Hello All: I have been monitoring this forum for a couple years now, I have wanted to chime in from time to time so I guess it's time to introduce myself. I have been around wood burning on and off for most of my life. In early 1973 Connecticut had an ice storm and my family was without electricity for about 5 days. That summer (I was 14) my father decided he wanted an alternative source of heat so I helped him add a Heatilator fireplace to the house, there was no existing fireplace. The house had a central chimney for the oil burner. I helped him dig the footing, cut a hole in the side of the house, and lay brick. My dad worked in aerospace and was an accomplished sheet metal guy so he added duct work to the upstairs of the cape house, and outlets into the living room. That fireplace worked great and I was hooked on wood heating.
In 1999 my my wife, 2 kids and I moved into our current house, a 1900 square foot cape. It had a standard builders fireplace with a classic "smoke dragon" slammer setup. I did use this the first winter several times. The following spring I remodeled the living room and ditched the stove. I always wanted another stove though. Fast forward to the famous October snowstorm of 2011, I lost a large sugar maple on the property and had a friend ( a climber) drop it for me. I processed that tree in to about two cord. The wood sat on pallets for several years while I saved money and researched stove options. Now it is January of 2014 and I see a brand new Napoleon 1402 insert listed for $1200 on Ebay and it is only about 40 miles away in East Hampton Mass. The auction was scheduled to end at 10:42 pm on Sunday 1/12/14. I clicked on watch but did not bid. I checked the auction several times a day, there were 5 other watchers, that Sunday I stayed up and bid on the insert with 20 seconds to go and got it for $1200. I picked it up the following Tuesday.it turns out a contractor was selling it for a client who decided they didn't want it. I contacted a friend who does installs for a stove dealer on the CT shoreline and he helped me install it the following Friday. Including what I payed him and the liner insulation etc. it cost me about $1000, so about $2200 for a brand new 1402 installed. I waited for a good deal and lucked out big time.
I rarely pay full price for things if I can help it. So I have about two burning seasons with the insert, it is pretty easy to operate and I really enjoy it. I have a wooded acre lot and also scrounge, I am almost three years ahead and should be by summers end, mostly white oak and shag bark hickory with maple, cherry, and elm as shoulder fuels. I use about 3 cord a year. Oh, and the building inspector blessed it and my insurance company is good with it.
In 1999 my my wife, 2 kids and I moved into our current house, a 1900 square foot cape. It had a standard builders fireplace with a classic "smoke dragon" slammer setup. I did use this the first winter several times. The following spring I remodeled the living room and ditched the stove. I always wanted another stove though. Fast forward to the famous October snowstorm of 2011, I lost a large sugar maple on the property and had a friend ( a climber) drop it for me. I processed that tree in to about two cord. The wood sat on pallets for several years while I saved money and researched stove options. Now it is January of 2014 and I see a brand new Napoleon 1402 insert listed for $1200 on Ebay and it is only about 40 miles away in East Hampton Mass. The auction was scheduled to end at 10:42 pm on Sunday 1/12/14. I clicked on watch but did not bid. I checked the auction several times a day, there were 5 other watchers, that Sunday I stayed up and bid on the insert with 20 seconds to go and got it for $1200. I picked it up the following Tuesday.it turns out a contractor was selling it for a client who decided they didn't want it. I contacted a friend who does installs for a stove dealer on the CT shoreline and he helped me install it the following Friday. Including what I payed him and the liner insulation etc. it cost me about $1000, so about $2200 for a brand new 1402 installed. I waited for a good deal and lucked out big time.
I rarely pay full price for things if I can help it. So I have about two burning seasons with the insert, it is pretty easy to operate and I really enjoy it. I have a wooded acre lot and also scrounge, I am almost three years ahead and should be by summers end, mostly white oak and shag bark hickory with maple, cherry, and elm as shoulder fuels. I use about 3 cord a year. Oh, and the building inspector blessed it and my insurance company is good with it.
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