Timing is everything and its driving me crazy on a used Regency.

[lowroadacres]

For those of my fellow hearth.com members who are unfortunate enough to recall our ongoing wood heat struggles I am just a few hours away from finding out if a used Regency can still be had for $100.

It will require elbow grease applied heartily to a clean up and a paint job likely but it appears solid all around other than the cleaning/painting needed.

It is for sale 2 hours away and if a close friend can get there by this evening I will be making the jump to not only a larger capacity stove than our little Drolet Jasper the Regency is an EPA stove.

It is driving me crazy waiting to know if the timing is going to work out from a distance.

To be able to crank out more than double the BTU's would be an incredible improvement for our household heating needs.

Just to keep my mind off of the time I think I am going out to cut/split/stack more ash wood and maybe even some oak.

 

[Ashful]

Good luck! If you're talking about splitting and stacking, you must be working indoors, or having much better weather than us. We're sitting inside watching the cold, pouring rain. At least it was an excuse to fire up the stove again, after two weeks of warm weather.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Let me attempt to make you feel better and recap my wood stove buying adventures.

First stove: Vigilant
The stove was 45 minutes away, but this was after looking at nearly a dozen stoves. This was the first stove purchase and we had a tough time trying to figure out what we needed and what was crap. Got lucky with the Vigilant.

Second stove: Intrepid
That stove was two hours away. Got a speeding ticket on the drive back. Stove ended up being to small for our needs.

Attempted to buy a Fireview. Had an agreement with the owner. Set to pick it up the next day. Sold it on me the next morning.

Attempted to buy a Hearthstone Mansfield.
Had an agreement to pick it up that weekend. It was a dealer and I asked if he wanted to charge my card over the phone to make sure it would be there for me. No, he said, he would hold it for me until I arrived that weekend. He sold it the next day.

Attempted to buy another Fireview.
Set to pick it up the next day. Owner decides he wants to keep it as I just start my drive to the owner's house that is three states away to confirm I will be there in three hours.

Third stove: Hearthstone Heritage
5 hours away and drove through 5 states. In a snow storm.

Attempted to buy another Mansfield.
I ask for additional photos to make sure the stove is in good shape. It checks out. I make the 2+ hour trip up to the Poconos, and I find out that the previous night the guy decided to remove the heat shield with, I am only guessing here, a sledgehammer. Ripped out the screws from the stoves and cracked every back stone on the stove to the point that light shown through when you lit up the firebox with a flashlight..

Fourth stove: Encore
3 hours away and a state over. Surprisingly uneventful. Though the stove photos made it looked like it was dragged down a stone road. Stove was actually in great shape. But, the entire trip I thought for sure I was wasting my time.

Fifth stove: Defiant
5+ hours away and another snowstorm.

Sixth Stove: 30NC
That SOB is going to be delivered to my front door, damnit.

 

[lowroadacres]

At this risk of this turning into a soap opera I have now been able to connect my brother with the owner of the stove. My brother is in the mix because he lives a short drive from the stove owner.

Between the stove owner and I we have narrowed it down that it is a Regency, likely an older version of the 2400 model.

The price is ridiculously low and even if it turns out to be something I cannot use I will be able to clean it up and flip it.

Its just still driving me crazy that I am not able to go and make the deal myself. Here's hoping that my brother is able to connect with the owner... soon.

Now if only I can convince the boss that the company I work for needs me to make a trip to the city this week with the company truck.

 

[BrowningBAR]

If you can't get the truck, you can rent a flatbed trailer from the local rental or even a home depot for a few bucks. I stopped using my pickup truck when I pick up a stove. I rent a small hatch back from the local car rental for $20. They get fantastic gas mileage, a lower entry point than the truck (less lifting), and I don't have to worry about snow or rain since the stove is covered.

 

[Pallet Pete]

Offer the owner a case of beer

I will help BrawningBAR make you feel better !

1st stove a gift from a relative who passed away ( sadly ) US Stove Wonder Wood ! Had to pick it up 35 miles away with one helper. Almost went to the hospital from back strain moving the darn thing ( no joke ) ridiculously inefficient stove to boot.

Replacement stove attempt Buck Stove ! 2 hours away looked sweet online got there to look at the stove the right side was totally warped and buckled !

2nd Replacement Attempt Encore in a showroom once again 2 hours away dealer was a BLEEP of a guy! Lied on the phone and said used for 1300 bucks so we went to look at it. It looked like superman had thrown it a mile then jumped on it like a trampoline! Total wast of time

Out of desperation and not being a hearth member as well as not knowing the quality we bought a Vogelzang Durango 3 years later in 60 mile per hour winds it had a freaking meltdown on 1/4 inch of coals ! The top turned cherry red and I had to cover the secondary air in order to stop the super suction going on. Totally ruined.

Replacement attempt again ! After much insecurity about what the heck I was in for I joined Hearth.com and drove everyone nuts for a couple of months .
We bought a Harman TL-300. Good stove build wise and long coal life but a royal pain in the tush to get going due to a combuster issue. The dealer was a pain and would not help figure it out sooooooo after arguments and legal threats they agreed to refund us. I went there with the stove papers and was told that I made up the return and to get the bleep off there property! (There words) I stayed outside and cost them 4 customers before they threatened to call the police. We sold the Harman to a great guy and he got it working no problem thank goodness.

Finally a good stove Jotul F-50 and a superb dealer we could not be happier with the final product ! Our dealer is amazing and willing to help in any way as well as Jotul is very attentive to needs of there customers. We had a minor draft issue I could not figure out next thing I know Jotul has a stove rep at our door checking it all out and then the problem is fixed right away.

What I am getting at is patience pays off and it will work out in the end ! How can it not you have the Hearth family behind you all the way Keep the faith Lowroadacres and let us know what happens !

Good luck Lowroadacres
Pete

 

[BrowningBAR]

1st stove a gift from a relative who passed away ( sadly ) US Stove Wonder Wood ! Had to pick it up 35 miles away with one helper. Almost went to the hospital from back strain moving the darn thing ( no joke ) ridiculously inefficient stove to boot.

Owners are always amazed when I show up to their home and it's just me.

"Um, you didn't bring any help?"

"Sure I did", I say. "This dolly, these socket wrenches, and a few screw drivers."

You take enough stuff off a stove and have the right materials with you, anyone can move a stove. Use less back and more wood planks and dollies.

 

[lowroadacres]

All good advice. Progress was made this evening in that my brother connected voice to voice with the owner and the plan is to connect face to face.

Part of my challenge in my stove journey is that we recently decided (several years late) that now that I am over 40 it is time to quit borrowing money to save money.

I would very much love to go to one of our four local dealers and just pull out the credit card and order up any number of different stoves.

The small stove we have is well paid for and it cuts our electricity bill to just over half of what it was prior to adding the stove.

Some of my friends play golf, I have a few into radio control airplanes..... I heat with wood.

Funny thing though, my kids are taking up the addiction, in fact my 10 year old daughter had us all in stitches at my recent birthday supper with her present to me.....

A split of box elder with a ribbon around it.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I would very much love to go to one of our four local dealers and just pull out the credit card and order up any number of different stoves.

Just because you could spend more, doesn't mean you will be warmer. I have bought five stoves at this point. Total cost was $2,550 and I still need to sell two of them. When it is all said and done, I will have purchased six stoves for a total of about $1,500 once I sell the older stoves.

Don't worry about not buying new. You will be just as warm.

 

[lowroadacres]

We pulled the trigger this morning on the deal. $100 for a Regency F2000M. My brother handed the owner $100 cash and I now need to make arrangements to go and pick it up. It is still a bit of a gamble as I know that the Regency model is older. I know I am going to need to replace the burn tubes and firebricks in the stove and I may go out of my mind sanding, cleaning and painting up the stove but I will get clearance from my WETT certified installer friend before going too deep into this project. If it gets me more heat than my non-epa little Jasper Drolet Smoke Dragon then I am ahead of the curve.

 

[mfglickman]

We pulled the trigger this morning on the deal. $100 for a Regency F2000M. My brother handed the owner $100 cash and I now need to make arrangements to go and pick it up. It is still a bit of a gamble as I know that the Regency model is older. I know I am going to need to replace the burn tubes and firebricks in the stove and I may go out of my mind sanding, cleaning and painting up the stove but I will get clearance from my WETT certified installer friend before going too deep into this project. If it gets me more heat than my non-epa little Jasper Drolet Smoke Dragon then I am ahead of the curve.

Yay! Congratulations!

FWIW, We got our 20 year old Fireview on CL, had to replace the entire cat and baffle assembly as well as a bunch of gaskets, and it is now just a great stove (I want a Progress for its size but the FV is awesome). So an old stove can turn out just fine - and you cannot beat your price!

 

[lowroadacres]

Things just got waaaay better in my hopes for this stove.... When I could not find the manual online at Regency, one email and one phone call and I have the manual.....
But it gets better..... The stove is rated for use in an alcove.....

This will potentially make my installation that much better depending on the exact measurement of the stove when I get it home in relation to the spot where we have our current stove.

Simple little things can brighten a day.

 

[lowroadacres]

Hey everyone who was rooting for us on this thread...

I have started the next chapter in this new thread. The stove is home and now we are into "project phase"

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regency-project-stove.86333/

 

[begreen]

closing thread