The Truth...even if it hurts.

[commissarhanish]

Hi guys and gals. Ive been looking through this forum and Ive posted a few times since I began my odyssey for a pellet stove last spring.
Needless to say Im here for advice once again.

In mid May, I put my $3,000 down here in Bangor at a large stove shop in town for an Enviro mini/installation/and the large amount of pipe Id need to get the stove in. Throughout the summer I got NO calls from the store updating me on the status of my order. Any info I got was intiated by me. The delivery date kept being pushed back and is now said to be sometime in October. Ive about given up hope frankly and am pretty disgusted with the customer service regardless. I know this is and was an extraordinary year for orders and production..but Ive come to the experts..

Should I..pull my order on Nov 1st if no stove at that point, and use the money to buy a larger stove at a different dealer for next heating season?
..wait and see if the stove comes in in the middle of winter (they will have a bear of a time installing it on my 3 story roof in the snow)
...pull my order and give up on pellet stoves and switch to more available wood stoves?

This dealer is having problems filling many orders of people who ordered in May (I know because Ive spoken to friends of friends in the same boat as me).
Is this common for buyers of Envrio who ordered in May, or is it just this dealer?

 

[firewarrior820]

have you checked out getting a stove on line and subing out the install?

 

[commissarhanish]

Not at this point.

How easy is it to get a install from a place where you didnt buy the stove...especially this year?

 

[Shortstuff]

Being from MA I haven't got a clue what is available in your area as far as pellet stove stores/brands, independent installers who will guarantee their work, etc. But if I were you I'd already be making lots of phone calls and doing online searches for any and all pellet stove dealers in your area. I'm guessing that there must be more than a few in and around Bangor who actually have stoves in stock and ready to assist you. Even though you may not find the exact stove you want, there are other quality brands that are equal to what you had already ordered.

It's been an unfortunate time for so many people like yourself who have purchased early but have fallen victim to the overwhelming surge in demand for both stoves and pellets.

Best of luck and I hope you get what you need soon.

Steve

 

[90durham]

This must be an issue with your dealer, local shop has had no issues with Enviro deliveries and when I was shopping 2 months ago the 3 shops I called could give me install dates within a month for an Empress. My brother ordered the same stove as you and had it installed within 3 weeks.
Maybe the shop owners around here are better at forecasting but sounds like your shop is giving the run around after getting your cash.

 

[CygnusX1]

Get your money back and find another shop.

Although demand is high for pellet stoves, with oil prices going through the roof, 4 months is too long of a wait.

My friend ordered an Empress in early August and is having it installed this week.

 

[slls]

I bailed on that place after 2 weeks, full price up front, story changing, then lies. Received full refund and moved on.

 

[gw2kpro]

I know this place. I went in there last year trying to get a look at the stoves they sold, what their prices were, etc.

I was in there 45 minutes and couldn't get as much as a hello, it was obvious I was bothering them by coming into their store.

I ended up buying online and had a local chimney sweep install my stove. Saved about $1500 that way. Might have even been the same guy the stove shop contracts to do their installs, I'm not sure. There are a lot of people in the yellow pages that can install pellet stoves.

Bought my second stove online as well (an enviro mini), and installed it myself. I know that I'm on my own for service both before and after the warranty runs out, I would have been anyway had I chose to buy a stove from someone who didn't have enough time to show me what they had.

If you buy from a local dealer, you are paying their markup. What you get out of paying that markup is having the service of a local dealer. If they can't be up front and give you the time of day BEFORE THE SALE, what kind of service will you get after the install and why would you pay their markup?

 

[bungalobob]

I can't get get past the point of putting $3000.00 down up front. That's alot of cash to put up and have that long a wait for delivery. I would never put that much up front. If the place went belly up, you could possibly be in some serious trouble trying to get it back. I only had to put down a couple of hundred for a $3500.00 Harmon. Get the money back and look elsewhere, or, like you're thinking, wait till next year if nothing of a good quality is available. Good Luck.

 

[peterpski666]

The guy in Winslow had some nice stoves if he has any left (and if he will drive to Bangor to install, well there ya go). Install isnt that hard unless you have some wierdness in your layout, if I can do it and not make an explosion, well, its a piece of cake.

 

[Duetech]

Contact the manufacturer and see if an order has been placed and call the Better Business Bureau in your area to see if these guys have a history of complaints. I'm not as patient as you. I'd have my money back and a stove by someone who appreciates my business. By November (usually early Oct.) the usual winter rush will be in full swing and the options you will have will be next to non-existent. Best to you...Cave2k

 

[mnoack]

I know this place. I went in there last year trying to get a look at the stoves they sold, what their prices were, etc.

I was in there 45 minutes and couldn't get as much as a hello, it was obvious I was bothering them by coming into their store.

I ended up buying online and had a local chimney sweep install my stove. Saved about $1500 that way. Might have even been the same guy the stove shop contracts to do their installs, I'm not sure. There are a lot of people in the yellow pages that can install pellet stoves.

Bought my second stove online as well (an enviro mini), and installed it myself. I know that I'm on my own for service both before and after the warranty runs out, I would have been anyway had I chose to buy a stove from someone who didn't have enough time to show me what they had.

If you buy from a local dealer, you are paying their markup. What you get out of paying that markup is having the service of a local dealer. If they can't be up front and give you the time of day BEFORE THE SALE, what kind of service will you get after the install and why would you pay their markup?

This wouldn't be the store that owns the one in yarmouth (was in Falmouth last year), as well. If so your on your own anyway. After sale service is non-existent. Speaking of which, can anyone tell me how to remove the auger motor on the empress?

 

[mjbrown]

get your money back and check out the englanders from lowes and homedepot. the lowes brand will be the summers heat, same as the englander. my folks just bought one and love it.

mike

 

[webbie]

Heating oil is now cheaper than pellets in most places in Maine. Maybe you should get your money back and use it for oil - and wait until the spring and you think further about it. Better not to buy during a run. Also, I would not suggest you buy a big box stove unless that is what you want - bare bones. Englander has a newer model which has vastly more features - somewhere about $2300.

But unless you are comfortable installing and fixing your own stove, best not to buy online, etc.

 

[rap69ri]

Heating oil is now cheaper than pellets in most places in Maine. Maybe you should get your money back and use it for oil - and wait until the spring and you think further about it. Better not to buy during a run. Also, I would not suggest you buy a big box stove unless that is what you want - bare bones. Englander has a newer model which has vastly more features - somewhere about $2300.

But unless you are comfortable installing and fixing your own stove, best not to buy online, etc.

Ditto what Craig said. If I had to buy pellets now I would not, oil here is $2.20/gal COD and pellets are anywhere from $300 to $335 a ton. Even though I paid $224/ton in March, it's getting close to the point where oil will be cheaper to burn, not as pretty but cheaper.