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Meridian alternative?

 
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defrauded



Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 11
Location: outside Boston, MA

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:03 am    

Meridian alternative?
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My user name describes my experience with Kamado - I ordered a Meridian in Feb 2006, made a down payment of $599, and never received it. After countless emails, phone calls, a certified letter to the San Diego location, a formal complaint to the San Diego BBB, and (since deleted)posts to the Kamado forum, Laura is supposedly giving me my down payment back, after they claimed it was "almost ready" 5 months ago, but they had actually never built it. I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, I was attracted by the Meridian because of its (alleged) heating characteristics, (alleged) complete combustion, its looks (and way of customizing it), and most importantly, that you did not need a noisy fan to circulate the heat.

I have been very unimpressed with the typical fireplace inserts out there, where much of the heat still goes up the chimney, even with the noisy fan.

Does anyone else make something like this? I left an email for Dennis over at KK, and he never got back to me ...

Thanks

JohnG
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curly



Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 665

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:19 am    

Re: Meridian alternative?
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defrauded wrote:
My user name describes my experience with Kamado - I ordered a Meridian in Feb 2006, made a down payment of $599, and never received it. After countless emails, phone calls, a certified letter to the San Diego location, a formal complaint to the San Diego BBB, and (since deleted)posts to the Kamado forum, Laura is supposedly giving me my down payment back, after they claimed it was "almost ready" 5 months ago, but they had actually never built it. I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, I was attracted by the Meridian because of its (alleged) heating characteristics, (alleged) complete combustion, its looks (and way of customizing it), and most importantly, that you did not need a noisy fan to circulate the heat.

I have been very unimpressed with the typical fireplace inserts out there, where much of the heat still goes up the chimney, even with the noisy fan.

Does anyone else make something like this? I left an email for Dennis over at KK, and he never got back to me ...

Thanks

JohnG


I haven't heard of or seen anything similar. I have a Vermont Castings wood stove...but since getting that have seen some of the soapstone products that I wish I woulda known about earlier. But my stove is only 2 years old so I don't think it's gonna wear out in my lifetime.

Google away. Wink

Hey admin. Do we need a whole new folder for Meridians? Maybe one for people who can't find their boats too Rolling Eyes
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foxhound
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 1:47 pm    

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defrauded wrote:
Quote:
they claimed it was "almost ready" 5 months ago, but they had actually never built it


That is a frequent line of theirs and Laura is the master of saying it ever so sweetly and sincerely. They even like to say that their factory is so large they can't locate your unit. Laughing Laughing

You might try and dispute the charge to your credit card, but the time period may be too late. It doesn't sound good, but you are probably lucky you only got ripped off for the deposit versus paying 100% and getting a POS. Not much consolation I know. From what I have read on their forum, other owners have to reapply coating to the inside of the inserts as it crumbles apart fron the heat of your fire. This site exists because the Johnsons have treated so many wrong. I didn't see anything for the meridian in the factory photos this morning, I question whether they have a facility to produce them in.
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u2plt
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:14 pm    

Meridian Insert
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You are lucky. I had a K9 & my son had a K7 both sold in June 2007. Because I had ordered a Meridian Insert and one year later finally got it in Octobe of 2006. I installed it according to RJ's directions, and started the break in process. After completeing 4 break in burn cycles, during which I experienced: the glass door became covered with black deposit that we could not get off. and the smell coming out of the vents was very bad. When I tried to burn one small log it set off my smoke detectors. RJ answered me that he would get to his window maker and find an answer to the black film. That was the last I heard from him inspite of reapeted emails and calls. I had to pull it, and asked RJ for his warranty refund of my cost of $1000, not including shipping costs. A year later I have received no refunds. You are lucky that you are only out $599. He is an out & out crook of the highest order!!!!!!!!!!!
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Admin
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Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 1018

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:17 pm    

Re: Meridian Insert
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u2plt wrote:
That was the last I heard from him inspite of reapeted emails and calls. I had to pull it, and asked RJ for his warranty refund of my cost of $1000, not including shipping costs. A year later I have received no refunds.


Oh crap, I hadn't heard about your meridian. Sorry to hear it.

Confused

Now that I think about it.... got any pix??? Twisted Evil
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u2plt
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:17 am    

No Pics
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Lost them due to computer problems.
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tkline01
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:14 am    

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I have a picture of it after install....nothing after it was used.



It looked nice...too bad it was junk like the cookers!!!
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u2plt
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 3:51 pm    

Meridian Insert
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You can see that the window is clear because the white interior shows up. Starting with the first small load of charcoal briquets it started to cloud up.
By the 4th and final burn it was covered with black coating. I had emailed RJ after the first burn asking what to use to clean it up. He answered to use vinager, which I tried but it hardly made a dent. I asked again and he said he would call the manufacturer of the clear ceramic glass about what to use.
I kept asking about this and he only said I must have been using bad wood logs. But you see I had not yet started with logs because his instructions said use charcoal briquets to break in the Meridian. After the other problems it was obvious that it was not going to be useable.
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defrauded



Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 11
Location: outside Boston, MA

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:55 pm    

meridian alternative: soapstone!
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Check out Finnish company Tulikivi that sells soapstone fireplaces, countertops ... this is very interesting. Many thanks to forum member that suggested soapstone.

There are other companies that build fireplace inserts whose firebrick is soapstone.

JohnG
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Knotter



Joined: 07 Sep 2007
Posts: 64

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:07 pm    

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Sorry to hear U2.

Been driving me crazy not knowing why you left the forum. I knew you purchased a Meridian, and suspected that may be the problem.
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defrauded



Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 11
Location: outside Boston, MA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:56 am    

Cleaning your ceramic glass
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Perhaps your wood or charcoal has a lot of moisture content, which caused the blackening.

Kamado's Meridian FAQ takes a fact applicable in a specific instance, and erroneously applies it generally:

Quote:
How do I clean the glass on my Meridian insert? The ceramic glass is self cleaning and you will never need to clean the glass. The combustion chamber’s high temperature keeps the glass absolutely clear.


The glass is self-cleaning in that efficient, high-temperature combustion does not generate soot. Check out this link below:


[url]http://www.chiefchimney.com/01-98.htm[/url]

A reputable chimney/fireplace mfg or dealer should be able to recommend a product that cleans the glass. It may be available in a hardware store as well.

Once clean, try the burn-in again with well-seasoned oak or high-efficiency "firelog" pieces.

If all else fails and the glass is defective, maybe you can replace it. Contact a local glass specialist or fireplace mfg, I have heard they manufacture their own ceramic glass.

JohnG
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tkline01
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:14 am    

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U2PLT already pulled the crappy junk out of his fireplace. You couldn't hardly sit in the room when it was burning....some kind of toxic gas kept coming out of the Meridian.
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curly



Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 665

PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:28 am    

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tkline01 wrote:
U2PLT already pulled the crappy junk out of his fireplace. You couldn't hardly sit in the room when it was burning....some kind of toxic gas kept coming out of the Meridian.


Did I hear there was asbestos built into those things? I heard that about some ceramic tiled something somewhere...maybe not, but what's that weird smell Rolling Eyes
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Knotter



Joined: 07 Sep 2007
Posts: 64

PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:56 pm    

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If by chance you were using KEL for break-in, and it came from the bad wet moldy batch. The smell doesn't surprise me at all. I've not only smelled it, I've tasted it on my food.
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