New Mt Vernon AE insert on the way

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Tweed

Member
Feb 11, 2012
34
Groton MA
Paid for a Mt Vernon AE insert on Saturday. It will be a week or 2 before it is installed. I got a lot of great advise off this forum. Originally had planned to get a smaller stove due to cost, but it did not look like it would really heat the house well. House is a ~3200 sq ft center stair colonial with an open foyer to the second floor. The stove will be placed in the chimney in the family room, in the smaller box (24x16) off the bigger box (38x28). 3 zones of oil fired hydro-air, third zone being room above garage. The 2 main zones are not setback thermostats that go between 60 and 68. still wearing a lot of clothes to feel warm. I don't expect to heat the extra room since it is super insulated and heats up really quick. keep the thermostate at 53. gets to feeling warm in 10 minutes, maybe 20 to 68 degrees. spent $3000 and $3600 the last 2 years on oil. it has been really watm this winter so I have had only 3 deliveries, but I am not happy thinking about future winter prices. We had burned wood for 9 years in the previous home and know that we did not want the dirt and effort for wood. Also this house is just not setup for wood. been here 16 years. it was great when oil was $1.30/gal.

My wife and I researched via the internet and then went on a road trip last weekend visiting 5 stores. got RO measurements, colors, etc. it is important to see them in person. it was after that we decided to get something above 30K BTU input. When we left the Quadrafire dealer, the salesguy mentioned that they had bought some preseaon inventory and not moved it, so the price could be right. We visited a Harman dealer after that and really liked the Accentra Insert. The simplicity of it's operation reminds me of a Glock.
Narrowed the selection down to Harman Accentra, Quad Mt Vernon, and Regency GCI60. all good stoves.

Checked a few places during the week for price. saw that a Quad dealer in Worcester had some prebuy left overs and was offering $800 off a Mt Vernon. took a trip there and found it was for the stove, not the insert. They offered me a quote for $5991 for a black Mt Vernon with a measurement, cleaning, DC power cord - a lot of crap I did not want. umm NO, sorry that dog won't hunt. got about $5K estimate for the Regency and ~$4650 for the Accentra, installed w/tax. I was not sure it was worth picking up in NH given they are real heavy. I was ready to buy the Harman, but we pass the Quad dealer on the way so the wife wants to stop by. OK. salesguy recognises us. We ask about the deal he mentioned, he says 15% off for cash for the in stock unit, checks they have the color, my internet coupon, says <$5300 Mt Vernon, willow color, installed inc tax. OK we can do that. I'll check the burn pot, blah blah.. I liked the idea of the control that the Mt Vernon has along with the extra heat over the Harman. I hope everything works out.

you guys already have me planning to get a mason here to install an OAK through the chimney this summer. I might try a pipe through the ash clean out through a basement window as a test. yes and to become a pellet pig!
 
Congrats. I think you went in the right direction. :)

To quote Tom Petty:

"The waiting is the hardest part..."
 
Tweed said:
I don't expect to heat the extra room...

Congrats.

I see your being realisitic, 3200 sq ft is alot to heat with a space heater.

Remember we need pics after install, or it really didn't happen. ;-)
 
Welcome to the Gang. Sounds like you did your homework and are going into this with a level head.

You may be able to heat more than you think. But going in with low expectations is always better. So when it does better than you thought. You will be happier. . . And if it doesnt, then hey. You still have a Nice Stove.

Congratulations on your purchase. Pics or it never happened.
 
Love my quad ..
 
Welcome and glad you joined! Many Mt. V owners here for assistance, Lots of tips and tricks in operating.

Enjoy the new toy and pictures are a must!
 
The insert was installed and tested on the 29th, inspected early on the 1st and on since! :)

Here is a picture of the empty hearth waiting for the insert

DSCN6306.jpg


The house: insert is going into the family room on the lower left. looking to heat the lower level (zone 1) and get some heat up stairs (zone 2). The MBR is above the family room, maybe some heat will conduct up there. The front hall is open to the second floor so I will try to get some warm air to move up that way. Zone 3 is the space above the 3 car garage. I finished that a few years ago, super insulating it. I keep it at 53 and in 10-15 minutes I can get it to be comfortable so we just heat it when we plan to go up there.

DSCN6309.jpg



Getting ready for the install

DSCN6311.jpg


First Fire!!! I turned off the thermostat for Zone 1

DSCN6313.jpg


I shopped around for a hod, bucket, vacuum, etc. a lot of that stuff is out of season now...
 
The metal label says that is was made Feb 2009. The shop had said that Quad had called back all of the older units and replaced parts/boards when I asked about the early problems with the line. I thought that the Willow color was relatively new. maybe they stock the stove and the colored parts separately.
 
Beautiful stove. Beautiful home.

Edit... Dah.. I posted. Thinking this was another thread.

About your Hearth products. Northline Express has some nice products on there site, but they can sometimes be pricey. Ebay has a lot of Heath related products also.
 
Congratulations. I love the color. Enjoy it!
 
oldmountvernon said:
Tweed said:
The metal label says that is was made Feb 2009. The shop had said that Quad had called back all of the older units and replaced parts/boards when I asked about the early problems with the line. I thought that the Willow color was relatively new. maybe they stock the stove and the colored parts separately.

ill tell ya if i bought a new stove and it was tagged 2009 i wouldnt accept it no matter what

but good luck with it, looking good

But you'll get a full warranty from the date of purchase. As long as its fully updated? Its just like a 2012 unit, No? Mine was a year old when I got it. I didn't mind as I save over 1K off list/retail price!

Nice looking setup by the way! ;-)

Enjoy the new toy and the pellet heat!
 
oldmountvernon said:
not to me, i paid for NEW i want a 2012 unit... but thats just me

I hear ya or a late 2011 build. I was under the impression that it was a prebuy, late summer for the 2011-2012 season. maybe it was to the store, crated and they didn't know. The store has some containers on the property so it could have been in there, could have come from a disti, who knows.. I was surprised when I looked at the tag. with the apparent demand I did not think there would be one that old available. The guys that came to install were a third party, so there was nothing that they could directly do. True about the 2 yr warantee. It does have the latest HW and SW Ids. I will be discussing with the salesman.
 
Tweed said:
It does have the latest HW and SW Ids.

I don't think there has been any other updates since then.

If its got the updated pot, I wouldn't sweat it. IMO

Don't mind OMV, he's spoiled... :lol:
 
I wouldn't sweat it either...
 
I have a similar size house. You wouldn't have been happy with something smaller than the Mount Vernon AE on a zero degree day. I heat my entire first floor with no problem. Getting air upstairs is a challenge but I'm on a second zone which we sometimes use to supplement the heat from downstairs. On a normal winter, I used 900 gallons of heating oil for the season. It dropped to about 350 gallons after the insert was installed. Right now since Thanksgiving, I've used maybe 125 gallons because of the warm winter.

The Outside Air Kit will help a lot. You can pull the air down through the chimney with a modification to the chimney cap...no need to have a mason involved. The dealer cam came out and installed mine for less than $200.

Enjoy your insert -- especially as oil continues to rise!
 
My stove was ordered and paid for in November 2011, installed in late December 2011, and has a maufacture date of December 2011.

It was DOA - due to damaged wires for the auger motor sensor. So, getting an extremely "fresh" unit might not be all it's cracked up to be...
 
oldmountvernon said:
j-takeman said:
smoke show said:
Don't mind OMV, he's spoiled... :lol:

That would be an understatement!!! More like spoiled rotten little brat! :cheese:

OMV what year stove did you get?

it was dated 1 month prior then my purchase date my dealer blows them out though he is sold out on deliverys within a week or so

Thats kind of rare. Most dealers get them from a warehouse/distributer. Because most warehouses and distributers usually do the first in first out thing. We usually see older units hitting the market first. I still see some 08 models on show room floors. Being sold as new. Dealer don't usually get a choice in what they get in. Or do they discount for an aged unit. To them is brand spanking new!
 
oldmountvernon said:
John97 said:
My stove was ordered and paid for in November 2011, installed in late December 2011, and has a maufacture date of December 2011.

It was DOA - due to damaged wires for the auger motor sensor. So, getting an extremely "fresh" unit might not be all it's cracked up to be...


when you buy a new car, you wont pay full price for a leftover right? ;-P

I prefer certified-used. I like the extra warranty and the extra cash in my pocket.
 
John97 said:
oldmountvernon said:
John97 said:
My stove was ordered and paid for in November 2011, installed in late December 2011, and has a maufacture date of December 2011.

It was DOA - due to damaged wires for the auger motor sensor. So, getting an extremely "fresh" unit might not be all it's cracked up to be...


when you buy a new car, you wont pay full price for a leftover right? ;-P

I prefer certified-used. I like the extra warranty and the extra cash in my pocket.

I do as well. I saved a boat load on my Fusion. Still new to me! :cheese:
 
oldmountvernon said:
j-takeman said:
John97 said:
oldmountvernon said:
John97 said:
My stove was ordered and paid for in November 2011, installed in late December 2011, and has a maufacture date of December 2011.

It was DOA - due to damaged wires for the auger motor sensor. So, getting an extremely "fresh" unit might not be all it's cracked up to be...


when you buy a new car, you wont pay full price for a leftover right? ;-P

I prefer certified-used. I like the extra warranty and the extra cash in my pocket.

I do as well. I saved a boat load on my Fusion. Still new to me! :cheese:

exactly my point you get a better deal and pay less not full retail arggg zzzzzzzzzzzz

Maybe they need to put odometer's on pellet stoves?
 
j-takeman said:
John97 said:
oldmountvernon said:
John97 said:
My stove was ordered and paid for in November 2011, installed in late December 2011, and has a maufacture date of December 2011.

It was DOA - due to damaged wires for the auger motor sensor. So, getting an extremely "fresh" unit might not be all it's cracked up to be...


when you buy a new car, you wont pay full price for a leftover right? ;-P

I prefer certified-used. I like the extra warranty and the extra cash in my pocket.

I do as well. I saved a boat load on my Fusion. Still new to me! :cheese:

Saved a boat load on the Fusion and bought a boat!!!
 
thats why i bought the display gc60 at my dealer 800.00 dollars off, and full manufacturer warrannty.
 
Tweed said:
The metal label says that is was made Feb 2009. The shop had said that Quad had called back all of the older units and replaced parts/boards when I asked about the early problems with the line. I thought that the Willow color was relatively new. maybe they stock the stove and the colored parts separately.

Willow is now a discontinued color. Your unit was probably made in 2009, but didn't ship to the dealer till later on. If it needed any updates, they would do it before it left the factory. I think they had too many Willow units on hand from 2009 production and just sold them till they ran out. Sienna Bronze and Mahogany sell a lot better. As far as most of the problems go, they were mostly in 2006-2008.

These are a really nice insert and i'm sure that you'll love it.
 
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