new vs used pellet stove

snowman89 said:

I am tired of buying wet wood. So we are looking at going pellet.

1600 for a Harmen accentra used. Heats 1500 sq ft
1600 for a Hudson river niagra (refurbished) issues with augers I was told. Heats 2000 sq feet. warrantee and 30% tax break

What do you think.

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Y'know. . . if you bought wet wood right now it wouldn't be wet wood next year.

Just a thought.

Get a receipt for your stove and you can also get a rebate from Uncle Obama, er, Sam.

I bought a used St. Croix with a one warranty from the dealer... didn't have to use it. I'm also looking for another used stove this winter for my shop. Ifd you buy one, find a GOOD dealer and take it to their shop for a complete service (and test burn) before you take it home.

snowman89 said:

I am tired of buying wet wood. So we are looking at going pellet.

1600 for a Harmen accentra used. Heats 1500 sq ft
1600 for a Hudson river niagra (refurbished) issues with augers I was told. Heats 2000 sq feet. warrantee and 30% tax break

What do you think.

Click to expand...

What year was the Harman made?

Have heard not-so-good things about Hudson River stoves.....problems w/ a new stove, and poor customer service was one that sticks out in my mind.

If the Harman isn't too old, and seems clean and in decent shape, get that. If it's a private party that you buy it from, make sure that they start and run the stove for you before you pay for it.

snowman89 said:

I am tired of buying wet wood. So we are looking at going pellet.

1600 for a Harmen accentra used. Heats 1500 sq ft
1600 for a Hudson river niagra (refurbished) issues with augers I was told. Heats 2000 sq feet. warrantee and 30% tax break

What do you think.

Click to expand...

First off I don't think either is going to heat your house completely. Your other post said 7 to 9 cords total. Thats a lot of BTU's to replace. Your looking at maybe 70,000(approx) BTU's from your wood stove.

Hudson river niagra 35,000 BTU's

Harmen accentra 40,000 BTU's

How many Squarefeet are you heating???

I wouldn't touch any stove less than 60,000 BTU's (10% less than the wood stove approx). Just to be safe. You will toast those little stoves trying to get the BTU's from them. Or worse FREEZE.

I would look into a pellet furnace if I were you.

Just trying to be realistic
jay

A pellet stove contains a reasonably sophisticated electronics control board and is a somewhat complex space heater that by it`s nature is highly subject to various electro/mechanical breakdowns especially one that has been used and it will be rare to find one that hasn`t been used well past it`s warranty period . You have to assume it`s been well used since it is not possible to use a pellet stove gently and if it was such a good dependable stove , why would it be for sale? It`s hard to always know these answers for sure. It could soon need costly repairs that few if any dealers or factories would be willing to go out of their way to support you. Typically, you would be on your own . However that`s not always a bad thing if you are at all mechanically inclined.
Seeing and hearing the stove operate is one sure way to minimize the possibility of buying a pig in a poke.
My rule of thumb would be to buy a used stove not more than 3-4 yrs old and then only at a bargain basement price having already known what it cost new . I`d not pay more than 1/3 the price of a new one unless it is less than 2 yrs old.
For the uninitiated it might be wise to consider a new stove since the rebates are in effect and you get a warranty too.`
I got my Harman for $500 with 35 bags of Dry Creek pellets and am on my second year with no problem.
I got lucky.

Added later: 7-9 cords a year? Either you need insulation or new windows or both . Maybe close off some rooms in the winter? Maybe a new high efficiency wood furnace for more heat with less wood.

Double check on the tax incentive this site says must be new:

http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=US43F&re=1&ee=1

Incentive Type: Personal Tax Credit

State: Federal

Eligible Efficiency Technologies: Water Heaters, Furnaces, Boilers, Heat pumps, Air conditioners, Building Insulation, Windows, Doors, Roofs, Circulating fans used in a

qualifying furnace

Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: Biomass, Stoves that use qualified biomass fuel

Applicable Sectors: Residential

Amount: 30%

Maximum Incentive: Aggregate amount of credit for all technologies placed in service in 2009 and 2010 combined is limited to $1,500

Equipment/Installation Requirements: Equipment must be new and in compliance with all applicable performance and safety standards as described in tax code

I have bought 2 used pellet stoves, Great deal can be had when you buy in the off season. I make sure to run them for at least a hour. we ran my last one outside. I check them over see it they have been cleaned and if the owners even knows how to clean it. I got my Harman P61 for $700 it was in great shape the seller had receipts from having the local dealer clean it once a year. Came with all the pipe and a hearth. He was asking $1,000 I asked him what the "BEST" he would take right there on the spot he said $700 I said "I will take it"

Craigslist is where I find most of the deals

Best of luck

jo2fst4u said:

I have bought 2 used pellet stoves, Great deal can be had when you buy in the off season. I make sure to run them for at least a hour. we ran my last one outside. I check them over see it they have been cleaned and if the owners even knows how to clean it. I got my Harman P61 for $700 it was in great shape the seller had receipts from having the local dealer clean it once a year. Came with all the pipe and a hearth. He was asking $1,000 I asked him what the "BEST" he would take right there on the spot he said $700 I said "I will take it"

Craigslist is where I find most of the deals

Best of luck

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From what I gather, Hudson River stoves are made in China and private labeled for sale in the USA. Ask the Hudson dealer if the stove is made in China or not. I bought 6 Reading coal stoves from a company in PA. The boxes arrived last year with a HUGE Made in China stamp on them. Needless to say, even with ebaying them at cost, because I tell folks they are made in China, they are all still in my warehouse

Hudson River didn't make the stove with quality parts to begin with; refurbishing one with substandard quality parts isn't likely to help much. I strongly doubt if your dealer will be up front about the stove being made in China; parts are made in China, assembly takes place in B.C, I believe.

Hudson River Stove Company, aka BAC Sales is not really forthcoming with customer support. I can't speak to Harman's quality of newer stoves, nor the company's customer service. I can say first-hand, though, that if there's an issue with a Hudson River stove, you might get a returned phone call in a year. They expect the dealer to provide the service to the customer... if your dealer can't be bothered you'll be on your own.

Before I bought my Astoria in '08, I looked into a Hudson River stove. I even called the company direct, and tried to get information, but they were very wishy-washy with their answers......seemed I could never pin them down to anything specific, and "tech support" was always "busy" and couldn't talk.

I got a bad feeling, and instead of a brand new Hudson River stove, I went with the "dealer used" Astoria...it was the right choice.

I`m quite familiar with BAC sales in NY as I have bought a few stoves there 15-20 yrs ago. They used to be good to deal with when they were small but not since they morphed into a much larger wholesale distributor and Amanda`s fireflace showroom. The attitude change there has been dramatic in my experience.
I felt I got ripped off the last time I was there and consequently I won`t return.
Supposedly they have that Hudson line made in China with their nameplate on it or it`s a rebadged model of someone`s design? I`m not sure but I`d be awful wary of it since it`s bad enough to see China stamped on some well known brands but seeing it on a proprietary brand gives me the willys.

Two thumbs UP so far for my $1700 Harmon Accentra. GO FOR IT

look in your craigslist, alot of stoves there, also dont forget to look at a whitfield stove mines 10 yrs old and have had no problems with normal yearly cleaning.