The old stove days - Philly Home Show, 87

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webbie

webbie

Seasoned Moderator
Nov 17, 2005
12,165
Western Mass.
Here you can see that the design of one of the Avalon stoves has not changed much over the years!
It's fuzzy because it's a video frame grab from 8mm.
From left to right
VC vigilant on bottom - intrepid door showing on top - regular old resolute in ivory, Upland 107 Rear Vent with side door (This was made when I owned Upland)Avalon and a bit of the "VC Fireplace Insert" showing on the right hand side. The booth had a lot of other stoves, including a Tarm Cutaway and a Jotul #8, etc.
Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 2.35.09 PM.png
 
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I had a fisher grandma bear stove. Very popular then. Not many around now.
Fell into the smoke dragon category.
 
Probably 80% of the booth at that time were smoke dragons....the Avalon was clean, although maybe not even tested yet...and maybe we had a Russo catalytic or other such stuff there.

But by 1987, the original smoke dragons like the Old Mill, Fisher, etc. were not in style any longer. Fuel prices had come down and people were going to style and glass doors, etc.
 
The lineup in the pic reminds me of when I was stove shopping for this house's stove in the summer of 1985.
 
I wonder what a salesmans pitch was back then?
 
My Oslo heats my home said:
I wonder what a salesmans pitch was back then?
Click to expand...

"You better get one of these stoves fast. Heating oil is up to ninety-seven cents a gallon and electricity is up to five cents a KWH!"
 
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Craig's display looks a lot like the one in the store where I bought the big Sierra insert in 1985. It was the first week in August and the store was in a wooden, very old converted gas station. So old it is in the historic register. Which means they could make no changes and could not install air conditioning. It was 95 degrees outside. I stood there for an hour in my three piece suit with one foot up on the stove talking and watching the salesman melt into the floor. I had just moved from Texas. I could stand it. When I first came in the door the price was $1,200. Coming up on closing time and heat stroke for the guy I said "$750 cash right now delivered next week and set on the hearth.". He said "Sold.", took the money and started for the door. Not thinking to ask where I lived. 45 miles from there. ;lol
 
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You had to be a serious woodburner to buy a stove when heating oil was a buck a gallon...

Which is why the stoves started looking much nicer. Not seen is the Jotul #8, one of my favorite stoves. It looked good and was very simple.

Basically, we liked the Uplands....because we made them at the time and they were simple, the Jotuls and the Avalons. All of them were extremely simple to run and service so we could sell hundreds and almost never hear anything except good things from the customers.

We hated the Phila home show, though....lots of time spent standing on our feet. Didn't make a lot (or any) sales right there, maybe a few afterwards...still, it was one of our yearly efforts. We did that and the Burlington NJ county Farm Fair and that was about it.
 
webbie said:
You had to be a serious woodburner to buy a stove when heating oil was a buck a gallon...

Which is why the stoves started looking much nicer. Not seen is the Jotul #8, one of my favorite stoves. It looked good and was very simple.

Basically, we liked the Uplands....because we made them at the time and they were simple, the Jotuls and the Avalons. All of them were extremely simple to run and service so we could sell hundreds and almost never hear anything except good things from the customers.

We hated the Phila home show, though....lots of time spent standing on our feet. Didn't make a lot (or any) sales right there, maybe a few afterwards...still, it was one of our yearly efforts. We did that and the Burlington NJ county Farm Fair and that was about it.
Click to expand...

So what was I when burning wood with heating oil at $.12 per gallon?
 
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For sure. I recall back in the late 50's and early 60's when people would brag that they could heat their homes for a dollar a day in the winter months. Funny that it was not long after that when many put in oil furnaces. Then came the middle 70's and new wood stoves were going in all over the countryside. Some stayed on but many got out. Of those who got out, I always found it was because of the stink of creosote and/or smoke in the house. Dirty stuff it was...
 
Great shot. I like that Upland. It would have been fun to try one out. We had the Resolute instead and loved it.
 
In 1979 we were paying 89-91 cents a gallon for oil and thought the world was about to end. Had we had access to wood even ten years later, we certainly would have seriously considered a wood stove.
 
In 1979 - I was 11 and much more concerned if the dent in my saucer was gonna pound out or not.:);) (that was one heck of a winter around my parts.)
 
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begreen said:
Great shot. I like that Upland. It would have been fun to try one out. We had the Resolute instead and loved it.
Click to expand...

still using Resolute & modded Fisher grand pa. Cost too much to change

cheers
 
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