How is Vermont Casting Defiant quality in 2008?

I don't think anyone can say it is absolutely wrong to buy VC now but it sure entails some risk. With quality issues in the past few years, a new owner and some dissatisfied recent purchasers (warranty issues) why wouldn't you just look at the features you want and try to find that in a more stable company?

Put another way, if I had recently bought a VC stove I wouldn't necessarily be kicking myself but I sure would have some concerns.

Stay away. As a former owner of a 2005 Defiant Catalytic model I can attest to the very poor quality of the stove. After the first season, knobs were lose, cracking or falling off. The doors didn't fit well and I had to replace broken refractory material. While the stove worked well at first, it went downhill each season to the point where I no longer trusted it. I was thrilled to get rid of it and replace it with my Hearthstone Mansfield which is far better constructed and produces a much better heat.

To be fair, I still own a VC Radiance Gas stove that has worked without problems. But that stove sees far less use than my wood stove.

There are plenty of other stoves out on the market that look just as good as the VC stoves but without all the business drama. I'd avoid VC entirely until the company gets back on their feet.

I owned a VC encore (1997). It required replacement of inards every 2 years. $400-$600 each replacement (parts only I did labor myself).

VC told me I was burning the wrong type of feul. I burn wood.

Clearly marketing people in charge over there (Vermont Casting).

Found on one persons sigature: "In theory, practice is the same as theory. In practice it's not.". This says it all about Vermont Castings. They are out of touch with real wood burners and will not even confess to following them.

Take it from experience.....With all the quality stoves out there, do your research on here (I sure wish Id have found this place before buying my Defiant NC!) and then drop the thought of the Defiant NC and get a different stove.......

I owned a late '70s VC Defiant from 1979 until 1995. Ordered it direct from VC. Did the install and 3X a year cleaning myself. It heated the entire house every New York State winter. I loved it, the local gas company meter reader would knock on the door and say, "hey, your gas meter is not moving!" It never had a problem.

Well, I just bought a new VC Encore NC this summer. Almost, almost bought a Jotul instead. The Encore arrived damaged from the factory in the original box! A new replacement was sent three weeks later. The VC dealer was at least a bit arrogant about my problem, since stoves were "flying out of his place." Will not buy anything from him again; my buddies too. But, I'm a positive and patient kind of guy. It is too new to tell about my new Encore. I'm waiting to use it, like most of you.

I hope that VC corporate reads these threads. They have a lot of great stove competition in the market. Their loss of market share proves that all is not well at VC and their fine retail dealers.

Thanks for asking.

rbjaeger said:

My wife and I are now considering a Vermont Castings Non-Cat. Defiant. In the ratings section of hearth.com all the negative comments came in the past few years. Before 2001 all the ratings were positive. Should I stay away from this stove? Are there quality issues with The VC Defiant non-cat stove now that didn't exist then? I know Vermont Castings is under new ownership.
What are peoples feelings about that stove now?
Thanks.

Click to expand...

Before buying, I would be looking at today`s world, not yesterdays? My personal opinion is anything but a VC ticket. That product is not a "ticket to ride" ;-) Don`t blame me -- Lennon said it first.

rbjaeger said:

My wife and I are now considering a Vermont Castings Non-Cat. Defiant. In the ratings section of hearth.com all the negative comments came in the past few years. Before 2001 all the ratings were positive. Should I stay away from this stove? Are there quality issues with The VC Defiant non-cat stove now that didn't exist then? I know Vermont Castings is under new ownership.
What are peoples feelings about that stove now?
Thanks.

Click to expand...

The new company has not even really started operating fully, so there is no experience to work from.

However, you probably read that they decided NOT to take care of the warranties in force for existing stoves - this, IMHO, would keep me from recommending that brand. I figure if they screwed the last 100,000 customers, there is a good chance they would do so to the new customers if things didn't work out.

Also, the non-cats have a number of operational "oddities" that you should be aware of being putting your money down - if you do some forum searches on Everburn, you will read the experiences.

I'm very conservative when it comes to spending my money - or other peoples money. Based on that outlook, I suggest buying from a company with a reasonable track record...and one that stands behind their product (as opposed to running away from it).

My opinion, anyway.

I purchased my VC Defiant 1610 NC in October of 2007! This was before I found this forum! YUP, there's a definite learning curve with any new stove, and considering last winter was my first ever experience with a wood burning stove, I'd say I did pretty good at the end of the burning season by getting $1,000+ credit on my oil bill. Never had a problem with the stove, and I'm looking forward to firing it up real soon!

It seems pretty clear that the Everburn system is a very clever system with good potential, but that VC never got it quite right (other manufacturers apparently use the same system with better results!). if VC was standing behind the system, and working to perfect it, then it could be a good buy. But not telling where the new management will take the company, and initial signs are not all that encouraging (denying warranty coverage, discontinuing parts for older stoves). So I would be hesitant to buy a new VC stove, and doubly hesitant to by and Everburn non-cat.

BTW, the EPA tests that VC cites that prove what a clean and efficient stove the non-cat encore is are pretty much bogus - they are not done with real firewood.