Vermont Castings Defiant Encore Questions

Hi Todd,

Welcome to the forum. You may have had that stove for 8 years, and from what I can gather, you don't run it all that much. Though it sounds like whoever had it before you may have run it 24/7 every winter.. though its unclear if its deterioration happened recently or before you owned it. The refractory will wear out with time (many feel this is due to poor design.. do some searching on here to learn more). The catalyst, like the catalyst in a car, will wear out with use and eventually need to be replaced. For 24/7 burning, the typical lifespan is about 2 to 6 years. The condition of the firebacks may indicate it was overfired a few times. Its hard to tell without looking at it.

Well, you have two options.. take the $700 to $800 and buy a different stove, or rebuild this one. When these stoves are in great shape, they can be very efficient heaters. However, they do have a learning curve.. using the catalyst takes a little getting used to in order to find that "sweet spot" for efficient burning, and there are a lot of moving parts and gasket surfaces which may need to be redone every year. For that money, you could find a good deal on a newer steel stove on closeout this time of year, or hunt around for something used and in good condition. VC isn't the only stove out there with top loading, if that is a must have. Do some searching and get some other opinions though. Recently, there have been at least a couple of threads mentioning the pros and cons of the Defiant Encore stoves.

If you want to rebuild it, sounds like you'll need a refractory, upper and lower fireback, heat exchanger, gaskets, and possibly a catalyst. Try to get the firebacks or all of the parts through a local stove shop. They may be able to absorb the cost of shipping for you. Those firebacks are heavy! Yes, it would be a good idea to replace all of the gaskets.. especially if you do a full rebuild. The default position for the secondary air intake should be open when cold, if I'm not mistaken. If the probe is dirty, clean it. If it looks bad, replace it. Since it may have been overfired, if you have it totally apart you should check the factory seams for loose and missing stove cement. Replace as necessary to assure that it is air tight.

Lastly, you could wait to replace the catalyst until its all back together. Seeing what kind of a burn you get from it will help to tell you if it needs to be replaced. There may be a chance you really didn't use it enough to wear it out.

I hope this helps!

Welcome Todd,
I just rebuilt our 1986 0028 and it is a sweet stove. took a little learning, but it gives us a long burn time and still has a bed of coals in the morning.
Parts as you see can be expensive, but the reward is a classic, great burning, high output stove.
(You can see I am one of the proponents of he VC Defiant Encore 0028 on the forum. Others don't like them as much.

Todd, consider how mush work this thing is gonna do. My experience is that 3 is the magic number. If she's gonna use 3 cords of wood in a season or more, then the chances are you'll be doing this all again in another 8(?) years. They jhust don't like to work for a living. If you decide togo ahead, then do everything at once. It's important with Encores to have everything working right, or else you'll be doing something to it every year , and it'll never be quite right. Also remove and reseal the top as part of your project. You will find it slightly more cost effective to purchase the fireback kit part # 5925. It's got all internals except the cat. Regasket everything, try to enjoy the project if you go ahead, and Happy Heating!!

I luv my 2190...... and have rebuilt one the kit is expensive... Its true it is a high maintenance stove and with my busy schedule I am most likely going to replace it with a newer stove this summer. Right now mine is running great long burns and a lot of coals in the morning.......Good luck withe rebuild......

New stoves typically go on sale this time of year at big box stores.

Due to the high cost, I vote for a new or new to you stove. $800 is a lot of money. You never know what you can find that is newer for $800. People move, sell stoves, get lazy, etc. I start watching ebay and craigslist in a 200 miles radius and see what pops up.

Seen some guys on ebay that specialize in fixing and restoring stoves. Or trade yours in.

We have a 2140 that we rebuilt last year. I thought of replacing, but any good quality stove costs $$$ and anything new would also need modifications to the flue (oval stainless in an old fireplace hearth - that would cost as well).

We went with the rebuild - new fire back kit, refractory, damper door, etc. I also swapped out both temperature probes at the same time. I swapped the cat a couple years ago.

Stove works great now. I would due it again. I keep an eye on craigslist for another of the same vintage either for parts for future addition.

You can find the service manual on-line that goes step by step on all the work. I would replace the gaskets and other small parts at the same time. Should last many years again - follow the manual for cleaning etc.

I saw one of the harmon stoves this summer and talked to the dealer. They were really nice. Actually, they are my "dream stove." They have a grill that drops in the top load feature so you can grill steaks on it in the winter. The dealer said the draft is good enough that it pulls the cooking fumes right up and out the chimney! Evidentally, people in this area who have them NEVER sell them. The dealer was telling me that they are very efficient as well.

Jotul has a new top loader!

Its a beast! Tl 50 rangley i believe.

There are other Jotuls that are top loading. Some models have a foot pedal which I thought was pretty cool. Though I have read here that the Firelight 12 in particular is prone to cracking along the fireback and other places.