Dieselhead
Minister of Fire
My cat is at the dealer for warranty, I dropped it off about a month ago. The replacement just shipped from Blaze king a couple days ago my dealer stated the cats were on backorder maybe this was part of the delay.
Why to buy local
- Thread starter Greg67
- Start date
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I still like a local dealer also. I realize I'm outdated but given the choice between telephone, internet, or face to face I almost always choose face to face whenever practical. It's way harder for someone to ignore you or be an arse in person. In fact, I find that many people are far more pleasant and agreeable once you're standing in front of them.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
jetsam
Minister of Fire
BKVP
Minister of Fire
I visited 212 retailer locations this year....thus far. The demographics our industry puts together at great expense are completely in line with my observations. The consumer looking for a wood stove is generally north of 45 years of age. There are of course exceptions, but few in my visits.
In visiting with prospective wood Stove buyers, the “referral by family or friend” greatly outweighs those that “surfed the web”. Surfing seems to take place after someone has made a referral to a specific brand. Then of course when the prospective buyer walks in the door, many more options exist.
Younger customers often go for gas products, the convenience factor. A few go for pellet.
Industry stats are 70% or more are looking for dealer to install, the remainder are cash & carry, contractor installs or buddy with beer installs.
It will be interesting to see over the next 10-20 years how the younger buyers will drive towards self installs or let others handle the installs.
In visiting with prospective wood Stove buyers, the “referral by family or friend” greatly outweighs those that “surfed the web”. Surfing seems to take place after someone has made a referral to a specific brand. Then of course when the prospective buyer walks in the door, many more options exist.
Younger customers often go for gas products, the convenience factor. A few go for pellet.
Industry stats are 70% or more are looking for dealer to install, the remainder are cash & carry, contractor installs or buddy with beer installs.
It will be interesting to see over the next 10-20 years how the younger buyers will drive towards self installs or let others handle the installs.
edyit
Minister of Fire
that's a very interesting observation. out of my circle of friends i would be the oldest at 41. most of us heat with wood. its just more economical than fuel oil is in our area, and its what most of us grew up with. as far as installs go, a few of us are handy enough to build our own hearths and install our own chimneys and stoves. some of us have had pro's come in and do the work for them but that was mostly since they needed to have tiles knocked out of their chimney to fit in insulation and a liner, or since the chimney structure was just so bad it needed major work. most of us dislike pellets, parts wear out, availability of pellets in real cold winters can be tight if if you didn't get enough in the off season, propane an option i guess but i don't think any of us actually looked into that for a stove, a furnace would be the way to go with that in this area IMO.
The subject of who burns wood and why is interesting.
Do you have any idea what percentage of wood burners are still using pre EPA stoves? In my area I'm positive it is the majority of wood burners but the reasons are mostly regional.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
EPA thinks their estimate of 12,000,000 (yes million) pre EPA stoves is somewhat accurate. Truth is no one knows for certain. Heck, there were about 6,000 just in Fairbanks.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Interesting stat's, BK. I suspect the average new BK buyer is over 45, as you state. If you include those buying used stoves, and other options on the cheap, the demographics would skew much younger. Of course, they're not your customers!
I think folks forget that this forum is not a sampling of "average" stove buyers. Millions of stoves deployed in this country, and only a few hundred who spend any amount of recurring time here.
I think folks forget that this forum is not a sampling of "average" stove buyers. Millions of stoves deployed in this country, and only a few hundred who spend any amount of recurring time here.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
lsucet
Minister of Fire
This is a BIG REALITY. In my area is the same. If you tell them that they not suppose to burn the wood they cut two months ago, possibly you are becoming their enemy. But it is true they stay warm the same than us. I will say WAY WAY warmer than me.lol Many of them careless about EPA.
I'll tell you as a younger buyer: I bought mine when I was 29, and I'm in an area where I have to buy my wood. Unfortunately, I'm plagued with the negative stereotype of 'Millenial'. But I will say this. Many of my peers that are in my age group conform to these standards:
1. Larger percentage of Renters vs buyers
- Basically not going to be buying a stove because they can't let alone have the land or storage areas for wood.
2. Work hard and want to play hard (travel to places, spend time with friends etc.)
- Most of us work long hours and when we get home, we are not looking forward to splitting, stacking wood, loading a fireplace, maintaining it, etc. Money spent is usually on experiences and they want instant satisfaction.
3. Most people want 'Smart control and monitoring' of their devices.
- Everyone uses their phones, cameras, computers to monitor their life. Stoves are analog devices in an increasingly digital world. I see more people moving to gas and pellet stoves.
4. Penny-Wise Pound Foolish.
- Will save money on small things like food, happy hours, and cars with better MPG, but can't see the value in a long-term investment, like a stove.
So from my perspective, BK and other stove manufacturers will need to start to transition into a more consumer friendly area by offering additional options like smart-monitoring and controls. Making the process of fire building and maintaining easier (although its pretty easy in my eyes). Offer direct to consumer sales for cost saving measures.
Its tough, because you have a whole generation of people coming up that have severely diverted their interests from their parents generation. The only way to capture the segment that has the ability to purchase a stove is to start offering incentives for them to buy one.
That all being said, I'm happy burning and even with buying my wood per year. I figure I save between $800- $1000 a year in heating costs.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Interesting post. As someone who works in a technical world, I always find satisfaction in things that are decidedly analog and manual, in my home life. Mind-numbing time at the splitter is exactly "what the doctor ordered," after a long day spent on less heart-warming tasks. Just hearing a stove had internet connectivity would likely remove it from my list of candidates, unless there were absolutely no other options.
^^^ Data Logging would be my preference for having internet connectivity. Additionally, I'd love to have automated air control on my stove.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Buy a Blaze King, and you will. But it's old-skool analog automation, via bimetallic clock spring.
Heftiger
Feeling the Heat
I think I can jump in for this conversation.
29
Bought my first BK at 25.
Bought another at 27.
IT field.
I have to agree with some of the sentiments here about my generation. I’m not aware of any of my peers that are even remotely interested in burning wood. For me, the appeal was the ability to be warmer for less money. I wouldn’t say I’m cheap, but I can’t stand throwing money away.
As far as tech is concerned, it might be nice to have the ability to monitor the stove, but in no way would I be happy with a stove controlled by the tech. I had a pellet stove, I got tired of messing with it all the time. The Blaze King takes care of itself, with or without electricity.
As far as buying. I agree with BKVP, the only reason I looked at a Blaze King was off of recommendation from a family member. But after that I immediately started doing internet research. The BK website and Hearth.com were huge resources. My first BK was sourced locally and did the install. My second BK I sourced my stove from a dealer that was willing to work with me on price and let me pick it up.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
29
Bought my first BK at 25.
Bought another at 27.
IT field.
I have to agree with some of the sentiments here about my generation. I’m not aware of any of my peers that are even remotely interested in burning wood. For me, the appeal was the ability to be warmer for less money. I wouldn’t say I’m cheap, but I can’t stand throwing money away.
As far as tech is concerned, it might be nice to have the ability to monitor the stove, but in no way would I be happy with a stove controlled by the tech. I had a pellet stove, I got tired of messing with it all the time. The Blaze King takes care of itself, with or without electricity.
As far as buying. I agree with BKVP, the only reason I looked at a Blaze King was off of recommendation from a family member. But after that I immediately started doing internet research. The BK website and Hearth.com were huge resources. My first BK was sourced locally and did the install. My second BK I sourced my stove from a dealer that was willing to work with me on price and let me pick it up.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Woody5506
Minister of Fire
The demographics of wood stove buyers is pretty interesting. I would've thought it'd be the other way around - younger people being more willing to deal with wood and older people who have dealt with it most of their lives flocking to the convenience of a push button gas stove/fireplace. I'm 28 and bought my wood stove last year, and the dealer mentioned that most guys my age are too lazy to deal with wood. I never grew up with one in the house but we did have a regular fireplace my Dad would burn in on occasion, but always made it seem like some big production and pain in the butt. Needless to say, he now loves his gas fireplace and thought I was crazy to buy a wood stove.
Last year before I bought my T5 stove, and before I joined the Hearth forums, the first thing I did was search the internet for reviews and feedback, most of which brought me right back to this forum. Typically any question regarding my stove, or types of wood, etc put into a google search leads straight to this board. In my opinion it has been by far the best resource for anything wood burning related, even more so than my dealer.
Last year before I bought my T5 stove, and before I joined the Hearth forums, the first thing I did was search the internet for reviews and feedback, most of which brought me right back to this forum. Typically any question regarding my stove, or types of wood, etc put into a google search leads straight to this board. In my opinion it has been by far the best resource for anything wood burning related, even more so than my dealer.
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Michael Sean
Member
Following up from the two above post, I’m 27 and my wife and myself grew up with wood heat. So last year when we was building our 30x40 pole barn house we knew we wanted a wood stove in it. So I started researching wood stoves and found this lovely place. I didn’t want to dump a ton of money into a stove so I went with the englander Madison stove.
When we build our actual house that we will live in forever, then I will buy me a BK. The decision to go with BK was made by everybody on this forum that has one. When you have person after person saying the same thing about a product, to me it makes that product very reputable. It’s much easier for someone to talk bad about products then to give it praise.
When we build our actual house that we will live in forever, then I will buy me a BK. The decision to go with BK was made by everybody on this forum that has one. When you have person after person saying the same thing about a product, to me it makes that product very reputable. It’s much easier for someone to talk bad about products then to give it praise.
Without this forum, I would have likely never bought a wood stove and the Wife would have definitely gotten her way and gotten a Propane ZC. I actually had to show her some of the members posts about certain stoves to explain how this would be better. So far, she has been very happy. She doesnt have do do much of anything, and I get to save some money and enjoy my fires.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Great anecdote, Noob. Man, the difference between a zc propane that you pay to use, and a stove that you fuel while you clean up yard and get in shape, is miles apart. Many are under the mistaken impression that the aesthetics are better with a sterile, fossil fuel burning appliance where a wood burner should sit. More need to follow your example and get them to see the light (and heat) like you did with Mrs. Noob.
On the other hand, if my neighbors listened to me, they'd be burning their yard waste instead of me burning their yard waste, and I'd have to work a lot harder scrounging...
First of all I have to thank BKVP for getting us taken care of quickly after finding out about the problem. I'm sorry I haven't posted any updates before now but I'm gone most of the time during the week and I'm just now sitting down to do some paperwork. The only reason we have a Blaze King stove is because of the reviews on this website, I wouldn't have gone 2-2.5hrs away from my house to buy a stove without the reputation they have for a quality product and BKVP's presence on this site. To address some of the posts I've read about the "customer", I will admit I wasn't the nicest of people to FH after having to try to reach him for a 3rd time after waiting over a month for a replacement part. It was the "favor" thing that earned him the full on a-hole treatment from me. I really do thank BKVP for getting this handled super fast, if you ever get in my area (Purdue Univ) the steaks and beer are on me.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Nice follow up, Greg, and glad you're all taken care of. And, honestly, your response may have been appropriate based on your described experience.
In an earlier life, I went full on aggressive after someone failed to meet my reasonable expectations in situations like this, and my patience was way shorter than yours. I thought it was the way to get things done, and many times it did, but I almost always felt bad after.
Then, I had a client who went out of her way to help me on every occasion, and was just all around great to work with. I realized after a while that I'd bend over backwards to help her in any way I could. My paradigm completely changed.
Now, life is so much easier, as I find almost everyone wants to help. Just because I'm really nice when I ask, treat them like I like them and care about them as a human being.
And, if that doesn't work, find the BKVP of the situation, and ask them!
I'm sorry this has happened to you Greg. I bought my stove on 16 sept 2017, and found out two days ago, that some of my stove pipe was never even ordered. I was lied to again. This is Missoula mt, and all I had to do was call a the supply houses in that town to get the scoop. I could buy a home tomorrow and have it closed faster than buying a stove from that dealer. Since this has happened I have found a hearth business that takes care of Blaze king owners although they are not an authorized dealer. I've been kind to this young girls, but am still getting treated like an alzeheimers patient in regards to common respect. My best advice is find a middle man to deal with. As you can see, BK,s employees remain in their positions and you have to just get wensteined. I'm thinking that west coast union mentality has taken them over. I'm hanging in there, try to get your BK. It will be over shortly and you will have a awesome stove. I am going to start buying used BK stoves, rebuild them and sell them used for big bucks. I have one job down, and now I need three more. People will pay more for good service, or in my area...any service at all. This is how I am going to help people.
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