I hope to save people in the seacoast area some trouble. There's a Nashua N18 (the smallest one they made) for sale in Eliot Maine. It's listed as "Large Nashua" "When 1/4" steel was used" and having "Great heat output". I didn't really need one, but since it was so close to where I live, I thought it would be fun to check out. If you're looking for a stove, don't bother with this one.
Before heading over, I asked the guy if it had any cracks or was warped etc. He said it was in great condition. No cracks or warping. He just got another stove and wanted to get rid of this one. Great! Let's check it out. Upon arriving, and seeing the stove from 10 feet, I knew otherwise. The top was deeply pitted and the whole stove had a nice thick and fresh coat of stove paint.
He then showed me a box of new stove bricks. He had taken out the old ones and "hadn't gotten around to putting in the new ones". As he was showing them to me he said that he spoke to the manufacturer to make sure that they were the correct ones. I said "You spoke to the manufacturer?" he replied "Yup" I responded "How'd you do that? They've been out of business since the 80's." He tried to cover his tracks by saying he went on the internet.
Now comes the killing blow. He had the stove in his garage conveniently turned so the light was behind it. Looking inside was impossible... unless you happened to bring a small flashlight
When I pulled it out, I saw the look on his face change. Peering inside revealed that the stove has a a 3 inch hole burned right through the baffle right into the heat exchanger/manifold. Because of the way these stoves are designed, this would be almost like burning a stove that had a 3 inch hole in the top. The sale also included the blower. With the hole in the manifold, can anyone say unforgiving, burn your house down FORGE? The thought is scary.
When I mentioned it, the guy wasn't ready to give up on the sale. He said that that's a heat shelf. It's supposed to be like that. Then immediately followed that with "you can get it welded". Well, which is it? Is it supposed to be like that or does it need to be repaired?
What I took away from the adventure was that either this guy was a total liar with a disregard for other peoples safety, or that he should not be using, selling, or doing anything else with a wood stove. The ad is still up 12 hours later btw.
Hope this helps someone. Whether it's looking at this stove or any other one. Buyer be ware.
Before heading over, I asked the guy if it had any cracks or was warped etc. He said it was in great condition. No cracks or warping. He just got another stove and wanted to get rid of this one. Great! Let's check it out. Upon arriving, and seeing the stove from 10 feet, I knew otherwise. The top was deeply pitted and the whole stove had a nice thick and fresh coat of stove paint.
He then showed me a box of new stove bricks. He had taken out the old ones and "hadn't gotten around to putting in the new ones". As he was showing them to me he said that he spoke to the manufacturer to make sure that they were the correct ones. I said "You spoke to the manufacturer?" he replied "Yup" I responded "How'd you do that? They've been out of business since the 80's." He tried to cover his tracks by saying he went on the internet.
Now comes the killing blow. He had the stove in his garage conveniently turned so the light was behind it. Looking inside was impossible... unless you happened to bring a small flashlight
When I pulled it out, I saw the look on his face change. Peering inside revealed that the stove has a a 3 inch hole burned right through the baffle right into the heat exchanger/manifold. Because of the way these stoves are designed, this would be almost like burning a stove that had a 3 inch hole in the top. The sale also included the blower. With the hole in the manifold, can anyone say unforgiving, burn your house down FORGE? The thought is scary.When I mentioned it, the guy wasn't ready to give up on the sale. He said that that's a heat shelf. It's supposed to be like that. Then immediately followed that with "you can get it welded". Well, which is it? Is it supposed to be like that or does it need to be repaired?
What I took away from the adventure was that either this guy was a total liar with a disregard for other peoples safety, or that he should not be using, selling, or doing anything else with a wood stove. The ad is still up 12 hours later btw.
Hope this helps someone. Whether it's looking at this stove or any other one. Buyer be ware.
