I am writing about my Vermont Casting Winter Warm Small Insert, Model 2080, which I purchased on November 6, from Higgins Energy Company in Barre, MA. I am totally disappointed in the performance and dependability of this stove.in my view, this not the fault of the dealer, but is an issue with the manufacturer and clams surrounding the unit.
This stove has not performed according to your claims. Your website states that this stove will heat 1000 square feet and had long overnight burn times. This has not been my experience. I find that this stove will not hold a fire for more than 3 or 4 hours, no matter how I manage it. However, this is not my primary complaint with the stove.
Shortly after our stove was installed (by a professional mason), the glass broke. I thought this might be a defective piece of glass and reported the problem to Higgins Energy. They replaced the glass at no charge. However, within 2 months, the glass broke again, in exactly the same place. I believe the clip system that holds the glass is not properly engineered. I took great care in installing the replacement glass by following the instructions in the owners manual. This past fall we again replaced the glass panel. Higgins Energy charged $316.43, a hefty price for a replacement glass panel. Again, I took special care in replacing the glass. After only about six weeks of use, the glass has now broken a fourth time, in the exact same location, radiating vertically from the clips closet to the door latch. I have babied this stove since the first glass panel broke, taking extreme care in closing the door slowly and carefully.
Obviously I cannot afford to replace the glass annually (or even more often) on this stove, and I do not believe I should have to. I spent a total of $1757.70 on the stove, $196.30 on the cast iron surround, and then the $316.43 for the second replacement glass. For this over $2000 expense, not to mention the cost for having it installed, I have a stove with a broken glass pane that does not heat anywhere near the space you claim, nor does it hold a fire for any significant period of time.
I had our fireplace opening and hearth completely rebuilt to the specifications for this stove. I love how it looks, but it performs poorly and is subject to repeated glass breakage. Unless you can address the glass breakage problem in a way that will not result in my having to replace the glass annually or even more frequently, I request that you take the stove back and refund all of my costs; the stove, the surround and the replacement glass. Even if you do this, we will still have to hire a mason, again, to refit our fireplace opening to accommodate a different insert.
Please pay attention to my request. Your brand has a good reputation, but this product is not satisfactory.
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