St Croix Prescott EXP (used)

[Lineman30]

I was wondering what everyone thoughts was on a Prescott exp? My local craigslist has one for sale for $650 and its 4 years old and has only had 3 tons burned through it. They are wanting to use a wood stove rather than a pellet burner. Don't know much about St Croix stoves I'm just a quad owner looking at other avenues.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I was wondering what everyone thoughts was on a Prescott exp? My local craigslist has one for sale for $650 and its 4 years old and has only had 3 tons burned through it. They are wanting to use a wood stove rather than a pellet burner. Don't know much about St Croix stoves I'm just a quad owner looking at other avenues.

From what others on here say about their St Croix's as long as you keep them clean they are reliable.

There is a hard to clean location in the exhaust systems air flow that appears to be common across some of their stoves.

There are several posts on here dealing with cleaning the stoves.

As you already know 3 tons is nothing as far as use is concerned.

 

[magsf11]

I have had mine for 4 yrs now and had only minor issues with it. the only major fault it with the fire bricks, the crack really easy. I would get another if I had too, keeps the house nice and warm and for me its 99.9% trouble free.

 

[Xena]

Mine is a powerhouse and is used as the primary
heat source . Installed in the Fall of 2005.
Yep the crappy firebrick crumbled to bits. They have replacement
panels that are steel which is what I got several years ago.
I'd buy another in a heartbeat if need be. Of course, my shih tzu
loves it too!

 

[Lineman30]

Thanks for the input!! Which stove is a better performer the classic bay or the Prescott? I've enjoyed my CB 1200 without trouble (just a capacitor) for 4 years.

 

[bosco]

We upgraded this year from a St.Croix pepin. We love it. For $650 that is a great deal! We most likely need to replace glass as there is an imperfection in it that most people probly would never even see. We have steal bricks and they took some abuse this year as well, but I don't really care about that as it is just for looks. Stove puts out lots of heat, is easy to fill and pretty easy to clean!

 

[heat seeker]

$650 is a steal! My only complaint with my Afton Bay is the noise and vibration from the combustion blower. Otherwise, the stove is great, and I think it's easy to clean, especially with the leaf blower. (And fun!)

 

[tchdngrnby]

$650 is a great price on this stove. As Smokey says there are a few hard to get at places that are difficult to clean. I set up my leaf blower on the outside vent connection and then use short bursts of compressed air to clean the cavitys I cannot reach with brushes and the vacuum. Being a 4 y/o stove, you may also have a bit of noise from the versa grate motor. This is simply an annoyance and can be replaced, opened and packed with hi-temp grease (carefull doing this, lots of gears and shims in this little gearbox), and/or you can disconnect it as Xena has done (doing so you need to pay attention to scraping the firebox daily).

 

[Lineman30]

I just got off the phone with the seller and she said the igniter is bad. Said the husband was shop vacing and bent the ignitor. All I know are quads and how they ignite. How do a St croix ignite? And if it's truly bad what is a price of a new one? They have been just self igniting at each use.

 

[heat seeker]

My St Croix Afton Bay has the typical electric ignitor. I would expect it to cost around $100, but that's just a guess. I have done a search on the 'net, and have not found an aftermarket replacement (yet).

 

[Wachusett]

Check out this thread https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/59255/
you may be able to make your own for short money.

 

[smwilliamson]

You need a 4" x 3/8" 300w cartirdge heater for this stove. St. Croix adapts a large piece of steel on the end of the igniter to hold it in place, but you can fabricate something to make it work. You have to make sure that it will slide in far enough to clear the front heat shield but not too far and obstruct the versa grate. Can be tricky but can be done. Factory igniter is a little less than $100, You can make one for $30.

Here is a link: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/TEMPCO-Cartridge-Heater-4NJX2

In my opinion, I would buy an Englander from Lowes or Home Depot before I would rely on a St. Croix. JMHO

 

[Xena]

In my opinion, I would buy an Englander from Lowes or Home Depot before I would rely on a St. Croix. JMHO

Really? Why ya say that?

 

[smwilliamson]

In my opinion, I would buy an Englander from Lowes or Home Depot before I would rely on a St. Croix. JMHO

Really? Why ya say that?

St. Croix stoves are very hard to clean properly. Many have stubborn #2 errors and or control board failures. If you get a shut down from power loss, you cannot take the burn pot out of the stove when the house starts smoking up and they are a bit noisy for my liking. To each his/her own.

 

[Xena]

In my opinion, I would buy an Englander from Lowes or Home Depot before I would rely on a St. Croix. JMHO

Really? Why ya say that?

St. Croix stoves are very hard to clean properly. Many have stubborn #2 errors and or control board failures. If you get a shut down from power loss, you cannot take the burn pot out of the stove when the house starts smoking up and they are a bit noisy for my liking. To each his/her own.

Hmm ok yep I guess to each his own. I got the cleaning down to a science and it's a piece a cake for me.
I think when you own something yourself you learn the simplest ways to maintain it.
Control board failures and error codes - I've seen them noted out here on the forums
for just about every stove brand there is since I"ve been a member here and no more reported for
this brand than any other. I got a 15 foot vertical stack
so no smoke coming in here if power goes out.
Yep that versa grate thing is absolutely a noisy pita. Disconnect that p.o.s. and
run good quality pellets and ya don't need a versa grate.
Quick ten second scrape of the pot with the stove running and she's
good to roll.
Just thought it fair to post my findings after owning this stove since 2005 so anyone
reading this thread gets the skinny from both sides of the coin.

 

[heat seeker]

I'll second Xena's statement. My Afton Bay is easy to clean, and even with a horizontal vent, we get no visible smoke in the house when the power goes out. We get a slight smell of smoke, but the smoke/CO detector 12 feet away stays silent, and even in a flashlight beam, no visible smoke. The door gaskets are good, and there is no air wash vent, so little smoke escapes. Simple stove to troubleshoot, just 2 snap switches and a vacuum switch, plus the control. It's not the perfect stove, but I appreciate its good features, and it keeps us warm.
I'd like to have a different stove in every room so I could get personal experience with them all, but that's not going to happen...

 

[Ironhorse74]

St. Croix stoves are very hard to clean properly. Many have stubborn #2 errors and or control board failures. If you get a shut down from power loss, you cannot take the burn pot out of the stove when the house starts smoking up and they are a bit noisy for my liking. To each his/her own.

St Croix's are extremely tight stoves. St Croix does a super job of getting heat out of the exhaust. They are only hard to clean if the air adjustment is so far off that creosote is produced. The flip side to that is that loose stoves that are easy to clean are inefficient. So take your pick, a tight harder to clean appliance that puts out a lot of heat or a loose stove that blows the heat out the exhaust.

Control board failures with digital boards are rare. Some of the older analog boards were more finicky but they are ancient history.

Only two stoves on the market are considered "direct vent" St Croix and Harman. There are no openings to the room from the air side. If an outside air kit is properly installed there will be no smoke in the house.

Brad