Question on Vermont Castings wood stove

Thanks again for the sage advice and brutal honesty, fellers. I sent the pictures in an email to the local dealer and asked that they communicate the issues to VC. I'm not hopeful that anyone at Corporate is going to feel my pain but it's worth asking.

In the end, it's still my fault for not doing a better job of researching the product. I bought the stove mainly because it was pretty and had full blessing of the EPA... along with a nice tax credit. Should have looked under the hood too.

Assuming I have to purchase a new stove, I'll be back shortly to pick some brains on making a better choice the second time around. with a ton of luck, maybe I can find something close to the midnight blue color since I had installed matching chimney connector piping........ harrumph...

I just spent my lunch hour browsing through some reviews on one of the 'read this first' sticky notes on this site........ and while I feel more informed, I'm also amazed and ticked off that a company and its dealers can sell such a defective product for so many years, treat the customer as if it's their fault that their stove is glowing red in the back (and cracked) because of a poorly engineered and weakly-constructed design.... and mostly that there is not a class action lawsuit to demand accountability.

Cutting my losses and moving forward, it looks as if the Jotul 500 has a solid reputation. I remember looking at that one when I was shopping and I'm not sure what made me decide against it.

I couldn't agree more, Ductape. Even if I put the money into fixing the Encore and got several more years use out of it, at what risk is my family being put at?

I understand the bankruptcy thing protecting companies and all but there should have at least been a recall or a bulletin or anything to alert people to what was a completely unknown problem to me until I cleaned my stove last week, as I do twice a year.

It's all I can do, fire_man. Getting mad isn't productive. Just one more of life's lessons learned. I do plan on asking the local vendor though if they're still selling that lemon and if so, is an ounce of effort being given to informing or educating prospective customers who aren't privy to the underlying issues. It'd be a dang shame if that's still happening after all these years.

fire_man said:

I already tried exactly what you propose. In 2007 after reading Heath posts using the term "Neverburn", I forwarded a bunch of the posts to the VC dealer and asked how I could buy the stove based on all the real world feedback. His response was that he never heard any of the complaints and never heard the term "Neverburn".

Perhaps typical customers just don't burn 24x7 the way Hearth.com people do so the problems don't surface?

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My local VC dealer has (3) replacement fountain assemblies in stock... just for the model I have. I have a feeling he knows plenty.

You bring up a good point though about burning 24/7 and I'll be sure to make it known to all sales people as I'm shopping that that consideration needs to addressed.

I grew up helping with wood stove duties every day. Dad never burned wet or green wood and taught me as much. Most of what I burn has sat under cover for 2 years at least.

Called the original dealer today (which I should have done first) but hadn't because they're in Michigan and I'm in PA. But I was told that the new company that's running VC is honoring warranties again. I explained what happened, my displeasure with the fragile design of the stove, my surprise that I knew nothing about the problem until I went to clean it and an important part was nearly gone, and what I had heard from several others with firsthand experience. I had to bite my tongue for the first few minutes of the conversation as I was told that the fountain has a lifetime warranty and should last forever. What bothered me next is that he said the fountain assembly IS fragile and great care should be taken not to drop logs onto it.... and that I had to inform him that the fountain sat protected, behind the lower refractory and the refractory shoe, meaning nothing could come into contact with it unless the stove was disassembled. Next he told me that if I hadn't done a good job of keeping those little air holes clear in the refractory shoe, that that could also compromise the fountain. I informed him that I read the manual from from front to back 5 times from install through the first few months of use to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I was then informed that I had to send my concerns directly to Vermont Castings. I told him there was no provision on their website to contact them. He said I can't call them but I can email them with my concerns and send photos of the damage. So I double checked and... no, there is no way to contact VC in any way. Called him back and he confirmed that I was correct so I sent an email to the dealer with a bunch of photos. I'm not terribly hopeful but all refractory parts are supposedly warranted for life, including the fountain that's all but gone, the refractory shoe that was cracked upon delivery and is now in two pieces and also the lower refractory that is also in two pieces. I got a price on the rear casting that's damaged... $200. So .......... long shot here (like a squirrel at 300 yards with an arrow) but if they're willing to replace all the refractory parts and IF I only have to pay a few hundred for a rear casting and several gaskets, I'm willing to put it back together if it'll buy me a few more years while I budget for a replacement.

I'm just having a huge problem with the customer being automatically blamed for a fragile design that I just might not have maintained properly. Especially when there's almost nothing in the manual that serves as an appropriate warning to prevent what so many have experienced. I was also told that they sell a lot of fountain assemblies (that part with the lifetime warranty that I had to remind him about) so color me very pessimistic about this.

I hope VC is getting their stuff together but unless they're able to step up to their original warranty commitment, they'll never get another dime from me.

For clarity, I've not heard a single word from VC yet. This was the first line of defense coming from one of their dealers. I certainly don't intend to stay married to them but like I said, IF it works out, it'll give me some time to save for another stove. My other option is slapping in an old Baker or some other indestructable tank for a few years, which will most certainly register complaints from my better half after years of getting used to a nice finish.

Thanks jrems.