L53 down due to failing fan issue and they wont sell me a L200

cabindoc · July 09, 2022, 07:25:49 AM

So, installed an L53 in a truck body, partitioned it down, and after some early trouble getting it running I have been drying pine consistently for almost a year. And before anyone says anything, loads were all below 400bf. Had a fan fail last year, nyle sent a replacement, no problem. A couple months ago, the other fan failed and the 3 months prior to that we were having to do a (hit reset button) on the condensor charge issue. Something we have been working with K-guy on diagnosing so they are well aware. Fast forward to when the fan went, I reached out and asked that the unit be warrantied in it's entirety. If it was just a coolant leak where I would hire a HVAC tech, fine. But now that the fan quit... Nyle agreed it should be warranty replaced but as many of you know, they are not making the L53 now, most likely to fan shortage. So I proposed to send the L53 back for $ credit and I'll apply that to a L200 and pay the difference. To be fair, Nyle will sell me an L200 to resolve my L53 broken unit, but said I would have to wait in line with new orders and they are 16 weeks out.

Let me repeat that last bit and tell me i'm asking too much. My unit is down. I am a comercial lumber mfr. They admit the unit should be swapped out entirely. I offer to pay the difference in price to upgrade to a larger unit, not because I need it, but to get me back in business and help them resolve a warranty claim. Their response is; get in line with the xx new orders we have for people who never had a kiln but want one...that wasnt a quote, I'm hypothesizing but thats what it seems to be. I have spoken to K-guy 3 times and crickets. I have asked for an order form for the L200, so if I am going to get in line, I would think they would need to enter an order in my name, crickets. I sent a stinging letter to K-Guy, he said he forwarded it to mngt. That was about 1 month ago, again, crickets.

So, I write all this not to bash Nyle, although it is what it is, but to seek advise on an alternative Kiln to the Nyle L200 (in size/ability) since it would seem I will just be sending my broken boat anchor L53 back to Nyle to get my $ back.

Lastly, I just want to say that I know that K-guy is not the problem, on the contrary, great guy and very happy with what is has done. My problem is with NYLE. I get supply chain issues and they cant get parts, but the company is not standing behnd their customers and has so far proven to offer lousy customer service with warranty claims.

Other kilns out there? Anyone have a gently used L200 they want to sell?

beenthere · July 09, 2022, 11:07:45 AM

QuoteLet me repeat that last bit and tell me i'm asking too much.

Many are caught in the same grip. Don't think this forum can help with a solution. But many feel your pain, if that helps.
Maybe some fabricating to replace the broke-down items.

Dan_Shade · July 09, 2022, 12:33:18 PM

Have you tried a third party solution to your problem?

Supply chain problems are real issues right now.

Southside · July 09, 2022, 01:32:20 PM

It's across the board. Playing devils advocate how do you know some of those kilns aren't heading to bigger lumber operations than you? When I have customers who ask me to jump them ahead of others I tell them I will do the same for the next guy and bump their order - usually after a few moments of silence they understand what I am saying.

FWIW everyone wants their stuff RIGHT NOW, well between supply chain issues, the absolute lack of labor, cost increases, etc things aren't going to happen that way. Those who call me daily thinking the squeaky wheel gets the oil don't realize that instead I use my Milwaukee 18V impact to remove squeaky wheels and leave them in the ditch by the side of the road. I don't know of a single business owner who is sitting on their hands, and it's about time folks understand that.

KenMac · July 09, 2022, 03:40:31 PM

Having been a commercial HVAC tech for many years I know it's sometimes prudent to purchase a part and get the customer's equipment running while waiting on a warranty issue to be resolved. That may be a possibility for you. Electric motor shops are probably equipped to repair your fan or supply replacement to get you back in business. Just my thoughts......

Don P · July 10, 2022, 06:54:53 AM

My little Ebac ended up with a jennaire exhaust fan on it through a "custom" cutout in the case cause thats what I had on the shelf when it died with a load half baked. I doubt anyone ordering an L200 is really just a hobby, they are moving wood through. I'm in line waiting for subfloor glue, aaargh :D

cabindoc · July 10, 2022, 08:28:28 AM

Quote from: Don P on July 10, 2022, 06:54:53 AM
My little Ebac ended up with a jennaire exhaust fan on it through a "custom" cutout in the case cause thats what I had on the shelf when it died with a load half baked. I doubt anyone ordering an L200 is really just a hobby, they are moving wood through. I'm in line waiting for subfloor glue, aaargh :D

Funny, I just bought several tubes of subfloor glue the other day.

Quote from: Southside on July 09, 2022, 01:32:20 PM
It's across the board. Playing devils advocate how do you know some of those kilns aren't heading to bigger lumber operations than you? When I have customers who ask me to jump them ahead of others I tell them I will do the same for the next guy and bump their order - usually after a few moments of silence they understand what I am saying.

FWIW everyone wants their stuff RIGHT NOW, well between supply chain issues, the absolute lack of labor, cost increases, etc things aren't going to happen that way. Those who call me daily thinking the squeaky wheel gets the oil don't realize that instead I use my Milwaukee 18V impact to remove squeaky wheels and leave them in the ditch by the side of the road. I don't know of a single business owner who is sitting on their hands, and it's about time folks understand that.

I get that they can't get parts. I have purchased a fan but it is only delivering 1/2 the cfm so my loads are taking 2x as long. Yea, I know, boo hoo at least I can run, besides the point. The point of my post was 2 fold. It was to ask folks for an alternative kiln to L200. Be it home made or another mfr. Second it was to ask if other folks are experiencing lack of customer service from Nyle.
I get the "jump the line" southside. I have 60 deposits from people wanting work done by us and I take people in deposit order, however, if I have a job that i did last fall thet developed a problem, that is warranty and I will "jump" them ahead of the "depositers" In fact, I am doing 4 of those type of call backs next week despite we are booked until November with new orders. This is what i'm talking about. If I told warranty customer they had to live with less than what they paid for and wait in line, 6 months, I would quickly develp a bad reputation and be out of business in 2 years. This is how I have survived 20 plus years as a remodeler.
And what about simple communications? When I get an unhappy customer, I at least talk to them and work with them to resolve their concern or at least let them know it will be resolved at a time in the future. I have stated my failure on the L53 and asked if there are any formal documentation for the warranty claim or if I am going to wait for the L200, order form, cost? expected delivery date? I got crickets!! It seems like they are waiting for my one year date to expire and then say "we knew nothing about it, sorry, warranty expired" what if Stan retires next month? SOMETHING should be sent my way to codify it is a warranty and the solution is ?? whatever that is.

WDH · July 10, 2022, 10:02:59 AM

The fans in my L53 were manufactured by Mechatronics. The model number was UF25GCB12 BTH. They had a black plastic back plate that apparently got soft from the heat of the sterilization cycle and the screws in the black plastic back plate wallowed out. I did not see any way to repair them but that might be possible. This caused the fan blades to wobble and you could hear the roar from outside the kiln so I knew that there was a problem before the fans completely came apart.

First one fan failed and Nyle sent me a replacement under warranty then the second original fan failed and then the warranty replacement fan failed too. The warranty replacement fan also had the black plastic back plate. I researched the fans and Mechatronics makes a very similar fan that fits perfectly but the back plate is metal and not plastic. I replaced the failed fans that had the black plastic back plates with the replacement fans that I bought with the metal back plate. I also purchased 4 additional fans in addition to the two that come in the L53 Unit to form a fan bank to increase air flow based on advice from Yellowhammer. Those replacement fans with the metal back plate have been running for 8 years now with no failures.

The model number of the Mechatronics fans with the metal back plate is model number UF25HC12 BTH. I bought mine from Carlton Bates. You can google to see if you can find them if you are interested.

boardmaker · July 13, 2022, 07:40:10 AM

If you have Facebook, there is a Nyle group there. Just a day or 2 ago, I saw a complete L53 for sale.

cabindoc · July 15, 2022, 05:20:30 AM

Quote from: boardmaker on July 13, 2022, 07:40:10 AM
If you have Facebook, there is a Nyle group there. Just a day or 2 ago, I saw a complete L53 for sale.

Thanx, but I'm looking for an L200.

cabindoc · July 15, 2022, 05:21:54 AM

Quote from: WDH on July 10, 2022, 10:02:59 AM
The fans in my L53 were manufactured by Mechatronics. The model number was UF25GCB12 BTH. They had a black plastic back plate that apparently got soft from the heat of the sterilization cycle and the screws in the black plastic back plate wallowed out. I did not see any way to repair them but that might be possible. This caused the fan blades to wobble and you could hear the roar from outside the kiln so I knew that there was a problem before the fans completely came apart.

First one fan failed and Nyle sent me a replacement under warranty then the second original fan failed and then the warranty replacement fan failed too. The warranty replacement fan also had the black plastic back plate. I researched the fans and Mechatronics makes a very similar fan that fits perfectly but the back plate is metal and not plastic. I replaced the failed fans that had the black plastic back plates with the replacement fans that I bought with the metal back plate. I also purchased 4 additional fans in addition to the two that come in the L53 Unit to form a fan bank to increase air flow based on advice from Yellowhammer. Those replacement fans with the metal back plate have been running for 8 years now with no failures.

The model number of the Mechatronics fans with the metal back plate is model number UF25HC12 BTH. I bought mine from Carlton Bates. You can google to see if you can find them if you are interested.

Thank you WDH, this is actionable. I'll search for that model and let you know what I find.

cabindoc · July 15, 2022, 06:04:18 AM

Found a pair at standard electric. Ordered. Hopefully they actually have them and I'll have next week.

WDH · July 15, 2022, 08:07:46 AM

Good. I ordered a spare. I like to keep a spare. I run 6 of these in my L53. The two in the dehumidification unit and 4 more on a fan bank. Here is a pic of the fan bank in the back of the kiln that shows 2 additional fans. I have since added 2 more, one on each side between the corner fans and the dehumidification unit. Yellowhammer experimented with adding additional fans and found that the increased air flow really help even out the drying between the top layers of the wood and the bottom layers of the wood to give consistent moisture content from top to bottom.

YellowHammer · July 15, 2022, 09:20:08 AM

The fan's that WDH recommends are good, better than the stock fans, I use them also, but still Mechatronics, and the grease in the fans is not a high temperature grease, so although rated max for about 160F, anytime the unit is run over 150F, the grease will begin to volatilize and bearing life will be severely limited. If you hear the new fans start to make noise after awhile, retighten the front impeller screws.

Do not operate the compressor over 120F, as there is a high pressure Freon sensor that will shut the compressor off at Freon pressures caused by temperatures at about 134F and the reset circuit is a pain to get at, forcing removal of the side cover. Since the vents sometimes stick and cause overshoot, see below, give yourself some leeway between operating temps and over pressure temps.

Make sure your automatic vents are opening freely, occasionally they will hang in the closed position, and will cause the kiln to overheat. Spray some anti corrosion spray or lube on them, and open and close them by hand every now and then.

Get a screw driver and go through every single wire terminal, both in the controller as well as the kiln unit, and tighten them all, and do it again, as PM, every year or two.

If you have your controller in an exterior kiln enclosure (I use pickup truck side bed tool boxes for weather tight enclosures) don't let it see freezing temps and don't let it get real hot or the LCD display will black out and melt. So cut a hole in your enclosure and mount a small chassis fan to keep it from getting too hot during summer.

I assume you are trading it in for a 200, these precautions apply to it, also. Different fans in the L200, (there is one Mechatronics for the vent) but don't exceed 150 during sterilization or you are reducing the life of the unit and the fans.

cabindoc · July 16, 2022, 06:12:58 AM

Quote from: YellowHammer on July 15, 2022, 09:20:08 AM
The fan's that WDH recommends are good, better than the stock fans, I use them also, but still Mechatronics, and the grease in the fans is not a high temperature grease, so although rated max for about 160F, anytime the unit is run over 150F, the grease will begin to volatilize and bearing life will be severely limited. If you hear the new fans start to make noise after awhile, retighten the front impeller screws.

Do not operate the compressor over 120F, as there is a high pressure Freon sensor that will shut the compressor off at Freon pressures caused by temperatures at about 134F and the reset circuit is a pain to get at, forcing removal of the side cover. Since the vents sometimes stick and cause overshoot, see below, give yourself some leeway between operating temps and over pressure temps.

Make sure your automatic vents are opening freely, occasionally they will hang in the closed position, and will cause the kiln to overheat. Spray some anti corrosion spray or lube on them, and open and close them by hand every now and then.

Get a screw driver and go through every single wire terminal, both in the controller as well as the kiln unit, and tighten them all, and do it again, as PM, every year or two.

If you have your controller in an exterior kiln enclosure (I use pickup truck side bed tool boxes for weather tight enclosures) don't let it see freezing temps and don't let it get real hot or the LCD display will black out and melt. So cut a hole in your enclosure and mount a small chassis fan to keep it from getting too hot during summer.

I assume you are trading it in for a 200, these precautions apply to it, also. Different fans in the L200, (there is one Mechatronics for the vent) but don't exceed 150 during sterilization or you are reducing the life of the unit and the fans.

Great reminders Yellowhammer, thank you for that.
Great news! I heard from Nyle yesterday and they have agreed to accept my L53 unit as a warranty exchange for an L200. Apparently thy are more caught up on new orders where they can send me a unit without interupting new customer sales flow. Thank you Stan f you had anything to do with that. I will be down for a while during this transition, but I will be able to make it up with the larger capacity/volume I'll be able to put through the unit.