Stove & fireplace shop tried to steer me away from coal

I was doing some errands on this past Saturday morning and happened to drive by a stove/fireplace showroom store. I decided to browse the selection and asked the lady at the front desk if she had any coal burning appliances. Out of a showroom of may 60-70 products, she only sold 5 kinds of various Harman hand fed stoves and one stoker stove. The lady told me that in the 9 years she has been there, she only sold one coal stove. Everyone seems to want pellet or propane stoves and for reasons that you "can't get coal delivered anymore". She said that coal "went out in the 90s" and gave an example of her parents who converted over to oil and then had to pay someone to remove the coal from the cellar. Of course with oil prices the way they were back then...

I thanked the lady for her time and decided to leave without debating on any of the issues. Why carry a product if you are going to be misinformed and not market it to your customers? No wonder they only sold 1 coal stove in the last 9 years...

Maybe location has an impact on having a reliable source for getting coal?
Out of all available fuels, seems like only a small percentage use it.

Coal is available. Southern New Hampshire/Manchester area. Not to the extent that pellet is available but it can be found. I just think this is a case where the public and even the dealer are not educated enough to know the benefits of coal.

NJJoe wrote:I thanked the lady for her time and decided to leave without debating on any of the issues. Why carry a product if you are going to be misinformed and not market it to your customers? No wonder they only sold 1 coal stove in the last 9 years...

I've given the "NEPA CROSSROADS" website to a few people who were misinformed. And a couple of them started asking me some questions about coal.
Information is valuable

Dennis wrote:

NJJoe wrote:I thanked the lady for her time and decided to leave without debating on any of the issues. Why carry a product if you are going to be misinformed and not market it to your customers? No wonder they only sold 1 coal stove in the last 9 years...

I've given the "NEPA CROSSROADS" website to a few people who were misinformed. And a couple of them started asking me some questions about coal.
Information is valuable

Very good idea to give the "NEPA CROSSROADs" site to stove dealers.
One important question to ask to a stove dealer, especially when selling coal/ant. stoves is:" what do you use for heating your house? And your store?..."
I couldn't sell something to others if it's not good enough for me

A local dealer asked me point blank:
"Doesn't burning coal turn everything in your house black?"
They sell wood, pellet, and gas stoves and fireplaces. They used to be a Harman dealer years ago.

I wouldn't spread the word about coal...

You can lead them to water, but you can't make them drink..............

You can buy a brand new LL 220 or a K-6 or a rebuilt EFM or AA for the money Harmon wants for a stoker stove!
The boiler price from them is so HIGH that only a Giraffe can read the writing on the price of the unit. Wake up whomever you can to the realities of life in our part of the world.......give them this link to the forum.

I think it is like a Consumer Education program. More to follow...and yes, coal is readily available all over NH. MA, ME, VT, RI, Conn......... and the entire Northeast.

Heck, it's as cheap in Ft Kent, Maine as it is here. Goggle Ft Kent, ME for all of those who don't understand how far it is to the northeast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! About 950 miles from Pottsville, PA!!!!! I'm 505 miles myself....and New Jersey can't find coal? Pellets in NJ? We make them here too as do most all the other states......btu/ton for pellets VS btu/ton coal......no brainer....then there is the cost comparison.....
Tony Soprano must be doing some 'magic' with those TT units full of Black Gold!

whistlenut wrote: I'm 505 miles myself....and New Jersey can't find coal? Pellets in NJ? We make them here too as do most all the other states......btu/ton for pellets VS btu/ton coal......no brainer....then there is the cost comparison.....
Tony Soprano must be doing some 'magic' with those TT units full of Black Gold!

Whistlenut, I think you may have read my post wrong. I'm talking about a discussion I had with a fireplace store in the Manchester NH area, Hooksett to be specific. I was raised in NJ hence my username. The lady at the store claims that in NH we can't get coal delivered!

Horse-poop!!!! City slickers down there, Prius drivin' SOB's......Light duty pellet pushers!

HOWEVER there are MANY coal burning folks in that area. Manchester Coal and Ice used to distribute over 12000 tons a season.....high lift trucks, filling bunkers, Industrial boilers at the mills.....the whole deal.
(Back when Rail was the delivery method!)
Not many stoker rigs that I've seen, except for Alaska small radiant stoves. Old boilers and Octopus nut and stove Hot Air Units are pretty much gone now.

I know 'Tony S' probably can get you all the black stuff you need, anyway.
Agway, Derry , Grain Stores....but the real issue is for folks that want rice or a rice and buck mix. Still a hard commodity to find. Clarke's Grain in Epsom....if you needed to know. All you want...pricey.

When you take the road less traveled you have to be ready to help yourself. Many stove shops have little or no coal burning units in stock, and if they agree to sell you something that burns coal you will have to figure out how to light the first fire. Obviously there are exceptions, but in my area coal ignorance is the rule rather than the exception.

It must be a Harman Thing. I was convinced to but a Harman Magnum after burning a Buderus hand fed for 28 years. One dealer could of cared less on giving me a quote, and the other dealer which I bought my Buderus from years ago never bothered to call me back even though I said I needed no sales info just a price!

In Bucks County, PA they have a dealer called, "Wood Heat." They have two or three big stores and even a TV show to push wood and pellet burning. Well, so I went in there one day----------- to get some stove polish and a few other things that any store should have. Well, as you can imagine, since I am a big trouble maker; there was a discussion. They have no knowledge or interest in coal stoves and I got the, "coal is evil," speech. This a big store mind you and they inform and advise the uniformed potential buyer. If anyone goes in there looking for a coal stove or related information, they will surely be steered wrong. After a few minutes, I placed the goods I was going to get on the counter and left.

If you call up Emery, at Antique Stove Hospital, Doug at Barnstable, The nice folks at Ginger Creek Antique Stoves or, the Bryants up in Maine. If you are serious about purchasing a stove, each one of these people will inform you as to what you should look for and help you out with any question you might have. So, call these people about a coal stove. They will know what you are talking about.

Here at the Stove Hospital I have a nice base heater going on coal all winter. Many foks walk in and start talking wood but after seeing and feeling the stove running , they often start to ask about coal. When they hear all the advantages and see how the stove runs they usually take a long hard look at coal burners. I had one customer buy two coal stoves and reduce his heating bill from $9400 per season to $700. He lived is a drafty old farm house and now sings the praises of coal to all the will listen. They also get to see that I have several seasons of heat stored onsight so I don't sweat the ups and downs of the market. I like coal and so do the customers once they look it over.

NJJoe, you should have offered to haul all those nasty stoves out of there for them free of charge.

Rob R. wrote:When you take the road less traveled you have to be ready to help yourself. Many stove shops have little or no coal burning units in stock, and if they agree to sell you something that burns coal you will have to figure out how to light the first fire. Obviously there are exceptions, but in my area coal ignorance is the rule rather than the exception.

That's what happened to me when I bought the Harman. Bought it and then I was on my own. The dealer was absolutely no help whatsoever.