Heritage used... with Crack in one stone. Good idea?

[Calef]

Ok, I have decided the Heritage is the only stove that first my space and burning needs. My hearth and living room really was designed around a small stove but the Heritage is gonna work.

SO.. I am tracking down used stoves. I found one for $1500 in Sea foam Blue at a stove store. It was sold in OCT 2007. The guys at the store said they went through it and it looks great. It has a chip or two in the enamel that somebody touched up. AND it has a corner of one of the top stones with a small crack in it. He said it is on the corner and it goes edge to edge so it won't get any bigger.

Should I be weary of a stove with a cracked stone?! The store tells me it is fine and won't get any bigger because it is edge to edge.

What else should I look at when evaluating a used stove?

Is that a good price? Seems like the stove is almost new... and those are $3400 new!

Thanks!

 

[BrowningBAR]

Ok, I have decided the Heritage is the only stove that first my space and burning needs. My hearth and living room really was designed around a small stove but the Heritage is gonna work.

SO.. I am tracking down used stoves. I found one for $1500 in Sea foam Blue at a stove store. It was sold in OCT 2007. The guys at the store said they went through it and it looks great. It has a chip or two in the enamel that somebody touched up. AND it has a corner of one of the top stones with a small crack in it. He said it is on the corner and it goes edge to edge so it won't get any bigger.

Should I be weary of a stove with a cracked stone?! The store tells me it is fine and won't get any bigger because it is edge to edge.

What else should I look at when evaluating a used stove?

Is that a good price? Seems like the stove is almost new... and those are $3400 new!

Thanks!

Depends upon how deep the crack is. Does it go all the way through? Is there a space in the crack? Because the exterior stone you see is the same stone you see in the firebox.

Fact is, you can find used Heritage stoves without cracks for $1500. I got mine for $1,000. It's probably a 2005, but it was in like-new condition.

 

[pen]

That's a bit more than I'd like to pay as well. I'd try to negotiate a lower price if you really like the stove.

This is from the hearthstone website:http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/customer-resources/faq#faq21

What do I do if I crack a piece of soapstone on my woodstove?

Most cracks that occur in soapstone are merely surface cracks on a natural vein line. The stone is 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) thick, and seldom cracks all the way through. Even if the stone does crack completely, it is rarely anything more than a cosmetic issue. It probably will not affect the use, safety or performance of your stove. Contact your Authorized HearthStone dealer if you need to have a stone replaced.

pen

 

[Mike T]

I am selling one without any cracks for the same price and am also in Vt!
See my ad in the sale section or PM me for more info.

 

[Calef]

I talked him down to $1400, so I am going to look at it.

I feel good about this because I called Hearthstone and they said a top stone is cheap (about $60?) and easy (less than an hour) to replace. They said if it looks like creosote has built up around it then it is leaking otherwise ignore it because many stoves have cosmetic cracks that never causes issue.

It is at a stove store and they replaced the ceramic baffles, put a new cord seal in it, and replaced the front door frame as apparently somehow the previous owner chipped the frame where it latches and that caused latching issues.

I got in touch with Mike (thanks for the call!) but the deciding factor for me is that the stove store will let me use a CC so I can pay for it in a week or two with my holiday bonus. Also, the one at the store is Sea foam, which I think looks nice (and a $400 option!) and about 2 hours less driving

Although I am torn because I do like the idea of buying the stove from somebody who is local and the original owner... Anyways I am off to look at the blue one.

Thanks for the advice guys!