Going to buy a OWB, EPA or no?

[StihlKicking]

I can say first hand that Hardy has always honored their warranty to the letter with me and my family. We deal directly with the folks at the factory. Also worth noting, all my family members who own Hardy's have gotten well over ten years service out of our units. One has been burning 365 days a year since 1988 except for 4 occasions. The pump failed, the blower motor failed, the DHW loop sprung a leak and 3 years ago we took it back to the factory to have a spot that leaked rewelded and the door seals replaced.

 

[mohick]

Yeah that's great if you live right by the factory, but when you have to haul-ship the stupid thing 8-900 miles makes the warranty worthless no matter how much they sweet talk you and tell "you can come fish" while they fix your furnace. Yeah all they stuff failed on mine also. got to where I didnt even bother them just fixed it and went on about life.

 

[mohick]

Oh also mine is setting in the fence row in the scrap heap holding up old cattle gates if you or any of your family would like to have it!!!!!!!!!hahahaha or maybe the "come fishing" blow off at the factory would like it ????

 

[HardyBurner35]

Here is what was left in my heater after burning for 13 hours, temperature in the twenties with a load of wet elm.

Here's a couple of pics after reloading with more wet elm.

Hey Stihlkicking, I just bought a hardy h3 this summer. Been burning in it since the beginning of November and still have moisture in the firebox. As you can see in the picture it drips out of the door and runs down the stove making a nasty mess. Dealer said no way it is leaking, probably just drawing moisture in through the blower. So we will see come spring time after the fire goes out. It doesn't look like your nee hardy has this issue.

 

[StihlKicking]

@HardyBurner35
When you first fire up a hardy they will sweat like a madman for a few months give or take depending on how often the blower kicks on. My heater did the exact same thing as in your picture for the first few months of its life. Also in warm weather when I'm only heating hot water the blower only kicks on a couple times a day. During this time if i throw a big chunk of wet wood in, it will cause so much condensation that there will be a half inch of water standing in my ash pan. In other words it has to be pretty cold out for me to burn wet wood without condensation.

My guess is that your dealer is spot on about it not having a leak. What is the climate like where you are located?

Once my heater seasoned and quit hissing creosote and water out I sprayed it down with degreaser and pressure washed it. Otherwise my heater would have the same stains as in your picture.

 

[StihlKicking]

Yeah that's great if you live right by the factory, but when you have to haul-ship the stupid thing 8-900 miles makes the warranty worthless no matter how much they sweet talk you and tell "you can come fish" while they fix your furnace. Yeah all they stuff failed on mine also. got to where I didnt even bother them just fixed it and went on about life.

Yep I bet shipping one of those bad boys would be pretty expensive. We are fortunate to live about three hours from the factory, so if need be we just drive em down.

As far as the warranty goes, they let it be known upfront that I would be responsible for getting it back to them for warranty work if I ever needed it.

Still the only one that had to go to the factory for work has been in service for 28 years. We repaired everything on it ourselves until it came time to weld the tank. I would not have complained if I had to pay to ship an item which gave me 28 years of service.

 

[HardyBurner35]

I'm up here in west central Illinois where the temperatures have been in the teens for the last week. The warmer it gets the more moisture there is, but even with these cold temps it never completely dries up. It also seems to be consistent whether I'm burning seasoned wood or not too seasoned. I have added 3 gallons of water each month but he also says that is normal for the H3. I just hope it all dries up in the spring after burning season and there is no problem.

 

[mohick]

That isn't just a Hardy, they are all going to condense, high moisture wood, high humidity several factors enter into this, question is did you buy it too look at or to heat your home?? wipe it off if it bothers you other wise rock on dude

 

[StihlKicking]

It looks and sounds like condensation to me. The only one I've seen that was leaking, you could actually hear the water sizzle when it hit the fire. Also large amounts of steam and condensation were present in the fire box at all times.

 

[NSMaple1]

I'd say your wood is too wet.

(That's supposed to be quoting Hardy burner...)

 

[aokpops]

Not a expert on OWB , I run a inside tundra and has saved literally tons of work . If you got dry or seasoned wood there is a bunch of work to be saved . On my second year an there was a learning curve . And this respects neighbors a lot better .