Parts Rant

stavebuyer · November 23, 2012, 08:18:00 AM

I am having trouble with the blade tensioner pump on my Woodmizer LT70DCS. The mill is 18 months old and according to WM my tensioner assembly is "obsolete" and no parts are available from Woodmizer to fix it. The only option they gave me was a retrofit kit replacing the entire assembly thats costs $600 plus tax and shipping for parts I feel should be either available or covered under warranty. I dissassembled and cleaned the pump and found one o-ring which I replaced and that didn't seem to help. No point in fussing at the guy answering the phone; so what can you do besides paying $600 for the new assembly?

POSTON WIDEHEAD · November 23, 2012, 08:33:33 AM

I know sometimes it's a hard pill to swallow. Your situation has happened with many products from hundreds and maybe thousands of companies.
I wonder if someone local knows how to fix it in their shop? I just don't know that much about your problem and this is just my friendly suggestion.
I hope you find a less expensive fix.....but sometimes we are at the mercy of doing what we have do do.
Good-Luck.

Kansas · November 23, 2012, 08:57:38 AM

I would stand my ground on that one. My guess one of the Woodmizer guys will see this post and make it right.

Its one thing if the part is 5 or 10 years old. Not 18 months.

barbender · November 23, 2012, 09:14:04 AM

I agree with Kansas- I'm waiting to see what one of our WM guys has to say about this.

drobertson · November 23, 2012, 10:48:06 AM

Feeling your pain, this is a frustrating situation for sure, good luck in getting back to running, david

DDobbs · November 23, 2012, 10:55:00 AM

18 mos from new an they dont have the parts? Is there a chance of a cross up in the part #when you gave it to the guy on the phone?
Something seems wrong.

ladylake · November 23, 2012, 12:39:39 PM

If shot at 18 months it must have been a bad design with WM coming out with a new design. I'd think WM would stand behind it. Steve

buzzegray · November 23, 2012, 12:48:43 PM

If it is obsolete at 18 months, then they knew there was a problem 6 months to a year ago. They needed that much time to redesign, test and produce. A quality company should have recalled or stocked up on a fix it kit. This is the type of thing an entry buyer worries about. What will they do for the buyer of a LT70DCS?

beenthere · November 23, 2012, 02:11:32 PM

Seems a lot of second-guessing before we really know much beyond what the OP wrote.
How about hanging tight with the downgrading comments until we learn more ?? Just sayin....

MartyParsons · November 23, 2012, 02:21:55 PM

Hello,
The mill has a two year warranty. Not sure who you talked to. I sent your comment to WM.

I think I have the seal kit you are needing. The check valve may have metal in it and keep it from seatinig. I have cleaned a few and made them work. You can replace the check valve if needed. Did you see any metal when you removed the pump and tank?

Marty

stavebuyer · November 23, 2012, 03:37:28 PM

Quote from: MartyParsons on November 23, 2012, 02:21:55 PM
Hello,
The mill has a two year warranty. Not sure who you talked to. I sent your comment to WM.

I think I have the seal kit you are needing. The check valve may have metal in it and keep it from seatinig. I have cleaned a few and made them work. You can replace the check valve if needed. Did you see any metal when you removed the pump and tank?

Marty

I think it may be related to the check valve as the pump doesn't seem to "prime".. you only feel resistance on the last inch or two of the stroke. It takes 50 or more strokes with a pause in between to get tension on the blade and it won't get to the recommended 78-80 on the gauge.

The original call was to WM parts in Indy on Tue and I spoke with "Bob". Not sure what all is covered by the two year warranty but not the first parts I've paid for. I did give the date of purchase and date of manufacture. I looked up the part myself on-line before calling. There are no part numbers for the b4.04 revision of the mill only a reference to the new assembly. I don't know if any of the DCS mills are two years old yet.

Related but not specific.. who and how do you get ahold them when you have a issue like this? The way parts/sales/support is divided in Indy you really don't have a contact. I wished I lived in your sales area Marty.

Solomon · November 23, 2012, 05:10:40 PM

I think Beenthere has a valid point , Make some more calls and find out all the facts before jumping to conclusions. But I do understand the owner of a new saw with that kind of price tag feeling upset. Further communication is certianly needed. If it were me, I would be seeking satisfaction as well. As someone else said, "Something doesn't seem right".

jcbrotz · November 23, 2012, 05:42:47 PM

Call Indy again and talk to someone else, When I bought my accuset 2 I originaly paid several hundred to much because of the salesman not undersatnding something?? What I am not sure but when I talked to Doug I believe it was, I got a bunch of money back and almost got the accuset working correctly, Later when I had a chance Jeremy from NY fixed me up the rest of the way. It just takes the right guy to get it right. MOST of the time with woodmizer its the first time but they do have there issues also from time to time. Best of luck.

sparks · November 26, 2012, 09:56:16 AM

It appears we might have a communication issue. Your sawmill is under warranty for 2 years and the tensioner is covered under that warranty. I can not explain why you were told you had to pay for it but we can get your replacement tensioner on the way at No Charge. Sorry for the mix-up. If you ever need anything just let me know and I can help you out. If you can email me your customer number I can get the order placed. Thanks

Papa1stuff · November 26, 2012, 10:53:43 AM

You can't go wrong working with Sparks ;D smiley_clapping smiley_clapping

Solomon · November 26, 2012, 10:59:54 AM

And there you have it. Issue resolved!

Bibbyman · November 26, 2012, 11:06:46 AM

Yet another happy ending!

POSTON WIDEHEAD · November 26, 2012, 12:10:13 PM

And now you know the rest of story.......Paul Harvey...................................................Good Day!

drobertson · November 26, 2012, 03:50:14 PM

Not much to say except now someone has to go back to work, and all the good hunting and fishing will be done by someone else ;D Glad this has seemingly worked out, break downs have a way of breaking the beast, I mean best of us down at times. david

stavebuyer · November 26, 2012, 05:18:53 PM

The new version of the tensioner shipped out today under warranty. Thanks to all who assisted and Marty in particular for following up even when I am not in his area.

DDobbs · November 26, 2012, 05:23:12 PM

Thats good to hear! I am going to buy a mill in the next few weeks. Most likely wont be a Wood-Mizer. But I was thinking something had to be wrong. Glad you got it worked out.

drobertson · November 26, 2012, 05:35:12 PM

Hey Stave, be patient man, there might be some other issues that come up, if they do, work with it, these machines will get the job done. Push the machine and don't hold back. david