Long Term Reliability of Alaska Channing III
Posted: Sat. Sep. 02, 2006 10:05 pm
Having heated my finished basement with VC Defiant Encore, and my office with an inefficient Fisher, I am looking to replace the Fisher with a Combination stove or used Channing.
The combination stove I am looking at is the Harman TLC 2000, for the simple reason that I have an abundant supply of logs still to cut and split, but for those really cold weeks, like the thought of consistent heat output from coal.
The stove of choice it seems from the few people I have spoken to in the NW section of Jersey, is the Alaska Stove Company's Channing III. Does not seem that too many folks burn coal in my area, and I have located a dealer about 40 miles west, willing to sell their 5-6 year old Channing for about $1200.
So, what do you suggest? Is the $600 savings worth it, if in fact motor parts are due to be replaced soon? Or since I do have an abundance of wood, does the Harman make a better choice. Frankly, I was initially leaning to a gravity fed unit, but love the idea of uninterrupted heat on weekends that I am away.
Can anyone tell me how long a Stoker stove will last? how often do the parts wear out? are they subject to electrical failure from surges, or other power failures. When they break, are they expensive to repair?
Look forward to your response.
John (Northern Morris County, NJ)
The combination stove I am looking at is the Harman TLC 2000, for the simple reason that I have an abundant supply of logs still to cut and split, but for those really cold weeks, like the thought of consistent heat output from coal.
The stove of choice it seems from the few people I have spoken to in the NW section of Jersey, is the Alaska Stove Company's Channing III. Does not seem that too many folks burn coal in my area, and I have located a dealer about 40 miles west, willing to sell their 5-6 year old Channing for about $1200.
So, what do you suggest? Is the $600 savings worth it, if in fact motor parts are due to be replaced soon? Or since I do have an abundance of wood, does the Harman make a better choice. Frankly, I was initially leaning to a gravity fed unit, but love the idea of uninterrupted heat on weekends that I am away.
Can anyone tell me how long a Stoker stove will last? how often do the parts wear out? are they subject to electrical failure from surges, or other power failures. When they break, are they expensive to repair?
Look forward to your response.
John (Northern Morris County, NJ)