I read your post regarding Pro Exotic's FAQ's and our Pro Heat radiant panels. Please understand that what Robyn is stating is not accurate and due to another issue we have with them (PE), they are trying their best to "hurt" our company reputation.
The facts of the matter are:
PE did buy panels from us in 1998. During the period they bought them, we did have a problem with a defective component from one of our suppliers that caused the copper buss to get hot enough to melt the surface coating directly over the buss, but not hot enough to cause other damage or a fire. This is why the damage is on one side of the panel in a more or less straight line. Even though this happened, the panels, due to their construction, can't support combustion and therefore can't catch on fire, period. The damage Robyn shows is the worst that could happen. For the panels he posted to be in the condition shown, they had to have been used for an extended period after the problem first occurred. The panels would first show small brown spots along the buss bar that would get progressively worse until the maximum amount of damage shown could occur. It would take many days or more of continued use/overheating to produce the damage shown. Our panels are ASTM rated E84 < 25, which is the same rating fiberglass insulation and other similar products are rated. Our panels can't catch on fire and are actually "self extinguishing". They are made of non combustible materials. He also states that over 30% of the panels burnt out in this fashion which is also untrue. Many of the panels he returned to us were still in working condition, but as evidenced by the extreme darkening of the surface, were obviously being used in a manner warned not to do in our instruction/warranty information. Despite this, we replaced these panels as well and didn't even bring up the issue of misuse. He implies our panels are made in a garage; well our "garage" is a 15,000sq. ft. facility.
Since we made our heating element in large runs, we really couldn't tell what pieces were defective (not every piece was), so this problem haunted us for a couple of years. However, any panel that did fail was replaced and for what it is worth, even some of the replacement panels failed because of the same problem for the reason explained above. I can state that these customers who had panels fail are still using the product and are happy with the performance, safety and our company service. If our panels were such fire hazards, these people obviously wouldn't continue to use them. We also completely changed the design of these panels to meet the harsher requirements of our zoo and other professional sales, so the panels he is showing aren't even being made anymore. It is interesting that he ordered the product back in 1998, but has waited until now to "warn" the public.
I invite anyone to investigate this story and find anyone who can back up Robyn's claim of our Pro Heat radiant panels ever having caused any damage, caught on fire or caught anything on fire. With the exception of the damage to the panel surface in the picture, even Robyn had no other problems. Our product is UL listed and ASTM rated. If our product was such a risk, then one would think with 10's of thousands of units being used worldwide, why isn't anyone else complaining about them. In fact, we have one of the best reputations for a heat source of all of the products being sold.
We invite anyone to contact us if they have any questions.
Bob Pound promist@bestweb.net
Pro Products www.pro-products.com
