Alternative to Local Pellet Stove Gougers???

Follow the manual and install it yourself

NNBF said:

Need to purchase pellet stove ASAP. Visited Tri-County Air and Patio in Southern Maryland for the first time this weekend and felt they were condescending to their customers. It's also hard for me to believe they want $1000 plus $600 to install a SS liner in a chimney. They sure act as though they are the only game in town. Also, they'll tell you smugly that even if you purchase a unit today you'll have to wait till the next month to have it installed.

I'd like to know what, if any of you went out and purchased a unit from the Internet and had it installed. Can you tell how you went about this as I'm not mechanically inclined whatsoever? Who did you pay to have it installed? Did you save money? Was it worth it? Or, too painful. I'd surely live to beat them at their smug game that they lay on their customers. Essentially berating them for "waiting so long to order" and "wanting it installed now."

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I suggest you do a bit of research on local installers of pellet stove before you buy a stove and have them install it.

You may just discover that there are very few that are both good at what they do and that handle the stove you want them to install. Nothing quite like giving someone a highly complex stove to assemble and install and finding out you are the very first person they have ever installed that stove for.

What you ran into isn't unusual. Vote with your feet, but remember people that are not mechanically inclined still have to operate and keep the stove clean. They do not clean themselves and need regular cleaning.

I didn't buy the parts piecemeal over the Internet and found one dealer who wasn't bad to deal with and several who I wouldn't give the time of day to. But even then the delivery and installation was on the dealer's terms, this was in 2008 when they were back ordered on just about anything they sold and were installing as fast as the stoves arrived. I had my pellets long before the stove.

Good luck and do a lot of reading here, there is a ton of information.

Depending on the unit (insert vs freestanding) the hardest part, is putting a hole in the eall. If you take a lot of pics and ask a lot of questions, along with giving us the needed info, it can be done rather quickly and easily.

Not from your area, so I can't comment on dealers and installers. But what units were you looking at?? And how are you looking to vent it? Straight out (Direct vent models that appl), Out and Up, Up and Out, or Straight up through the roof and/or chimney if its an insert.

NNBF said:

I'm not mechanically inclined whatsoever?

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I feel you will be better off finding a good dealer with good after sales support.

I agree with Smokey! I'm sure they aren't the only guy in town. I think if I were you, I would slow down and develop a plan. It may not happen this heating season, think it out and do it right once. By your own admission you are not mechanically inclined, so I think I would have a competent installer do the job.

Tom C.

There was a place in or near Fallston MD. that I got some parts from. They treated me great and explained a lot about pellet stoves to me.

OK...................sooooo you did wait till the height of the busy season and did you say you wanted it now? What makes you so special?

I'm going to also remind the OP that pellet stoves are small space heaters and service people will not treat them the same as a sole source of heat so you need to understand that if your intent is to completely replace your current heating system with a pellet stove you had better be prepared to have your own supply of spare parts on hand and know how to do the work yourself.

Yes some of us here do use them to heat the entire house (some even do so from their basements), however most of us also tend to be hands on types and just a bit different from the call the repair person types.

None of this absolves any dealer from being rude.

Just putting all of the shoes on the pony.

NNBF said:

Need to purchase pellet stove ASAP. Visited Tri-County Air and Patio in Southern Maryland for the first time this weekend and felt they were condescending to their customers. It's also hard for me to believe they want $1000 plus $600 to install a SS liner in a chimney. They sure act as though they are the only game in town. Also, they'll tell you smugly that even if you purchase a unit today you'll have to wait till the next month to have it installed.

I'd like to know what, if any of you went out and purchased a unit from the Internet and had it installed. Can you tell how you went about this as I'm not mechanically inclined whatsoever? Who did you pay to have it installed? Did you save money? Was it worth it? Or, too painful. I'd surely live to beat them at their smug game that they lay on their customers. Essentially berating them for "waiting so long to order" and "wanting it installed now."

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are they asking for a grand for the liner? and 6 bills to install it???


or is it a grand for the stove and 600 for the installed liner?
if its 1600 for stove installed with liner up the flue thats pretty reasonable IMHO. but if they want 1600 for the liner and installation PLUS whatever for the stove i'd say thats pretty high.

as for timing it should be noted that the autumn through the first half of winter is usually the flat out busiest time of year for hearth retailers and installers. its not uncommon for them to be booked out for a few weeks or more.

Are there dealers in neighboring towns? Maybe check with a local chimney sweep company and see if they do installs or know of folks that would install a stove you purchased yourself? None of the work is terribly difficult, it just takes common sense and not taking shortcuts that would make the building inspector or insurance company upset wiith you.

Unfortunately you're less likely to find as good a deal this time of year, just like you wont find snowblowers on sale the day before a blizzard hits.

humpin iron said:

OK...................sooooo you did wait till the height of the busy season and did you say you wanted it now? What makes you so special?

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X2
"A" Freakin Men!

Catch that same dealer come mid summer when he's slow, You might get a slightly better deal. But now?

$1K for the liner and $600 to installing the stove isn't all that bad. Liner itself is around $600. He needs to block both the top and the damper. Some dampers are a PITA to remove! SO he'll expect to maybe break even on that one. He'll make a couple of bucks on the install. But not all that much really!

You could do what we do? Install it yourself. You can buy everything needed from the net. But you'll get dirty and many cuts/bruises. Every stinking piece of these things will cut you. Get lots of band aids!

j-takeman said:

You could do what we do? Install it yourself. You can buy everything needed from the net. But you'll get dirty and many cuts/bruises. Every stinking piece of these things will cut you. Get lots of band aids!

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lol I can't tell if you're trying to encourage him or scare him away!!

+1 on doing it yourself. A little bit of pre-planning and research, a buddy or two and a couple beers on a Saturday and you've got some good economical heat.

j-takeman said:

Snip .... But you'll get dirty and many cuts/bruises. Every stinking piece of these things will cut you. Get lots of band aids!

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Come on down contestant number one.

Today our contestants are going to bid on a nice shiny new Wecutyoumetal pellet stove the stove of your dreams, it features plenty of really hot features the first being an incredible 75,000 BTU's/hour from burning 1/2 pound of Unobtainium brand super duper premium pellets per hour, the second is the immense hopper holding a full trailer load of pellets (radiation shielding sold separately, be sure to wear your dosimeter at all times).

Our contestants don't know it yet but they are going to install it themselves, six thousand members of hearth.com are going to advise and deliver full color commentary.

SmokeyTheBear said:

j-takeman said:

Snip .... But you'll get dirty and many cuts/bruises. Every stinking piece of these things will cut you. Get lots of band aids!

Click to expand...

Come on down contestant number one.

Today our contestants are going to bid on a nice shiny new Wecutyoumetal pellet stove the stove of your dreams, it features plenty of really hot features the first being an incredible 75,000 BTU's/hour from burning 1/2 pound of Unobtainium brand super duper premium pellets per hour, the second is the immense hopper holding a full trailer load of pellets (radiation shielding sold separately, be sure to wear your dosimeter at all times).

Our contestants don't know it yet but they are going to install it themselves, six thousand members of hearth.com are going to advise and deliver full color commentary.

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Can we show bloody pictures on here?

I bought my Ecoteck on the internet, got a great price, free shipping, and no sales tax. Bought the flue parts on the internet too, best prices to be had (versus local dealers). I am very handy, did lots of research and reading, installed it myself, and saved a bundle. Downside is that my warrantee may be void, as the install must be performed by an authorized Ecotech dealer. No biggie for me, as I service everything myself anyway, and I am sure the money I saved can buy lots of replacement parts if something fails.

If you are not handy, the install of something fire-safety-critical like this is best left to the professional dealers......but you will pay $$$.

NNBF said:

Need to purchase pellet stove ASAP. Visited Tri-County Air and Patio in Southern Maryland for the first time this weekend and felt they were condescending to their customers. It's also hard for me to believe they want $1000 plus $600 to install a SS liner in a chimney. They sure act as though they are the only game in town. Also, they'll tell you smugly that even if you purchase a unit today you'll have to wait till the next month to have it installed.

I'd like to know what, if any of you went out and purchased a unit from the Internet and had it installed. Can you tell how you went about this as I'm not mechanically inclined whatsoever? Who did you pay to have it installed? Did you save money? Was it worth it? Or, too painful. I'd surely live to beat them at their smug game that they lay on their customers. Essentially berating them for "waiting so long to order" and "wanting it installed now."

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I'm sure there are other installers in your area. Try this website....put your zip code in and it will give a list of local installers. Have 2 or 3 give you estimates:

www.nwdinc.com/installers.php


And maybe try these people for a stove, if they have any left in stock. The refurbished are some of the best deals you'll see, and they come w/ full manufacturers warranty, and free shipping:

www.amfmenergy.com/index.html

The best advice I can give is to shop around and research. I don't want to install it myself. The net result of my shopping efforts is that I got a quote for a Quadrafire Mt. Vernon AE installed for the same price another dealer quoted me for a smaller Harman Accentra. The one dealer charged so much more for the installation than the other, and my net result is a bigger unit that should do a better job for me. I'll know in 9 days.

BrotherBart said:

I doubt the OP will be back. But without knowing what the $1,000 and $600 are for we can't tell he/she anything anyway. They posted the same thing verbatim on a local board in Maryland this morning and got advice about local dealers and commiseration about the named dealer.

Methinks this was a rant more than a request for info.

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Some people think that if they pay the same retail price that everyone else pays, they are somehow getting screwed. Furthermore, This "Toolbox's" failure to adequatley plan for himself does not necessarily constitute an emergency on the retailer's and installer's part to allow pretty boy here to cut the line and get ahead of all of the others who planned better than he did. Ya know, If he put in half the amount of effort to plan for himself as he does to rant, he probably would already have his stove and instead he could be posting on here how much he hates his Inferno or NEWP pellets that he found a "deal on" rather than calling this stove shop names.
FYI....I too am wearing a smug smile on my face.

NNBF said:

Need to purchase pellet stove ASAP. Visited Tri-County Air and Patio in Southern Maryland for the first time this weekend and felt they were condescending to their customers. It's also hard for me to believe they want $1000 plus $600 to install a SS liner in a chimney. They sure act as though they are the only game in town. Also, they'll tell you smugly that even if you purchase a unit today you'll have to wait till the next month to have it installed.

I'd like to know what, if any of you went out and purchased a unit from the Internet and had it installed. Can you tell how you went about this as I'm not mechanically inclined whatsoever? Who did you pay to have it installed? Did you save money? Was it worth it? Or, too painful. I'd surely live to beat them at their smug game that they lay on their customers. Essentially berating them for "waiting so long to order" and "wanting it installed now."

Click to expand...

Try True Value in LaPlata. That's where I got my insert. By the way why do you need a stove ASAP?

I had been shopping around, went to the 4th dealer during my quest and got a price quote on 11/17, kicked it over, discussed things with the wife, and decided to go with it. I went back to the dealer on 11/29 and made the down-payment to get things moving. They gave me the last installation opening they had (12/22) before Christmas. I was told they have 3 crews doing installs and they are booked well into January.

I think that is going to be the reality with whoever you go with. But I would definitely shop around for prices. I am paying $400 for the liner, and $650 for the installation labor, and that is including installation of an OAK.

Good luck.

Unfortunately, the place the OP went is one of the only games in that area and they have some affiliation with the local distributor for many brands of hearth and patio products. If he goes to another shop up the street a few miles they won't even let him buy a stove and install it himself--they only do combined deals last I checked. If he doesn't want to do it himself, he needs to check some of the chimney sweeps.