Older VC Defiant stove....but never installed/fired - worth the gamble?

So....we're in the market for a wood stove. Never owned one, so while we're in the middle of a living room remodel, we figure we'd like to add that to the mix. The heat would be nice, and hopefully more affordable. Wood is plentiful in our area, so the stage is set....our home isn't monstrous, but at 2400ish sq ft, a larger stove would be what we'd be aiming for.

We've been looking around for a good deal, and think we may have found it, but I'd sure appreciate your input on the matter -

I've run across a brand new, never been installed nor fired Vermont Castings Defiant, Model 1910. It's a catalytic model, and comes with 8' of DuraVent 6" single wall and 9' of double wall chimney pipe, as well as the ceiling box and chimney cap. All brand new never been installed as well. Stove is the baked enamel finish (is that what it's called?), and looks to be just as described. Supposedly has a loose leg - that's the one thing not perfect with it, and has no additional pieces (i.e., front screen, side wings, etc.).

According to the seller and his conversation with the local dealer, the model number places this at about 2002 year model.

The entire lot of it is priced below $600.

I've read many reviews on this stove (here and elsewhere), and they range from amazing to not so amazing. It appears that the VC company in general has been through all sorts of transition in recent years, and may still be shaking things out. This stove is/was an anchor to their establishment, but this is a newer model with the cat. and all.....so I'm on the fence.

My question is this: knowing that we're first-time burners, with no real experience - BUT keeping in mind that we're on a tight budget (and who isn't, these days) - is this worth taking the plunge over? According to some reviews, this stove is a homerun, with long burn times and great steady heat....but others say it's a fickle stove that can be expensive to repair. At under $600, is it worth the gamble?

I'm inclined to buy it before it gets away, and even if the stove isn't the right fit for us, I think I could sell the stove alone for the asking price - and I'd have my chimney pipe for basically nothing!

What are your thoughts? I'm very anxious to know what you think....

I think we're going to go for it, if for nothing else....because of the chimney parts. I think the stove will work out very nicely, as long as we can figure out how to properly run it.

begreen - it's your comment on the downdraft stoves that I need! Thank you! I don't know anything about wood stoves, much less about wood stoves that were manufactured over a decade ago. This is where your opinions will save me countless headaches.

I know the seller has all the original documentation, so that's a plus. We should have good instructions regarding clearances on installation.

We're scheduled to see it this afternoon, I believe.....so we'll know more once we're in front of the actual unit. Does a wobbly leg make anyone anxious? Anything to be worried about? He said it's holding itself up just fine, it was just something he noticed. I'm hoping that it's nothing more than the loose nut that begreen mentioned.

Anything else I should be paying attention for once we're right in front of it? If there's never been a fire in it, I'm guessing that things will be pretty straightforward.

Again - I really appreciate your input. VERY much. I have to act pretty quickly if we're to acquire it. He's giving us first "rights of refusal" so to speak....but then he's going global! Haha. If you think it's worth it, we'll jump in and get the ball rolling. I don't see how we can go wrong in the big picture.

Awesome! Thank you, Grisu!

I'm seeing the term "heat shield" and "wall shield" and "double-walled connector"......boy, the learning curve on all of this is STEEP. Lots of reading to do.

I'm thinking we'd prefer the corner install, but to really get it tucked in, we'll need all kinds of non-combustible wall shield. Where do you find a heat shield? Does that have to come directly from VC? Or are there generic shields available?

OK.....so the plot thickens!

I went over to check out the stove, and found a few things that bring up more questions....

First off, the enamel finish is chipped/repainted in many places. Definitely not a deal breaker for us - but I have a question: how do I know the touched up areas were done with a high temp enamel paint? Are those touched up spots going to burn off to black, leaving be with a green/black Dalmatian stove? The seller knows nothing about it, so there's no help there. Here's what I'm talking about:




Secondly, the right front leg (as you're looking at the stove face) has been broken off completely at some point, and somebody has tried to weld it back together, but it's not holding. It's the leg in the photo above. The leg is still quite wobbly, and it's discolored from the last attempt to repair it. Looks like I'd need to purchase the entire right side of the stove at an approximate cost of $250, give or take. This IS a deal breaker for me...unless I can get it repaired. Just the safety factor makes me nervous about this. The leg shows some heavy wear compared to the rest of the stove, for what's it worth.

Third - the stove genuinely looks brand new. Fire bricks are all stone white, The metal appears brand new with only surface rust. Same with the stove pipe; it all looks brand new. Here's what I saw:




What do you think now? Things coming into focus a little better? Even though it's a great price....she's got some baggage. I'm chasing a new side panel while in a holding pattern. That's got to be right for my own peace of mind. So far, $246 is about the best price I've seen.

At some point, it appears to have been sold through discountstove.com, as I noticed some notes in the owner's manual that seller produced. Not sure if that matters, just putting that out there.

P.S. - sorry for some wonky pictures; I was using my cell phone!

I looked for an hour last night, poking around the internet looking for just a leg - buy couldn't find it. It appears as though it's sold as one big side piece only. I'm new to all of this, and could easily be mistaken...but that's all I could find. Cheapest was the $246ish version.


The cosmetic flaws don't bother me. The price makes up for that. It's the image of a full stove at roaring temps, rolling onto its face, spewing burning coals that has me backpedaling at the moment. I'm not giving up yet...just need to get that leg dealt with.

I have the digital manual that Grisu posted just a few posts above this one. Exploded parts diagrams don't show the legs as separate pieces, only a component of the sides.

If I'm understanding the same said exploded parts diagram, then yes, the catalytic converter is included.

I did forget to ask about one thing. Check out this white stuff around the upper stove chimney outlet (not sure what the technical term for this piece is!):



That anything to be concerned about?

Here's a quick pic of the inner side of the converter -



Looks as though there were some rodents bedded up inside at some point, but I bet a few minutes at 600 would take care of that in a hurry!

So...I'm in a holding pattern for now.

I spoke with the seller, and he didn't love the idea of coming down on price even further, especially when the dealer told him this stove normally sells for thousands of dollars. I told him that even so, with the leg issue, I'd need to have that addressed for my own peace of mind. He's going to think about it.

I do have a close buddy who's a heck of a welder, and I've left him a message but have yet to hear back from him. I'm sure he'd be willing to give it a go, but I've never had with much luck with welded cast. It's a band-aid at best, in my experience.

Thanks for all your input. I genuinely appreciate it. It has been invaluable for us. Muchas Gracias!