Worth it for used CAB 50?

[lowb35]

Hi all... We were in the market to replace our pellet stove with a new CAB 50, and then all the COVID stuff happened. We are thankfully both still working, but given the uncertainty of everything since my husband works in the oil and gas industry, we were going to try and make our current stove last another year. However, a local stove shop has a used CAB 50 that I've been looking at. It's 10 years old but the important bits/guts inside have been replaced and it's been fully serviced, fired up and working. Exterior just needs paint and then it will be fine. They want $800. I'm thinking that's a decent price since the stove is still being made and it can still be serviced.

My current stove was discontinued several years ago (Avalon Arbor). Since we closed on our new house after the heating season started I unfortunately put $800 in it for maintenance and to fix some major safety issues so that we could get through winter. It will need more work to get us through another season if we go that route, although nothing major that we know of yet... mostly gaskets to fix a glass air leak and such.

I'm also really wanting something that can hold more than 1 bag of pellets and which has a better track record than our current stove. But... is $800 worth it for a ten year old CAB 50 even in good repair, or should I just wait until we are in a better position to buy new?

 

[Highbeam]

Looks like a 1500$ stove brand new. 10 years old, 800$ is too much money. These things wear out and this particular stove isn't exactly a harman! If it was new in the crate, maybe 1000$. If I was you I would spend a couple hundred more bucks on a brand new Pelpro 130 that has a warranty, 130 lb hopper or 330# with extenstion, 82% efficient, all new, and the paint is good.

 

[lowb35]

New they're $2200 now, but yes, you're right, a new PelPro might be a better option than the used CAB50. They're similar stoves and I had also been looking at the PelPro for the hopper extension. Thanks.

 

[Don2222]

The control box in the Quads & Heatilators are 10 times more rugged than most stoves. The PP130 round control knob has limited capability. I just replace a PP130 main board that was zapped by a power surge. There should have been a good surge protector on The stove or a line conditioner but there was not. :-(

 

[jzm2cc]

Cab-50 is very easy to work on due to simplicity of design, and its large cabinet. Plus parts are easy to purchase online reasonably. Factory paint leaves a lot to he desired though. A couple cans of stove bright will make it look great again.

 

[lowb35]

Update - ended up getting the CAB50 and it is a BEAST. Sanded and painted the cabinet and made sure the stove was otherwise good and clean, replaced a couple of gaskets, and it now heats my entire 2,000 ft. farmhouse. The colder it gets the better it runs (I've also installed an OAK which we didn't have with our old stove). I still suspect I spent more for the stove than I should have, but it works great so I have no complaints.

Our baseboard heating in the far corners of the house are now supplemental heat only rather than the other way around like it was with our old stove. Got down near 20 last night and it's a toasty 71-72 on the first floor and a comfortable 67-68 upstairs running on medium. So much easier to keep clean than my old stove and it's running happily.

I also had a Stove Sentry 503A setup for my old stove (bought it as new old stock so paid about the same as I would have for a new UPS) and it works with the CAB50 as well. Had our first real power outage of the year about a week or so ago and it worked fine.

 

[gfreek]

Glad it's working out for you and update .

 

[You'refired]

Hello lowb35, wondering what you run your stove at and how many heat levels it has? There is one for sale locally and trying to get an idea of fuel costs.

 

[lowb35]

The CAB 50 runs off a thermostat, but it also has three heat levels (low, medium, high). Shoulder seasons I run it at low because otherwise it will burn us out of the house, but most of the heating season I run it medium. Only need to run it on high when it stays near or below zero F. for significant stretches of time. Burn a little under 1 bag a day on low, and during the colder part of the winter we go through on average 9-10 bags a week. Last winter we burned just shy of 4 tons. It's the primary but not only heat source for a 2000 sq ft house. We have baseboard heat in bedrooms and etc. but most of last year we only used 2-3 of them when the stove was going. Heating season here is mid to late October to mid May. We keep temps in the house in the upper 60s; hearth room is in low 70s (it's a big open space that takes up most of my first floor). Your experience may vary depending on what your heating needs are, but I'm pretty happy with the stove.