Too late for stove deals?

[gbreda]

Hi all

I was on this site (lurking) last season when oil went through the roof. Great informtion here and many of my questions have already been answered. Finally have registered to post and I am sure that I will have more questions in the future.

This year, I was unable to do anything during the real early sales that may have been around.

Now with the govt IRS rebate, dealers are not budging much (if any). I have one outright tell me "we have no incentive to lower our price now". Dont want to go off down that road right now.

I am in the market for an Enviro Maxx or Harman P68 for an 1800 sf cape and am interested in heat, not looks at this time. I am leaning towards the P68 from reputation and all that I have read on these units here. I have found a dealer that will move a few hundred dollars in NH. No other dealer will consider moving in price.

Is that the best that I can expect right now or will there be last minute (Labor Day?) sales coming......want to act soon.

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[gbreda]

call other dealers & tell em the best price to beat

True and that may be the case if I go with the Enviro as I did get a price 150.00 cheaper than "Mr No Incentive". But the Harmon dealer that is willing to move 250 on price has a good reputation, fairly local to me, and has been around the longest as well.

Probaby time to act before that goes away too

 

[stoveguy2esw]

one thing to factor is actually the credit , unlike the auto deal where its a fixed amount , the amount claimed on the tax credit for the stove is a percentage , which actually can make a difference, look at one of our stoves (ESW, versus a high end like the dell point europa (i cant believe im doing this by the way) our high end model sells at about 2200 bucks "ish", take 30% from that $660 bucks, now the europa is over twice the cost initially im thinking they run about 5 grand ish but not sure exactly rebate would be 1500 bucks so looking at the pair you are looking at if you do the math , as close as they may be the difference between the higher and lower may be offset by the tax credit.


that said , its not likely that a major deal will be found in august unless a dealer has stock cooming in that he doesnt have room for (doubtful after last season) , my advice is to learn about the dealers themselves ie. reliability in backing the product for warranty service , proximity to you in case you need them. the actual warranty on the product , how it will look in the home, features you like etc. the reason im working the dealer angle and not the stoves is simple, you have selected 2 excellent products, im sure either one will suit your needs. the decision maker in my mind between them if similarly priced is going to be which dealer do you feel more comfortable with. as i say a lot , when you buy a dealer based product, you are buying the dealer as well as the product. (best thing is if you are close to a dealer who hangs in here, peer pressure is a wonderful thing %-P , not that its needed with this crowd, any dealer who hangs in here helping people will definately be on the job if needed by his customers)

 

[jtakeman]

Don't think the Deals are over yet. I just got a coupon from TSC in the mail. Has 10% off all wood and pellets stoves. I am sure others will follow.

At least the big box stores anyway.

just my 2
jay

 

[CTburning]

How much are you wanting to spend?

 

[summit]

I would say either one would be pretty good for you right now.. the best price should drive your decision right now. We sell Harman and Vista flame.. the VF170 ad the enviro Maxx are the same unit, made by the same company.
We have used a VF170 in our workshop/warehouse for heat in the winter, and it is a very big area, not very insulated at all.. it keeps it all very comfy, and does so with about the same maint and cleaning as the P68..
we have burned a P68 in our shop area for quite some time, and it is equally impressive, but better looking. many people bought one because this thing cranks. Of the two, the VF170 is a more simplistic pellet burning system, with seperate proving switches, and the P68 is a computer board that relies on the esp probe in the exhaust for all information.
The P68 is a very reliable platform, with the only drawbacks being; notoriously short ignitor life, and being a little overly sensitive in shut down and startup up times (i.e. it sometimes takes a long time to shut down, or to start up, but it always does, but these things do occur early/late seaon when using occasionally.) It is kinda like a car that computes alot for you (mercedes, cadillac), and requires dealer specific parts.. overall the parts that drive it have a very long life, but will cost a few $ when wtty runs out.
The VF170 (MAXX) uses a more simple system, and will chew thru a few pellets. this system will require more interaction w/ you (adjusting air intake, more cleaning of the pot), but it will do everything on the same schedule rather than try to compute how the temp is fluctuating, like the p68. Running it on a low/high mode of thermostat operation works best during the cold time of the year, but auto is quick to start and quick to shut down, but it has a big box, and runs faster than the 68 irregardless of the room temp. example; the 68 will run itself at lower rates of feed when there is a small diff in temp to make up, while the maxx runs a whatever you previously set it at.
overall both units have easy cleaning with minimal tools required, large ashpans, and both have a good tolerance for all pellet fuels. the maxx has a bigger hopper, and not a lot of trim/pretty options.. it'll get the job done (like a toyota corolla) while the harman gives a lot of prettier trim, a litle more for options (cruise, ac) but is more of higher end car (if you will.) Now, a buddy of mine told me "All that chrome don't heat your home", but if you can get 'em even or less than in $, you are in a good spot, and should probably leave this to whichever your wife likes best. you won't be dissapointed either way.

 

[gbreda]

Thanks for the replies here. With the tax credit I can get the 2 stoves about $400 apart from each other. Harman obviously more $$ but with a better warranty than Enviro. Plus Harmon has a $200 certificate from Stihl (more power toys for free ) and that brings the difference to $200.

If I have the units installed, the difference closes to $330 ($130 with certificate). Here is another area of concern regarding the 2 primary dealers in the final mix. Nordic Stove in Dover (Enviro) does not do installs, yet they do service. Coming from a service / operations (copier) industry myself, that makes no sense to me. The end result there is a 200.00 higher install fee from a subcontractor over Abundant Life in Chichester installing the Harman.

As I am very mechanical (former auto mechanic) and have no problem taking things apart and repairng them, so installing myself is a consideration to save money. BUT, a carpenter I am not (that was my dad; he is 73 now and lives 1.5 hours from in Mass). Putting a hole in the side of my house is not something I like to think about doing. Also, being completely new to burning inside, it might be a good idea to pick the brains of the people installing.

Still undecided on the install, but I think I am leaning more to the Harman. The Enviro has a huge hopper compared to the Harman (130 lb vs 76 lb) and that wouuld be nice. Has anyone used the Harman hopper extender? 2 plus days of pellets at once is a nice option for the basement.

 

[imacman]

...........If I have the units installed, the difference closes to $330 ($130 with certificate). Here is another area of concern regarding the 2 primary dealers in the final mix. Nordic Stove in Dover (Enviro) does not do installs, yet they do service. Coming from a service / operations (copier) industry myself, that makes no sense to me. The end result there is a 200.00 higher install fee from a subcontractor over Abundant Life in Chichester installing the Harman..........

Try looking at this "Installer Finder" through Zoobler......just input your zip code, and it gives you a list of local installers....you could get 2-3 estimates.....maybe save some $.

www.stovesdirect.com/installers.php