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[schoppy]

Last year, one morning after Bible class a friend from Church called me to say he had water running out the loading door of his older plain jane CB. He tested his water regularly but neglected to clean out his ashes every year after the heating season. His bottom had rotted out on the inside of the fire box where the walls meet the bottom. 10 to 11 years old so no warranty and the factory said to just buy a new one. Fortunately he has a back up heat source.

He likes his old plain jane unit and it is a big unit. I ended up welding in a entire new bottom for him but had to bring it up about 2 inches on the walls to get to good metal to weld to. Had to weld it back in using 3 separate pieces instead of the one formed piece used when it was made.

Long story short, a few weeks later he was back in heat. No more leaks and now he is religious about cleaning it out every year. He realizes he is on borrowed time with the old gal but happy for now. I recommended that he check out Heatmaster when the time comes to replace her.

[WoodMOJoe]

No axe to grind for me (I built my own), but I have read Slim's posts here for years and seen the support he has provided for all brands, on his free time, as well as testimonials from his actual customers.

You need to do your due diligence of course but...

...If I lived in his service area and was going to buy a new one it would be a no-brainer, Slim and the Magic Bus would be paying us a visit. 

You definitely came to the right place (this forum) Jon_E, there are several very smart and experienced dealers/woodburners here that are glad to share their wisdom with all.

Good luck with your decision.

[schoppy]

Ditto on SlimJim Joe_E. I only live half way across the country from Slim and he has helped me out multiple times. 

[patvetzal]

When it comes time to switch brands, see if you can add to the existing pad so the piping comes up where you need it. I have a Portage and Main that just sits on a large flat piece of steel I had laying around, no concrete pad...