Englander 30 NCH vs. VC Encore Cat. Apples and oranges? Or apples and lemons? With pics!

[VCBurner]

OK, you can tell me the truth. All you NC30 owners out there. I love cat stoves and cast iron too! But, I may have just earned myself a stupid stove owner of the year award. I just bought a used Defiant Encore in blue enamel, grant it, it is a beautifull stove in really good condition, for $400. Now, I thought it was a good deal, but add the warming shelves ($100) and new cat, which it will need before I install it next burning season (almost $200,) brings it to almost $700 bucks. Keep in mind, a new cat Encore in enamel goes for just under $3000 with warming shelves. But how can you ignore the deal of the century that Home Depot has on these 30NC's. It sounds like a low maintenance heating machine that is fun to watch and easy to operate. I'm almost at the point of kicking myself in the A$$ for not buying one of these and I haven't even lit a fire in the Encore! Now, please, feel free to comment on this issue. There must be someone out there who can tell me some downfalls of the 30NC and make me feel beter about my purchase or further cemment the good reputation of these beasts and convince me to take the plunge.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Haven't we been here before? ;-)

I've thought about buying a new cheaper steel stove also. But a new one would go for an additional $200!
Well, that's the story. What do you and the Hearth.com community think?

I saw them marking down stoves when I was at Home Depot on Tuesday.

 

[VCBurner]

I hear you on that one. I just was not convinced that it would fit the style I wanted for my house. But the look of the stove has grown on me. The arched door gives it some degree of charm and the repetitious praise is starting to wear down my cast iron enamel stove fancy. It also has a large ash pan, and large glass that fits with the options I like on a stove. I like the convenience of being able to clean out ashes without a major sifting and moving of large coals in the firebox and disturbing the fire-base. The legs are nice. But I still don't like the boxy body. If I got this stove, the gold trim may have to come off, I like the black stealth look. The secondary burn tubes also add a degree of curiosity and coupled with the great price offered by Home Depot makes it a very attractive stove. To the point of making me wish I never bought the Encore. But, let's be fair, I have not tried either one yet and the looks of the Encore is still way better looking. Then, there's the cat factor, I really like the flexibility of the cats in the shoulder season. You can really choke them down. So, I guess no one else has an opinion on my dilemma. Oh, well, I thought I'd try to see if you guys could sway me toward one side or another of this stove fence I'm on.

 

[leeave96]

The 30-NCH is not as easy on the eyes as I would have liked, but for the $$$'s I paid, I can live with it.

On the upside, it doesn't look like a washing machine either.......

Bill

 

[-PB-]

The 30-NCH is not as easy on the eyes as I would have liked, but for the $$$'s I paid, I can live with it.

On the upside, it doesn't look like a washing machine either.......

Bill

Ouch! You gotta admit Chris, that was funny.

 

[BrowningBAR]

OK, you can tell me the truth. All you NC30 owners out there. I love cat stoves and cast iron too! But, I may have just earned myself a stupid stove owner of the year award. I just bought a used Defiant Encore in blue enamel, grant it, it is a beautifull stove in really good condition, for $400. Now, I thought it was a good deal, but add the warming shelves ($100) and new cat, which it will need before I install it next burning season (almost $200,) brings it to almost $700 bucks. Keep in mind, a new cat Encore in enamel goes for just under $3000 with warming shelves. But how can you ignore the deal of the century that Home Depot has on these 30NC's. It sounds like a low maintenance heating machine that is fun to watch and easy to operate. I'm almost at the point of kicking myself in the A$$ for not buying one of these and I haven't even lit a fire in the Encore! Now, please, feel free to comment on this issue. There must be someone out there who can tell me some downfalls of the 30NC and make me feel beter about my purchase or further cemment the good reputation of these beasts and convince me to take the plunge.

I don't mean to say I told you so, but...

Question; isn't one of your two stoves going in the basement?

 

[Todd]

If you buy the Englander are you going to change your name?

 

[BrowningBAR]

The guy said it was 6 years old. That is street lingo for beat up cat.

Some times you get lucky, like the Cat that came with the Intrepid. The assembly was beaten to hell and had to be replaced. Cat was in good shape, but clearly wasn't new.

 

[VCBurner]

The 30-NCH is not as easy on the eyes as I would have liked, but for the $$$'s I paid, I can live with it.

On the upside, it doesn't look like a washing machine either.......

Bill

Ouch! You gotta admit Chris, that was funny.

I think Bill and I have similar views on the 30NC. I told him he should get it for that kind of deal. I agree that the stove is not as good looking as the Encore or some other fancier looking stoves. But, it is somewhat attractive in the right light! ;-) I just don't think I could ship off the Encore without trying it first. I waited more than a year to get one. Now that it's here I need to give it a fair shot. Lots of people report great results with them. I have a head start due to the knowledge the people on this site have shared on the stove. This is the biggest advantage we have here. At least we don't get blindsided when buying a stove. We have enough info to make an educated decision. I'm still ticked off about having to buy a cat for it, thoughI knew it was a very good possibility. The guy said it was 6 years old. That is street lingo for beat up cat.

 

[BrowningBAR]

The guy said it was 6 years old. That is street lingo for beat up cat.

Some times you get lucky, like the Cat that came with the Intrepid. The assembly was beaten to hell and had to be replaced. Cat was in good shape, but clearly wasn't new.

The forum appears to be stuck in a time wrap...

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

The guy said it was 6 years old. That is street lingo for beat up cat.

Some times you get lucky, like the Cat that came with the Intrepid. The assembly was beaten to hell and had to be replaced. Cat was in good shape, but clearly wasn't new.

The forum appears to be stuck in a time wrap...

I was just noticing the same thing...

 

[Woody Stover]

If you buy the Englander are you going to change your name?

No, it would stand for Very Conscientious Burner.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The 30 really isn't a pretty stove IMO. It is a metal box that throws heat at high efficiency and a great price. It was perfect for my basement in the new house. If I remodel as planned some time in the future I'll add another flue beside the 30s chimney and put a T4 or T5 in. Those are the stoves I salivate over.

Matt

 

[VCBurner]

If you buy the Englander are you going to change your name?

No, it would stand for Very Conscientious Burner.

To answer Todd's question, I would still keep the VC Dutchwest! ;-) Then that would be like selling out. But, I certainly respect the 30NC's for what they are. I had a notion before about them that was more of a misconception than anything else. I ignored my own rules and sort of discounted them as "cheap" stoves. My number one rule is don't knock it till you try it. Someday, I will try one. May not be this year, but the spark has started and knowing how I work, it will not go out until I get one and try it for myself! ;-) Woody's comment was along the lines of what I try to be. Although, at times, I have run a stove in less than perfect conditions. But, what is always on my mind is always improving the set up I have. I've come a long way from the first and part of the second winter in this house when I burned cord wood in the fireplace because we had no $ to buy $4/gal oil! :red: Since then, I have gone from one free antique cast iron stove, to a 1980's wood/coal combo to two EPA cat stoves! Those two stoves are also among the cleanest burners out there. But, the saga continues.

The 30 really isn’t a pretty stove IMO. It is a metal box that throws heat at high efficiency and a great price. It was perfect for my basement in the new house. If I remodel as planned some time in the future I’ll add another flue beside the 30s chimney and put a T4 or T5 in. Those are the stoves I salivate over.

Matt

Hello Matt. As I stated before, the 30 has gotten on my list of things to try and has become much more attractive to me lately. It has a different, almost admirable, old style to it. Like a classic muscle car! The fact that the company continues to become more and more successful and creates jobs here in America, is a huge factor for me. Although they sell out to HD, but this is part of the success they are enjoying in bringing their products to the masses. So it is understandable. Stove shops would probably never sell them for the staggering $649 with free shipping. Which, almost causes more harm than good to the wood heat industry and the country as a whole! They could not AFFORD to sell them at this price for ever. It is only a matter of time, until they become so big and start looking for ways to cut cost, driving the product quality down and possibly looking for cheap labor abroad!

Matt, as far as the Alderlea line, I've drooled over them many times, both on line and at the stove playground I seldom visit. The slide out trivets are so cool!

 

[leeave96]

I think you will be fine with the VC Encore; I wouldn't sweat it. Assuming it is intact, you got a good chimney set-up and some dry wood, I think you will like it and it looks a lot nicer than my Englander.

Bill

 

[Seasoned Oak]

THe Eng-30 is not the cadillac my Harman is but for the price who can complain. I like them both for different reasons. Would also like to try a cat stove at some time in the future.