sold out for the year!

[dixie chick]

After much research and reading on this site I went to the local dealer today to put a deposit on the Harmon pellet insert so that I could get one in September. I was in 4 days ago and they were building to the already long list. As of today they are sold out for 08. At other dealers I have looked at a Regency Greenfire and a Avalon (something). The other two are both significantly cheaper but they look it also. I dont see many reviews on either one here.
Do I hold out or are these good stoves? I see now on one of the dealers sites that they also carry Enviro but the salesperson did not show me that one today when I was there. Maybe they are out of them. I will call tomorrow. Any reviews on that one is helpful also. Go Celtics!

 

[mralias]

Quadrafire perhaps????? They might be still out there.

 

[kilarney]

The Avalon Arbor is a really nice looking stove. The hopper capacity is pretty small, though, at 50 pounds. It would be nice to see at least 10 more pounds.

Good luck!

 

[dixie chick]

I looked at the Quadfire site - The closest dealer is 45 minutes away. You recommend them I assume?

 

[dixie chick]

I found the model - the Avalon Astoria Bay. There are only a couple of reviews on this site. Would love to hear more

 

[webbie]

Avalons are great stoves - I sold them as my #1 line for many years...used them also.

You will not go wrong with an Avalon, Lopi or....actually many of the other name brands out there.

 

[dixie chick]

thanks - I needed to hear that!

 

[mjbrown]

dix,

also, go to home depot and lowes and check out the englander stoves.
i have 2 friends who both bought these stoves last fall,and the heat they throw is unbelievable.i think the price for the stove and the pipe kit to install was somewhere in the neighborhood of 17- 1800 bucks.btw, any support they needed was fantastic, and there are also a couple of people on this forum who are crackerjacks with this stove.

mike brown

 

[danno]

does lowes offer installation with the Englander stoves?

 

[tkirk22]

does lowes offer installation with the Englander stoves?

I doubt it but if they did I would be leery about hiring a lowes contractor to do an install. Get a qualified sweep to do it if you don't want to do it yourself.

 

[mralias]

I looked at the Quadfire site - The closest dealer is 45 minutes away. You recommend them I assume?

I had a Quadra Fire 3100I wood insert for the last 10 years and only had to replace the fans once. Stove worked great. Just could not turn the heat down or off and now that I'm older and lazy I went with Quadra fire Classic Bay pellet Insert early this year and love it. That model has been around for many years now and I have not read or heard anything bad about them. They are worth a look. From the sounds of it though the sky is falling and everyone is running out of stoves and pellets. Panic buying time!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

does lowes offer installation with the Englander stoves?

lowes does not offer installation but any handyman type can do it its not difficult and we include a manual as well as a DVD which lays out the whole process.( you literally get to watch me do it) as well as on call phone tech support at our service department. i have a pretty good group of techs there.

 

[packerfan]

Installing an englander is pretty easy to do. For my freestanding stove, all I needed to do was figure out where I wanted to put it, and cut a couple of holes in the wall. As Mike mentioned above, if you're not comfortable installing it yourself a local handyman would probably be capable of installing it for you. I'd also like to add that the folks at Engand Stove Works were very helpful when I called them with questions about my stove.

 

[SNAPMAN61]

THE REGENCY INSERT (GFI55) IS MADE BY ENVIRO. IT IS THE SAME INSERT AS THE ENVIRO MERIDIAN. THE REVIEWS ON ENVIRO PRODUCTS SEEM TO BE FAVORABLE.I SURE HOPE SO BECAUSE I HAD ONE INSTALLED YESTERDAY.................

 

[webbie]

Installing an englander is pretty easy to do. For my freestanding stove, all I needed to do was figure out where I wanted to put it, and cut a couple of holes in the wall. As Mike mentioned above, if you're not comfortable installing it yourself a local handyman would probably be capable of installing it for you. I'd also like to add that the folks at Engand Stove Works were very helpful when I called them with questions about my stove.

I have to disagree that any handyman or even some handy homeowners can install a pellet stove properly.

Well, they CAN install it, but whether it is installed correctly is always another story.

Let's be more accurate - the average Handyman or homeowner does not know how to cleanly and accurately cut through siding, brick, basement concrete (in some cases), etc. - So, more accurately, if you are capable of:
1. Slinging a couple hundred pounds of stove around - moving it in place, etc.
2. Working with the venting system - including careful planning and actually READING the small print in the manual
3. Cutting accurately through interior walls (drywall) and in some cases re-framing the opening (if it falls on a stud, etc.)
4. Cutting out approx 1 foot square of siding or exterior finish and properly installing the vent and cap - or, in some cases, either go up through the roof or reline an existing chimney.
5. Running and checking the stove as to gaskets, air shutters and other settings which may be needed...

and, then, being able to fix your stove both in the beginning and later.....with email and/or telephone support.


THEN, you can DIY. I know how to do these things myself, but then again I was a carpenter contractor in my former life! Kudos to those who are good with tools and handy, but at the same time I think it is a minority of homeowners who are capable of such installations.

 

[Steveo]

Seems pretty basic to me except how to get that plastic siding stuff off the outside of the house with out melting it with my cutting torches lol.

 

[ducker]

and that's why I didn't go with an Englander... as easy as it sounds, if you aren't a tradesman, I think it's a bit advanced for a casual DIYer.

Even just venting in to a existing chimney you need to consider that all the piping needs to be air tight since it's a forced air system, and not like a conventional wood stove.

Not worth the possibility of increasing CO2 levels in my house.

 

[bosclo]

I purchased the St Croix York insert last yr and have had no problems with it. It only has a 40lb hopper, but was a great buy for the price. As long as you clean it every day or 2, you have no problems. Very quiet blower. It burned 5 tons last year.