advice and help with possible used stove

Hey everyone, as always I appreciate all of the help and advice that I always get on here. And I need some again.

I am building a sunroom that ties in to my main level. It's approximely 350 Sq ft with cathedral ceilings. I am installing a PTAC (hotel ac/heater) for the room, but also want either a woodstove or pellet stove to supplement. I have been heating the house with wood only for the last 4 years with an Englander 30 in the basement. That stove will still be in service as well. I want a stove for sunroom that is more traditional looking and a little more attractive than the 30, which is my heat beast. I am on the fence between pellet and wood, mostly due to the chimney requirements differing. A pellet stove is a lot easier and cheaper to set up. However, pellets cost money and I have access to an unlimited amount of free firewood. In any case, please feel free to opine recommendations and also take a look at this stove with pipe I found for sale. To me, it seems like a smoking deal. But I am not sure about this Vermont Castings model. I have inquired and the owner said the Cat was still good as of last year.

Here is the verbiage of the ad on CL along with two photos:

Black used Vermont Casting
Resolute Acclaim wood stove.
Non Catalytic. Fits log size 16". Can load from the top or front of stove. About 8 years old. Maybe used 10 times a winter. Great shape. May need gaskets replaced, should be done every year.
Includes: Spark Screen, Cast iron stove pot, steamer, heat shield and tools.
Also, included or can be sold separately:
Inside pipe (about 7 feet)
Outside Stainless Steel Triple-Wall Chimney Stove Pipe (about 18 feet), enough for a 2 story house. New pipe costs about $ 97 per every 3 feet.
For everything $ 700

Please give me any and all advice pertaining to my choice of wood vs pellet and then this Vermont Castings stove

begreen said:

Personally I'd stay away unless the intent is to only use the stove for occasional fires or to sell it and keep the piping. The Acclaim is the stove that started giving VC a bad name. It is not a cat stove. It's a downdraft stove with a fragile refractory package.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I am in a bit of a conundrum with this whole situation. On one hand, I absolutely love the look of the stove. The room is going to have exposed hand hewn barn beams in the ceiling, a stone wall, and an old barn door on steel track so I would love something more classic looking. That is also why I have balked at pellet stoves. They are just kind of ugly to me. I have always loved VCs, and would even install a pre EPA VC if I could find it.

I have not figured out how much I will use the stove, and honestly won't know until I have the stove in and the room is complete. As I said before, the room will have one of those packaged heat pumps as the heat/AC. I have heard mixed reviews in regards to their efficacy below 25 degrees. I live in Southern PA, so it can get cold. The room is framed up now, and now is the time where I need to decide how and where I will route the SS chimney. The nice thing with the above listed stove is that the chminey problem is taken care of for me AND it comes with a VC which matches the look I want.

I guess the deal is good enough that I could buy the stove and pipe, install the chimney, and run the stove for a year. If I don't like it, I probably could still sell it for $500+? Thoughts?