OK now maybe I am the perfect guy to help you out or maybe not the perfect guy :cheese: . I have both of these stoves in freestanding not insert, but my father in law has the insert from Avalon and absolutely loves it. This is really the reason why I finally broke down and bought the Avalon Olympic, while still hanging on to the Summit.
Here is my comparison, and again I love both of these stoves so I am not bashing any of them.
Avalon is a little "harder" to load up fully with splits since it is really meant for East/West loads. Yes you can load N/S and many, including myself do, but you do not have the ability to load long splits in it. About 16 inch North/South burns and that is pretty damn close to the glass when you close it. But if you cut all your wood 15 or 16 inches you are going to have a hell of a lot of wood in it, pretty sweet. Avalon burns very hot, now maybe this is just my setup but it burns hotter than my Summit does. I can only compare this to my stove and my brother in laws stove, also a Summit. So I am comparing two Avalons against two Summits, please only take this as my opinion. The Avalon has a top bypass damper to stop puffbacks when you open the stove and it heats the stove up a little quicker if you keep it open when starting. The best benefit in my book is the ease of cleaning it. Just open the damper and Viola, the powdery black stuff falls into the stove when you clean the chimney. This is even easier than the Summit but the Summit is just as simple, take out the pin and take out the baffle and you are done, so also Viola. The Summit really does not need a bypass damper, with good wood you won't see any puffbacks. Glass stays a little cleaner on the Summit than on the Avalon and I am pushing it here.... I am talking about a slight gray on the corners of the Avalon against a small black spot on the Summit. Don't put too much stock in this as this is obviously the way I burn the stoves.
The Summit is so easy to burn even a Caveman can do it (Where the hell is that man, I am sure he will chime in soon). The EBT, Extended Burn Tech, is very sweet. I work eight hours shifts and it is nice to char the wood, get her hot, and then shut her down all the way and the let the EBT do the rest while I am gone. You will get hot coals easily after 8 hours. The Avalon is a little different to do, still no problem getting that overnight or overwork :lol: burns. On the Avalon I have noticed that on mine and my father in laws you have to shut the stove down in stages. Still the same result as the Summit, but again for guys like me that can't wait, I choose the EBT. One more thing, I can guarantee you won't have any pieces of wood left over in the Summit, I have seen (now again this is really pushing it) some small pieces, microscopic even :cheese: , in the Avalon when I left her completely out. Again this may be pushing it...
Price: With gold door, ash pan, blower, and pedestal the Summit is a hell of a lot cheaper than the Avalon. If you have the cash, well you decided
Door opens from the left on the Avalon, on the right on the Summit, big deal? probably not.
Blowers are about the same, the Summit you can keep it on all the time along with Rheostat, but the Avalon only has rheostat. I am going to tinker with mine and but a switch on it so I can do both. My Avalon comes on at about 450 which is a little late in my book, therefore I put a switch...... Both very nice blowers overall.
Glass, viewing area bout the same on both
While I understand the BTU rating is higher on the Summit than on the Avalon I would not put too much emphasis on this. Both are beasts that will burn as hot as you need. Like I have said I think the Avalon burns a little hotter than the Summit, but the Summit will(might) get you a longer burn. I have heard some members in my "PE Summit Crew" get 13 -15 hours with coals, WOW. I am not that "good" with the stove, yet, and so my burns are shorter. I know some Avalon guys get really long burns too like Adirondack wood burner does.
Can't figure out what one I prefer? I prefer having both stoves and it is that simple. It is like having pizza and Buffalo wings, both are great!
Quite the problem to have in choosing between the two, right? Not at all, you are in a good situation and simply cannot lose
Remember these are only my views of these stoves (some may agree, some may not) and I am not an expect at all, just a guy that waits for cold days and nights even in the summer to start a fire in the stove. Yes I know I have a problem, many of us do :cheese: Thank goodness I am married and have one son to pass on all of my "obsessions" too
Choose the one you really like and you will be fine. Like BG said 4 to 6 weeks is not bad. You could always be a squeaky wheel and maybe you will get it faster. I recommend going to the store everyday in about 3 weeks and just hang around (loiter even...). They will get so sick of looking at you they will do that install just as quick as a :cheese: fly to sh..t. If does work try the non-shower, non-brush your teeth move and be a "Seinfeld" close talker. Oh ya that will work faster :lol:
