Wood Heat

Bought a beautiful wood stove that had the worst install and then the door handle broke leaving us unable to use the stove. We called the sales rep Shawn who seemed honest to fix the issue, when he was unwilling we asked for the manager. Mark Ackerman was nothing short of rude and unwilling to make things right. He began to yell at me saying he was the cheapest price and dated me to get another quote. Not sure how that helps after I have a stove sitting in my home that I can’t use. A day later they refuse to give us the regional manager’s information or fix the stove or return it. We have now spent over $8000 on something we need to repair after less than 24 hours of having it.

Installation did not go well. When I got the estimate I told them to measure the spot (I had an old stove in the same spot) and let me know what brand/model would work best to heat my basement based on those measurements. I think the stove was too big because they had to take it in and out 3 times before it was installed. The stove has not worked properly since. We went through one full burning season. I have the chimney company come and clean 2x a year and they said the fires are not getting hot enough. I agree and they are smokey and difficult to keep going. I have to load wood every 2 hours so not much sleep on most nights. The chimney company said it did not look like I cleaned it at all this season - almost a chimney fire. I had at least 5-7 service calls to my house. It was always excuses but my old stove worked fine.

The sales team spent a lot of time helping us choose an insert to fit our needs. We talked, measured, and compared until we were satisfied. Of course, they steered us to the top model, which is understandable, and which we purchased. We were not informed until signing the paperwork that we had to put down a large deposit. Also, they called us later because they forgot our finance terms. During installation, they discovered a small pile of ash and insulation on the old insert. They charged $189.00 to remove it, which is more than our sweep charges for an entire cleaning. I contacted Wood Heat twice asking if they only removed that pile or did an entire cleaning (which their contract says is their charge for cleaning), and received a promise to look into it. Never happened. Due to an error in installation, we wasted about a dozen fires with very little heat. They did fix this for free. They also charged $75.00 to remove the old insert and wheel it down our driveway for trash pickup. That's what the contract says, but it seems excessive. Appliance dealers have charged us from free to $25 to install the new and haul away the old. The new unit, Jotul C 550 CB, has proven inadequate for our room. It is rated for 2,000 sq. ft.; our room is 330 sq. ft. We have to sit directly in front of it to feel the heat; the output is anemic. Our old one of over 20 years heated the room in a couple hours to the point of sweating, and the house after a full day's burn. The initial hour labor charge is $189.00, more than a mechanic, plumber, electrician, or doctor. Our sweep warned us about dealing with Wood Heat. Todd, their service tech, who came twice, was great. He taught us a new way to start and maintain a fire and explained the mechanics of heating a house. We highly recommend him. We knew, contractually, what the charges are but were hoping for some leeway. We are disappointed in the product. Watching the fire makes for good entertainment but poor comfort. We paid $5500.00 for a picture of a fire.

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I was completely dissatisfied with Wood Heat customer service. I called Jim with Wood Heat the last week of January 2015 and set up a service appt for 2/12/15. I told Jim that our fireplace worked sometimes....some days yes and other times no. I told him I changed the batteries in the remote and asked if there was anything else I should try. The service tech arrived on 2/13/15 around 3:30 during the allotted time given btwn 1-4. Todd was very polite and professional and said if the fan is working he couldn't do anything. He left after 5 minutes. Two days later I received a bill for $85. I called Jim at Wood Heat and asked him why he DIDN'T inform me, if the fan was working at the time the tech arrived, nothing could be done. If I had known that, I could have canceled the service call the night before. If this fan doesn't usually have this type of problem, they should have worked up and estimate to replace the fan and given me the option to have it replaced. Now I have to pay $85 for NOTHING....and now my fan isn't working today. I would have appreciated a full disclosure regarding nothing would be done if the fan was working at the time of the service call. I think the tech should have checked for a loose wire or something. It was a waste of my time and money!

John was very, very professional arriving on time, going straight to work with all the tools he needed to clean, check and replace a defective part. He explained a number of questions I had asked and demonstrated what needed to be done. Upon leaving he cleaned the area where he had set up.

We had an existing gas stove in a room that wasn't all that user friendly. Wood Heat has a great showroom in Quakertown where we could compare stoves side by side and choose the one that fit our decor. The salesman helped us make sure that the stove we picked out would do what we were asking of it as well. The installation went smoothly with no issues. The old stove was removed and the new stove put in place. The installers were great as well. The floor was covered during the process ensuring no damage during installation. The new stove works great and does exactly what we were looking for.

We continued to have an issues with the fireplace after the maintenance. The company returned within 3 days and fixed the issue without charge. Very pleasant and professional staff.

The existing gas fireplace in our home was outdated so we decided to get an insert that would also serve as an additional heat source. We were concerned that an insert would be hard to fit since it was a small opening. The sales rep came out to or home and took measurements to ensure the unit we ordered was correct. The installers were friendly and knowledgeable and the whole experience was painless.

Worked with Wood Heat in their showroom on requirements and all went fairly well. Since they're very close by and I like to purchase locally, I essentially decided to go with them to install a gas fireplace without much research. However, things didn't go so well from there. The fireplace was being done as part of a much larger set of house renovations, for which I served as my own general contractor. Of course, in order to get the work done I needed permits and the fireplace had to have its own. I collected the required information (specifically, proof of workman's compensation insurance) from every one of the other sub-contractors quickly and easily. Trying to get this information from Wood Heat was like pulling teeth. Apparently only the owner could provide the information, and he was less then responsive/cooperative. After many phone calls and crossed communications, they finally decided that instead of giving me the information, they would fax it to the township permits office. Why they insisted on this I still don't know, but I was just glad to have it behind me. The actual fireplace installation was to be done a couple of months after getting the permits. When I was ready I called Wood Heat to schedule installation. I was told at that time that I had to pay 100% of the materials and installation up front. I responded that this was highly unusual and that for literally all other work I had done I either paid upon completion or paid half up-front and the balance after the work was done properly. They refused to budge on their terms, so I decided not to use them. In the end, it was probably a good thing because it gave me incentive to shop around. I ended up using Ambler Fireplace. Not only was their service excellent, but the price was better to boot.

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It was great. My husband and I thought we wanted a wood stove to put in our fireplace that was condemned by a chimney sweep. After going into the store, we were instantly sold by the salesperson. He talked us through the positives and negatives of all types of stoves, and in the end we went a direction we didn't think we were going to go. The team that came and installed it was extremely professional and walked us through everything we needed to know. They did an excellent job and cleaned everything up when they left. We have now been enjoying our insert daily and it's saved us a ton of money in oil heat. Overall we were extremely satisfied.

Overall, I was happy with the service. I thought the price was reasonable and I would use them again in the future if needed.