Buying a Used Coal Stove

lawsnofun · Post by **lawsnofun** » Mon. Sep. 22, 2008 11:01 am

Since there is so much demand for coal stoves, if I can find a used stove, what should I look for or rather look out for? I have never used one before and have done a lot of research, but any help you can give would be greatly appreciated!

ceccil · Post by **ceccil** » Mon. Sep. 22, 2008 11:17 am

Some of the things to look for are the condition of the stove itself. Is it solid? No rust holes, or thinning metal. Make sure all of the blower motors are in working order. The combution blower, convection blower, stoker moter if its a stoker, and venting motor if it has one. For the most part if the stove is solid you should be able to buy any parts you may need for it. There are a few members here that purchase used stoves and rebuild them. Maybe one of them has one they could sell you. These guys are very good at rebuilding them and I would trust what they sell. Others will chime in with other info for you also.

Jeff

Devil505 · Post by **Devil505** » Mon. Sep. 22, 2008 11:20 am

In regards to hand-fired stoves, I have bought 2 new & one used coal stove in my life & am no expert but coal stoves are pretty rugged devices with very few moving parts. I would say that if there's no obvious warping, the doors & shaker grate operate well & it just looks good, it's a pretty safe bet.

arcticcatmatt · Post by **arcticcatmatt** » Mon. Sep. 22, 2008 1:13 pm

I just bought a used one.

The stoker grate was cracked, gaskets were shot, paint was bad, and one of the fans isn't working.

Cost me about 150 bucks to redo it so far.. I have fixed it all except for the fan not working. Getting on that tonight.

ceccil · Post by **ceccil** » Mon. Sep. 22, 2008 1:42 pm

arcticcatmatt wrote:The stoker grate was cracked, gaskets were shot, paint was bad, and one of the fans isn't working.

Cost me about 150 bucks to redo it so far.. I have fixed it all except for the fan not working. Getting on that tonight.

Just an example of what I was saying. articcatmatt probably got it for a decent price, put a few bucks into it and will have a good stove for much less than a new one. As said before, these things are built pretty rugged and will last for many many years even with minimal maintenance.

Jeff

lawsnofun · Post by **lawsnofun** » Tue. Sep. 23, 2008 11:03 am

That helps a lot- thank you very much!
Kevin

lawsnofun · Post by **lawsnofun** » Tue. Sep. 23, 2008 11:05 am

Any idea on a fair price for a used Harman Mark II? I see a lot of people here have Harmans and seem to only have good things to say about them.

Kevin

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Tue. Sep. 23, 2008 11:12 am

This is a reply I posted about a Harman Mark I... the same stove as the Mark II, just ones size smaller and a few hundred dollars less.

Mark One

Are you looking for a hand feed stove, or a stoker feed stove..?? If looking for a hand feed, I'll move this topic to the Hand feed forum to get better exposure to the hand feed crowd.

Greg L
.

arcticcatmatt · Post by **arcticcatmatt** » Wed. Sep. 24, 2008 11:17 pm

yes I got a decent price.

I gave 500 bucks for the stove.

Now, after fixing it up and getting the vent done.. I have 700 total into it. I have the fan out of it now to fix.

Sure, it wasn't a gem and its 18 years old but who cares, its built to last and I saved a butt load of dough

ceccil · Post by **ceccil** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2008 12:53 am

Not bad, I wish I knew about this forum before I started burning coal and bought my stove. Paid about $2300 for it. If I knew then what I know now I would have looked for a used one first. Oh well, still happy with what I have. When you guys get them up and running, be sure to include before and after pics. We all like to see pics especially works in progress.

Jeff