Stove ratings

[John_M]

I am presently doing all the steps necessary to install a new wood stove. My mind is pretty well made up about which stove I want but out of curiosity, I keep going back to the stove ratings page.

It's interesting how so many users of a particular stove celebrate its many fine features. There might be a little nit picking every once in a while about certain features but the recommendation generally is: "buy one".

Then you read one rating in which the "user" says the stove stinks, the dealer stinks and the company stinks. The stove is nothing more than a very heavy piece of useless junk. It doesn't do anything right. It is a waste of time and money and and the owner cannot wait to get rid of it.

I do not place any value on negative ratings like this and wonder if the person posting the rating does indeed have and use one of the stoves. I have the feeling that persons who present such negative ratings often have a financial interest in a competing stove brand. So, rather than tell you how good their stove is, they would rather condemn the competition.

Any thoughts about this situation?

 

[jpl1nh]

I am presently doing all the steps necessary to install a new wood stove. My mind is pretty well made up about which stove I want but out of curiosity, I keep going back to the stove ratings page.

It's interesting how so many users of a particular stove celebrate its many fine features. There might be a little nit picking every once in a while about certain features but the recommendation generally is: "buy one".

Then you read one rating in which the "user" says the stove stinks, the dealer stinks and the company stinks. The stove is nothing more than a very heavy piece of useless junk. It doesn't do anything right. It is a waste of time and money and and the owner cannot wait to get rid of it.

I do not place any value on negative ratings like this and wonder if the person posting the rating does indeed have and use one of the stoves. I have the feeling that persons who present such negative ratings often have a financial interest in a competing stove brand. So, rather than tell you how good their stove is, they would rather condemn the competition.

Any thoughts about this situation?

One of the most important factors in the success of a stove is the chimney. We all tend to focus on the stove which is kind of like focusing on a particular engine for a plane while forgetting the importance of the wings. Also there are certain basic operational procedures for a given stove, ie; cat vs non-cat differences, dry well seasoned wood, etc. None of these issues are rocket science but when I read one post that is completely off of what the general consensus is, I generally chalk it up to something inept going on in the installation or the operation, not the stove per say.

 

[savageactor7]

John I'm just speculating but imo the vast majority of folks that are happy with a purchase just move on and don't give it a second thought. So you don't hear from these people...now as high tech as they try and make these stoves heating with wood fires are still primitive and thus...a little tricky. Then for the uninitiated there's a lot of ambiguous terms ... "now put slightly larger seasoned splits on top of the kindling to start a good coal bed" ...yada yada yada

 

[Nic36]

I read through many of those ratings when I was figuring out which stove to buy. I noticed the same thing with some very negative reviews. I would usually disregard a totally negative review, unless I found other reviews for the stove with similar issues. Some people can never be pleased or are complaining for the wrong reason like too short a chimney. And, like you said, it would not surprise me if a competitor bashes (or praises) a product to send sales his way.

 

[kniffin50]

I trusted the ratings here and am completely happy with the results. There will always be one bad apple in the barrel.
Rusty

 

[rijim]

I have also been looking at the ratings to help narrow my decision It seems many that complain about the stove also rate the dealer poorly; I factored this into my decision and purchased from the dealer I felt the most comfortable with and got good feedback from others. It seems there are many good products out there, finding a dealer to help get them most from your investment may be of high importance.

JIm

 

[termv]

As pointed out in another thread, it is probably best to narrow your search down to stoves available to you locally and then research those. If there are several reviews of those stoves that complain of a common problem, move away or if you really like the stove, start another thread and ask about that specific problem. It may have been addressed by the manufacture or there is an easy fix/workaround.

 

[firefighterjake]

As others have said . . . when I was researching stove manufacturers and models I would take into account that a) you can't please everyone 100% of the time so going in I knew there would be at least a few negative reviews, b) some folks' with negative reviews might have other issues than with the stove itself -- I noticed as did rijim that many of the negative reviews of the stove were often tied directly to negative reviews of the dealer and c) I played the law of averages figuring that if there were 10 good reviews to 1 negative review than chances are the stove is probably a good bet . . . vs. seeing a stove review where 6 of the 10 reviews were negative.

 

[rumme]

Id agree that many of the negative reviews could be associated with a poor or inadequate installation. Im a perfect example.

my napolean 1900 works great, but it smokes up the house when its windy, but I dont blame the stove for this, I blame myself for not installing a tall enough chimney..therefore, this isnt the stoves fault..it is my fault...but I would imagine some reviewers would not mention when the problmes they encounter, are their own fault

 

[firefighterjake]

Incidentally, thanks for the thread . . . it reminded me to do a review of my stove . . . something I promised myself to do after I had been running my stove for a few months . . . figured it was about time to do so and "give" something back to hearth.com to help out future stove buyers.

 

[Nic36]

I haven't written a review for my stove either. I plan to, but I wanted to go one whole heating season before I wrote one. I think the stove review section is a very good tool-especially for first time stove buyers. It really helped me narrow down my choices and avoid a brand/model or two that tended to have problems.

 

[woodjack]

What ratings? Is there a specific stove review thread on this site?

 

[Nic36]

What ratings? Is there a specific stove review thread on this site?

Yep:

https://www.hearth.com/ratings.html

 

[woodjack]

Nic, thanks.

 

[Nonprophet]

I'll echo what others have said and add that in my opinion people who have had bad experiences tend to be the most vocal--those who are happy with their stove choice usually aren't as motivated to post a review/comment as those who've had a negative experience.

 

[rickw]

Of course, there is one manufacturer without any poor ratings. That ought to tell you something.

 

[John_M]

My original reason for starting this thread was to see if others treat ratings that are 100% negative with the same mistrust as I do. I did not want to incite a riot over whether my Chevy is better than your Ford is better than your Toyota is better than your Dodge.

With that in mind: Okay, Rick, I'll bite: Your response begs the question :Which manufacturer has a 100% positive rating? I thought I saw 2 or 3 that had almost 100% positive so I limited my choices to these 2 or 3. Eventually, I chose the Pacific Energy Spectrum.

The reason for asking this question is to satisfy my curiosity; not to challenge your response. Be mindful, however, that someone here who is loyal to another brand is probably going to review all ratings hoping to find something to disprove your selection.

Best Wishes,

John_M

 

[Nic36]

Okay, Rick, I'll bite: Your response begs the question :Which manufacturer has a 100% positive rating? I thought I saw 2 or 3 that had almost 100% positive so I limited my choices to these 2 or 3.

Check out Rick's sig line. I think there is a clue in there somewhere.

 

[woodjack]

If a particular has stove has nine positive ratings and one negative rating I interpret that as one guy who didn't know how to use his stove.