Used Stove Buying Advice

[JRedding]

Hello all,

I am in the market for a stove to heat my house (about 2,000 sq ft) from the walk out basement. A friend has recommended a couple of efficient options as follows: Drolet Myriad, Drolet Austral, Englander NC30

With our finances, I am more than willing to take a used stove and clean it up for use. The posting below appears to be a Drolet Myriad for sale that I am interested in.

http://nh.craigslist.org/for/4172924383.html

My question is, in going for an inspection of the unit - what sort of faults should I be looking for? Are there common failures to be aware of that are serious cost to repair?

Thanks for any insight you can give!

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Is your home setup for a stove now? Will the flue sizes match?
The CL stove looks like the pics have limited views, very dark shots.

Inspections would include looking for: cracks, warps, rust. Age of the stove, is it an EPA stove or not? If catalytic, what shape the catalyst is in. If secondary burn tubes, how they look.
I'm not too familiar with that particular stove but the CL pic kind of scares me a bit.

you may want to calculate your costs to get a stove, used or new, up and running into this part of the burn season. Do you have a dry wood supply? What will a stove install cost you, parts and labor etc.
the pros and cons, what out weighs the other

 

[begreen]

Hard to tell from a picture. The stove could be fine and just suffering from cosmetic neglect or it could have been abused. We would need more pics out of the direct sunlight to tell. The price is certainly right if it is in decent condition.

 

[JRedding]

Is your home setup for a stove now? Will the flue sizes match?
The CL stove looks like the pics have limited views, very dark shots.

Inspections would include looking for: cracks, warps, rust. Age of the stove, is it an EPA stove or not? If catalytic, what shape the catalyst is in. If secondary burn tubes, how they look.
I'm not too familiar with that particular stove but the CL pic kind of scares me a bit.

you may want to calculate your costs to get a stove, used or new, up and running into this part of the burn season. Do you have a dry wood supply? What will a stove install cost you, parts and labor etc.
the pros and cons, what out weighs the other

Thanks for the quick reply. You are right about the shots being dark and limited. I think my first step will be to contact the seller and request more shots as well as the actual model of the stove.

I am actually preparing for the future (next season likely) for the installation of a stove. The house is not currently setup for it so I am in the process of deciding what installation will be needed and gathering quotes. I just spotted this on CL and realized at this point I wouldn't know enough to make smart used purchase - I will look into your points and be ready to look for these qualities when checking out some potential units.

 

[begreen]

Could be a good deal. I would definitely go check it out. Look for areas where the paint went light grey or white. That would be a sign of overfiring. Also check all welds for cracks, baffle sagging, burnt out secondary tubes, cracked bricks, etc..

 

[aansorge]

If you aren't in a hurry and need the piping to go along with the stove, wait for a stove that comes with the whole setup. Many people remodel a 'new to them' home and want the wood stove out and a gas one in.

 

[aansorge]

The Englander 30 often goes on sale in late winter for around 600 bucks and would suit you well.