Buying Jotul Rockland from Preston, CT

[Jotul_Rockland]

Hi,


I'm thinking about buying a Jotul Rockland woodburning fireplace to fit in my existing fireplace. The prices of stove + SS chimney liner + installation from my local companies is about $4700 while Preston trading post's comparable price is about $3900. I'm taking a calculated risk that the Wood burning insert is not going to have many issues.

I live in Norwalk CT. Please let me know your thoughts.


Also - I need to buy a metal bucket to drop my ashes and an infrared thermometer. What products are advicible?

Thanks

 

[begreen]

That is a nice insert, it should provide years of good service. The folks at Preston will do you well.

I use a simple, small galvanized garbage can for ashes. IR thermometers for the auto industry are rugged and fairly priced. Just be sure you get one that reads up to about 1000 °F. Search here for several threads on IR thermometers for links to where to buy.

 

[woodheat]

We purchased our Rockland from Preston Trading A couple years ago when the stove first came out. Definitely a learning curve burning the stove as far as where to read the stove temp and to get a longer burn time. I don't think anyone on this site has gotten any more than 8 hours of usable heat out of it in one load and running the blower is a must. If you end up getting it, there is a long thread on here with many user experiences and tips, be sure to search it out. As far as Preston goes, we had no problem at all with them, they were excellent. I did have one of the thin cast iron pieces on the bottom of the surround break when I was tightening the bolt that hold the two pieces together. I called Preston and they had a new piece sent directly to my house no questions asked. We paid $2601 including shipping and taxes for our stove in Jan 2008 (not including install, Preston does not install stoves at the time we got ours, only sells them)

 

[labrador]

I have had a rockland since August 2008. It is a fantastic insert which many on this site have. Go to Jotul c550 Rockland tips thread, and be ready to do a lot of reading. there are 13 pages of information just on that unit. I am very happy with it and so is the wife (very important) she has learned to run it, and so are dog and cats. It heats the upstairs very efficiently, large room is 900 sq. ft. and the bedroom at the end of a long hallway. I don't think you can do any better than Preston. Let us all know what you finally end up with. Labrador

 

[staplebox]

My only input is that I live a few miles from the Preston Trading Post and they have a good reputation around here. I have only bought/ordered parts from them but they were fine. Also, I use a 5 gallon galvanized garbage can (with lid) that I bought at the Ace Hardware. Don't remember how much but it works well, haven't thought about getting anything else. I bought a Gen-Tech IR thermometer from Harbor Freight that works fairly well. It may be off 10-30 degrees but it's close enough. Don't forget a moisture meter if you're high tech.

 

[gibson]

You can not go wrong with Preston Trading Post. Best prices and best service around, in my opinion. Give them your business, I did.

 

[Jotul_Rockland]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the feedback about Preston.

If something goes wrong with my Rockland, does Preston fix it or Jotul does? ( Risk of having the dealer too far from me). Preston is about 100 Miles from Norwalk.

What kinda risks am I taking? I'm guessing it is acceptable because of the 1K cost differential.

 

[Jotul_Rockland]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I've been using the Rockland insert for 15 days. It works great. Preston trading place is good to do business with. The installer ( Jeff Decker) was very good. I had no problems.

 

[labrador]

Good luck with your Rockland. Send us some pics. Any questions there are enough 550 owners to help you . Welcome to the web.

 

[spencer186]

Good to hear you had a good experience with Preston. I'm heading there from Long Island as soon as they get them back in stock. Almost $400 cheaper than the best dealer on LI just for the stove.