So I bought a new Defiant 2 in 1 cat stove from my local VC dealer based on a very positive experiace with a 25 year old Defiant that has served me well for 20 years, that now suffers from cracked baffles. Anyway I'm still trying to eliminate some gasket leaks in the new stove, and I see a small crack in the casting that makes up the back of the stove. We're now 2 months after the purchase, and the dealer is out of business after about 75 years, so I contact the nearest VC dealer and they ask for serial number etc. Looking at the rear heat shield supplied with the stove which has the serial number etc, it's not for this stove.... it's for a defiant 1610 non cat. So I now have a (slightly) cracked stove with no serial number. The crack starts at the edge of the back plate, and is about 3/8" long, and is next to a small whole caused by porosity. It may never amount to anything, but it never should have gotten past q/c, and if it propagates any further, the back plate is done. The stove was a floor model, but I don't see that this should make any difference since were not talking about a few paint scratches. So it looks like I have no serial number, no local dealer, and no warranty. I'm usually not the guy that gets burned, pardon the pun, but I think this is going to hurt...