The Economics of Burning Wood
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Yes but the people rebuilding 350s aren't putting out the money for testing r&d etc that the stove manufacturers are.
No not just woodstoves at all. I am just pointing out that it isn't your local stove shop or sweep raising the prices. Most of it is in the cost of steel and the cost of shipping.
clux
Member
But the people building stoves aren't machining parts to thousands of inches either.
Absolutely, I was lucky as because I had bought 2 previous woodstoves from my dealer he gave me 15% off.sadly he sold the business and retired
No but the equipment to do that isn't much different in cost than the equipment used to build stoves. They are also generally not buying nearly the amount of raw materials when they rebuild a motor. That's where allot of the cost comes from now
clux
Member
Which parts take a $250,000 engine lathe or a $400,000 decking machine? Not to mention highly skilled labor to operate them.
You don't think cnc water jet or plasma cutters cost that much? Or robotic welders? Cnc breaks etc etc. These stoves aren't being made by a guy in his garage with a grinder and a welder any more. They use sophisticated and highly accurate equipment as well and have highly skilled labor doing that work
clux
Member
I understand that.
Will their stove fail if one part is off by a few thousands of an inch?
No but if it does fail it can burn a house down. Just because something required more precision doesn't make it more expensive nessecarily. That's just not how economics work.
clux
Member
If it's off by a few thousands of an inch can it burn a house down?
Btw you can still buy stoves cheaper than most good remanufactured short blocks and can spend way more on a short block than the most expensive stove
clux
Member
You're implying it takes just as much skill/precision to keep from burning a house down with a wood stove as it does to machine an internal combustion engine. It doesn't.
Think about the complexity it takes just to turn the journals true on a crankshaft.
I clearly said no to your question. Clearly it takes more precision to rebuild an engine. But honestly once you have the proper equipment the skill required isn't that much different. And regardless that skill and precision is only a small part of what goes into the final price.
clux
Member
Sure you can. But the precision to turn out the most basic chevy 350 is way more than the precision to turn out the biggest and best woodstove.
clux
Member
I suspect it has far more to do with sales volume than the technology or skill to produce it.
Yes that is a big part of it. As is the ammount of raw material used in the process. Operating costs including testing certifications shipping insurance etc etc etc.
And if you go to something other than a Chevy small block the price can go up pretty quickly
My equipment is more expensive than yours. No mine is.
Well, mine is bigger.
Well, mine is bigger.
clux
Member
Yes and there is allot more than 100 lbs in a stove especially figuring in waste. Then you have all the other parts.
clux
Member
👍
And those two precision seated intake valves on a woodstove, those have to be really expensive and hard to manufacture.
I see where you're coming from, I don't know why I ever questioned the price of a stove.
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