Picked one up Saturday and have been running it since Sunday afternoon. (Note; this is not the new 2-in1 model)
I have it hooked up to a 6" liner in a walk-in fireplace (Where the Vigilant used to be). So far, it is running exactly how I had hoped.
First overnight burn was 10 hours of useable heat and each burn has gotten longer. This most recent burn cycle was started at 11:30 pm and 13.5 hours later the stove top is sitting at 305° with a good bed of coals. I will probably reload at an even 14 hours.
The catalytic system works well, but it is still behind Blaze King and Woodstock based on what I've read here. Locking in a temp isn't always consistent. You can have the air in the closed position and still have the stove top temps walk up to 600+ degrees. With this current burn I was able to lock in the temps at around 400-450° and, based on the burn time, it seemed to have stayed in that range overnight.
Also, the last night was the first legitimate 'full load' I've done since I got to a stack of wood that were 24" in length.
How does it compare to the Vigilant? The Vigilant comes up to temp more quickly since it is lighter and contains only single walled castings and no firebrick. Once up to temp, the Defiant puts out a lot more heat and moves the heat to the rest of the house far better. The Vigilant's burn times were, obviously, much shorter.
I have it hooked up to a 6" liner in a walk-in fireplace (Where the Vigilant used to be). So far, it is running exactly how I had hoped.
First overnight burn was 10 hours of useable heat and each burn has gotten longer. This most recent burn cycle was started at 11:30 pm and 13.5 hours later the stove top is sitting at 305° with a good bed of coals. I will probably reload at an even 14 hours.
The catalytic system works well, but it is still behind Blaze King and Woodstock based on what I've read here. Locking in a temp isn't always consistent. You can have the air in the closed position and still have the stove top temps walk up to 600+ degrees. With this current burn I was able to lock in the temps at around 400-450° and, based on the burn time, it seemed to have stayed in that range overnight.
Also, the last night was the first legitimate 'full load' I've done since I got to a stack of wood that were 24" in length.
How does it compare to the Vigilant? The Vigilant comes up to temp more quickly since it is lighter and contains only single walled castings and no firebrick. Once up to temp, the Defiant puts out a lot more heat and moves the heat to the rest of the house far better. The Vigilant's burn times were, obviously, much shorter.