Vermont castings merrimack

[Chris-PA]

First; I would much rather have a free standing stove than an insert. My experience with inserts is not enough heat output.

Second; We had a Vermont Casting stove for 8-9 years and I'll never have another. Heat wasn't the problem, just a pain in the ass to use. & the soft refractory has a fairly short live span and pricey to replace.

When we were shopping for the little stove I eliminated a small VC due to the complex refractory parts, and picked the Hampton instead. I've been quite happy with that chioce.

 

[sunfish]

When we were shopping for the little stove I eliminated a small VC due to the complex refractory parts, and picked the Hampton instead. I've been quite happy with that chioce.

Yeah it was a lesson learned with the VC, dang thing worked great most of the time, but that didn't make up for the times it acted up.

We got a Jotul 118CB a few years ago and the only thing to replace is the door gasket. No refractory at all.
Works great all the time...

 

[angelo c]

Shame...been searching the web for a while I find quite a few unhappy owners. As always bad news travels far and fast

 

[sunfish]

Shame...been searching the web for a while I find quite a few unhappy owners. As always bad news travels far and fast

They need to put a 'good' free standing stove in-place of the insert. Bite the bullet and just do it...

This is ours, but a different model would work better on a fireplace hearth.

 

[mikey517]

Shame...been searching the web for a while I find quite a few unhappy owners. As always bad news travels far and fast

I know this is a somewhat dated thread, but I just had a Merrimack installed in October and I have no complaints so far. We got ours because the wife liked the looks, and a neighbor has been burning one for a few years and loves hers.

Mine will put out good heat for 6 hours, and keeps this 60 year old converted lakefront cabin between 68 -72 in 20* temps.

So far, no issue with fan noise as it's seldom used above the lowest setting.

...and the dog loves sleeping in front of the flames for hours!

 

[angelo c]

I know this is a somewhat dated thread, but I just had a Merrimack installed in October and I have no complaints so far. We got ours because the wife liked the looks, and a neighbor has been burning one for a few years and loves hers.

Mine will put out good heat for 6 hours, and keeps this 60 year old converted lakefront cabin between 68 -72 in 20* temps.

So far, no issue with fan noise as it's seldom used above the lowest setting.

...and the dog loves sleeping in front of the flames for hours!

Ultimately what we found was the Merrimack puts out decent heat per great looks ratio. It's not a "primary" heat unit. Seems to be great mix of heat/looks. Dennis found the seals to be lacking after all "our" research. Not any help from the factory or the installers. Once new seals were installed correctly (on a brand new stove) the unit performed well, just not as well as desired. Which may have been a "under sized" math computation result. Seems to be keeping up better this year as there really hasn't been a "winter" yet.
Best of luck with your new purchase.