Are second-hand woodburning stoves safe?
In reality whatever budget you have in mind for a wood-burning stove there will be something suitable for your needs. We have a number of woodburning stoves valued at under £500 rising all the way up to some stoves which sell for in excess of £4000. However, more and more people are now looking towards the second-hand woodburning stove market and wondering whether it is safe to buy stoves which have been used before?
The fact is that the stove technology of today is far more developed than in years gone by, the materials used are more durable and the simple fact is that manufacturing techniques mean that the average stove today will survive for many years with just minimal maintenance.
Value for money
The price of a second-hand stove will depend upon the actual brand, how old it is and whether there is any visible damage or perhaps more comprehensive maintenance required. There are many second-hand stove experts in the UK who will be able to advise you of the suitability of a second-hand stove and indeed whether it is safe to use. In theory there should be no safety issues with a second-hand stove unless it has gone through excessive trauma which has led to significant damage to perhaps the inner workings or the various seals which ensure no release of harmful gases.
There are a number of very simple tests which can be carried out which will instantly confirm whether a second-hand stove is safe to use.
Stick with well-known brands
As we touched on above, some of the lesser-known brands in the UK may well be selling new stoves for around £200. In the modern-day world you literally get what you pay for therefore if you are looking to buy a second-hand stove which was cheap "at new" then you may not get as much use and as much value for money out of the stove as you perhaps expected.
When you look at companies such as Morso, Stovax etc. these are all well known names in the industry that ensure their products are manufactured to the highest level and safety is always paramount. These are the type of stoves which offer potentially excellent value in the second-hand market because even if there are simple maintenance requirements, these particular stove companies have an array of spare parts and replacements to make your second-hand stove "as good as new".
Availability of spare parts
While we touched on the subject of spare parts in the previous paragraph, the likelihood is that the older a stove is the more maintenance it will require and potentially the more spare parts will be needed. This is perhaps another reason why you should seriously consider looking at second-hand stoves amongst some of the better known brands in the UK because spare parts will be readily available and in many cases they can be fitted by an individual as opposed to a qualified stove retailer.
There will however be times when you will need the assistance of a qualified retailer and installer because under strict government regulations there is an array of environmental issues to take into account and ANY stove should only be installed by a qualified installer.
Conclusion
As the number of woodburning stoves, and for that matter, multifuel stoves, continues to grow in the UK so we have seen a major increase in the number of second-hand stoves available. In a perfect world you should be able to buy any second-hand stove with confidence that it is safe, secure and aside from minimal maintenance it should be okay for the foreseeable future. The reality is that to ensure this kind of reliability in the second-hand stove market you will likely need to focus upon the better-known brand names such as Morso,Stovax etc. which offer products manufactured to the highest standards with safety paramount.
As we touched on above, it is also worth noting that second-hand stoves may need maintenance and they may require various spare parts, which will be more readily available for some of the better-known brand names. In simple terms, you get what you pay for......