Elk, evaluate used stove advice?

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Harley said:
well - might be a little late on that one - someone going over to look at the stove today - the seller said they would e-mail me if it was still available.

Harley,
I think that someone was supposed to be me (I hope). May I ask why you called on this if someone here was already interested?
~Cath
 
Sorry - a little late in getting back...

Cath - of course you can ask why I was interested in it, and before I could respond - Mike pretty much summed up what the plan would be.

Hopefully that was you looking at it, and if it works out for your situation - I think that is a great deal. If for some reason you decide against it - I'd probably just scoop it up and it would be a nice addition to the donor program.

Cath - if you did or do decide against it - please just let me know why (either here or through PM), and Mike... same thing if there is anything in particular with that model that I should be looking at (other than the obvious). If it's not sold - I'll try to get it and put it in the donor program.
 
Harley said:
Sorry - a little late in getting back...

Cath - of course you can ask why I was interested in it, and before I could respond - Mike pretty much summed up what the plan would be. ... If for some reason you decide against it - I'd probably just scoop it up and it would be a nice addition to the donor program.

Cath - if you did or do decide against it - please just let me know why (either here or through PM), and Mike... same thing if there is anything in particular with that model that I should be looking at (other than the obvious). If it's not sold - I'll try to get it and put it in the donor program.

Harley,
My point is that I was hoping to negotiate a better price. That's harder to do if the Seller thinks there is more interest in it. That's one of the reasons that the other member that saw it first PM'ed me about it, to avoid a repeat of the Hearthstone Phoenix that was removed from Craig's list almost as quickly as it was posted, seemingly as a result of being mentioned here.

That's also why I was careful not to give much info about the Craig's List posting.

Having said that, we are going to look at it tomorrow. It may be questionable for our needs based on size. I still haven't gotten any feedback from anyone on that. I will post the necessary info to determine that in the new thread. I'd be interested in hearing what you think. If the size is marginal for our needs as a supplementary heat source I may still make an offer. If he doesn't accept it I'll certainly let you know. It may well be worth more to you than it is to us.
Thanks,
~Cath
 
From my experience you don't make offers on $200 3 year old stoves.
If it fits your needs you just drop what you are doing and go get it!
 
Amen brother. If ya snooze ya lose.

If this was October, it would be gone in a NY minute.
 
elkimmeg said:
Hard to compress 1.9 megs down to 256 k so I used photo bucket click on this link to veiw the stove I elimated redundant photos

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n10/elkimmeg/cath/

Doesn't look to bad to my eye - definitely needs a new door gasket, maybe a new window gasket, (both fairly low cost / low effort items) otherwise looks reasonably decent for a used stove.

Gooserider
 
The stove appears from the pictures to be in decent condition I don't see any warpage just signs of normal use.

I believe there is a latch adjustment that may make the door fit tighter for a better seal. The gaskets age would not usually require being replaced.

But anything is possible they may need replacement the darker collor on the glass will clean up and can be caused by wet wood burn at a low setting or they also can indicate a leak

If you purchase the stove and the dark area show up in the same place time and time again then there is a leak. and that could be solved with a simple latch adjustment
 
kwburn said:
... If it fits your needs you just drop what you are doing and go get it!

kwburn,
As it currently stands I have no idea if this meets our needs or not. I had consolidated the necessary info to try and make that decision under the thread Craig started. And I am re-posting it here in a reply to Elk. I am hoping to have some feedback on that before we pack the two kids in the truck and travel 75 miles after work in rush hour traffic to go check it out. I figure the whole ordeal is going to take a minimum of 4 hours round trip, and that's assuming traffic isn't too bad.

I would have put off seeing it until this weekend but I don't want a repeat of the Hearthstone Phoenix, now that the word is out. I had no idea anyone had figured out where this was. For all I know there are a couple of inactive Hearthnet members that are now interested.

If you wouldn't mind checking out the pictures thread that Craig started, the dimensions on the stove, and the info on the size of our house, and giving me your input I would appreciate it.
~Cath
 
elkimmeg said:
The stove appears from the pictures to be in decent condition I don't see any warpage just signs of normal use.

I believe there is a latch adjustment that may make the door fit tighter for a better seal. The gaskets age would not usually require being replaced.

But anything is possible they may need replacement the darker collor on the glass will clean up and can be caused by wet wood burn at a low setting or they also can indicate a leak

If you purchase the stove and the dark area show up in the same place time and time again then there is a leak. and that could be solved with a simple latch adjustment

Elk,
I still can't tell if you have seen the dimensions on the stove compared to the dimensions on our fireplace or if you've seen the information you've requested on the size of our house. So I'm going to re-post the consolidated version of all that info here. (I originally posted it in the pictures thread Craig started). Perhaps the biggest and most important question is whether our fireplace is deep enough. If it isn't then Harley might as well show up tonight instead of my husband and I. The next question is whether I can realistically expect a significant amount of supplmental heat in a 1,348 sf house from a 1000 sf unit (30,000 btus).

I have the dimensions from VC’s web site and the owner emailed me the dimensions in his owner’s manual. They are as follows:
.................Ours...................………………VC’s “minimum”..........Seller’s Manual’s
Depth........18"...................…………………15"............................21 1/4”.............
Width........36” (front) & 24” (back)……26 1/2”...........…………25 5/8”....................
Height.......26”.....................................21 1/2.........……………..21 1/4”.....................

We would seem to be ok on the width compared to VC’s site’s “minimum” and the Seller’s manual’s number, if the “front” width is the critical one. However, our depth is too small compared to the number the Seller gives me on that dimension. Our height is ok regardless. Any thoughts on how the Seller’s Manual’s number could be so much higher than the numbers on VC’s site?

I’m wondering if the depth noted on VC’s site allows for the possiblity of some overhang, but the manual gives the depth necessary to install it flush? I know from Rhonemas’ experience with the Hearthstone insert that it seems they are supposed to be installed flush but they are more effective if the front is pulled out 5” or so from the opening. I forget if he needed to support the front of his Clydesdale from underneath. Since the floor of our chimney is flush with the living room floor I don’t think we would need support there.

Is the VC Winter Warm designed to allow for a 3 1/4” overhang? Would that resolve the discrepancy? If not, it would seem that our fireplace isn’t deep enough.

The house was built in 1947. It is poorly insulated but we did recently put in Harvey insulated replacement windows. The overall square footage is more like 1348 sf. (not 1500 sf). The square footage of the main part of the first floor is 30 x 24 = 720 sf. Since it is a basic cape the foot print of the second floor is the same but given the pitch of the roof I think the upstairs is considered to have roughly 3/4 the living space of the downstairs, about 540 sf. There is a 8 x 11 (88 sf) breezeway with no living space above it. 720 sf + 540 sf + 88 sf = 1348.
The living room, on the left, is roughly 24 x 11.5 (276 sf), so it is a decent size but narrow. The front door opens up to the staircase, which leads to the second floor. The layout is closed but circular: with the kitchen in back and the dining room on the right side. The fireplace is on the left outside wall of the living room; it is centered on the wall but it is a little closer to the kitchen door in back than the door to the first floor/front stairs. The staircase on the first floor is essentially fully enclosed.

So, theoretically we could use a couple of fans to push the heated air from an insert into the kitchen and to push the cold air from the front door/stairway into the living room ... and get a circular air flow going. If so, then a little bit of the hot air flowing from the living room to the kitchen, to the dining room might make it around the corner and up the stairs.

I believe the ceilings are standard height, 8 ft, so the chimney would be at least 16 feet plus the two feet of framing between the floors and a few feet or so above the roof, which would make the chimney about 20 to 22 sf.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I hope to have some feedback from someone (preferably you) on the suitability of this stove sometime before 3:30 PM today.
~Cath
 
BeGreen said:
Amen brother. If ya snooze ya lose.

If this was October, it would be gone in a NY minute.

BeGreen,
No snoozing here. We re-scheduled an appointment to see it last night until tonight. Yet I still don't have any feedback on the dimensions of the stove compared to our fireplace and the suitability of this 30,000 btu unit --intended for a 1000 sf space-- for our 1348 sf house. Please see my reply to Elk's posting above for further details. I would appreciate your input.

Keep in mind I am only hoping to supplement our heat but I don't know how realistic that is with a unit of this size and our closed, but circular, layout.
Thanks,
~Cath
 
stoveguy2esw said:
...i believe we have a member "Tmonter" who currently has one. im sure he would give you his input on the unit if asked. as for the "big box " label , yes we do sell through HD , lowes, ace tru value and others , but "btu for the buck" along with ESW quality i'd put our woodstoves up against anything of its size on the market.
...
just so we do not get off on the wrong foot cath, im not fussing at you about the comment above
i really am curious where the "up and coming" thing came from, kinda caught me off guard. ...

stoveguy2esw,
As you can tell from my posts I am obviously not personally qualified to judge whether one brand is better than another. Having done some reading and poking around, however, I think I can safely say there is a perception that Harman is better than Englander in the same way that there is a perception that Toyota or Subaru is better than Ford or Chevy. To put things in perspective, we own a Subaru Outback and a Chevy Silverado 2500 HD.

If you look at the member reviews you'll see that there are only 5 Englander reviews with an average rating of 2 (including all categories), which is pretty good. However, the small number of reviews is telling as are a couple of the comments in the reviews: "...overall I'd give the stove a B- compared to Quadrafire which I'd give an A." and "...not as pretty as the higher end stoves."

I'm all about value for the money (btu for the buck as you put it) and usually that doesn't include paying for appearance, but a stove is something that you are going to keep for a long time and you'll be looking at everyday. So I am willing to pay a little more for looks, after performance, efficiency, reliability, convenience, etc., and/or spend more time shopping for a used "higher end" brand. If I had a bigger house and this were going into a play room, as opposed to my living room, I might very well buy a new Englander for the warranty coverage. But my strategy for something in the living room --the focal point of our home-- is to try to find a higher end used stove that is as attractive as possible, in addition to being functional.

As far as where I got the idea that Englander is "up and coming", when I first started visiting this site back in 2004 or so I remember some disparaging remarks about "big box" brands. Being ignorant about stoves I couldn't tell if that was a legitimate comment on quality or merely brand "snobbery". For what it's worth, I think that perception has improved but that wouldn't seem to put Englander in Toyota territory.

Perhaps a few Englander owners will see this and be motivated to review their stoves for the benefit of anyone shopping around.

By the way, if you have a chance to check out the dimensions on the VC insert and the info on my house I would appreciate your input on whether it will fit in my fireplace and whether it is suitable as a significant source of supplemental heat.
Thanks,
~Cath
 
Webmaster said:
See new thread with pics of Cath insert.....I started the new thread so we could discuss the actual unit.

Craig,
Thanks for posting the pics. I had consolidated the info Elk requested on the stove itself in that picture thread but there seems to be more activity here (which probably illustrates Metal's and your point), so I re-posted the consolidated info into a reply to Elk in this thread, hoping that he might be able to comment on the suitability of the stove. However, that probably isn't realistic given how much he has on his plate right now.

So I was hoping you could answer my question regarding the depth/overhang and whether this unit is big enough to serve as a significant source of supplemental heat.

The consensus seems to be it's worth the asking price to someone, but certainly not me if it doesn't fit my fireplace or if it's not going to meet our heating needs.
Thanks,
~Cath
 
I have the dimensions from VC’s web site and the owner emailed me the dimensions in his owner’s manual. They are as follows:
.................Ours...................………………VC’s “minimum”..........Seller’s Manual’s
Depth........18"...................…………………15"............................21 1/4”.............
Width........36” (front) & 24” (back)……26 1/2”...........…………25 5/8”....................
Height.......26”.....................................21 1/2.........……………..21 1/4”.....................



i bolded the part that catches my attention, i assume you have an inward sloping fireplace by the width you give , how deep from the fireplace face would the width be 26 1/2" (vc's min)?(thats as far in as the unit is going to go) and also how much hearth do you have in front (taking into account how far the unit will protrude)?

as for my earlier posting , i apologise if i offended, but i was a little suprised by the up and coming thing (i wont get back into that , its ok) as for helping , heck yeah , thats why im here. im off the clock so i help everyone i can regardless of who's stove they have or are looking at. im not here to push product, im here to help however i can. ill do all i can to help you no matter what stove you go with.

EDIT: its a 30k unit , 1300+ sqft, if you are adequately insulated it will likely heat the house stand alone except on bitter cold days or nights, if the floor plan allows heat distribution easily, if any of the above criteria are not met it still will knock back your heating bill a long ways as it will heat most of the house if not all.
 
Harley said:
Sorry - a little late in getting back...

Cath - of course you can ask why I was interested in it, and before I could respond - Mike pretty much summed up what the plan would be.

Hopefully that was you looking at it, and if it works out for your situation - I think that is a great deal. If for some reason you decide against it - I'd probably just scoop it up and it would be a nice addition to the donor program.

Cath - if you did or do decide against it - please just let me know why (either here or through PM), and Mike... same thing if there is anything in particular with that model that I should be looking at (other than the obvious). If it's not sold - I'll try to get it and put it in the donor program.

make sure the owner didnt take out the ceramic baffle, some folks have done that thinking it is packing material, it honestly looks like it is , but it is the key to this stove performing as well as it does, without it , its a "smoke dragon " you wouldnt get any reburn from the secondaries. easy to replace i'd have to check on the pricing, important !! get with me first if you need one , dont just order it , ok? especially if its for a donor recipiant.
 
stoveguy2esw said:
make sure the owner didnt take out the ceramic baffle, some folks have done that thinking it is packing material, it honestly looks like it is , but it is the key to this stove performing as well as it does, without it , its a "smoke dragon " you wouldnt get any reburn from the secondaries. easy to replace i'd have to check on the pricing, important !! get with me first if you need one , dont just order it , ok? especially if its for a donor recipiant.

Thanks, Mike - I'll wait a little bit to see if Cath wants it or not - I hope that works out for her situation, and as I said before - sounds like a great deal - it wasn't my intent to step on anyones toes - if its still available after Cath's look tonight, then I think -unless there are some real obvious problems - we'll find a good home for it somewhere.
 
Cath said:
Metal said:
Instead of starting umpteen different threads about your stove search, it might be helpful if you started one named "Cath's Stove Search" so people can keep track of your saga. The myriad of different threads for each stove you see in the classifieds or at garage sales are very hard to follow or keep up with and this way you would only need to post your background information one time. Just my opinion.

Metal,
Thanks for the suggestion. I guess I figured that most people aren't interested in following every aspect of one person's quest. Rather some might be interested in different manufacturers, types of stoves, heating needs, etc. Not to mention that everyone has experience in different areas based upon the stoves that they have had or that they have sold.

Although I can see there might be some entertainment value in watching me fumble through this process. I wonder if my ongoing saga would qualify more as comedy or drama.

I'd appreciate feedback from others on the best way to generate informed input. Is anyone really that interested in what I wind up doing or are they more interested in specific stoves?
~Cath
And you thought people weren’t interested in your saga!! Sorry, I was the one who posted the craigslist about the hearthstone pheonix. At that price, i’m not surprised it went fast! Hmmmm, come to think of it this web site is kind of “Craig’s” list isn’t it? %-P Hope you've come to know you're in good, caring company here Cath!
 
Cath said:
BeGreen said:
Amen brother. If ya snooze ya lose.

If this was October, it would be gone in a NY minute.

BeGreen,
No snoozing here. We re-scheduled an appointment to see it last night until tonight. Yet I still don't have any feedback on the dimensions of the stove compared to our fireplace and the suitability of this 30,000 btu unit --intended for a 1000 sf space-- for our 1348 sf house. Please see my reply to Elk's posting above for further details. I would appreciate your input.

Keep in mind I am only hoping to supplement our heat but I don't know how realistic that is with a unit of this size and our closed, but circular, layout.
Thanks,
~Cath

Cath, one thing that is confusing me is where the stove is going? Have you settled on whether you are looking for a basement stove or a livingroom insert for the fireplace? The stove's that have so far been presented are all over the map. I think I suggested earlier to narrow the criteria as a way of making this process simpler. If the focus is on the fireplace, pass on the Englander. Stick with either a small freestanding stove like the VC Intrepid or a small insert. But the odds of finding the ideal insert used are a bit slim. I'm getting the feeling you'd be a lot better off getting something new that is sized and fitted right.
 
We got home about an hour ago. The ordeal wasn't quite as bad as I was anticipating but one or the other of the two kids was screaming for most of the last hour on the way home.

We are now the proud owner's of a VC Winter Warmer II insert. We paid $440.00. The $60.00 savings makes a dent in the gas and wear and tear due to the 160 mile round trip. He threw in a bottle of creosote/glass cleaner, a small container of adhesive for the rope insulation, and a tie down to secure the stove a little better. He was missing a special gizmo for working the levers. He says it's a $9.00 part. There is some superficial rust on the surround.

We did hit one rough patch in the road at 20 MPH. I'm hoping it didn't do any damage.

Interestingly the finish on the stove and the surround don't match. The surround is matte and the stove is glossy. I wonder what the two finishes will look like when put together.

Unfortunately I'm not sure I can respond to all of the individual observations and questions because I haven't figured out how to do multi-quotes. I'll do the best I can from memory.

As Elk suggested, I did call "CSM" (Vermont Castings). I wound up speaking with a "Level 2 Technician". I asked about all of the dimensions, including the front and rear widths of our fireplace. I'm pretty sure he said that the important width was the front one (the wider of the two). Of course I'm second guessing that now that someone highlighted those two numbers. In any case, the stove seems to taper towards the back so I'm optimistic it's ok.

DH says that he did see what he describes as 5" x 6" inches or so of a material kind of like fiberglass. It was in the back. Is that the ceramic baffle?

Regarding the Hearthstone Phoenix. I saw that on Craig's List and it was already gone before I heard of it on this site. I mentioned it only for the purposes of illustration.

As far as any one stepping on my toes, I realize the intentions were good and in any case, no harm no foul. However, I do think it's a cautionary tale for others. This is a great resource for information and feedback from seasoned members but the risk you run is that you will generate interest and competition --possibly from less active members-- in something that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

In this instance, it may be just as well since it did motivate me to get out there today and I suppose it's possible someone might have picked it up before I had a chance to get there this weekend. Although, I suspect there wasn't that much interest yet, otherwise I don't think he would have been willing to negotiate.

Thank you everyone for all of the input, Elk in particular. Especially in light of everything he has going on right now.

The saga continues. Part II: finding a chimney sweep and finding someone to install it. If anyone has any suggestions on how to save money in this area I'd appreciate it.

In the unlikely event that the stove doesn't fit the Donor Program can take it off my hands for what I paid for it.

~Cath
 
Congratulations on the purchase, hope the rest of the process goes equally well.

First thing you need to do if you didn't get the original manual with the stove is to get the EXACT model number off the data plate and download the appropriate manual from VC's website. I would then go through the stove and make sure all the parts are present and in good shape - especially the cat. Caution - be careful around any of the refractories near the cat - they are expensive and FRAGILE and will break if you look at them to hard... Do the "dollar bill test" on all doors, going all the way around each door, and adjust latches and / or change gaskets as needed to get a good seal. Do an air compressor test on it to make sure none of the other gaskets or seams are leaking, repair as needed, and do any other suggested maintainance checks listed in the manual.

The idea here is mostly to make sure that any problems (hopefully none) are found and fixed while the stove is easy to get at.

Obviously, the best way to save money on the install is to do it yourself, or possibly do some negotiating with the installer to have you and DH do as much as you feel comfortable with, while he does the rest... The manual will help in this regard as VC seems to do a pretty good job of describing how to do an install, so you can see how much you feel is stuff you can do.

Gooserider
 
well Its a done deal you have the actual stove to make the mesurement by to figure out how it will fit the opening.

BTW the Tell number to customer support worked .Maybe we should preserve it to help others with questions for future issues

I think other companies should have simmilar tech support venues.

Well the next saga begins the installation... Maybe a donor assist could work out or part of one


I'm thinking that if DH can drop the liner down that chimney and secure the top cap we may be able to make the final connections
if the damper needs to be cut out then that may stop the progress

Please supply the damper opening and the actual flue size of the clay liner next dose it run straight of do a jog finally a picture of the fireplace opening and home,
with the chimney exposed would be helpfull to judge what work is involved.

I know we have to active members out in the western part of the state to lend a hand We may and I say may be able to assist.

Btw run correctly I think you will be in for a pleasent supprise with the heat it woll produce.. once you get that opperqations down the cat mode will

be a non issue and a pleasent suprise extending your heat cycle

So go to VC and download the manual and print it out as goose suggested and We here can help you plan the next stage
 
Gooserider and Elk,
The owner did have the manual. I believe we did bring it home.

I'm wondering if there is any time left on the 3 year warranty. I'll check to see if coverage applies only to the "original registered owner" or whether the coverage is transferable.

If it's transferable and there is any time left I might want to expedite the installation and test it. I would have to hurry though since there can't be much time left, if any, because he says he bought it 3 years ago.

The first order of business is to clean the chimney and then go from there on the lining and installation.

I will ask DH to get the additional measurements (flue etc.). We do have a digital camera but my computer is antiquated. I'll have to see if my sister can help me upload pictures of the fireplace and house.

By the way, I would like to give a belated thank you to Burn-1, aka Ross. He came across this insert in the course of searching for one himself and alerted me to it by PM because it was too big for his fireplace. He PM'ed me specifically because he saw how quickly the Hearthstone Phoenix went. I would have given him credit sooner but I didn't know if he would have been expected to alert everyone in general.

For the sake of clarity, I didn't feel like I had any special claim to any stoves that might fit my needs. I was just surprised that someone would call on a stove that someone else (not me in particular) had already expressed an interest in. No hard feelings there though as I think there was some miscommunication, and I understand the good intentions with respect to the Donor Program.

Again, thanks to all especially to Elk and Burn-1 (Ross). This really is a helpful and supportive group of people.
~Cath
 
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