Need help regarding an amplifier situation ->> (1 Viewer)

It's long, but please bear with me because I need some help.
Ok, here's the story: my dual Tempests each in their own 10 cu ft enclosure have been done for about a month now, and I can play them! I bought a used Carver M-500 magnetic field amp off of ebay about 3 months ago when I started building the subs. It was adversited in perfect working condition. When I received it, it had a repair shop sticker on the back, but it was confirmed again by the seller that it works perfectly. Not having my subs done, I could not test it so I trusted him. When one of the subs was finally finshed I hooked it up (correctly) and it played fine for a while, and then blew a circuit. I installed a new 15 dedicated circuit for the amp, and it worked again until the amp blew its own 10 amp fuse. Replaced the fuse, and it blew again. I was out of ideas so I took it to a shop (this was ~1 month ago). The shop jacked around for 3 weeks, not being able to find a Triac part. I got on the internet for a grand total of 3 minutes and I found the part, and had it shipped directly to them. I got the amp back yesterday with the new part, paid the $130 they charged, and hooked it up to one of my subs. It played fine for about 2 minutes, and the fuse blew (acted the same way it did a month ago before the "repair"). They now have it back, and they are going to 'let me know', which probably means another two weeks.
Now for the questions: Even though it was about 3 monthes ago when I bought the amp, should I try to contact the seller who told me it was working perfectly and see if he'll pay half the repair or something? I don't know if it is even worth it because if I were the seller, I would probably think whatever he did with the amp for 3 monthes is his own problem. Should I e-mail him?
Second question: what should I do about this amp?? I know it will never be reliable. Should I sell it, cut my losses and buy a new Mackie with warranty or something? Or do you think this amp has a chance of working out for me in the (distant) future? Any other suggestions?
Thanks for any advice you can give me for the ugly situation. It is getting f**king ridiculous and I'm tired of it. And again, sorry for the length.
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My Home Theater

Well, first off, how do you have the woofers wired? and are you running the amp stereo or bridged?
John

I am going to agree with John. How are the sub wired? And amp configuration. Have you tried to test the amp with a different speaker or dummy load?
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Luke, I'm your father

I'm not sure how much you stand to lose, but my suggestion is to cut your losses and get a new amp with a warranty. That way you can get exactly what you want and have the peace of mind as well.
That's my approach anyway....
RichardH

Well,
My point here was to look at how he is using the amp first before worrying about buying a different one, or contacting the seller. For example if the amp is bridged and the Tempests are wired in parallel with VC's also in parallel that would be a 2ohm bridged load. That would cause almost any amp to have problems. The first step would be to narrow down the problem. It may not be anything wrong internally with the amp.
John

Thanks for the responses guys. This is how I have it hooked up: each voice coil of a sub is connected to 4 plug (2 channel) terminal cup. Then on the outside of that, the metal thing that connects both channels is left on, and a bannana connectors are inserted into a pair of the plugs (therefore wiring each 8 ohm voice coil in parallel for a 4 ohm load). This is the same way Pat's SonoIII is hooked up so you can see his picture for clarifications. The amp is a two channel, one channel being used for each sub- no bridging (only one sub has been hooked up so far).
As for shipping it to Carver, they want $160 to do the repair. I'd rather cut my losses and buy a Mackie for that cost. (Anybody know where to get a 1400i for the lowest cost?)
Thanks again (and the shop hasn't called since Wednesday)
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My Home Theater

It sounds like you are running a two ohm load. Ouch! Do you have 2 tempest subwoofers. Each speaker being dual voice coil?
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Luke, I'm your father

As described, Zach is running a 4 ohm load for each amp channel to drive each of the 2 Tempest drivers. I think you've got a lemon on your hands. Cut your losses and get "tested" amp or a new one with a nice warranty on it.
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PatCave ; HT Pix ; Gear ; Sunosub I + III ; DVDs ; Link Removed

Zach,
I'd stay away from the Mackie amps too. Some people have said good things about them, but I had one here and it clipped very badly with the limiter off. For about the same price you can get a QSC RMX 1450 or a Crown CE1000, or for just a little more an RMX 2450 or Crwon CE2000. The crown and QSC don't clip nearly as bad as the Mackie. Mackie amps from the early runs also had a reputation for spontaniously starting on fire. They fixed that problem, but it still worries me. The CE2000 I have here now is much better than the MAckie I played with about a month ago. I picked it up for $630 from www.123dj.com The CE1000 is $430 I believe. An Ideal amp would be the Crown K1 or K2 as they have are very efficient, have a very high damping factor, and do not have a fan to make noise. They are expensive compared to the other amps though.
John