What to look for in a used stove?

[atracksler]

We are getting on the pellet stove bandwagon. We have narrowed our search down to the Quad Fore Castile, Mt Vernon or the Hartman Acentra.

I dont have any real pellet stove experience, and we are buying used.

What are the things that I should be looking for in a used stove. If it were a car or banjo, I'd know what I'm looking for and where the weak parts are, i'm a newbie to the pellet stove and could use some advice..

Thanks in advance, ad.

 

[Delta-T]

this is a tough one...in most cases, I think it would be hard to tell how a unit has been treated, unless the owners dont clean it up before you get to see it. Structurally, I suppose the obvious..like cracks in the body are a given, but the tricky parts are motors,sensors and the ultra important control board. If possible, you wanna see the unit run...even if its not installed..you can set it up outside to make sure everything moves ok and doesn't make obnoxious noises.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Welcome to the Board

Most major brands are good.
The quads are a good one as are the others you mentioned.

Look at the overall condition of the cabinet, is it clean and free of damage due to abuse or HARD USE.

Look in the fire box and look for serious rust from sitting in a damp/wet place.

Open the side/rear of the mechanical cabinet and look for signs that the stove has not been cleaned or has been invaded and has critters calling it home.

After the obligatory inspection plug the stove in and press the start button and see if the exhaust fan comes on as well as the room air fan. *** These things can vary in operation from brand to brand.

Check for odd noises or other obvious signs of issues.

Once this has been done, I would try lighting a fire in the stove to check out how it works.

A Pellet stove can be easily run outdoors without a chimney or vent pipe.

Once a fire is up and running, the stove should continue to run without further attention.

Another hint as to the time the stove has been used is the condition of the fire brick backing in the fire box.

A heavily erroded fire brick is a sign that the stove has seen some serious duty time. This is not a bad thing, but rather a way to dispell a story of "We hardly ever used it"

Last winter we bought two Whitfield stoves and paid $200 each with one coming with a floor pad too.

Whitfield is still a great stove and parts are available from wood heat stoves (dave comes here)
Breckwell, Alvalon, and several other names are good as well

Good hunting.

Snowy

 

[Fsappo]

Simply put, I would not buy a car without driving it, not buy a banjo without strumming it and I would not a pellet stove without lighting it and watching it burn for at least a half hour.

 

[summit]

I'd go for the Accentra. Those things are tanks. All Cast, pretty much indestructible.

 

[atracksler]

Big help everyone ! Any other suggestions ?

 

[rona]

Big help everyone ! Any other suggestions ?

Considering you don't have any prior experience with pellet stoves I would try to find a friend who has experience to go along with you to check it out. I would still want to fire it up before I bought it.
I sold a Harman PC45 and a Quad AE a few years ago and I showed each customer how the stove worked and how to clean it. I did that so both the new owner and myself seen the stove operate they way it was supposed too before they bought it. This gave them a idea of how it worked and what to expect when they got it home.

 

[DexterDay]

If going used, try and make sure you get the whole kit and kaboodle.. Meaning Hearth pad, Vent pipe, and stove, and any pellets if they have them.. Never pay what they want. Everyone has "Wiggle Room". I picked up and old Englander (15 yrs old), but came with all flue, pad, half ton of pellets, and stove. Guy wanted $600, he took $300.. It worked when I got it, but I put an auger on it because I broke it. Let me tell you, for $400 total, its a BEAST. Its all analog. Nothing is digital on it like my other stoves. But it will give the Quad a run for the money.

Make sure you see it burn. Also if its only a couple years old and the flame looks lazy or sooty, its possible that the stove is plugged and the current owners knew nothing about the upkeep a pellet stove requires. Some owners only sell things when something is wrong, or about to go wrong. They will tell you what you want to hear, "Oh Yeah, it Runs like a CHAMP".... BUT... That could have been 2 yrs ago....... Lots of good deals to be had, but there are people out there looking to just get rid of there units to anyone dumb enough to believe there stories. Good luck and keep us updated.