Regency woodstove insert FAIL

I’ve got a lemon.
As much as I’d like to boost a Canadian company, this Regency insert has been nothing but trouble. It’s not burning properly, with very little difference between minimum & maximum burn. I only get two hours (at best!) with a full box, not eight as specified.
The installation was a nightmare because of poor manufacturing. They had to do all sorts of grinding and cutting to makes things fit together.
Also, the damper control was ridiculously stiff, but eventually the installers did something to loosen it up.
Take some pride, and read up on quality control, guys. I trust this is enough evidence for the warranty claim?

[@Kriss_L]

I've had a Regency woodstove for almost three years now, and it still won't work. Dealer came out, and was shocked that what I said, and had video of, was true. Still waiting for a response from Regency.

[@deerhunter3014]

Any response yet?

[@Kriss_L]

@@deerhunter3014 No one had a clue. Local shop came out, looked at it, and sent photos & video to Regency. A couple weeks later, another guy from the shop came out. The stupid screen on top of the chimney was blocked with soot. !?@! Removed the screen, and it works fine.

[@MassholeMachinist]

I have an Hi500 from Regency. I've burned through a catalyst in just 2 years. After receiving the 1 free warrantied catalyst, I went to install it and noticed the cat bypass appears to be installed incorrectly and basically has always been engaging the catalyst essentially over burning the stove. Trying to work with them and the distributor now.

[@scottmedwid1605]

I have the same stove and a similar issue, let me know what you come up with

[@qwaqwa1960]

The mfr claimed there was nothing wrong. The installer pushed back and finally got them to send a replacement, installed today. Based on a quick paper burn, it does seem to behave better. I'll know for sure when it's cool enough to warrant a full wood load. My installer hadn't had significant problems with Regency before, but their initial "CYA" response is disheartening! I would not recommend them after that. The customer is always wrong.

[@scottmedwid1605]

Thanks for the update, keep me in the loop please if you can. I will probably light mine back up in a month or so

[@qwaqwa1960]

OK, I did my first real burn. The unit was well & fully packed with wood. The damper control definitely worked better than the defective unit. But…here are the results: 1:40 Mostly flamed out, but still a fair bit of wood/embers. 2:00 Embers 4:00 Blower off, tho by 3:00 or 3:30 there was very little heat left… While about twice as good as before, it’s still a FAR cry from the 8-hour spec, and much poorer than the other stove I’ve used. I’m very disappointed. Maybe I did something wrong. Will see what the installer says...

[@qwaqwa1960]

@@scottmedwid1605 What's the condition of your door? Mine has a rough finish, and already appears to have some rust on it!!! I'm trying another burn, this time with 1 split log and 3 solid. Perhaps that will get me closer to 8 hours, tho I have my doubts. And the blower is very annoying. It doesn't come through in the video for some reason, but the randomly varying wind noise is quite distracting.

[@qwaqwa1960]

This burn was better, though still sub-par. I got 8 hours of blower run time, tho there's not much heat left near the end. Nor would there be enough embers to start new logs. Also, I didn't start with the full load, but added two of the unsplit logs a few hours into the burn. I believe their 8-hour spec must assume a solid block of wood that fills the stove! Kinda like the fabled spherical cow...

[@robertmcintosh6952]

Sound recording is terrible, can hardly hear you