I did it! Bought the new stove...

[brider]

..., a Harmon Oakwood with the side trays and optional grill. 3 weeks ago when I first went to the showroom, the guy said he'd be on vacation next week ,but don't worry, he had 8 in stock.

Then came my vacation(s) and 4th of July, and 2 days ago I called and his partner said "you better get in here quick, there's only 4 left".

So last night I drove up (1/2 hour), waited for 2 other couples to ask all their urgent questions about pellet vs wood vs gas vs "what's it going to cost", then finally bought 1 of the 2 left. The guy said sales have been up 1000 percent since last year, and everything was selling out. The Napoleon Cook stove (1150P?) I was looking at but he steered me away from had a big "SOLD" tag on it. He said people coming in and thinking they'll think about it for a while and make a decision in Aug or Sept before the heating season are in for a rude awakening.

I feel MUCH better now, now I just need to get that rascal installed! (cutting carpet, building hearth pad, blowing hole thru roof, etc.)

 

[pinewoodburner]

Congratulations
Now just get it installed.
Hope you have some wood for this year. I hear that it is hard to find in some area's of the North.
I was in a Woodstove store in NC over vacation killing some time and they said that some stove manufacturers have already sold all they can make this year and will not take any more orders.

 

[kevin85]

I would second what pinewoodbuner said about getting wood soon. I am from your area and wood is getting scarce and more expensive. I would go as far to say get your wood before you install.

 

[MishMouse]

Congrats on the Oakwood, that is a beautiful stove and a good heater.
The dealer I bought my TL-300 had the Oakwood burning and it put out loads of heat.
He showed me a demo of its air control, when he slide it to the left the fire died, then when he slid it to the right it fired right back up. With the cooking grill no matter how cold it is outside you can still have a BBQ.

 

[brider]

Yes, I already got 2 cord of "seasoned" wood delivered, I have about 1/2 cord of 2-yr-old hardwood already, and I'm going to order another cord from a local guy. My problem is finding a place to stack it. Here's a story about the dangers of improper stacking:

I put my pallets up on cinder blocks between 2 trees, but was stupid and used the wrong blocks..., started stacking at night after the kids went to bed (that's when I get 90% of my work done; sound familiar?), and saw in the morning that the whole 1 1/2 cord I stacked was causing the blocks underneath to all lean the same way-downhill. I pushed and shook the whole pile, it seemed damn solid even so.

I told the kids to STAY AWAY, but later, while in their room for some reason, I heard a WHUMP, and looked out their window to see the entire pile had fallen over on top of my already seasoned 1/2 cord. What a freakin' mess, I have to move the ENTIRE pile to get to the pallets underneath and re-do the whole thing.

I laugh, but also shudder as I write this, because of the potential tragedy this could have caused. I promise to all reading to never make a boneheaded mistake like this again, with kids in the house.

 

[burntime]

A ancilliary skill of burning wood is that you will get really good at stacking wood. Get used to it. Sometimes I think there are wood gremlins pushing stacks over!

 

[BrotherBart]

A ancilliary skill of burning wood is that you will get really good at stacking wood. Get used to it. Sometimes I think there are wood gremlins pushing stacks over!

It is the same aliens that tip cows.

 

[begreen]

LOL! And they've got cloaking technology to keep them invisible. They stun these poor guys before they know what hit them.

(broken link removed to http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=588849979264557085)

 

[burntime]

One in the same, they also put bubbles in beer!

 

[Todd]

Congrats on the new stove. The Oakwood came in a close second for me a couple years ago. Love the grill option.

 

[Carl]

Yes, I already got 2 cord of "seasoned" wood delivered, I have about 1/2 cord of 2-yr-old hardwood already, and I'm going to order another cord from a local guy. My problem is finding a place to stack it. Here's a story about the dangers of improper stacking:

I put my pallets up on cinder blocks between 2 trees, but was stupid and used the wrong blocks..., started stacking at night after the kids went to bed (that's when I get 90% of my work done; sound familiar?), and saw in the morning that the whole 1 1/2 cord I stacked was causing the blocks underneath to all lean the same way-downhill. I pushed and shook the whole pile, it seemed damn solid even so.

I told the kids to STAY AWAY, but later, while in their room for some reason, I heard a WHUMP, and looked out their window to see the entire pile had fallen over on top of my already seasoned 1/2 cord. What a freakin' mess, I have to move the ENTIRE pile to get to the pallets underneath and re-do the whole thing.

I laugh, but also shudder as I write this, because of the potential tragedy this could have caused. I promise to all reading to never make a boneheaded mistake like this again, with kids in the house.

Good luck with your new stove and wood stacking. Why did you put blocks under the pallets? With pallets you shouldn't need any blocks since the pallets keep the wood off the ground. I just started using pallets this year to try for my outside wood. For the past 30+ years I did nothing but stack the wood directly on the ground. Of course it wasn't in a swamp though. %-P

 

[Jags]

A ancilliary skill of burning wood is that you will get really good at stacking wood. Get used to it. Sometimes I think there are wood gremlins pushing stacks over!

It is the same aliens that tip cows.

I will have you know that I am a perfectly legal citizen......and it wasn't me, really!

 

[Rickochet]

How much is the going rate for an Oakwood in your area?

 

[brider]

About the pallets:

There's a guy near me who always has 10+ cords of wood stacked on pallets ON 16"x8"x8" cinderblocks on his long, flat, driveway. I know he goes thru this wood year-round because it's always changing and new wood always appears.

Anyway, I saw this wood up in the air on these blocks and it struck me how well the wind can howl underneath and dry it.

So I tried the same thing. Only mine wasn't in the driveway, and I did not level the ground well enough first.

I figure that yes, a pallet already lifts it off the ground, but not very far, and when leaves blow underneath, and the snow piles up around it, and squirrels and other rodents tunnel underneath, and wood chips fall off and build up,etc, you lose the airspace in a hurry.

So I will again put my pallets up 8" on the cinderblocks and re-stack it. Visually, it's a nice sight, all that wood well off the ground with air blowing underneath.

Whether this method is valid or not, it makes me feel better about my wood preparation.

 

[BrotherBart]

...it makes me feel better about my wood preparation.

That's all that counts.

 

[brider]

How much is the going rate for an Oakwood in your area?

Sorry for the late reply-

I got mine for $2150, no sales tax because I paid cash. Didn't really shop around, because they were the only guys near me that had them in stock.

I was in Maine last weekend, and my Bro-in-law confirmed what I've heard hear: The pulp mills are paying so much for the wood, the wood suppliers are making more and working less just selling to them. Bummer for the poor slob who needs to buy the cordwood.

 

[granpajohn]

[/quote]... no sales tax because I paid cash...[/quote]
What!?
You mean that's all it takes? What a fool I've been.