Hello,
I am also very new to wood stoves as I just bought my first VC Defiant Model 1610 from my neighbor. I was worried when I started to read the negative feedback about the Vermont Castings line of wood stoves. There really are many factors you must consider when looking at your purchase both new and used wood stoves. But one factor you must (and most importantly) need to include when making your choice, that is your expectations. Do you expect a worry free, relatively low maintenance, and low cost repair experience. Perhaps you are ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, spend some money, and learn a lot about your stove. But you could be thinking somewhere in the middle. When I bought mine I really did not know what my expectations were because with VC you really never know what your going to find. So I expected the worse and am finding it not to be so bad. The way I look at VC is kinda like a Ferrari and that is it is high maintenance, costly, and takes an engineering mind to solve problems.
One suggestion I would make to you. That is when buying a used stove, low-ball the daylights out of the price. Because until you get it home and start going through it you don't know really know what you have. Eventually you will come across a seller who just wants to get rid of it. When I decided to get a used VC I would make low offers on every stove I could find and when they would say no, I said "next". Then I found a seller who's father-in-law bought it new and used it for a year, the seller took it out of his father-in-laws house (because he passed away) and installed it in his garage. Say's he used it twice and there it sat for years. I bought it for $300.00 USD and all it needs is a new Shoe Refractory ($200.00) and a cleaning with new paint. I have decided to replace the gaskets since I am going to repaint it. Not a bad deal. So we will see.
I am also very new to wood stoves as I just bought my first VC Defiant Model 1610 from my neighbor. I was worried when I started to read the negative feedback about the Vermont Castings line of wood stoves. There really are many factors you must consider when looking at your purchase both new and used wood stoves. But one factor you must (and most importantly) need to include when making your choice, that is your expectations. Do you expect a worry free, relatively low maintenance, and low cost repair experience. Perhaps you are ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, spend some money, and learn a lot about your stove. But you could be thinking somewhere in the middle. When I bought mine I really did not know what my expectations were because with VC you really never know what your going to find. So I expected the worse and am finding it not to be so bad. The way I look at VC is kinda like a Ferrari and that is it is high maintenance, costly, and takes an engineering mind to solve problems.
One suggestion I would make to you. That is when buying a used stove, low-ball the daylights out of the price. Because until you get it home and start going through it you don't know really know what you have. Eventually you will come across a seller who just wants to get rid of it. When I decided to get a used VC I would make low offers on every stove I could find and when they would say no, I said "next". Then I found a seller who's father-in-law bought it new and used it for a year, the seller took it out of his father-in-laws house (because he passed away) and installed it in his garage. Say's he used it twice and there it sat for years. I bought it for $300.00 USD and all it needs is a new Shoe Refractory ($200.00) and a cleaning with new paint. I have decided to replace the gaskets since I am going to repaint it. Not a bad deal. So we will see.
