I have had the Firepod for just under 18 months and am now using it for the 2nd winter. Like most people I purchased it primarily because of its attractive and modern appearance but sadly the
ownership experience has fallen well short of my expectations and I expect that I will need to replace this stove a lot sooner than I would have hoped.
The company provide very little customer service support and I have now concluded that they know the shortcomings of their products and are reluctant to be financially responsible for dealing with them instead choosing to be terse and evasive with customers who ask simple questions about poor performance or component failures.
Below are the issues I have experienced thus far:
1. Delivery was delayed by several weeks ''due to a sub-contractor letting them down'' meaning I had to reschedule the installation date.
2. Paint failed on the door hinges after a few weeks & had to be repainted and failed for a second time within a few weeks.
3. The rope seal adhesive failed after a few weeks and was repaired by their engineer when he attended to repaint the hinges.
4. The vermiculite fire bricks supplied with the stove failed after 4 months.
5. The door handle spring failed and needed the handle to be adjusted but the grub screw on the collar was rounded off at the factory and cannot be unscrewed, the company denied responsibility and told me to buy a new handle from their website - they don''t sell replacement handles on their website.
6. The fire bricks at the back of the stove fall down the back when you remove the ash pan & the only way to reposition them is to put your arm into the small opening where the ash pan fits and nudge the bricks a few inches upwards back into place whilst covering yourself in dirty carbon residue. I asked if this was normal and received no answer.
7. The flat base that the stove sits on was not made perfectly flat so the fire wobbles slightly when the door is open and closed.
The glass is prone to becoming dirty quite quickly and needs frequent cleaning for optimal view of the fire, I don''t consider this to be a fault but it suggests the air wash doesn''t perform all that well and it impacts on the ownership experience and burn efficiency if you desire clean glass.
After purchasing the stove and before delivery I asked for the internal measurements of the firebox so I could order appropriate sized logs. The internal width dimension I was given was incorrect when I measured the stove after delivery.
Overall, I can''t recommend the product or the company. Having tried to engage with them to resolve some issues the email answers I received were vague at best and when I returned asking for clarification I was told that they would not reply to any more of my emails so I am left with a stove that has damaged or non-performing parts and the company refuses to assist me. Make of that what you will.
We bought the Firepod just for its looks, something different! it looks great. however it is very Basic build for the money, Hinges are welded not bolted, ash sits on the window sill and falls
out when the door is open, the Stove itself works as a stove should, but for the money there is a lot of better built stoves on the market, I install Stoves as part of out work so I have seen various stoves makes, lets just say we won't be replacing like for like.
We are in Scotland, Hetas does not apply, all solid fuel installations are done to Part J of building regulations, and in my opinion is a better,safer system, we don't pay anyone to have letters
like Hetas on our invoices, the Goverment approves the installation.
Stove expert replied:
Providing the installation complies to Document J the this should suffice in any area.
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