Trying to buy first pellet stove. Please help!

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Tahdi

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Sep 2, 2014
13
RI
I've done a bunch of searches, need an educated guess. I want to have a pellet insert installed. The house is 2 stories with 9 foot ceiling and a short crawl space up top. I don't know the exact chimney length. Installers seem to hide that number like a C.I.A. secret. I'm guessing about 33' - 37'. Could be off by a few. :) What should the piping and pellet stove install run? I'm sure I haven't provided enough info. Sorry, I'm a noob to this. The guy that gave me a quote wanted over half the cost of their wood stove cost for the pipe install alone. No hooking up the stove, no fresh air intake, no bringing the stove in the house. Any thoughts on a price range would be huge, and appreciated. I am trying to help a friend/disabled Vet. stay warm. Please feel free to jump all over me for not giving enough info. That's the only way I'll get to know the details. Thanks in advance.
 
Since you are having an insert installed, the installers will have to run a liner all the way up the chimney which will add cost. If your friend is disabled, will he be able to load the stove? How many sqft is the house? Do you have a particular stove in mind?
 
Theres been a couple threads very recent about insert install with prices if you use search feature in the upper right you may get some answers on your own but I am sure others will soon chime in. Good luck
 
Tahdi said:
I'm guessing about 33' - 37'. Could be off by a few. :) What should the piping and pellet stove install run?.
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With that long of a run it would be 4" vent pipe. While you are looking into stoves you should make sure they can handle 37'+/- of exhaust. You also may want to look into venting it out the back of the chimney so you won't have to run all the way to the top of the chimney. Not 100% sure it would be less expensive but worth looking into.
 
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Anything over 35 will cost more as the kit are usually sold i n 35 and 40 foot lengths, so36 feet would be +/- 150 more than 35,

As for pricing we charge 450 to 540 labor, plus parts at 400ish depending on variables.

This price includes delivery and set up and testfire also a mini training season and testing thermostat, we take our time and do it right. We could charge less if we wanted to just knock em out, but the extra time makes a difference with keeping happy customers. Know one wants to feel like you abandoned them a after they hand over a few grand
 
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Tahdi said:
I've done a bunch of searches, need an educated guess. I want to have a pellet insert installed. The house is 2 stories with 9 foot ceiling and a short crawl space up top. I don't know the exact chimney length. Installers seem to hide that number like a C.I.A. secret. I'm guessing about 33' - 37'. Could be off by a few. :) What should the piping and pellet stove install run? I'm sure I haven't provided enough info. Sorry, I'm a noob to this. The guy that gave me a quote wanted over half the cost of their wood stove cost for the pipe install alone. No hooking up the stove, no fresh air intake, no bringing the stove in the house. Any thoughts on a price range would be huge, and appreciated. I am trying to help a friend/disabled Vet. stay warm. Please feel free to jump all over me for not giving enough info. That's the only way I'll get to know the details. Thanks in advance.
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I was quoted 500-600 for whole install - IF I buy the stove from them. They say its much higher if just for install.
Ive seen the liner+install typically around 1000$. There is no negotiating with these guys. They very rarely come down in price for either stove or install. Seems like a 'cabal' to me - they have an unspoken agreement it seems to charge MSRP - no competitive pricing pressure.
 
I've got a St Croix Hastings. It's a free standing stove that's direct vented. My entire exhaust is only 3' long. It exits the wall just behind the stove and stops just on the other side. I paid $5000 which includes the stove, hearth pad, vent pipe and installation.
 
Thanks for your help. I was trying to help them get an insert that will take care of 1800 to 2000 sq. feet. The living quarters are less than that. I will be the one helping her load the stove. That's what neighbors do. I plan to keep a bucket with pellets that she can load a scoop at a time. I'm really looking for a guess on install costs.
 
I rec'd a quote from a Harman dealer today for a 35i. With for the stove, surround, liner, cap, top plate and connector installed. It's 3930.41 And they are giving 1 bag of pellets and a free cleaning. They also include 2 years of no questions warranty and replacement of parts. Does this seem like a decent deal?
 
Tahdi said:
I rec'd a quote from a Harman dealer today for a 35i. With for the stove, surround, liner, cap, top plate and connector installed. It's 3930.41 And they are giving 1 bag of pellets and a free cleaning. They also include 2 years of no questions warranty and replacement of parts. Does this seem like a decent deal?
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Thats not bad...stove is around 3k - so install + liner + taxes for below 1k is good...
But I dont think 35i is enough to heat 2000sft - Im not speaking from experience - still shopping myself - so cant be so sure.
 
For what it's worth... I have the Harman 52i which was installed just before the winter really kicked into high gear - my house is 2,300 sq. ft. and it was just the perfect size. EXCEPT when the extreme and very rare -3 to -7 F. mornings showed up with daytime highs around 5 to 10 F, the upstairs struggled to maintain 60 degrees. But since we don't normally have weather like that here, the 52i should be more than enough for your sized house. If you have a few extra bucks, go for the better pellets too! (I have electric baseboard heat, so I burn 24/7 to avoid using my electric heat at all costs!!) :O
 
hwdemers said:
It's not about charging Msrp it's about staying open. Margins in this business are brutal
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I dont know margins for stoves, but for almost every other item, eg cars, there's a huge cushion between dealer price and MSRP. I cant remember the last time I paid MSRP for anything.
 
My house is 2400 sqft but my stove only heats our upper level where the stove is located. I typically burn 3 1/2 tons of pellets in a year. The only time last year we used our oil heat was when we went away and noone was around to keep the stove filled.
 
derbydude said:
I don't know the exact chimney length. Installers seem to hide that number like a C.I.A. secre
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this is most likely because they do not know the answer. after you have done a few hundred installs nearly all the same, you can take a pretty good guess how much is needed, i.e. in your case a 35 foot kit, if they are smart they show up with more parts than necessary and make it work. for us we always stick to our original price, and if we are wrong that's on us, some times you win some times you lose , but it all works out at the end of the day
 
depending on how much you want to spend and based on your square footage I would personally go with the Harman 52i. I say this because I do not think as stated above that the 35i will be big enough for 2000 square feet. I went with a free standing Harman XXV for my upstairs in my raised ranch. I have 1350 square feet but half of that is cethedral ceilings so its more like I am heating 1800 square feet. Sure it was probably overkill for my house but its better to have overkill than need more IMO.

The install of my Harman XXV, hearth pad, 3 FREE tons of pellets, piping and delivery out the door was $4800
 
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derbydude said:
I dont know margins for stoves, but for almost every other item, eg cars, there's a huge cushion between dealer price and MSRP. I cant remember the last time I paid MSRP for anything.
Click to expand...
I don't know the name for it... but there are products out there which are sold at basically a 'set' price - and everyone sells it is within a few bucks of the other! Example - I fly planes - if you want a Bose Aviation headset, it will cost you $1,000 (+/- $5-$10)! You will never see them for $985 or less... nor $1,025 or more. Harman products are the same type of thing. Sure, a stove shop may throw in a free bag or 2 of pellets... or give you a few bucks off an install... but the stoves will be as advertised on their website so virtually NO wiggle room!
 
Well thought I would share some real numbers. Today on of our crew installed at m55 steel grand total 3900. With venting and labor and c.o.g.s. it expenses were 3642. Plus credit cars prossesing fees. We quotes it so we had to do it.

That hurts. That's why we do not give discounts
 
hwdemers said:
Well thought I would share some real numbers. Today on of our crew installed at m55 steel grand total 3900. With venting and labor and c.o.g.s. it expenses were 3642. Plus credit cars prossesing fees. We quotes it so we had to do it.

That hurts. That's why we do not give discounts
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An M55 for 3900 including install? Wow!
For real?
I was quoted 4300 just for the unit - (500 discount from Enviro makes 3800)
 
Boomer Sailor said:
I don't know the name for it... but there are products out there which are sold at basically a 'set' price - and everyone sells it is within a few bucks of the other! Example - I fly planes - if you want a Bose Aviation headset, it will cost you $1,000 (+/- $5-$10)! You will never see them for $985 or less... nor $1,025 or more. Harman products are the same type of thing. Sure, a stove shop may throw in a free bag or 2 of pellets... or give you a few bucks off an install... but the stoves will be as advertised on their website so virtually NO wiggle room!
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Far as I can tell, units go for below 2 grand out of the factory. But you add things up - surround, liner, install all at inflated prices - and the final customer bill comes close to 5Gs.
That to me seems excessive. And funny thing is, I don't see any interest in them wanting to close a sale - I rarely get follow up calls, I'm the one hounding them - they seem to be "take it or leave it". If what you say about low margins is true, I'd at least follow up a potential customer to close a sale since number of sales matter.
 
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