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[MattyNH]

You know what slim..My statement isn't coming from a dealer.. point blank.. Its just that I see CB everywhere.. Seeing a certain brand makes the new guy question it...Heck a new E-CB was install about a mile from me in the late fall…And thats fine on what your said..Ive seen your setup at the Fryeburg Fair, saw it again this last fair..It is a impressive boiler.. Both boilers are only compared on this..Not a bad thing..Least what you sell is talked about..

[slimjim]

Mtoll and Matty you are both right with your statements, Matty are you going to Fryeburg this year, if so introduce yourself and hang out a while.

[Scott7m]

Shewwwww......    Sometimes I just shake my head.   

No response needed lo

[slimjim]

Oh come on Scott tell us how you really feel and please take some of the heat off poor old me, good time for a plug and I certainly don't mind.

[Scott7m]

Oh come on Scott tell us how you really feel and please take some of the heat off poor old me, good time for a plug and I certainly don't mind.

Slim, u know we have very similar views on it haha

It's like a mouse trap around here haha

[mlappin]

Guys, far as I'm concerned it all comes down to dealer support. No point in buying something if your dealer is hard to get ahold of or half a day drive away for parts.

On the farm I use all New Holland hay equipment. Why? I have a very well stocked dealer 15 miles away, if they don't have the part I have two other dealers within an hours drive.

Comparing a Central Boiler to a Portage and Main is apples and oranges.

I looked heavily into a CB, have a dealer for them about 45 minutes away. A google search turned up a lot of disgruntled customers with both the dealer and CB, another google search turned up a lot of complaints with one states or anthers BBB against CB concerning gasifier stoves and warranty issues. This led me to lean heavily towards P&M, unfortunately the closest dealer for those is a good three hour drive away. Hence I'm most likely going to build my own.

Been told I can't build my own gasifier by a few locally, therefore I have to now.

Year ago was also told to buy one instead as I couldn't build a boiler from scratch. This is the thirteenth heating season for the first boiler I built. No re-welding since the first firing either.

[slimjim]

 Mlappin, good for you on the build, if you are going to use our 250 for a reverse engineering tool, don't start yet, can't say any more just yet but soon.

[Oakhillhounds]

I will be putting in a owb this spring/summer, so have been on this forum every day for the past six mounths reading what everybody has to say, as far as cb and pm, I would have to agree with slim,  MARKETING! Cb has fancy controls a variety of colors, but remember we are burning wood to heat water! Keep is simple!  Not bashing CB at all, I know a few people who have them, and love them, but they did zero research, so nothing to compare it to! Also I believe the service is as important as the boiler it self, just as Roxanne on this site, do you guys think she would of had this many post if she was dealing with slim??  The research I have done Leeds me to believe every boiler has it's pro's and cons,   Just my opinion!

[CountryBoyJohn]

I ran into a unique situation here in my county.  I know of about 12 boilers in my county.  8 of them are Hardy Heaters.  Why?  Because 15 years ago one of the farmers started up a "dealership" and sold them to all his buddies.  That's all there was.  He said they were great, so people bought them.  Word of mouth was much more powerful then, than it is now with the internet and all.  But, I could tell after researching and looking at the Hardy's, that there were MANY better choices.  Sorry to you Hardy guys, if you love your stove, then I'm happy for you.  But, I think they are one of the least efficient stoves on the market. 

Anyway, back to my main point.  Marketing had nothing to do with it here.  It was simply lack of options and a opportunistic (in a good way) farmer!

P.S. I like how the guy who started this thread hasn't been back yet!! 

[yoderheating]

 I would suspect the reason P&M and Central get compared to each other is the mild steel construction? That is the only thing I can think of. Personally I've never watched a P&M operate but I've heard good things. As far as Central goes I guess they are not the worst company on the market but I think their design is poor, they are definitely more of the 'big company' type and they are very over priced in my opinion.
 Talking about market share vs a quality stove, we did a show in NC last week and 80% of the current furnace owners I spoke with had Taylors. There is an example of one of the worst furnaces on the market having a large market share. I assume it is because there are not many options in NC, furnaces like P&M haven't made it this far south. I swear I had one Taylor owner look into a Heat Master and say " I like how they found a way to keep hot coals from landing on your feet like mine does every time I open the door".    And here I was all ready to sell him on a new one based on efficiency ect.

[mlappin]

Mlappin, good for you on the build, if you are going to use our 250 for a reverse engineering tool, don't start yet, can't say any more just yet but soon.

Does the include the 350 as well?

First off farm job I had I started in high school, doing maintenance for a place that pre stained cedar siding for the high end housing market. Machines to do this weren't available commercially so we built them as needed. I took an old earlier machine they had and modified it so all the rollers and brushes could be lifted out as one unit and a rebuilt unit could be dropped in place in about ten minutes or less. Bearings didn't last long as from being constantly exposed to the mineral spirits in the stain. The brushes used to get any dust or splinters of the boards didn't last very long either. Then no matter how well it was cleaned the brushes used to spread the stain then get the excess off would eventually get hard from stain buildup.

I get a sense of satisfaction when I build something myself, then have other people ask me where I bought it or what brand it is.

[slimjim]

I would be happy to give you some ideas, (offline), gotta stay on the cutting edge you know.

[mlappin]

I would suspect the reason P&M and Central get compared to each other is the mild steel construction? That is the only thing I can think of. Personally I've never watched a P&M operate but I've heard good things. As far as Central goes I guess they are not the worst company on the market but I think their design is poor, they are definitely more of the 'big company' type and they are very over priced in my opinion.
 Talking about market share vs a quality stove, we did a show in NC last week and 80% of the current furnace owners I spoke with had Taylors. There is an example of one of the worst furnaces on the market having a large market share. I assume it is because there are not many options in NC, furnaces like P&M haven't made it this far south. I swear I had one Taylor owner look into a Heat Master and say " I like how they found a way to keep hot coals from landing on your feet like mine does every time I open the door".    And here I was all ready to sell him on a new one based on efficiency ect.

I've found the best service I've gotten is from the small to medium family owned business. Once it turns corporate things like customer service tend to fall by the wayside in favor of profits and the bonuses that result from said profits.

Marketing plays a huge part as well. I still have Oliver tractors on the farm and use most of them daily during hay season. Oliver was a decade ahead of the competition back in the day, off the top of my head they had the first 6 speed transmission with two reverse gears, the first live hydraulics, the first live pto, etc. But they relied on mostly word of mouth and spent little on advertising, while companies that had somewhat inferior products spent more on advertising than R&D but those companies are still around.

[slimjim]

My first tractor was I think something like a 1956 Oliver OC3 crawler with a bucket, I got 2 in a load of scrap metal and used them both to make one, WHAT A GREAT TRACTOR, I used it for 6 years and then sold it for 3800 dollars, I've kicked myself in the ars several times for doing that. Just picked up a 1978 New Holland skid steer with a 4 cylinder Wisconsin engine, runs nice but there was nothing like the sound of that old continental engine with a straight pipe on it for sunday AM in the neighborhood.

[mlappin]

I need to find a crawler to add to the Oliver collection. Have quite a few of them, not all running atm, just have to make time to put em back together.

Oliver collection includes:

(1) 66
(1) 77
(1) 770
(2) 88
(1) 880
(1) 1600
(1) 1755
(1) 1855
(1) 2255

Have two White 2-110's that are basically just an updated Oliver 1855/1955.

All are diesel except the 66 and 77

Would like to find a diesel 550 someday or a 99.

All except the 1755 and the 2-110's were used heavily when we had the dairy, several were ones my grandfather bought.

The 1600 was the last one my grandfather bought before passing. After Grandfather passed I stripped it clear down, sandblasted all the tin and even sandblasted all the cast iron parts bare. Repainted and put all new tires and seat on. Grandma cried when she seen Grandpa's new tractor. Still use it daily while making hay and quite a lot during harvest for running augers, etc.