bit infuriating. I am calling them, literally saying “please come take my money at your standard hourly rate”. One would think “struggling businesses” would be more willing to take on what should be profitable work.

Is it such a liability issue for them that they’re actually afraid to take on the work?

What if something bigger fails someday on my pellet stove? Why is no one on the island now willing to work on one?

If you know of someone who does still service wood pellet stoves on the island (Courtenay/Comox), please reply here or DM me. Thanks.

EDIT: formatting

  • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
    1·
    1 year ago

    One would think “struggling businesses” would be more willing to take on what should be profitable work.

    What’s your source on them struggling? Because if it’s just something the owner said, it’s definitely bullshit.

    • Arghblarg@lemmy.caOP
      2·
      1 year ago

      What’s your source on them struggling?

      Well, to be fair I was just being snarky there (I mean, if they can refuse business, they must not be that “struggling”, right?). All the ones I called either said

      • ‘we have not sold many the last few years, due to increasing pellet prices, so we decided to stop dealing in them’ (and repairing them, apparently!)

      and/or

      • ‘they are high-maintenance so we don’t deal with them any more’

      I find the second one curious, if they’re charging by the hour, one would think they would prefer things that need maintenance calls, more money that way right?

      This Harman’s a real beast though, heavy cast iron; and it was placed only a few inches from the wall, so I’ll have to get some help to lift it out and get those back plates off; or just splice the wires to the new ignitor from the front and wrap with some high-temp insulation.

      • jadero@lemmy.ca
        4·
        1 year ago

        If you have to move it, try to not put it back where you started. We did a temporary install with ours while we built the addition where it was going to be permanently installed. That was enough for us to realize that we didn’t want to move it again before it was time to take it to the scrapyard, so we installed it with enough clearance to be able to work on it. (Although it’s getting harder as I get older and less flexible!)

        I don’t know what model of Harmon you have, but changing the igniter on ours (PC-45) was pretty easy.

        We’re in Saskatchewan. There is an amazing dealer in Yorkton who mails out any parts we need and who offers lots of really great usage and troubleshooting advice. It’s not like having a local dealer who will come out for service, but it’s better than nothing. Country Hearth & Comfort

        If you find you’re going through igniters, you might have a weak air pump. Insufficient flow during the ignition cycle can cause slow ignition. That means the igniter is running longer than it should, reducing it’s life.

        • Arghblarg@lemmy.caOP
          2·
          1 year ago

          It’a an Accentra-2 – previous owners must have spent a lot on it. Very nice cast iron unit. It looks like it shouldn’t be too hard… if I can get it lifted away from the wall.

          It is on its own raised corner island, with not much more room in front so I can’t really move it forward much unless I remodel; so it’ll have to go back where it is afterwards.

          Thanks for the tips!

          I’ll check the blower. I admit I hadn’t been vacuuming out the ignitor pot as often as I should, which was probably hard on it, but the wires themselves seemed to have a lot of wear on the insulation right where they go into the ignitor cylinder. At least 10 years old actually, incredible for an ignitor from what I have read.

      • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
        2·
        1 year ago

        I find the second one curious, if they’re charging by the hour, one would think they would prefer things that need maintenance calls, more money that way right?

        To me it sounds like there’s some other reason that doesn’t sound good to say to customers, so that’s the lie they made up instead. Because you’re right, it makes absolutely no fucking sense. And in my experience business owners spout all kinds of nonsensical bullshit when they’re trying to hide something.