Vermont castings.

[sand sock]

we had a dutchwest made by vermont castings. we changed it out after 4 years. worse stove i ever was around. we put in a jotul f500 v3 and are actually vaery happy with it so far. this is the 2nd winter. for modern wood stoves with epa requirements of catalyst. this one works.

i looked at the vermont castings top loaders and they have issues with over firing. i know this is apples and oranges , for stoves. not what you asked about. we were just not happy with them at all. jotul has a couple smaller stoves, like what you were looking at. epa requirements just suck and only exist to make life harder..

 

[Brufab]

We decided on a pleasant hearth 2200sqft model for now and the price was good. Not installed yet but should be burning wood by mid February pending completion of the build.

 

[Huskybill]

I need a fireplace insert. Being a fabricater welder I been thinking about building one. With the cost of inserts hitting many thousands of dollars I think I can build a better one.

 

[Brufab]

Yea for my dad it was a 5000$ stove vs 799$ stove made in USA just couldn't see spending that much on a woodburner. But at 799$ can recoup the $ in 1 year of burning having propane as the other source of heat

 

[James Miller]

This VC resolute acclaim has kept are home warm for over 20 years. The old VCs were good stoves.We hooked this one up in the garage this year. My FIL gave $100 for it 20 some years ago and it sat in the corner of the garage till now.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

@Sandhill Crane is that a 6 or 8 pipe? I bet that wall gets hot when that cat fires off.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

ElevatorGuy: No, the wall does not get hot.
The floor tile warm up some. At the time of the house build, code changed and Durarock, or cement board, was no longer code for the floor. I think it we used something called Micore board, a rather pricy 2' x 2' square fiber board. Hearth clearance also increased.
This stove comes with heat shields below and behind it. The 3" duct is outside air supply.
The tile wall is also a false wall, constructed with metal studs, shown here with a previous VC stove.

 

[Ayatollah]

I need a fireplace insert. Being a fabricater welder I been thinking about building one. With the cost of inserts hitting many thousands of dollars I think I can build a better one.

I would rethink that a whole lot. A good welder/fabricater is still not an engineer; unless you're that too, I'd buy from those who are.

 

[James Miller]

I've got the defiant cruising in the garage this morning. Wish I would have talked the FIL into setting this up years ago.
Started at 38* this morning up to low 50s and doesn't stink like the torpedo heater.

 

[Kensterfly]

Find old Vigilant and don't look back.

We’ve had a VC Vigilant in this house since 1985. 4000 square feet and we rarely have to turn the Central heat on. It’ll take a 22 inch split but I cut about 19 inches to make loading a little easier.
Love that stove.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I've got the defiant cruising in the garage this morning. Wish I would have talked the FIL into setting this up years ago. View attachment 950850View attachment 950851
Started at 38* this morning up to low 50s and doesn't stink like the torpedo heater.

I must admit that this brings back fabulous memories I have of my Defiant that I bought in 1976. It was a fabulous wood stove. I owned it in Connecticut and had to say good bye to it when I moved away. I even installed a chimney heat reclaimer that worked very well. These stoves sold like mad during the Arab oil embargo days when heating oil prices went through the roof and gasoline station waiting lines were a mile long. Two thumbs up!

 

[president]

I must admit that this brings back fabulous memories I have of my Defiant that I bought in 1976. It was a fabulous wood stove. I owned it in Connecticut and had to say good bye to it when I moved away. I even installed a chimney heat reclaimer that worked very well. These stoves sold like mad during the Arab oil embargo days when heating oil prices went through the roof and gasoline station waiting lines were a mile long. Two thumbs up!

For us, the blaze king ( king cat) burns fantastic, 30 hr burn and up to 25 inch
logs, 3, 800 $ is alot then pipe but the savings and enveloping heat
is worth it

 

[Wood Doctor]

As I recall, the Defiant I bought in 1976 ran $900 shipped, and the Federal Airtight 288 that I bought in 1987 (and still use) was $1,200 shipped. I assembled and installed them both in two separate homes that I owned at the time. I imagine that today's cost would be three to four times those amounts. The 288 had the advantage of being either an extended insert or a free-standing stove:

Lady, my late flat-coated retriever really loved it. I still do and I miss her.