Tell me about the Spectrum

This came up the other day http://annarbor.craigslist.org/for/3560631886.html

We bought a vacation home last weekend, and it has no stove. It's about 1350 sq ft, plus an enclosed and insulated breezeway. It has an LP furnace, so the stove wouldn't be carrying the whole load when heating the place up from really cold. It might get used a half dozen times in the winter.

I was going to wait and pick up a 30 in the spring, if they go for cheap, but this seems like a good buy. Will it be enough? What should I look for with a used PE?

This is a pic of the place. It has been added onto a couple of times, but it is pretty open. The stove will go where the brick chimney is, but with new class A thru the roof.

That seems like a great deal if it's in good shape. I think it should be plenty big for supplemental heat for that place. Check for signs of over-firing (a whitish color on the metal), check the welds and around the door for cracks (has been a problem on some PE's, more so on the Summit), and make sure the baffle (the thing at the top with the holes in it) isn't cracked or sagging too much (they all sag a bit after a while from the heat). PE's are great stoves and very easy to run (more so than the 30 from what I've heard). The metal baffle instead of burn tubes and ceramic boards means you're less likely to cause damage if you happen to hit the top of the stove with a split. I've had my Vista insert since 2008 and never had a problem with it.

I'm sure others, including some Spectrum owners, will be along shortly to chime in, but that's my take on this stove.

I like the PE design. I've had my head in a Summit and T6 that had some use.

I fired off an email already. I'll be checking it out in the next day or two.

If I had seen it Monday, I would probably already have it. Unfortunately, I'm a couple hundred miles from home at the moment. He still has it, trying to arrange a meeting.

That's the first PE I have ever seen on craigslist here.

I'd be all over that.

That is one hell of a clean looking stove from that pic, and at $350.00, that is a no brainer. Pipe looks unlike any I have even seen.

Jump on it...BTW...where is the vacation home?

It's about an hour SE of Mackinac City, about 100 yds from the beach on Lake Huron. 'Beach access'

Going this evening or tomorrow evening to check it out. He said he has somebody coming Saturday 'FYI', but if it is any good it won't be there.

For sure go tonight and buy that thing!!

It is in my possession.

Congratulations! A great deal on a good stove.

This thing is super clean. Baffle looks great, no broken bricks, no rust, glass is clear, no creosote buildup inside. There is ash still in the bottom, but no charcoal, so somebody must have known what they were doing.

It was a new homeowner, and the stove came with the house. He had never used a stove, and the insurance company wanted no part of it. It was in the basement, and there is no way any stove could heat that house from the basement. He thought the previous owner may have had a workshop or studio in the basement, and the stove only saw occasional use. He said that $350 must be a good price, because he has a lot of responses I saw no reason to bargain, and gave him $350.

Three questions. How do I get the baffle out? Is the manual available from PE's website? And the door handle is sloppy. Easy fix?

Inside pic. Too dark in the back of my Excursion for the rest.



Sure is cramped in there.

His lose, your gain. I would have found a new insurance company. When I find a Great deal, I don't haggle either. The seller gets what he ask and I get a good nights sleep.

That is a Very nice looking stove. The baffle should slide forward there will be a pin holding it in the back.

Remove the Pin, then slide the baffle forward, when it gets towards the front you need to just tilt it down and it should come right out. I have been selling and installing there products for the last 3 years and I have sold and Installed most major brands. It is hands down the best burning stoves and Inserts on the market. You got a steal on that thing you have to love Craigslist.

Oh man, you HIT! Looking forward to more pics.
bg, he said new chimney...

Well, Jeff strikes again.
Great deal Jeff. That'll be nice in the new house.
Good job snatching it up at that price.

Nice job, can't wait until we get reports about that thing when it's up-n-running!

It confuses me, too. There is a too small tile hearth right there, and a brick facing on the wall. There is no hole thru the brick, but there is a ceiling support above. I think they covered the hole when they put the new metal roof on a few years ago. My other thought is to take all that stuff out, and put the stove on the opposite side of the room, in a corner near the other roof line. That would give me a good place to anchor a roof brace for more height.

The door latch is fine, and seems pretty tight. It is the handle itself that is loose in the door. This stove was built in '95. Almost 18 years old, and in this condition

Is the gasket on the secondary feed tube anything special? I assume that is the tube between the bricks in the back.

I found the manual in the PE archives.

That stove looks perfect for its age.Glad you made it there before someone else did.We all look on craiglist for deals like that but hardly ever see them.Seems like you can always enjoy somethig like that more when it is a deal.