Pellet stove sales increase

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IHATEPROPANE

Minister of Fire
Feb 24, 2011
1,387
NoPellettons, MA
An article in the local paper said pellet stoves (freestanding) were up 59% and inserts were up 72%.

We will probably see the prices of pellets be a bit higher in the future if this keeps up.

Or maybe a lot of cheap stoves on Craigslist??
 
Oil dealers will not be happy!
 
I'm not telling anyone about my cheap operating pellet stove!I want all of the pellets for" MYSELF"...
 
Looks like a repeat of 2008 when oil hit 4.50 a gallon thousands of people got off oil.Big oil is killing the heating oil business there will be no one using oil if this continues.
 
Thats the truth Im a heating and air tech. Oil is what i do best and i went to pellets, now thinking of getting into servicing pellet stoves also. Big oil stinks in more ways than one
 
jmcp said:
Looks like a repeat of 2008 when oil hit 4.50 a gallon thousands of people got off oil.Big oil is killing the heating oil business there will be no one using oil if this continues.
...Nobody is using oil heat in new construction
 
dafollweiler said:
Thats the truth Im a heating and air tech. Oil is what i do best and i went to pellets, now thinking of getting into servicing pellet stoves also. Big oil stinks in more ways than one

If you are thinking about getting into servicing pellet equipment you will do very well. The market is COMPLETELY under served. In Sept - Oct we received about 1700 calls for service, which equals about 1200 we couldn't return. The internet is the life and death of business these days.
 
There is a large service market but a tech needs more knowledge than knowing how to work a meter. I have not gotten anywhere near 1700 or even 1200. We have had US Stove Company even call us asking to service their stoves. If it is not a brand we sell I do shy away from the calls during the heating season, I hate to say it.

Eric
 
smwilliamson said:
dafollweiler said:
Thats the truth Im a heating and air tech. Oil is what i do best and i went to pellets, now thinking of getting into servicing pellet stoves also. Big oil stinks in more ways than one

If you are thinking about getting into servicing pellet equipment you will do very well. The market is COMPLETELY under served. In Sept - Oct we received about 1700 calls for service, which equals about 1200 we couldn't return. The internet is the life and death of business these days.

I would love to get my NFI cert for Wood and Pellet. So many dealers aroud me that could do much better. I drive almost 2 hrs to get stuff from Eric (Kinsman stoves) because of his service, price, and attitude.

I love my stoves and love working on them. Just helpes a Forum member about a month ago get there stove running again. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Also enjoyed the Thanks and appreciation they gave me for the job (no charge). If I could make more time and even knew where to start, I would start an Independent business like yours.

I fully respect what you do and I am sure your customers are greatful for you. Glad to see your business is doing good.
 
My next-door neighbor got a pellet insert last year, mine is on order, and I think my neighbor across the street is going to be next.
 
Even our Governor is pushing for people to burn pellets. He wants the oil dependence turned way down. I is a goal. Not sure if realistic. So many folks who find it hard to run the remote control to the tv, and many others who are not ever going to be motivated to pay attention to keeping a pellet stove clean. I would never try to get someone to use a pellet stove unless they were invested for the long run.
 
kinsman stoves [email said:
[email protected][/email]]There is a large service market but a tech needs more knowledge than knowing how to work a meter. I have not gotten anywhere near 1700 or even 1200. We have had US Stove Company even call us asking to service their stoves. If it is not a brand we sell I do shy away from the calls during the heating season, I hate to say it.

Eric

I may be wrong Eric, but is it possible that the number of "pellet stoves per capita" here in the Northeast and specifically New England, could be exponentially higher than the Midwest? I personally know many people, just in my extended circle of friends who have pellet stoves. Pellets are available at stove shops, retailers and pellet houses everywhere around here. I don't find it hard to believe that Scott gets that many calls for service. JMHO.
 
Earlier in the season I tried to get Don222 going as a tech for me to help meet service the NH market and things just went wacky...far too much demand and not enough resources to meet it. I feel bad that I could not focus on getting him up and going, but I have had too much on my plate. Right now I'm running three guys...but as Eric says, it's more than using a DMM. I guess I forget how much I actually know....translating that out in the field has been a challenge. Things were simpler when it was just me.

Post season, I'm going to make some strides to grow from the service side. Problem being, there is such a volatility. Though I seem to grow each year, I never can meet the demand. This week I'll be lucky to meet payroll. 60 degrees for 3 weeks and a host of return trips back to customers as well as a some payment nightmares is killing me.

For the first time ever I'm getting non-paying customers, stop payments and return charges. A lot of it has to do with internet stoves or other equipment arising from non-dealer purchases that arrive broken. I get called in to fix the situation or install them and then do not get paid. Frustrating.

I haven't been chosen to speak yet but for the heatNE conference this year but if I do, and there is a good chance I will, the topic will be "Creating a Service Standard" for biomass heating. I'll let you all know I get a slot, come on out to Saratoga Springs, NY and we can hash it out.
 
smwilliamson said:
For the first time ever I'm getting non-paying customers, stop payments and return charges. A lot of it has to do with internet stoves or other equipment arising from non-dealer purchases that arrive broken. I get called in to fix the situation or install them and then do not get paid. Frustrating.

Exactly why I try to do COD sales only. The exception, if someone is really in a pinch and it actually is their only source of heat, I'll let them do some down with payments if they are a regular customer. Not my regular customer?, COD! Now I know that sounds harsh to the average person, but I don't know them from John Doe so who's to say they aren't gonna stick me with the bill. Eric is right too, sometimes it is just a lot easier to service what you sell and forget the rest!
 
Forget the rest? The service what you sell model is bad enough, yeah, so lets invite consumers in and then leave them out to dry...not really building blocks for an industry that is trying to provide an alternative to something else. For every consumers' bad experince the entire industry takes a step backwards.
 
There's more than one way to look at this. Nobody's getting hung out to dry here, the consumer made a concious choice when purchasing there stove. People don't look at the back end of things and think "hey someday I might (will) need some service, parts or advice and my dealer is the first place I should look". It used to be that way years ago, you would buy your car from the hometown car dealer and you knew that they were gonna be there to service you. It's sad to say that this is part of the reason this country is in the shape we're in. People would rather buy cheap then pay a little more knowing that they would recieve service after the sale. A lot of products are made as "throw away" anymore, companies can make more money selling it over and over versus just selling a part here or there and making it last 20 years like some appliances used to. You wouldn't buy a car that you knew there was not going to be service or parts available for would you?
There are multiple problems imo that affect this industry, the consumer is the probably the least of our worries, fly by night dealers and the "handyman or friend" repairman- these guys come in sell, sell, sell and try to fix but who gets left cleaning up their mess, we do! The stove manufacturer, many have come and gone, again the retail store left holding the bag. Some of there off the wall business practices are left to be desired also, i.e. only sell parts to your dealers, using specific parts that only they have (goes back to the old days when many parts were interchangable). Don't even get me started on the pellet suppliers. I could go on and on but why bother, we all know what the problems are. And Scott, I service anything, whether I sold it or not! Everybody's money is green to me! I'm just not gonna run my equipment and supply my parts and not be paid for it, that's like asking the pimple faced kid at the convienent store to work this week and I'll pay you maybe in 30 days or so. I don't get certified or trained for free either.
 
Lots of the "handyman or friend†repairman hang out here. Most came because the local dealer/service guy is MIA, has no clue or is totally lost. Main reason I joined this site was to get some solid info on my x-bigE. My local dealer was worthless. Still is and continues to sell stoves. I am sure I am not the only one scorn by the local dealer? Also many do it yourselfers here too! ;-)
 
j-takeman said:
Lots of the "handyman or friend†repairman hang out here. Most came because the local dealer/service guy is MIA, has no clue or is totally lost. Main reason I joined this site was to get some solid info on my x-bigE. My local dealer was worthless. Still is and continues to sell stoves. I am sure I am not the only one scorn by the local dealer? Also many do it yourselfers here too! ;-)
I wasn't trying to insult you guys, there are many of you that actually have a working knowledge of alot of these products. Then there are the ones who know it all already without ever even seeing a pellet stove, you know the kind I'm talking about. These are the ones that won't admit that there are ever wrong and wouldn't even think of participating on a site like this, like some codes officers and contractors that I run into. I have them telling me what is right and wrong even after I can point it out in black and white to them. Now I'll at least admit when I don't know something but I will do my best to find the answer. I know alot of people out there have had bad experiences with the local dealer and those are the fly by nighters I was referring to. They give us all a bad taste in our mouth's and it's only a matter of time before their underhanded practices catch up with them. Sorry if I offended anyone, that wasn't my intention and should of expressed my opionion a little more clearly.
 
There are 3 homes on my road (3mi long) who put in new pellet stoves this year.

I also saw what I think was HUGE jump in pellets the last 2 weeks. Some places last week were selling pellets at $6/bag.

Also, my previous heating oil supplier now sells wood pellets, too. Free delivery with two tons. Don't know what brand they're peddling.
 
balls of fire said:
j-takeman said:
Lots of the "handyman or friend†repairman hang out here. Most came because the local dealer/service guy is MIA, has no clue or is totally lost. Main reason I joined this site was to get some solid info on my x-bigE. My local dealer was worthless. Still is and continues to sell stoves. I am sure I am not the only one scorn by the local dealer? Also many do it yourselfers here too! ;-)
I wasn't trying to insult you guys, there are many of you that actually have a working knowledge of alot of these products. Then there are the ones who know it all already without ever even seeing a pellet stove, you know the kind I'm talking about. These are the ones that won't admit that there are ever wrong and wouldn't even think of participating on a site like this, like some codes officers and contractors that I run into. I have them telling me what is right and wrong even after I can point it out in black and white to them. Now I'll at least admit when I don't know something but I will do my best to find the answer. I know alot of people out there have had bad experiences with the local dealer and those are the fly by nighters I was referring to. They give us all a bad taste in our mouth's and it's only a matter of time before their underhanded practices catch up with them. Sorry if I offended anyone, that wasn't my intention and should of expressed my opionion a little more clearly.

I don't think anyone will be offended(I'd hope anyway). I understand where your coming from and what your saying. After all your "one" of the best at giving us the needed advice and info to work out of jams with these space heaters. I had the wink on the end for a reason.

I have seen a few techs that could rival Carl's work if you know what I mean. ;-)

Sorry if I opened up a can of worms!
 
Sorry didn't see the wink, I was reading this on my phone. What are you talkin, about Carl is my idol! lol
 
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