Used Surdiac Southport (Pic)

Going to look at a Surdiac Southport , anyone have thoughts on this unit? good , bad or other wise...

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Surdiac are good stoves. The part to inspect is the heat exchanger on the back. It is steel covered with porcelain enamel. look at the clean out plates for signs of chipped enamel and make sure they can be removed as it is necessary to have access for cleaning.

Make sure the hopper is not burned at the bottom. You will also need the poker used to clear the ash; the amount of wear on it will give some indication of how much use the stove has had.

I have never burned a Surdiac but the Franco Belge stoves I use are similar and I do prefer them because of the all cast iron construction of the inner stove.

These stoves work best and very efficiently at moderate heat output where tending time can be extended to 12 hours. If pushed for higher heat output then tending times are reduced to every 8 hours or less. Figure 30,000 BTU at the high end.

These stoves are intended to be installed in the living area. If installed in a basement with the expectation of heating the whole house I think you will be disappointed.

Put Surdiac in the search window of this site and you will find a lot of posts about them.

Good post Franco,

Very informative and right. Also the OP might make sure the magazine can still be removed. As I recall there were a few post reguarding this. They can warp and get stuck. I can tell you that there are allot of Surdiac's around on Craigslist and Uncle Henry's etc... They have held up well over the years. I have seen plenty of the style that looks sort of like a little chalet. They were very popular and a pretty good stove.

Good post Franco, Thank you much . and Steve also ...

I checked out the Surdiac but decide thats not the type unit I want , its too small and also I just don't like the way its built seems like it has the potential to smoke out the house with the top door or front door and that smoke pipe down low on the back is odd , I just didn't like the unit ...

Check out Craiglist in your area Jackman. Type in coal stove in the search and see what they got. I've seen all kinds of good deals in there. Best of luck.

Stoves that have received high marks in this forum are, Harman, Hitzer, and DS Machine. I would prefer the last two because they have both hopper and thermostat. Prices are high in the used market. A solid stove that is lower priced used is the Russo.

I check craigslist everyday I keep seeing the same ads for weeks on end , one that caught my intrest is a Russo its a nice unit but the seller abused it by leaving it outside for several years it needs door glass and seals , a complete blower and the handle for the shakers that almost 500 dollars in parts needed ,,,,,,,,, but oddly enough I'd buy this unit if he would come down to 150 dollars but he says 200 is his lowest ..... I sure like the ruggedness and simplicity of the Russo stove so I got my fingers crossed on making a deal..

A question I have on the Russo that the seller can not answer is directly over the fire is a cast iron grate or baffle it appears that its suppoed to move but it does not move at all , anyone know what that baffle is all about?

There are lots of them in very good shape. I would not fool with a basket case.

Expand your search area in craigslist.

Don't overlook a good antique in good shape also.

There is someone posting a Splendid Oak for sale here. They are excellent and beautiful stoves. I think it is close to you. I'll tell you what, I will be a meddlesome nieghbor and take a look on Craigslist and see what they have.
May I ask a question or two. How big is your house and how important is the stove going to be in your plans? All of that and more factors into the size of stove you want. Also what is your budget for a stove? Is the style or look important to you? There are a lot of people here, besides me, who can help you with the choices and help you to make a good buy. We are here to help.

The Splendid oak is a fine stove. The person who posted it for sale (Splendid oak thread page 8) does not respond to e-mails though. I asked for some info and a picture but got no response? Jackman, if you look at the Oneonta/Cooperstown craiglist, there is a Splendid Oak for sale for $250. It's in Collierville, NY. Let me tell you if that were closer to me, It would already be mine. This may be the same one that was posted here, I'm not sure? But its a great deal if it's in any kind of shape.

I appreciate the words of wisdom and I do agree expand the search area is best way to find a nice functional unit but my work and family life leaves me with minamal time for a road trip so I am stuck with buying local with in a short drive ,,,,,,,,,, but on the up side I am a mechanic so repairing an abused unit is doable but I am reluctant to over pay for something that needs my time and more money to be functional again ..... I will continue the want ads and craigslist I hope something turns up soon but if not I will probably buy the Russo because with a new 107 dollar door glass and some seals I will be in the door for coal burning and will get some experience this coming winter with burning coal and if it is an agreeable experience I will step up and buy a new coal fired boiler to work as a pre heater for returning base board water with my oil fired boiler.

The help and knowledge on this board is awesome what a great site

Jackman wrote: A question I have on the Russo that the seller can not answer is directly over the fire is a cast iron grate or baffle it appears that its supposed to move but it does not move at all , anyone know what that baffle is all about?

I had the wood stove version of the Russo, very similar I think. At the back of the stove there was a slotted bypass baffle/grate that slides side to side. In one position the open slots aligned with other slots to allow the gases to pass directly to the flue outlet, good to get a high draft going when first lighting the stove. Then when the grate was slid to the right the open slots were blocked so the gases had to travel to the front of the stove and pass above a baffle and below the top surface to get to the flue outlet. There should be a horizontal rod coming out the left side of the stove, near the back, to slide the grate. When I didn't use the stove for a couple years the slider rusted to its underlying plate and would not move. I had to beat on it pretty hard from several angles, with a block of wood and a hammer, to free it up.