Woodstove Recommendatiosn for buying used model

[schmism]

I rebuilt this Vigilant when I bought it and I am looking for another pre EPA Vermont Castings like the larger Defiant model.

My uncle heats his house with wood and uses a Defiant. He thinks its to large for his smaller farmhouse but he prefers like 60 deg in the house so.... He has a knockoff no-name version of the same Defiant in his large 30x30 garage. Its not as air tight and he has worked both times he rebuilt it to get it to fit better like the real VC in his house.

My dad has the Resolute Acclaim and likes it. It wont heat the entire house but has it more for a show piece and backup incase the power goes out, then he and mom just move into the livingroom/dinning room area of the house.

I have a smaller yodel in my garage.

IN short i come from a long line of pre EPA wood burning stove owners. Cant say we have ever had a problem with them in over 30 years of use, 4 different stoves (my uncle in seatle has a couple also). Id suggest you just keep an eye on CL and the like for an older VC like you want.

As for cheep versions they offer today, ive burnt one in my garage for 10 years (before my yodel) and i lined it with fire brick and had no issues.

 

[dave1949]

From my experience, some EPA stoves are better than others. I wouldn't base my choice only on EPA versus non-EPA, you have to look at individual models/years. I think you will pass up some good stoves otherwise.

The VC I had was a really great heating stove, but to replace the catalytic burner unit after 4 years of use cost ~$300 IIRC. That's sort of silly, and I would avoid that if possible because there are good EPA-rated stoves where that is not necessary.

 

[westcliffe01]

Dave, there are now aftermarket catalysts for stoves like the VC which now cost about $100.... Now if you damage the fiber board in one of the new VC stoves it may cost you over $250 to replace and you can break it again tomorrow by bumping it with a log...

Here is one of those companies and they have a nice graphic that shows how many hours a year a wood stove will run in different parts of the US and expected catalyst lifespan in years along with the amount to budget per year for replacement.
http://www.woodstovecombustors.com/replacement.html

In zone 5 they say 2.5 years and zone 4 is 2 years

 

[hosspuller]

I've had my Pacific Energy insert since 2001. It's EPA rated without a catalyst. Heated my house every year since. Although I'm in zone 7, we like a warm house and don't mind burning lots of wood. The insert has served well and the 6" diameter insulated SS liner in the 8" square flue stays clean. Every 3-4 years I clean the flue with a plastic flue brush. Only get a cup of ash from the whole 16' length. Most impressed with the glass front door. I didn't expect it to stay clean. After a week of fire, I'll wipe the haze off of it with a damp rag and be able to fool folks that it's an open fire.

 

[dave1949]

Dave, there are now aftermarket catalysts for stoves like the VC which now cost about $100.... Now if you damage the fiber board in one of the new VC stoves it may cost you over $250 to replace and you can break it again tomorrow by bumping it with a log...

Here is one of those companies and they have a nice graphic that shows how many hours a year a wood stove will run in different parts of the US and expected catalyst lifespan in years along with the amount to budget per year for replacement.
When to Replace Your Catalytic Combustor - Woodstove Combustors by Condar

In zone 5 they say 2.5 years and zone 4 is 2 years

Interesting. It's been 6 years since I used the VC and it stayed in our old house when we moved. The cat on that stove, I think it was a Defiant, top and front loader, was behind the fireback, no way could you touch it with anything without pulling out the cast fireback. It was a ceramic honeycomb thing plus a block of fiber. They had built-out a chamber on the back of the stove to accommodate those parts. Plus. they added a spring-type thermostatically controlled damper to regulate airflow through the cat.

We use a masonry stove now, so I am losing touch with wood burners.

 

[dave1949]

A good trick for getting the burn residue off glass doors is to dampen a couple paper towels, dip them into cold ashes, lightly, no need to cake it on. Wipe the glass with the ash/towel. The residue comes off quick and easy. Wipe and dry the glass with a clean paper towel.