Today we hit 500 quality threads, which is pretty amazing considering that the Boiler Room has been in existence for less than four months. I want to thank everyone who has contributed to making this such a great resource for people interested in wood-fired central heating systems. It should come as no surprise that my goal is to build a comprehensive, interactive resource for this specialized-but-growing form of alternative energy. Thanks to all of you, I think we're well on the way to making that goal a reality. I'm always excited when we get a new member with a brand or model that nobody else has. To me, that adds a lot of depth to the site.
A frequent comment around here is "I wish this forum existed when I was shopping around for my system." Well, so do I. Last winter I Googled EKO 60 and came up with a bunch of websites from Poland and Germany, and a couple of dead message board threads on the Mother Earth News website. All I wanted to do was find somebody using the boiler I was thinking about buying to ask them a few simple questions. The closest I came to getting independent information was a Tarm users Yahoo Group where a couple of guys had Solo 60s. I figured there must be other people in the same boat as me, and reasoned that if Webmaster Craig would give the handful of serious central heating fanatics on Hearth.com our own forum, others would show up and contribute.
Many came, and most have stayed. More are arriving all the time. It's a good group of people with a lot of really good information, expertise and ideas.
This time around I especially want to thank master of sparks, heaterman, solar guy and all the other HVAC pros who take the time (and have the patience) to share their knowledge and experience with the rest of us. Time is money for these guys, and the time they spend here is a valuable contribution that I think deserves recognition. Despite a few feeble attempts by manufacturers to blatantly pimp their products in otherwise-unrelated threads, I don't think anybody's making any money here other than (I hope) our sponsors, Cozy Heat and Econoburn. The smart manufacturers and dealers, which is to say the majority, realize that the best way to promote their products is by getting their customers involved in the site and talking about their equipment and experiences. You might have noticed that New Horizon Corp. has a link to this forum on its homepage. That says a lot. I know from long experience in the publishing world that one satisfied customer is better publicity than all the hype in the world.
A frequent comment around here is "I wish this forum existed when I was shopping around for my system." Well, so do I. Last winter I Googled EKO 60 and came up with a bunch of websites from Poland and Germany, and a couple of dead message board threads on the Mother Earth News website. All I wanted to do was find somebody using the boiler I was thinking about buying to ask them a few simple questions. The closest I came to getting independent information was a Tarm users Yahoo Group where a couple of guys had Solo 60s. I figured there must be other people in the same boat as me, and reasoned that if Webmaster Craig would give the handful of serious central heating fanatics on Hearth.com our own forum, others would show up and contribute.
Many came, and most have stayed. More are arriving all the time. It's a good group of people with a lot of really good information, expertise and ideas.
This time around I especially want to thank master of sparks, heaterman, solar guy and all the other HVAC pros who take the time (and have the patience) to share their knowledge and experience with the rest of us. Time is money for these guys, and the time they spend here is a valuable contribution that I think deserves recognition. Despite a few feeble attempts by manufacturers to blatantly pimp their products in otherwise-unrelated threads, I don't think anybody's making any money here other than (I hope) our sponsors, Cozy Heat and Econoburn. The smart manufacturers and dealers, which is to say the majority, realize that the best way to promote their products is by getting their customers involved in the site and talking about their equipment and experiences. You might have noticed that New Horizon Corp. has a link to this forum on its homepage. That says a lot. I know from long experience in the publishing world that one satisfied customer is better publicity than all the hype in the world.