Need advice on wood stove models

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jb1951

New Member
Oct 10, 2007
17
SE Indiana

First of all, I want to say what a great forum this is! I've found so much good info here and I thank you all for your great posts.

I'm looking at several used wood stoves and am trying to decide which one to buy. Thought someone here might be able to guide me.

Consolidated DutchWest Sequoia #2160 - Made in 2001 in USA. Used very little, looks like new. Apparently this is actually a fireplace insert, but the previous owners burned it sitting it on their fireplace hearth. They said there are bolt holes on the bottom where legs can be attached, but I'm wondering if it is safe to burn an insert as a freestanding stove. The wall behind our current stove is stone/rock.

Waterford Trinity MKII - Irish stove

Osburn 2400 - From what I researched online, this seems like a great stove, but after reading some posts on this forum about the fire getting away easily, I'm a little leary of it.

Vermont Castings Defiant Encore Catalytic - approximately 7 yrs old (current owner bought it during a Y2K panic and used it only once or twice).

Our house is approximately 1400 sq.ft. We have our current woodburner (Earth Stove) installed in our family room in the basement. It will run you out of the family room and heats our entire upstairs with no problems. It's 25-30 yrs old, still in good shape, but we want a newer less messy model.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jan
 
jb1951 said:

First of all, I want to say what a great forum this is! I've found so much good info here and I thank you all for your great posts.

I'm looking at several used wood stoves and am trying to decide which one to buy. Thought someone here might be able to guide me.

Consolidated DutchWest Sequoia #2160 - Made in 2001 in USA. Used very little, looks like new. Apparently this is actually a fireplace insert, but the previous owners burned it sitting it on their fireplace hearth. They said there are bolt holes on the bottom where legs can be attached, but I'm wondering if it is safe to burn an insert as a freestanding stove. The wall behind our current stove is stone/rock.

Waterford Trinity MKII - Irish stove

Osburn 2400 - From what I researched online, this seems like a great stove, but after reading some posts on this forum about the fire getting away easily, I'm a little leary of it.

Vermont Castings Defiant Encore Catalytic - approximately 7 yrs old (current owner bought it during a Y2K panic and used it only once or twice).

Our house is approximately 1400 sq.ft. We have our current woodburner (Earth Stove) installed in our family room in the basement. It will run you out of the family room and heats our entire upstairs with no problems. It's 25-30 yrs old, still in good shape, but we want a newer less messy model.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jan
Click to expand...

Assuming they are in good shape, I would feel very good about reccomending the VC Encore Cat. This is a stove model that VC has been making since the late 80's, has had most of the bugs worked out of it, and has a pretty good reputation for performance and reliability when operated correctly. (The newer Encore NON-cat has a bit more of a checkered reputation, though many of the problems reported with it seem install related.) Of the options you list, it's the one I would be most tempted by.

The CDW, I'd want to take a look at the manual - Some units were designed to be useable either free-standing or as inserts, but mostly they are one or the other. Code does not permit using an insert outside of a fireplace unless the unit was tested and listed that way, and then ONLY with the correct legs and other accessories.

I don't know enough about the Waterford to say anything about it, and all I know about the Osburn is the stuff you've read on the threads that say it needs to be operated carefully - otherwise most of the Osburn owners I see posting seem happy enough with their stoves.

Gooserider
 
The waterford trinity is no longer sold in USA. Parts support is non existent. I would stay away from that choice

The Encore mentioned is of an age of the current model run parts availability are not an issue. BTW I own one and it preforms fantabeleous

(Had to steal the quote from Rachael Ray)

I can't advise on the Dutchwest I'm not familiar with that model However it being that new I know it is manufactured by Vermont Castings

A manual can be downloaded and read concerning that stove legs can be purchased. I don't know if it was meant to be an insert.

Might I ask the prices asked? I can help you examining the Encore to determine it condition I can give you pointer of just the critical area to look at

When in doubt buy the least used newest stove possible will probably be the least problematic in the long run

Raining here today I may look into the manual of the dutchwest and shed some light on that selection
 
Thanks for the replies. All of these are on Ebay. The Consolidated DutchWest has a current bid of $210. The VC and the Waterford have current bids of $600. Here's the link for the Colsolidatd DutchWest: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120168687581 I haven't been able to find a manual online to download for this particular model (2160).

Here's the link to the VC Encore: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260168784759

All of these are close enough that we could pick them up.

Thanks,

Jan
 
Keep looking around and check the hearth ratings for any stove you look at.
The Waterfords were not reliable--parts not around. Unfortunately, most of the V.C. stoves also have a checkered recent history according to the ratings and owners' experience here. Parts are available true, but they are needed often for full-time burning. The V.C. stoves also have a dead serious out-of-the-box quality problem.
Check out other brands such as Pacific Energy, Woodstock, Hearthstone, Jotul, Quadra Fire, etc....
 
Hah, here we go again.I hope you have a helmet Mr.Burn! :zip:
 
People knocking VC or any other major manufacturer is like people knocking Chevy, Ford or Dodge. All stoves can have problems. The best stove is usually the stove sitting in the person's living room that your asking.
 
Titan said:
Hah, here we go again.I hope you have a helmet Mr.Burn! :zip:
Click to expand...

Locked and loaded ..............................Here it comes , the Usual Suspects pushing "VC" .
 
The very best woodstove would be the one that cut,split,loaded, and lit itself.Does PE already make that model? :cheese:
 
Mr. Burn said:
The V.C. stoves also have a dead serious out-of-the-box quality problem.
Click to expand...

Did the tooth fairy tell you that?


jb1951
What is the climate like in your area, a 1400 ft home in Saskatchewan will have much different heating requirements than a similar home in Scranton PA.
 
Of those stoves, the Encore is the best bet. Why?

Waterford is not in the country anymore.
The Dutch Sequoia was one of the worst examples of design I had the pleasure of selling (it looks a bit like a toilet.....) and had cracking problems, etc.

The Encore you mention was lightly used.

Expect to have to do some tune-ups, etc - and, if you are a trash burner or real hard user, I would not suggest the Encore (as per other threads) - it is a bit more like a fine piece of furniture than some other models....but when working and sized properly, it can be a friendly stove.

Most of the above threads are true - Encores did have some problems, both out-of-box and in hard use. But it comes back to who you are and how you use a stove - and can you do small repairs yourself in the future? The Encore is one of the most expensive (new) stoves on the market - so to use the car analogy, you might be buying a Mercedes. I had one......in fact, I've had a number of them. The last one was the only one I bought new, but it was in the shop more than all the other (used) models......

What I am saying is that the Encore being a luxury models with a high parts count...had more features than just about any stove out there, but also more to go wrong.

In summary, don't touch those other two.....and either keep looking or pick up the encore if you can for less than 50% of new price....say up to $900. Of course, the same budget would buy many new stoves, but not with that style...and no cast iron, and not VC. Although Dutchwest is VC - and they have cast models not too much higher.

So, do you want the used Mercedes or keep looking....that's up to you.
 
DutchWest Sequoia is not an insert never was it is a free standing stove with legs or pedestal

It is a cat combustor stove and also a coal burner. has 3 air controls the cat combustor has to be removed for coal fire opperations.
I doubt it was a $3500 stove new.. The thing I would be concerned about is the condition of the bottom plates Without the proper air space under that stove to dissipate heat,I would wonder about welded seams cracking and warping? Without proper heat dissipation I would seriously wonder what effect it had on the rest of the stove?

I would also plan the cat combustor is now 6 years old and probably needs replacement .Not a bad idea and if bought right it would make it worth doing

This could be a decent deal if the condition is decent. Really to determine the deal, one would have to take a good look at the stove before purchase
 
Corie said:
Now that's not fair. I don't think the Sequoia looks like a TOILET!
Click to expand...

Well... Porta Potty maybe.
 
Wondering out loud,, and ignoring the obvious attempt at trolling and baiting here, Is the reason these stove being considered is the rear exit location?

We all can make other recommendations, but if rear exit fits the current location, that removes all top exit stoves from consideration

Which narrowed down a lot of stoves, I would have considered . Part of the reason I own my stove, It fit the existing thimble location, threw 16" of granite rock and concrete.

The Encore can be installed and operated with a 6" flue. This can be accomplished with purchasing the optional 6" flue adapter or converting the oval to 8" round and using an 8" to 6" reducer
then running 6" pipe
 
Hello Jan. There is some good advice given here and I had to put in my 2 cents. The Sequoia is indeed a "woodstove" and not really an insert. I do remember that back in the day, VC did offer a surround panel for those to be used as an insert, but unless its inside a masonry fireplace, its a woodstove and should be installed as such, on legs or pedestal. DO NOT purchase the Sequoia and run it on the bottom of the stove. I agree with Chris, the webmaster, that the Encore sounds like the best option out of the units listed. I have burned the Encore at both my home and here in the stove shop. Good all-around stove. Does require some maintenence but then again show me a woodstove out there that doesn't. Good features on the Encore I'm sure you will like, top load, swing-out ashpan w/ lid, options like warming shelves and sparksreens. Good luck in your search, let me know if I can help further!
 
To answer babalu87's question about our climate, we live in southeastern Indiana just across the river from Kentucky. Our winters are fairly mild, but we can have a few weeks of single digits and some days below zero. Webmaster, we burn only well-seasoned wood (mostly locust, oak, ash, elm). My husband usually stays at least two years ahead on wood-cutting, so it has plenty of time to season. Mr. Burn, we would love to have a soapstone stove, but a new one is completely out of the question for our current budget and good used ones within a reasonable distance to us are hard to find and usually go quite high on Ebay. I've also been watching Craig's List and other classifieds.

I appreciate all the great responses to my question. We'll steer completely away from the Waterford and probably the Consolidated DutchWest. If we got the CDW, we would put legs on it and use it as a free-standing stove. Thanks for the manual, Pyro.

Thanks,

Jan
 
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