How important is local dealer support for a trouble free experience?

We are going to replace our wood stove and I want as trouble free an installation experience as possible.

We will be in our mid 70’s in 10 years so I want the ongoing maintenance and support to be as smooth as possible. While I expect I will be around and healthy for the next 20 years or more, I want to leave my wife with as few issues as possible if something happens.

Our local heating and air company represents 3 different manufacturers all of which are known and make good stoves. They will also install any stove for a fee. If I bought a stove from a different manufacturer we would be responsible for any warranty and ongoing maintenance work in years to come. They will help for a fee but won’t have the technical familiarity with the stove that they would with one they work with all the time.

So, my question:

Given that I am trying to buy the stove that will give us heat for the rest of our lives in this home, with as little trouble and complications as possible, how important is it to buy a brand that the local dealer carries?

 

Better yet, which stoves require less maintenance?

Of utmost importance is educating your wife how important it is to hire a local and reputable chimney sweep for cleaning of the stove and chimney system as well as to maintain the stove...be that replacing gaskets, glass, secondary air tubes or a catalyst, replacing window gaskets, door gasket, adjusting door closure, etc. Honestly, a reputable chimney sweep “could” best answer these questions for you if he’s honest and you explain your concerns.

 

Do you really expect a stove to last 20 years? Not just the stove itself but will the technology become obsolete? My 20 year old pickup truck is considered very old, I can soon get antique collector plates! Will parts even be available?

Do you think that the dealer will be around in 20 years? And if so, still have the knowledge or business model to maintain your dinosaur wood stove?

I do not value the selling dealer at all and would happily mail order a stove from Vermont as many have or buy it on amazon if it was cheaper. Instead, if I were you, I would be looking for companies that provide the service you desire. One company for buying an appliance and another for service. Just like using a car mechanic instead of always going to the car dealership for service.

The only benefit of a brick and mortar dealership is that you can touch the stove before you buy it. Their advice is often lousy and you’re better off reading the manual or asking us questions.

Call some chimney sweeps and ask what they can do other than brush flues.

 

Words to live by in many situations, for sure.

This is something I’ve been thinking of asking.

It looks like I will need to make a maintenance schedule to keep track of all this.

 

We live in a remote part of the country. The nearest civilization is a village of 850 people. There are enough businesses to provide what we need but, in most cases, there is only one. The exception is that we have 2 hardware stores and 3 bars.
We have a small city a half hour away that has everything else we need so it works for us.

As such, we try to support our local businesses whenever possible. It is not always the least expensive way to go but I think it is important here. With so few businesses, when we lose one, there is a large impact to the community. So, I only buy something elsewhere if it is not available here, if possible. For example, I’ll by Woodstock if is way better than Hearthstone, but not if it is just better. I would still pay our local stove dealer to install it.

Hope that makes sense...