Lopi or Jotul Gas Stove (UPDATED post topic 6-18-09 WITH PRICE QUOTES...)

[Jfk4th]

OK guys, I am a rookie in here but a "Master of Fire" in the Hearth Room so please be gentle

I am actually very excited about getting a Lopi or Avalon Gas Freestanding Stove. I have 2 big wood stoves, Avalon Olympic and Quadra Fire 5100 insert (don't ask why I have 2 big ones...yes I know I have a serious wood stove problem :cheese: )

Here are facts:

I have the Avalon Olympic in my Florida room(Family Room), mostly windows....
I have the Quadra Fire 5100 insert in my Living Room
House is 2300 sq ft, ranch style house pretty much

This is what I want to do. I want to either sell my Avalon Olympic freestanding and keep my Quadra Fire insert in the Living Room, or move my Avalon Olympic freestanding and have that installed outside the fireplace in the living room and therefore getting rid of the Quadra Fire 5100 insert.

Where my Avalon Olympic is in the Florida room I am thinking of either the Lopi Berkshire or the Avalon Tree of Life, possibly the Sturbridge if is a lot cheaper and I want all the goodies, remote, thermostat, and accent light kit. Plus does anybody have the soapstone kit for the Berkshire

Just wanted to pick people's brains here on these Gas Stoves. What I am planning on doing this fall/winter is burning the living Room wood stove 15-20 hours most days (whatever I end up doing there) and having the Gas Freestanding stove used just for the smaller Florida room and breezeway. Plus I thought I heard about some kits that can be installed inside a double wall pipe for gas so I did not have to take down any pipes.

This way I can still get my wood fix and keep the wife happy with a gas stove in the Florida room

Thanks for the help, I am sure I will spending a lot of time in "It's a Gas"

 

[summit]

you CANNOT GO WRONG w/ the berkshire. it has an internal damper to adjust to the added draft from a vertical termination. W/ or w/out the fan, it throws awesome heat, and is simply setup: a vegtable could figure this thing out to do any service. Sturbridge is nice, but is too small. My grandma got too old to use the woodstove, and got her a berkshire thru our shop. without the blower running, she heats a 2 bdrm ranch about 1200 sqft. very hands off and maintence free, and the fire looks great w/ the rock wool embers and ceramic base. it replaces most woodstoves for looks and heat output. just remember to turn the pilot light off in the summer time (saves 10% on fuel usage), and use the optional accent light to add mood when heat is not required in the summer. New iron finish w/ soapstone panels is wicked horny lookin combo.

 

[R&D Guy]

I heard at HPBA Travis announced they are converting all their gas fireplaces over to an intermittent pilot ignition (IPI) system. You might want to check with the dealer and see if those are available yet because not running the pilot 24/7 will save you anywhere from $15 to $30 a month depending on whether you burn NG or LP.

Although I bet that means you have to have a power cord running over to the unit, but if you are installing a blower I guess you'd need one anyway.

 

[Jfk4th]

I heard at HPBA Travis announced they are converting all their gas fireplaces over to an intermittent pilot ignition (IPI) system. You might want to check with the dealer and see if those are available yet because not running the pilot 24/7 will save you anywhere from $15 to $30 a month depending on whether you burn NG or LP.

Although I bet that means you have to have a power cord running over to the unit, but if you are installing a blower I guess you'd need one anyway.

I'll ask, although I think I might want one that stays on all the time and just pay the extra 30 bucks a month. We have a decent amount of power outages each year for some strange reason and I don't want that stove to be off and the room to be cold when I wake up in the morning, I am getting spoiled since having wood stoves... I would however shut it off during the summer months to save some cash. I really like the idea of having the accent lights so even when it is a little warmer I can still get my woodstove fix


I am either going to sell my Avalon by myself or see how close to a good price my local dealer can give me, I am going to shoot for around 2,500 if I can ( I paid 3,300 last year). Plus it depends how much it is going to cost for everything with the Berkshire, this stove shop seems to I really have only researched the Lopi/Avalons so just to be safe I am going to look at the Jotul, which seem pretty slick and Hearthsone. I have always wanted a soapstone wood stove and until we move the Hearthstone gas stove might be the closet I can get

 

[Jfk4th]

OK here is the quote from my local Avalon/Lopi store, lets see what you guys think, a lot more than I expected

Berkshire
Cast Black 2220

blower 220
accent light 155
omega remote 245
brick firebacks 188

vent kit w/class A
conversion 405.82

total 3433.82

install and
removal 695.00

total 4128.82


They are only willing to give me 1,100 on my 2008 Olympic with brass door, blower, ash pan, pedestal. WTF! >:-(
I am going to tell them first and foremost that is too low on 3,300 stove. I am trying to sell it privately as we speak but I would like much more from this store if they want my business. I guess in the meantime I am going to check into Jotul, and Hearthstone gas freestanding stoves.

 

[summit]

do away w/ the omega remote and get a cheaper skytec, @ 170, they are jacking you up a bit on the stove (we have srp at a 1865 for black stove, no stone panels).. vent kit sound @ right, but install and removal? you are getting jacked!! they are clearly trying to make up an 1100 $ trade in by raping you for labor.. unless they are dropping a gas tank and hooking up propane line, its a 1 and a half hour job.. unless you live 30 miles from the shop... and you are right to sell the stove privately.. put it in the paper for 2500 obo, and maybe let a motivated buyer talk you down to 2000 even...

 

[Jfk4th]

do away w/ the omega remote and get a cheaper skytec, @ 170, they are jacking you up a bit on the stove (we have srp at a 1865 for black stove, no stone panels).. vent kit sound @ right, but install and removal? you are getting jacked!! they are clearly trying to make up an 1100 $ trade in by raping you for labor.. unless they are dropping a gas tank and hooking up propane line, its a 1 and a half hour job.. unless you live 30 miles from the shop... and you are right to sell the stove privately.. put it in the paper for 2500 obo, and maybe let a motivated buyer talk you down to 2000 even...

It's sad that some stove shops just think they can charge whatever they want and people will just take it. I have done business with these guys and still they can't give me a fair price...Wish you were closer ;-)

 

[summit]

It's sad that some stove shops just think they can charge whatever they want and people will just take it. I have done business with these guys and still they can't give me a fair price...Wish you were closer ;-)[/quote]

yes.. I wish i could travel the country installing stoves... like a modern day johnny appleseed or paul bunyan... maybe kane on kung-fu....it'd be neat to see everyone's prefrences and tastes for hearth products in different places..

 

[Jfk4th]

Well I asked again to give me a better price and they said nope...Brats....Plus they lied to me when they said what they charge now for the Olympic, (about 600 dollars less than last years price) They were obviously trying to fool me into thinking their price was fair on the trade in. Once again kind of sad from a company that has been around while.

If they only knew how many people I talk about wood stoves to, they could have made a lot more money this year, next, if they were just fair like some stove shops are.
C'est la vie

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

Plus I thought I heard about some kits that can be installed inside a double wall pipe for gas so I did not have to take down any pipes.

"It's a Gas"

chimney conversion kits from duravent
kit a for 6" metal bestos, dura teck or any brand with od <9"
kit b for systems <11"
kit c is for larger tripple walled 8" class a, od<14"

you will line the class a with single walleg ridgid of flex alum, one part of the kit goes onto your cieling box, one goes in place of your old cap.

remember to take off any extra vertical sections of class a before hand, as gas stove terminations dont need to be 2' above roofing within 10'

 

[Jfk4th]

OK I changed the post topic slightly as I have more news here

Choice 1
Lopi Berkshire
Price 2,219, plus 140 ceramic fireback, 103 accent light kit, free blower Total 2,462

Choice 2
Lopi Berkshire 2,219, 140 fireback, free remote (no blower, accent light kit) Total 2,359

Choice 3
Jotul F400 Sebago Stove 1,750, 200 fireback (no blower) Total 1,950


Here's the problem:

Lopi Dealer will give me 1,800 for my Avalon Olympic a very good price in my book

Jotul will not give anything for trades (bad news because I think I am going to take a really good hit here if I sell it myself because of the tax credit on new wood stoves)


Both stove shops are about same for install,venting pipes, gas line. Around 1,200 dollars total


So do I roll the dice and wait until I get a private buyer and buy the Jotul or Go for the 1,800 trade in and get the Lopi Berkshire.
Oh here is another tough decision, the Jotul dealer is about 5 minutes away. The Lopi dealer is 83 miles away (he is willing to drive for install and everything) I am just worried that he won't be so willing after the sale. One more problem, another Lopi dealer that is probably 30-40 miles away charges a lot more for stove accessories and is only willing to give me 1,100 for a trade in of my Avalon Olympic Wood stove


Damn too many decisions, what do you guys think would be a good decision here :long:

 

[Jfk4th]

Hey Summit and others,
Just sold my Olympic for 2,000 dollars which makes me very happy , only a hit of 400 hundred dollars from what I paid last year

Now I can buy the Berkshire that I wanted, sweet! I think I am getting the ceramic firebrick, accent light, and installing a digital thermostat to it so I can turn it down and up in the morning
This guy is probably going to move it out this week or the next and then I am getting a gas line installed

Anybody know what good price would be to run probably 30 feet of gas line? I think it will go around out Florida room than inside the back part where the stove is going to be

 

[DAKSY]

'Round these parts about $3/ft plus an hour's labor...maybe $200 total...
Outside we hafta run BIP...
Can't run CSS (Trac-pipe - WardFlex) unless you sheathe it conduit..
YMMV

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

Outside we hafta run BIP...
Can't run CSS (Trac-pipe - WardFlex) unless you sheathe it conduit..
YMMV

thats code everywhere!! trac pipe is great for tight crawl spaces though

 

[Jfk4th]

200 dollars seems fair to run about 30 feet, Hopefully this company that is coming on Monday will give me an estimate of that price. If not I'll call somebody else. The stove places want about 400 dollars to do it, not paying that :smirk:

 

[summit]

we work w/ a company in maine that offers 229 flat rate for up to 50' of line, so anywhere around there would be a pretty good mark... congrats on selling the stove, BTW... i knew you could do better than the GYP job those guys were offering you!

 

[Jfk4th]

Thanks for the help Summit, I am sure I will be picking your brain some more when I get the Berkshire

 

[Jfk4th]

we work w/ a company in maine that offers 229 flat rate for up to 50' of line, so anywhere around there would be a pretty good mark... congrats on selling the stove, BTW... i knew you could do better than the GYP job those guys were offering you!

The stove company want 150 dollars to "T" it? Then 5 dollars a foot (I think I need about 30 feet?) for about 300 dollars for everything.

I just had a plumber come and he wanted, this is a good one, 1,950. He wanted to go outside and around the house, therefore needing to charge labor to dig 18 inches down around the house. I told him that estimate would be a good fire starter so I can't help him. Then he said if I dig it would be about 750 dollars, I said that estimate would be another fire starter. Thanks but no thanks, damn scammers!! >:-(


The stove place is coming tomorrow to give an actual estimate on the gas line install, so hopefully it will be around 300 for everything. If it is I will take it so I can have the stove installed in the next week or so

 

[summit]

does every one in NY try to jack you up, or what??? you should move to maine... alot better to deal with! 300 should be a good mark for a gas line, however.

 

[DAKSY]

Hey, JFK...
Where you located in NY?
Any where near Albany?
I'm NFI, Trac-Pipe & Ward Flex certified...
Maybe I can help you out...

 

[Jfk4th]

Damn,
I live in Western New York near Buffalo. Wish you and Summit were closer. I must have a bulls eye on me so that price scammers can attack me :roll:

Hopefully things will work out tomorrow, I really want this Berkshire in now that I have sold my Avalon, cross your fingers

 

[11vie]

wonderful! thanks for the info..



assurance vie

 

[Jfk4th]

OK, the deal is complete. After selling my Avalon Olympic for 2,000 this new Lopi Berkshire with ceramic fireback, blower, and accent light, install, and pipes will only cost 1,600 (3,600 total....400 dollars off everything for the time of year sale). Stay tuned next Thursday for video and pics, CAN'T WAIT.

 

[R&D Guy]

Well good for you!

 

[summit]

glad its all coming together for you (finally!).. i knew you could do better $ wise than what the original guy told you!