What's your parts/repair strategy now that Monitors are discontinued?

[catamount]

Has anyone taken to buying parts you don't even need yet, burn pots and rings, for that inevitable rebuild down the road when parts are sparse? What about buying up Monitors that people in your area are selling and hoarding them for parts you might need a few years out?

Will you just throw in the towel and go with a new heater from a brand? Just curious what you all are planning as these heaters reach obsolescence. I have four of them in my house & garage and am trying to plan ahead.

Thoughts?

[hawkins111]

You can still get most Monitor parts for M422, 441, 2200 and 2400. Electrical for M22 or 41 is getting very hard to find. There are a number of parts that fit both 22 and 422, 41 and 441, 2400 and they are still around. Monitor parts have always been expensive and that has not changed at all. If you are concerned I would get hold of my closest older Monitor dealer and see what he has. Hickory Home and Garden has a good supply and seems to be able to get most anything for the newer (2200, 2400) heaters. I am not sure buying older units just for spares is a good idea. What you get is an older heater that may be run out, so the main board and fuel control may not be worth anything. Monitor Products Inc has not stated when or if they will stop supplying parts. I would not expect any statement for them about the issue. In my opinion you are on your own when it comes to a Monitor. Ebay still has a number of parts for 422's and 441's. For the last two years my plan for servicing Monitors has been to ask the customer if they want the stove fixed I will order the parts needed and make the repair. I do not stock any Monitor parts so for me it's a week or more to make the repair. In western Alaska most people have given up on Monitor anyway so it's not that big a deal. It does appear that the east coast is a different story all together. Good luck, Tom

[FordMan59]

When I rebuilt my 422 in 2012 I ordered a couple extra flame rings and extra burn pot for both my 422 and 2200. Since I bought these parts they've gone up about 10-15% at the same supplier, so there was some savings associated with buying ahead of time. With both myself and my son having a 422 I figured we'd use them in future years. Only other parts I have are burn mat and gasket materials I bought from McMaster-Carr.

[rrob311]

I picked up several. My plan is to fix and sell off most of them, and with any money earned from that purchase the newest heater I can find with a couple spares for it.

[rrob311]

I did find a site or two that services the circuitboards. The heaters seem relatively simple so I would imagine some of the parts could be substituted and slightly modified like the solenoids and valves.