any thoughts on buying a used soapstone

[mikesgirl1990]

I have lurked on here for ages and have narowed my choice of stove to buy down to a woodstock soapstone. I may have an opportunity to buy one used it is about 20 yrs old and seem to be in good condition. Do you all have any advice about this--is there any reason why not to buy second hand, is there anything I should look at or questions I should ask of the owner???
thanks
leah

 

[hookspacken]

I am by no means an expert, but there are many knowledgable people in this forum that can advise you on this. My first thought though is that a 20 year old stove is not going to be nearly as efficient as a current technology stove.

 

[Highbeam]

It is not the soapstone but the fact that it is a 20 year old stove that would make me pass. We can't even install non-certified stoves here in WA so it would have very little value.

 

[Todd]

Give Woodstock a call and tell them what your up to. Maybe they can tell you more about that 20 year old stove.

 

[jpl1nh]

Woodstock Soapstone stoves are a beautifully made stove and quite capable of lasting for decades. As such, I would be much more willing to consider a 20 year old Woodstock stove than most others. Because soapstone does not expand and contract quite as much as other stove materials, they have the potential for substantial durability. As most of the others have pointed out, one of the very important questions is whether the stove is EPA approved. As Todd suggested, give Woodstock a call and find out if they were catalytic stoves back then. If so that's a huge plus. You may have to buy a new catalytic combuster but they are only around $100ish and will give you 4-5 years of service used correctly. The other important question is how the stove was treated during those 20 years, especially if it was ever substantially overfired. Again Woodstock could suggest how to best check that out. I just bought a used Woodstock in a private sale, (only 4 years old) and I must say, Woodstocks support with ANY questions I have had has been superb. They are a first class company who offer unmatched customer (and non-customer) service. As such, I have been a customer for replacement items and such because they are so good to deal with.

 

[kwburn]

Give Woodstock a call and tell them what your up to. Maybe they can tell you more about that 20 year old stove.

i looked at a used Woodstock years ago as well and called them as suggested above. they were very nice, although i didn't buy the stove.

 

[webbie]

If truly 20 years old, it is probably not catalytic - therefore not as efficient. However, if the stove is to be used "hard", it will probably burn relatively clean. It all depends on your exact needs. If you want to get the most heat our of each piece of wood and pollute the air less, then a more modern model might make sense.