ideal stove?

[Bigg_Redd]

OK, this is a reason to love the internet. Thank you, everyone, for your responses. It's so great to hear opinions from people who are actually using these products. Will keep checking back, now that I've found this forum.

My husband is advocating for patiently looking for the perfect used stove that would have been an expensive stove if we'd bought it new. Right now, we're waiting for parts for the scavenged stove we're going to use this winter to get by. It has been a very chilly week, so I'm feeling less and less patient. This morning it was almost forty, and the house felt practically balmy. I have been arguing that if you amortize the cost of the stove over its useful lifetime, and factor in the money we are not spending on fuel oil, we should feel free to get exactly what we want, because it's a bargain any way you look at it. But I suppose if we can find exactly what we want, used, I could think of a lot of other places to spend the money we'd save. Any thoughts on buying used? And thank you, again, for the thoughtful responses.

Maybe the used stove market is different in NY, but it's pretty slim pickin's in WA

 

[Bigg_Redd]

BigRedd
Just curious, how do you know that PE's are more efficient than Jotul, or any other brand? Don't tell me that "PE says so". The advertised ratings are unreliable.

That assertion is based on the several statements made by Oslo owners that find some difficulty in achieving all night burns and with no special planning and with "softwood" I can get all night burns with my PE (as do 2 of my buddies with PEs)

I guess we can quibble about what "efficiency" is but having almost bought a Jotul (dealer sells both) I went with PE because it's simpler, less expensive, and more efficient (burns longer).


EDIT: FTR - I'm not saying Jotul aren't good stoves, I'm simply saying that they are over-priced and they under-perform.

I burned an Oslo in my showroom on Long Island for years. 10 hour burns were easy without much planning when loading. As far as overpriced, that of course means they are not worth the money to you, not over priced in general. Thats like saying a Corvette is overpriced because an 80 year old grandma can't turn the 1/4 mile in 16 seconds using manual transmission. Or a steak at a 5 star steak house for $40 is overpriced because someone once got a steak served cold there...and heck,you can get yerself a steak dinner at the Home Deeper for $3. Same thing right?It's all in the eye of the user.

As far as customer satisfaction, our company used to sell 200 or so Jotul a year (+200 quads and 100+ other brands) Of all the free standing stoves we sold, the Oslo and the 4300 step top quad were the two stoves we had the happiest customers with. That Oslo was our bread and butter.

But for this reader, I still suggest that PE with the cook top

In what way is a Jotul better than a PE in any given size range to a blind man?

 

[fredarm]

Maybe the used stove market is different in NY, but it's pretty slim pickin's in WA

MA too. Mostly well-worn smoke dragons for too much money. If you're having trouble getting parts for that Vigilant, and cost is a concern, do yourself a favor and go look at the Englander 30 at Home Depot or Summers Heat (same company) equivalent at Lowes. It's a well-made, serious heater with good customer support from the company (their rep posts regularly on this forum). People who have them seem to love them and you should be able to get one for less than $1,000, roughly half the price of the approximately equivalent stove from PE. You can sign up for an HD card and get 6 months same as cash and start heating your home now.

 

[lexybird]

Welcome to the forum Kristin. For value and view of flames, the big Englander stove at Home Depot or Lowes is a no-brainer for your application.

(broken link removed to http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100291302/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)

exactly ........... use a 10% off lowes coupon and take up the epa tax rebate and the NC30 stove is the best deal in the business

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Maybe the used stove market is different in NY, but it's pretty slim pickin's in WA

MA too. Mostly well-worn smoke dragons for too much money. If you're having trouble getting parts for that Vigilant, and cost is a concern, do yourself a favor and go look at the Englander 30 at Home Depot or Summers Heat (same company) equivalent at Lowes. It's a well-made, serious heater with good customer support from the company (their rep posts regularly on this forum). People who have them seem to love them and you should be able to get one for less than $1,000, roughly half the price of the approximately equivalent stove from PE. You can sign up for an HD card and get 6 months same as cash and start heating your home now.

Actually, a plain jane Summit can be had for about $1400-$1500 from my dealer.

EDIT - not the insert, the freestanding stove.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Actually, a plain jane Summit can be had for about $1400-$1500 from my dealer.

It would seem its not just BKs that get expensive east of the Mississippi...