I saved up a little bit of money over the summer and decided to put a wood stove on the hearth in front of my 1950's Heatilator imitation fireplace. This thing is stone faced, all the way to the ceiling, made out of three layers of high carbon steel so tough it breaks drill bits, and it vents into a three walled air cooled chimney through the usual chimney box. The chimney sweep said that everything was in good condition after cleaning and inspecting everything for about 550 bucks including the new chimney cap. The hearth is large, tile on a concrete slab. What has this to do with a dealer, you ask? OK, I will get there eventually.
I went out to a local fireplace store, wanting a Vermont Castings Encore, (I liked the one I had that was actually made by VC 20 years ago, and I was ignorant of the history of the last decade or so, and I had not found this forum yet). So I told the guy what I had, told him what I wanted, and he said that he would order the stove forthwith. I checked back 3 weeks later and was told that he needed the credit card number to order the stove. I was a little peeved at the fact that he had not asked for it on the day we made the deal, but no harm, it was still early October. I gave him the card to run.
He came out to measure everything, told me it would not be a problem to install, and I waited. I got a phone call after a couple of weeks and was told that they could not install it, because VC did not allow the stove to be installed in front of a prefabricated fireplace. The manual says so, but this is not what I would classify as such a fireplace. I used one of those for 6 years in an apartment I rented, and the one in my house is not like those at all. Who am I to argue? I said that if he would sell me the stuff I would take care of it, or I would order a liner kit on line and take care of the lining myself, given that it is a straight shot down from a flat roof through an 8 foot chimney, all clean and shiny and 8 inches in diameter, plus another 4 feet down to the fire box, with a 90 turn out to the stove to be.
He said fine, he could sell me anything I wanted, but he could not install it, according to the rules. Liability you know. I said no problem, the building inspector would be doing the inspecting and my insurance company is happier with an airtight stove instead of an open fireplace anyway.
Four weeks later, he calls and says that he has the stove and the liner kit, and that it will be delivered the next day. I said good, and then he said that they would be dropping it off in the driveway rather than bringing it in to the house, because that is how they did deliveries. I said really? I asked him how he came to the conclusion that I would just take it on my 63 year old self to get my disabled wife to pick up one end, while I picked up the other end of a 500 pound stove to carry it into the house, down two steps and 28 feet across a room to the hearth and pay him $4500 dollars for the privilege? I then assured him that if he had perseverance and a 5 gallon bucket of Vaseline he could put the stove and liner kit in an unlikely storage area.
Needless to say, I am not buying a stove from an idiot, and since VC makes me totally dependent on the dealer I am not at all happy with them either. So I am back looking for a stove of some sort and a reputable dealer to buy it from. I want a top loading, preferably cast iron, catalytic or clean burning other wise stove, and I am looking for suggestions. It needs to heat a space of about 800 square feet, but the room it sits in is cold when the breeze is off Lake Michigan, and colder when it is off North Dakota by way of Minnesota.
I somehow thought it would be easier to spend five grand. I am thinking that the idiot dealer would be happy to find a couple of big guys given what he stood to make on the deal, or actually have one of those nifty stove delivery gadgets that climbs and descends stairs like two out of the three dealers I bought stoves from in the past had.
I went out to a local fireplace store, wanting a Vermont Castings Encore, (I liked the one I had that was actually made by VC 20 years ago, and I was ignorant of the history of the last decade or so, and I had not found this forum yet). So I told the guy what I had, told him what I wanted, and he said that he would order the stove forthwith. I checked back 3 weeks later and was told that he needed the credit card number to order the stove. I was a little peeved at the fact that he had not asked for it on the day we made the deal, but no harm, it was still early October. I gave him the card to run.
He came out to measure everything, told me it would not be a problem to install, and I waited. I got a phone call after a couple of weeks and was told that they could not install it, because VC did not allow the stove to be installed in front of a prefabricated fireplace. The manual says so, but this is not what I would classify as such a fireplace. I used one of those for 6 years in an apartment I rented, and the one in my house is not like those at all. Who am I to argue? I said that if he would sell me the stuff I would take care of it, or I would order a liner kit on line and take care of the lining myself, given that it is a straight shot down from a flat roof through an 8 foot chimney, all clean and shiny and 8 inches in diameter, plus another 4 feet down to the fire box, with a 90 turn out to the stove to be.
He said fine, he could sell me anything I wanted, but he could not install it, according to the rules. Liability you know. I said no problem, the building inspector would be doing the inspecting and my insurance company is happier with an airtight stove instead of an open fireplace anyway.
Four weeks later, he calls and says that he has the stove and the liner kit, and that it will be delivered the next day. I said good, and then he said that they would be dropping it off in the driveway rather than bringing it in to the house, because that is how they did deliveries. I said really? I asked him how he came to the conclusion that I would just take it on my 63 year old self to get my disabled wife to pick up one end, while I picked up the other end of a 500 pound stove to carry it into the house, down two steps and 28 feet across a room to the hearth and pay him $4500 dollars for the privilege? I then assured him that if he had perseverance and a 5 gallon bucket of Vaseline he could put the stove and liner kit in an unlikely storage area.
Needless to say, I am not buying a stove from an idiot, and since VC makes me totally dependent on the dealer I am not at all happy with them either. So I am back looking for a stove of some sort and a reputable dealer to buy it from. I want a top loading, preferably cast iron, catalytic or clean burning other wise stove, and I am looking for suggestions. It needs to heat a space of about 800 square feet, but the room it sits in is cold when the breeze is off Lake Michigan, and colder when it is off North Dakota by way of Minnesota.
I somehow thought it would be easier to spend five grand. I am thinking that the idiot dealer would be happy to find a couple of big guys given what he stood to make on the deal, or actually have one of those nifty stove delivery gadgets that climbs and descends stairs like two out of the three dealers I bought stoves from in the past had.
