Folks who know about Englander stoves... an older EPA one with a Cat?

[gyrfalcon]

I am a little worried about buying a used Cat stove. I am not sure why that would make a difference but I don't like the idea of having to replace the converter all the time at $200 a pop. (esp in a 3 to 600$ stove..?)
I dunno. Maybe I'm being a wuss.

I was a wuss too about cat stoves until I started hanging out here. I've become convinced, though, that the periodic cat replacement cost is well worth it and that the difference from non-cats in difficulty of operation is truly trivial. I've also become drastically less concerned about the esthetics than I was, mainly because the price of the really beautiful ones isn't worth the extra $$$ unless you've got plenty of it to throw around.

Reading between the lines, sounds like you expect to be the main person responsible for operating the stove, not your husband, yes? If so, fear not. The truly incredible bunch of guys here will coach you through absolutely anything-- if you can stand the puns and bad jokes!

 

[tickbitty]

Lol, I hope not. I'm hoping he's at least the major wood splitter! I'm just more into the research - knew we were looking for specific needs and was hoping to stay within the low end of the budget, and I am just really interested in woodstoves, wanted an EPA stove etc. I just really didn't think we could afford to buy new, and when looking used it's kinda like car shopping, tradeoffs here and there till you find what will work for you, sometimes it ends up meaning you get bonus features, sometimes not. I agree with you too on aesthetics not necessarily being worth the money. But yes I am so grateful for this forum to talk us through everything. Very glad to hear that the Cats are not such a hassle as I imagined. The manual even says you can clean it with a pipe cleaner! Interesting. Thanks a lot guys.

 

[mellow]

If anyone else is looking for the same stove here is your shot:

(broken link removed to http://baltimore.craigslist.org/for/1456491160.html)

 

[gyrfalcon]

Lol, I hope not. I'm hoping he's at least the major wood splitter! I'm just more into the research - knew we were looking for specific needs and was hoping to stay within the low end of the budget, and I am just really interested in woodstoves, wanted an EPA stove etc. I just really didn't think we could afford to buy new, and when looking used it's kinda like car shopping, tradeoffs here and there till you find what will work for you, sometimes it ends up meaning you get bonus features, sometimes not. I agree with you too on aesthetics not necessarily being worth the money. But yes I am so grateful for this forum to talk us through everything. Very glad to hear that the Cats are not such a hassle as I imagined. The manual even says you can clean it with a pipe cleaner! Interesting. Thanks a lot guys.

Splitting wood is actually a blast. It's the stacking and hauling around you want to avoid as much as possible!

 

[tickbitty]

Thanks to all. Wow, Mellow, that's a twin. Nice to see it's in the same price range, too so I don't feel like I missed out on a better deal!

So the stove looked great, we didn't end up getting the combuster out due to time/mess potential in the seller's house constraints but everything else looked so good we decided to take a chance on it and get this one. Will have to go back next week with help to move it though, and one problem is the owner wants little to do with it and has not yet taken it out of the chimney, said he's not even sure how, guess he hoped the buyer would figure it all out! He said we are welcome to any liner or connectors, and from the looks of the house (I am guessing it was built in the 80s with a two story exterior chimney?) it must have a liner, but he said have at it, meaning we would need to get it ourselves, not sure how we might go about that. Wishing I could hire an uninstaller/mover/installer but being as these people live over an hour away and I can't even find anyone local to do an install for me, there's little chance of that. Will have to call in some of my resources and see what I can do!

 

[BrotherBart]

What town is the stove in?

 

[tickbitty]

Chester, VA, near Petersburg (below Richmond). We live in Williamsburg. I think we can figure something out but I am definitely still open to suggestions!