From VC Encore to Woodstock Ideal Steel

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droppinloads

droppinloads

Member
Oct 14, 2015
39
VT
So about a year ago I bought a house that came with a VC Encore 2250. Burned it through most of last winter, although the damper wasn't working properly & wouldn't stay shut. So rather than rebuild the damper assembly, I figured a new stove was in order. Decided on a Woodstock Ideal Steel after visiting the factory. The kicker was I was going to need a larger hearth pad. So here's the before & after:

VC Encore 2250
IMG_1310.JPG
Hearth Pad build...
IMG_1328.JPG IMG_1330.JPG
Vermont Slate...
IMG_1339.JPG IMG_1341.JPG
Woodstock Ideal Steel...Ski motif
IMG_1352.JPG IMG_1349.JPG
Custom Mountain range uni-iron...
IMG_1351.JPG

Gotta say I'm loving the stove so far. Last night it went down to 20f. I didn't even fully load the stove when i went to bed & i had plenty of coals this morning & the house was 72f. If this winter is anything like last I could almost pay for the stove in what i'll save in oil. Even with cheap oil...
 
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Very nice install. Looks like you know what you are doing.

I will say one thing for the poor old VC, it looked good.
 
74 in here this morning. The cat was still chugging along. It was a very brisk morning with low 20s.
 
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Simonkenton said:
Very nice install. Looks like you know what you are doing.

I will say one thing for the poor old VC, it looked good.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree. I did like the look of the Encore so when it came to replacing it I initially looked at the Hearthstone Manchester or the smaller Shelburne because I thought i wanted a similar look. Then I saw the IS in person & i just loved it. Plus it has a more modern look which I like because everything else in my house is kind of old & classic looking. The IS adds some balance without sticking out too much. That and it was cheaper
 
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Nice you like the green is it a good contrast to the charcoal?
 
Looks great! I found this site while seeking advice on which VC stove to buy, and from advice here I settled on Woodstock's Progress Hybrid. Have fun learning and burning the stove!
 
quotejso said:
Nice you like the green is it a good contrast to the charcoal?
Click to expand...
So I do like the green contrast with the charcoal. The one thing I will say though, is that the room the stove sits in is kind of dark, so the contrast is not as noticeable, especially at night. During daytime hours the contrast looks great- in the evenings I barely notice the green. That's fine with me, but if you like the color contrast & the stove is not in a light-filled room, the contrast is minimal
 
Sounds like a great stove. Are the Ideal stoves convection heat stoves or radiant heat, or are they a combination?
 
Radiant heat. No fans in their inventory. I do however use a fan set about 50 feet and 2 doorways away to distribute the heat. I actually prefer that because I have pretty good hearing and the sound of a fan/blower going in the room I'm hanging out in drives me nuts.
 
droppinloads said:
So about a year ago I bought a house that came with a VC Encore 2250. Burned it through most of last winter, although the damper wasn't working properly & wouldn't stay shut. So rather than rebuild the damper assembly, I figured a new stove was in order. Decided on a Woodstock Ideal Steel after visiting the factory. The kicker was I was going to need a larger hearth pad. So here's the before & after:

VC Encore 2250
View attachment 167707
Hearth Pad build...
View attachment 167708 View attachment 167709
Vermont Slate...
View attachment 167710 View attachment 167711
Woodstock Ideal Steel...Ski motif
View attachment 167714 View attachment 167712
Custom Mountain range uni-iron...
View attachment 167713

Gotta say I'm loving the stove so far. Last night it went down to 20f. I didn't even fully load the stove when i went to bed & i had plenty of coals this morning & the house was 72f. If this winter is anything like last I could almost pay for the stove in what i'll save in oil. Even with cheap oil...
Click to expand...

That looks great. The colors and with the wood backdrop. Looks nice and you can't beat the performance of a cat stove for real heating when you want to keep a house warm. That IS has a lot of things going for it.
 
Nice design there - plus the stove is a workhorse. They would probably like that install for their website!
 
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