What to look for/be careful of when looking for a used stove?

izzyq · Dec 27, 2012

I grew up in a home where electric heating was too expensive so my parents burned wood. I am now looking to put a stove into my home. Our house has an open floor plan and is about 1800 square feet in size. The stove will be in the middle of the house as we are tapping into an existing masonry chimney (had it checked out by a local chimney guy and a local mason).

We would ideally like a stove that has a good size fire viewing area. We would prefer soapstone or cast iron and prefer a slimmer profile, more rectangular instead of square. I have been looking on craigslist hoping to find a Jotul or Hearthstone (soapstone) stove and may have found a Heritage for sale for $1200. My husband and I will be taking a trip to go check it out but I'm looking for some advice on the right things to look for, questions to ask, etc. for any of these stoves on craigslist and if there are any other brands you think we should be considering.

My husband has a construction background and will be working with the mason on the chimney and will be building the floor and back walls for whatever stove we buy. We just don't want to make a rookie mistake and buy a bad stove because we didn't know what to look for. We have some seasoned wood in our backyard now and may buy some additional and trade with our neighbor who has stacks and stacks of seasoned wood in his yard. This way we can start burning right away.

thanks for any help.

paredown · Dec 27, 2012

My small bit of advice is to work with a knowledgeable installer for whatever brand you find--and the ones that you have mentioned all were on my list when I was looking.

As someone on this board advised me, you may find that your insurance company will not cover you if you self-install, and you can then have the stove checked over by someone who knows the brand of stove and can advise what might need to be done to it.

My personal story--we stumbled onto a free Jotul 600 (a miracle in itself), and with coaching from the guys on this forum, I redid door gaskets and repainted it myself. What I did not see (because I did not know anything about stoves) were the cracked baffles, and so I proceeded to burn for 2 winters, and wasted a great deal of wood because the stove was not working optimally. My installer also was not topnotch nor did he know the brand, and so he did not notice the badly warped baffles.

Post anything you find on the board and you will get reliable advice on whether it is a decent stove.

Edit: forgot to add--if you keep an eye on this board there have been a few postings from members who have spotted good deals when stores have cleared stock or things like that

Hearth Mistress · Dec 27, 2012

We got our stove used from a friend moving to Florida and the new owners didn't want it (fools). I knew they used it off and on but now where near 24/7 burners, just when they wanted to look at a fire. We had been looking at stoves so only knew what little we researched. This is the perfect stove for our set up and have no regrets. However, here is what we found out that helped us do it right:
1- call your insurance company to determine if your homeowners insurance will go up, what is covered and what is required for the install. My insurance company required a certified installer and proof of annual chimney sweep. The township also had some specific requirements but the local installer was well versed on what was needed.
2- make sure you go on line and print the manual if it doesn't come with the stove. We found out the hard way that the wrong size gasket was replaced on the stove door. I guess because it wasn't used loaded up for full day burns, our friends never knew it was wrong. Our first few fires were run aways as the gasket was too big and a lot of extra air was coming in making an inferno. Go over it inside and out replacing the baffles and bricks if need be. A hundred bucks or so is worth the investment to burn safe and efficient.
3- get a thermometer, don't guess. We have a probe that measures the flue temp, highly recommend it.
4- The six sigma in me has a tendency to over complicated things, but at first, I measured each piece of wood for moisture content and with a sharpie, wrote it on the end of each piece. I also kept a "burn diary" for the first few months to keep a record of what worked and what didn't. Wood type, percent moisture, load burn time, arrangement, air controls, etc so I was able to work out the best methods for my stove.
5- come here often, read,post, read some more! There are no stupid questions and we have all been there at one time or another. However, if you get around to cooking with your stove, don't just talk about it, be sure to take pictures to post for all of us to see

GOOD LUCK!

begreen · Dec 27, 2012

Look for any cracks in the stones or cast iron frame. On the inside of the stove, examine carefully for any sagging, warped or distorted metal tubes or plates at top. Here's a general guide posted a while back:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Used_Stove_buying_Primer/

If starting from scratch you might consider skipping a masonry chimney and just go straight up in the house with a stainless high temp pipe.It will draft better and will cost a lot less. The hearth can still be masonry.

firefighterjake · Dec 28, 2012

izzyq said:
I grew up in a home where electric heating was too expensive so my parents burned wood. I am now looking to put a stove into my home. Our house has an open floor plan and is about 1800 square feet in size. The stove will be in the middle of the house as we are tapping into an existing masonry chimney (had it checked out by a local chimney guy and a local mason).

We would ideally like a stove that has a good size fire viewing area. We would prefer soapstone or cast iron and prefer a slimmer profile, more rectangular instead of square. I have been looking on craigslist hoping to find a Jotul or Hearthstone (soapstone) stove and may have found a Heritage for sale for $1200. My husband and I will be taking a trip to go check it out but I'm looking for some advice on the right things to look for, questions to ask, etc. for any of these stoves on craigslist and if there are any other brands you think we should be considering.

My husband has a construction background and will be working with the mason on the chimney and will be building the floor and back walls for whatever stove we buy. We just don't want to make a rookie mistake and buy a bad stove because we didn't know what to look for. We have some seasoned wood in our backyard now and may buy some additional and trade with our neighbor who has stacks and stacks of seasoned wood in his yard. This way we can start burning right away.

thanks for any help.

Some replies and the thread posted should help . . . another thing you can do if possible is post some pics . . . outside pics are good . . . inside pics are sometimes even more useful. Folks here may be able to give you a heads up if they see something that stands out.

Gotta ask as well . . . this seasoned wood . . . when was it cut, split and stacked? The EPA stoves really need well seasoned wood for fuel . . . unlike the stoves of yesteryear that you may have grown up with that could burn just about anything and everything.

Oldhippie · Dec 28, 2012

Hearth Mistress said:
The six sigma in me has a tendency to over complicated things, but at first, I measured each piece of wood for moisture content and with a sharpie, wrote it on the end of each piece. I also kept a "burn diary" for the first few months to keep a record of what worked and what didn't. Wood type, percent moisture, load burn time, arrangement, air controls, etc so I was able to work out the best methods for my stove.

That's incredible.

izzyq · Dec 28, 2012

firefighterjake said:
Gotta ask as well . . . this seasoned wood . . . when was it cut, split and stacked? The EPA stoves really need well seasoned wood for fuel . . . unlike the stoves of yesteryear that you may have grown up with that could burn just about anything and everything.

The wood in our yard was cut and stacked about 2 years ago, Our neighbors was split and stacked by him anywhere from this year to 5 years ago. He only heats his home with wood so he's continuously building his stack. Obviously we would only trade for the older stuff.

izzyq · Dec 28, 2012

Thanks everyone for the helpful ideas. We are hoping to go look at the stove this weekend. It is a Hearthstone Heritage, purchased new 3 years ago, used it for 2 seasons. Owner did say the front door has a crack so that will need to be replaced. They are asking $1200. Owner is moving and can' t take it with him

johnsgunworks · Dec 28, 2012

That sounds like it may be a solid deal! Be sure to post some pics of what you see.

remkel · Dec 28, 2012

Hearth Mistress said:
We got our stove used from a friend moving to Florida and the new owners didn't want it (fools). I knew they used it off and on but now where near 24/7 burners, just when they wanted to look at a fire. We had been looking at stoves so only knew what little we researched. This is the perfect stove for our set up and have no regrets. However, here is what we found out that helped us do it right:
1- call your insurance company to determine if your homeowners insurance will go up, what is covered and what is required for the install. My insurance company required a certified installer and proof of annual chimney sweep. The township also had some specific requirements but the local installer was well versed on what was needed.
2- make sure you go on line and print the manual if it doesn't come with the stove. We found out the hard way that the wrong size gasket was replaced on the stove door. I guess because it wasn't used loaded up for full day burns, our friends never knew it was wrong. Our first few fires were run aways as the gasket was too big and a lot of extra air was coming in making an inferno. Go over it inside and out replacing the baffles and bricks if need be. A hundred bucks or so is worth the investment to burn safe and efficient.
3- get a thermometer, don't guess. We have a probe that measures the flue temp, highly recommend it.
4- The six sigma in me has a tendency to over complicated things, but at first, I measured each piece of wood for moisture content and with a sharpie, wrote it on the end of each piece. I also kept a "burn diary" for the first few months to keep a record of what worked and what didn't. Wood type, percent moisture, load burn time, arrangement, air controls, etc so I was able to work out the best methods for my stove.
5- come here often, read,post, read some more! There are no stupid questions and we have all been there at one time or another. However, if you get around to cooking with your stove, don't just talk about it, be sure to take pictures to post for all of us to see

GOOD LUCK!

All I can say is you are hired! Anyone putting that much effort into wood burning is ok in my book. I am more of the trial and error.....unfortunately, the errors far outweigh the trials.

Hearth Mistress · Dec 28, 2012

Oldhippie said:
That's incredible.

So no one else has taken it to this extreme? Honestly, yes, everything goes through my six sigma brain filter regardless of what the task is but I was terrified of burning my house down and I swear had sun burn staring at my stove the first few weeks, even sleeping on the sofa to watch the fire. Now, heck, as long as it's above 70 in here, I know everything is going ok

ailanthus · Dec 29, 2012

Hearth Mistress said:
The six sigma in me has a tendency to over complicated things, but at first, I measured each piece of wood for moisture content and with a sharpie, wrote it on the end of each piece. I also kept a "burn diary" for the first few months to keep a record of what worked and what didn't. Wood type, percent moisture, load burn time, arrangement, air controls, etc so I was able to work out the best methods for my stove.

Wow! That may be 8 or 9 sigma! Kudos.

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What to look for/be careful of when looking for a used stove?

izzyq

Member

paredown

Burning Hunk

Hearth Mistress

Minister of Fire

begreen

Mooderator

firefighterjake

Minister of Fire

Oldhippie

Minister of Fire

izzyq

Member

izzyq

Member

johnsgunworks

Member

remkel

Minister of Fire

Hearth Mistress

Minister of Fire

ailanthus

Feeling the Heat

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