DS Machine Quality Control

OK, first let me say I like my new DS 1300. It's easy to care for and burns well. Secondary air inlet seems well-designed and I have had no explosions yet.

But now I have to crab just a little about quality control. As delivered, the ash pit door was very hard to close and did not seal right. The reason was, someone was very sloppy installing the gasket so it was thick at the hinge end but stretched thin at the handle end. I had to remove it and wire-brush the "generous" amount of rock-hard cement and install new gasket.

Second problem was air leakage around the ash pit door frame, enough so the thermostat would not properly limit stove temperature. The door frame bolts onto the stove body, and at places you could easily slip a piece of newspaper between body and frame. At one spot where the door frame meets the bottom plate, a light puff of compressed air from the outside would blow the ashes around inside. Fixed it by running a bead of high-temperature silicone all the way around the frame.

Third problem was the air inlet door bound up and would not close. The little hinge ears at the top of the door were rubbing on the inlet frame. I had to loosen the hinge bolt a little and pry the ear with a screwdriver to bend it and make more clearance.

Not major problems, but not what I was led to expect about Amish craftsmanship. Things must have gone all to hell in Amish-land when they let a telephone into the factory.

rberg,I wondered if you ever bought a DS Machine stove or not.I wish I could've got the 1300 instead of the 1400.They said at the factory could not install the flue out the top.I had to put new rope gasket around the feed door and the ash pan door.Also the knobs on the feed door would not close up against the door.The knobs was going up against a jam nut.I ground down the jam nut were it would let the knobs close tight against the door.Good luck with your new stove.

I'm sorry to hear that about your stove. When I buy something of this nature I to do not expect to be having to fiddle with it and especially not have to tweak so much just to get it to work properly. I hope, and suspect, that yours is not the norm coming out of their shop, mine certainly had none of these or any other defects and I am very pleased with its construction. Maybe the worker who built your stove got cut off by another horse and buggy on the way to the shop that morning, one never knows.

maybe they were in a beard cutting wrestling match and couldnt see where to weld....

I'm surprised to hear about these issues! My brand new DS1500 circulator seems to be very well put together, luckily.

Have either of you talked to DS about your issues, and gotten any response? I guess living quite a distance away makes repair parts more of an issue to get. I'm only 30 miles from DS. If I'd have had those issues, I would have driven back to the shop and asked for a replacement!!

LDPosse wrote:Have either of you talked to DS about your issues, and gotten any response?

I'm going to write to them as soon as I can remember where to buy postage stamps. Just to gently chide them.

Like I said, these were not major issues, just irritations. I did call about the door gasket, to find out what diameter gasket to get. They were apologetic and offered to mail me new gasket rope, but for the few dollars involved I just went to the local stove store and bought it.

hman wrote:I wish I could've got the 1300 instead of the 1400

I wish I could've got the 1400 instead of the 1300. But I was kind of tight on space and it's amazing how much difference a few inches can make. My interior decorator aka my better half was already upset about replacing the "cute little Harman" with something slightly bigger.

Did you buy the stove directly from DS Machines or one of their dealers?

If you bought it from a dealer maybe the issue is in how long the dealer had it and where it was stored. If it was from DSM themselves and it was one from the warehouse again, it could've sat there for a while before you bought it, and they do run fork lifts through the warehouse.

I'm On Fire wrote:Did you buy the stove directly from DS Machines or one of their dealers?
If you bought it from a dealer maybe the issue is in how long the dealer had it and where it was stored. If it was from DSM themselves and it was one from the warehouse again, it could've sat there for a while before you bought it, and they do run fork lifts through the warehouse.

Not only telephones, but forklifts too They might as well be Mennonites like my grandparents!
I bought directly from DS Machines.

These are true concerns, I am planning on a DS Circulator or 300-9 hot air furnace for next season. Hopefully they become aware of the issues and work hard to resolve them. I'm sure David and Amos would be willing to address anyone's stove issues immediately to the best of their abilities.

I got mine from a dealer,R&T Stoves,and I called Bob about the door gaskets and he sent new ones at no charge.The gasket was hard were they had put to much gasket cement on the door,and it soaked the gasket.I haven't had any other issues with my stove at all.I would buy another DS Machine product without any hesitation.
Bob at R&T Stoves is great to deal with,and will take the time to answer any question's or problems a person might have.