Found used Progress Hybrid, 400 Miles Away

[John Lehet]

So I’ve got an order in for a Progress Hybrid, and an installer lined up for November 12. They can’t ship the Progress without the EPA, which is closed right now. Perhaps EPA will reopen again, but it’s hard to take anything for granted in this world. So, maybe I get the stove before the 12/31 tax credit deadline, maybe not. I guess I would get it without the tax refund if it came to that, we’ll see. Maybe Woodstock never can ship these and goes broke soon — also could happen in this time we are in.

Meanwhile I’ve been looking far and wide for used, have not resorted to joining FaceBook for Marketplace, quite allergic to Mr Zuckerberg. But looking everywhere else I can search.

I found a used, “In excellent condition” 2018 vintage Progress about 400 miles away for less than $900. I thought hard about dropping everything and getting a U haul to drive to get it, but then I show up and am just a not-so-young man, by myself. I do not own a truck. (I have a little tractor with a bucket, and some jacks and a dolly that might help on this end). My daughter and son in law are actually not far from it. Son in Law is strong, but with back trouble. So anyway it seems kind of crazy to head out solo for this after some thought. It looks to have short legs and no ash pan — I would want the ash pan. Probably also needs a new cat (I think currently back ordered?) Could probably get parts from Woodstock to get it working well and to taste.

Meanwhile, had the first fire of the year with the Jotul F 3 CB this morning. On one hand, can’t wait to move on from it to something steadier, less messy, not needing loading so often. On the other hand, it will keep us warm. It works, burns pretty clean. This first fire was with very dry cherry, and man, the Jotul went through it so fast. Will be nice when I can maybe slow that down.
Is it worth hiring movers or something? Is there a way this can happen? Is it worth pursuing this, or should I just chill and wait for Woodstock and EPA? Keep looking at used to try to find one maybe not quite so far away?

 

[Dieselhead]

Why can’t they ship an already epa approved stove? Seems like everyone else is?

 

[John Lehet]

Needs Crib wood testing. It’s cord wood tested already. I’m not sure how or when the law changed. I know Tom at Woodstock was quite grumpy about the crib wood testing. Maybe they weren’t as quick as other stove makers to get in line for it. Maybe the EPA bogged down since DOGE and all. They can only ship the Firelight and one steel stove right now. The Progress was in Any Day Now status right before the shutdown.

 

[John Lehet]

Wrote to the seller to see if they are willing to work with a remote buyer. If they are, I’ll try to contact some movers and see how much moving the stove would cost.

 

[Dieselhead]

Still strange as they have been selling that stove for quite some time. It’s not like they test each one prior to shipment. They must of had to make some changes to comply with new emission standards.

 

[begreen]

Wrote to the seller to see if they are willing to work with a remote buyer. If they are, I’ll try to contact some movers and see how much moving the stove would cost.

I'm not sure I would trust a mover for transport. We recently had a posting of a stove shipment where the mover messed up and broke the base casting of a cast iron stove.
What do you have for transport? A mini-van and even some SUVs may be large enough. For moving, a heavy duty (600#) appliance dolly and some ratchet straps makes it so that 2 people can move a lot. I am no spring chicken and have moved heavier items in and out of our house in the past year with just a helper using this setup.

 

[John Lehet]

I don't think the standards changed, but the test changed from cord wood to crib wood. Every stove has to pass with crib wood. So if you look on the EPA site of approved stoves, you'll see crib wood listed for all of them. If you do the search to include previous approvals, cord and crib wood are in the results. My understanding is that the crib wood test has already been done for the Progress, and the stove passed (of course), but EPA just had to rubber stamp it. They were expecting that to happen like the week before EPA shut down. So it could happen quickly if that's all that's needed, if the same person in the same office is still there ready to go when/if EPA gets going again.
It's why on their site they are selling the Progress. They expect this rubber stamp. Other stoves like Ideal Steel and the smaller soapstone stoves are marked "Backordered," and that is because they are further behind in this approval process.

We have a Subaru Forrester and a Golf Sportwagen. The VW actually has more room for cargo, but it's not as tall. The Subaru would be the thing. BUT I have a bit of trauma around that. I picked up this Jotul in this Subaru 14 or 15 years ago, Subaru was brand new then. Picked up the used Jotul, drove up the guy's hill, the stove tipped backwards into the hatchback window, shattering it. If anything I'd rent a pickup. I suppose U haul rents them. Plus I'd get to visit my daughter, who is on the way.

Interesting about the movers. I was going to start calling them. I heard back from the person who listed the stove. It was a short message, looks like tapped on a phone, didn't answer all my questions but seems amenable to working with me and helping load the stove with a ramp and lift. So that's not nothing.

Maybe I'll call U Haul to see about renting a truck and see what that would cost for 800 miles round trip. That plus two days of my time, and some struggle, but I'm sure would save some $$$ and get the stove on the hearth for sure.

 

[begreen]

Any load, in a car, van, or pickup, should be secured. Tipping over is not good for a stove. If renting, I think I would go for a van for its lower lift up height. That said, as long as it fits, the Subaru can handle it. In that case I would ratchet strap it to the rear seat if it's up.

 

[Todd]

Yeah Woodstock had to tweak the lower end air to pass the EPA test with crib wood. Maybe that’s why it’s taking so long. If the seller is willing to help you I think I’d jump on that used stove. Maybe rent an appliance dolly or even a pallet jack. Maybe U-Haul has that stuff?

If your F3 is in decent shape with a fresh coat of paint I bet you could get $1000 for it. I just bought a decent rusted one for $700 along with the chimney pipe.

 

[fire_man]

Take a good look at the used Progress. Remove the combustor and carefully inspect the steel plate underneath for cracks or warping. Also inspect the fireback inside the stove (viewing thru the open loading door). Make sure the plate with the holes (fireback) is not badly warped. These are the high-stress areas. It would not be a deal breaker for me if those parts need repair, you can fix it or you may be able to get a stove guy from WS to pay you a visit being so close. Its a great stove.

I highly recommend adding the ashpan. The taller legs should be an easy switch.

I just checked and the combustor is STILL on backorder! It's been on backorder since at least mid September.

 

[Highbeam]

Do you really want a potentially obsolete stove in very used (cheap) condition that may not have parts available? Can’t even get a cat for it?

 

[begreen]

Agreed that the combustor is a concern. I've suggested buying an extra in another thread. That said, it's unlikely to become an obsolete stove and Woodstock has parts.

 

[John Lehet]

It’s definitely a quandary, mostly on account if it being out of reasonable driving range. I’ve been watching Craigslist for several weeks. Nearby and in neighboring states. The only Woodstock stoves that come up are well used Fireviews for about $2500, which is crazy since you could get a new one for not much more if you got the tax credit. I haven’t seen a Progress come up used anywhere nearby, but I could imagine much higher prices if it did. There’s a Fireview in Maine for $500 as a complete project, completely taken apart with some metal really rusted and some metal new, stones seemingly OK.

Waiting for the new one would be so easy. A local guy would pick it up and install it, with Vermont refunding almost half of his cost through a stove efficiency program (not sure if that runs out in the new year). A couple of years ago it would have been a no brainer to get the new one installed, but money is suddenly a lot tighter than say 10 months ago for us.

Looking on the Woodstock site right now, it does seem the Progress cat has come in stock. Click on the stove, then parts. You can add it to your cart. Recently trying to do that gave a “back ordered.” My intent all along with this stove has been to make sure I’ve always got a spare cat around — or for any cat stove I might end up with. After my 1999 - 2001 Intrepid experience with a cat stove I’ve been completely gun-shy about cat stoves. Non cats ever since. Now I’m willing to move back into camp-catalyst, but I’ll keep a spare.

At this price it seems I could afford to do some repairs on it for sure, and as pointed out, I could probably get more for my Jotul right now than I’d pay for this though not if I add trucking into it.

U haul is cost prohibitive, at $1.29 per mile. I mean, it still might be worth it, but the U haul would be more than the stove. Enterprise (only nearby car rental) has truck rentals for $60/day but no trucks or vans available in the area at the moment.

My daughter has jury duty right now, but I’m sure I could get her to go look at it when she’s got a chance. I think daughter as scout + mover with insurance is the strategy to pursue if movers are reasonable and insured.

 

[fire_man]

Looking on the Woodstock site right now, it does seem the Progress cat has come in stock. Click on the stove, then parts. You can add it to your cart. Recently trying to do that gave a “back ordered.”

Double check w/ Woodstock but when I add the cat to the cart it's not in stock

 

[Dieselhead]

 

[Dieselhead]

 

[Dieselhead]

That’s on the big bad Facebook. If you like I can contact him and get a number for you.

 

[Dieselhead]

 

[John Lehet]

Ah, thank you for looking! I really do hate Facebook enough that I don't have a login anymore, but I could do it for this! Though I won't do it if they want serious tracking info on me, like a face scan or full bio or whatever. FB marketplace really does seem to have taken the lead over Craigslist. Also encouraging that they may in fact come up used.

For this one, yes, please contact and get the number or email for me. Even at the higher price, this seems saner than a 400 mile away one. This is about 100 miles away.

And the fact that Woodstock in fact doesn't have cats in stock makes me wonder how they will build a stove for me, unless they have a stash of them just for new stove building. (I see that the *** not in stock doesn't show up until you try to pay.) They may very well have such a stash to make however many stoves they have castings for. Seems like they are a good company and wouldn't sell me a stove they couldn't actually build, EPA unpredictability aside.

 

[fire_man]

@John Lehet I'd like to alleviate a couple of your earlier concerns.
The Progress heats up fast thanks to the large front glass. I had the Fireview before the Progress and the Progress warms the room quicker with the same amount of wood.
I burn lots of small fires during shoulder season so no worry about getting overheated, just load less wood. I get a solid 10-12 hours of burn time during the cold months.
I have found the company very easy to work with. I don't feel like I am dealing with salespeople when I call because they build their stoves right there so know the product much better than typical stoveshops. If you ask a question they don't know, there is someone more technical right around the corner.

 

[John Lehet]

Thanks

 

[fire_man]

Do you really want a potentially obsolete stove in very used (cheap) condition that may not have parts available? Can’t even get a cat for it?

Curious why would you think the stove could become obsolete any time soon? They have been continually making improvements and other than the combustor (which is on backorder for many of their stoves) I have never had trouble getting parts.

Try getting parts from other manufacturers and see the crazy markups if they even have a parts tree diagram available. Woodstock stoves have parts diagrams down to the bolt level.