enviro M55/vistaflame VF55

[corkman]

the vf55 is a clone of the m55 and it looks like a solid stove.its a multifuel with the pot agitator and seems to offer a lot of features.if i remember correctly ,was the m55 the stove that was having the issue with the stove overheating and tripping the high limit switch.something to do with the convection blower and slide plate.i found a real good deal on the vf55 so just trying to gather as much info as i can .im in mass and the dealer i will be buying from is in n.hampshire so it may be tough dealing with them should any issues arise .

edit:just did a search and the problems seem to be mostly with the m55 cast.the unit i am interested in is the vf55 fs steel.
anyone burning the m55 fs steel or the vf55 fs steel,i would love to hear your feedback on this stove

 

[Wachusett]

Corkman,

I have the freestanding M55 steel. I have burned 2 seasons now, over 7 tons, never had an overheat issue. I have replaced the the convection blower
due to noisey bearing. I typically run the stove off a thermostat at a high setting of 3 sometimes 4. Occasionally I have run it on 5, but not all out for long,
This thing will throw some serious heat on 5. My only complaint would be the convection blower does not move alot off air at setting 3 and under, or I should
say as much as I would like. If you have an open floor plan this would be less of an issue. I use a few fans and heat 2400 sf first floor 68-70, second floor 64 ish,
comfortably.The stove has pretty much been plug n play, easy to operate and maintain. Also the freestanding allows access to all blower, motors, etc..
Plenty of knowledge here on hearth.com to help with setup or troubleshoot. Thats my 2 cents...........GO FOR IT!

 

[corkman]

thanks for your input Wachusett.looking at you sig i see you have good pellet taste.did you burn those last year and if so what did best for you.i think i will pull the trigger this week.
my stove will sit in an addition at the back of my house which is 250sqft with a cathedral ceiling and ceiling fan.the main floor is 1,100 sqft so im hoping that the higher btu stove will do a better job heating my total of 1,350sqft on the ist floor.i am moving my meridian to the basement so i will have two stoves up and running this winter.

 

[corkman]

i am so mad at myself right now.last week i spoke with a pellet stove dealer in hoksett new hampshire and he had 2 new in the box vf55's($1500).i was unable to get up there right away because i was involved in a volounteer project helping out a family friend who has a severley disabled 4yr old and 3 other children with mild special needs.i was committed to plastering their house for the week so i purposely left today open on my schedule to drive to hooksett and pick up the stove.i called yester afternoon and they had sold out.bummer,bummer bummer.my friends are happy though and the smile on their childrens faces are priceless as they see their house remodel finally start to come together.

 

[DexterDay]

$1,500 for that stove is a CRAZY!! GOOD DEAL!! !!

I hope you can find another good deal. . You payed it forward and did a good deed. Good things come to good people. You may have lost on this deal, but there may be a better one coming?

Im sure they appreciated your help and kindness.

 

[nailed_nailer]

Corkman,
Loving my M55 Cast FS.

Heated my place no problem all season (what season we had, lol)

I paid 3K for mine new. Anything under that is a great deal.
Highly recommended.
It would heat your side room and 1st floor easily. Mine is 900SF and I run on level 3 High-Low.
Never had an issue overheating causing shutdowns.
Good Luck,

---Nailer---

 

[corkman]

the ad is still on new hampshire craigslist.they have a vf170(enviro maxx) for $1500 but its a floor model.the vf55 were new in the box but i had more important things on my mind last week.something will show up and if not then i can always fall back on my meridian.thats a great stove too.she's sitting in the basement all cleaned out and sprayed down with pam.damprid in hopper and burn pot.

 

[corkman]

i spent a few hours 2day tring to track down the same deal for the vf55 that i missed out on in n.hampshire but to no avail.the best price that i found was $2600 on sale.reg price is $3300.i told them about the deal in nh which they were blown away by and said there was no way they could match.i left my businness card and asked to have the owner call me .i was surprised when my phone rang 2hrs later and he said $2000 cash.still seems like a great price to me for that stove.what do you guys think.
the same stove from enviro is $3300 and that is the cheapest ive seen around in a while

 

[DexterDay]

$2,000 is still an awesome deal. IMHO..... Thats a LOT cheaper than what I see the M-55 steels sell for. As you said, there over the $3,000 mark...

 

[Don2222]

the vf55 is a clone of the m55 and it looks like a solid stove.its a multifuel with the pot agitator and seems to offer a lot of features.if i remember correctly ,was the m55 the stove that was having the issue with the stove overheating and tripping the high limit switch.something to do with the convection blower and slide plate.i found a real good deal on the vf55 so just trying to gather as much info as i can .im in mass and the dealer i will be buying from is in n.hampshire so it may be tough dealing with them should any issues arise .

edit:just did a search and the problems seem to be mostly with the m55 cast.the unit i am interested in is the vf55 fs steel.
anyone burning the m55 fs steel or the vf55 fs steel,i would love to hear your feedback on this stove

If you can, find out what the trip point is on the Hi Limit Switch or Snap Disc. From my experience it should be 250 Deg F but I have seen 225 Deg F in the Baby CountrySide stoves and 200 Deg F in the US Stove 5660. I have replaced the Hi Limit snap disc switches in both of these stoves with a Selco L250 that trips at 250 Deg F and then never had a problem with them shutting down again. If for some odd reason they have a hopper fire, then they are still protected and will shut down. Many other stoves I have seen use the L250 Deg F snap discs.

Also the Vistaflames have a steel firebrick backing where the Enviro's have a cast iron firebrick backing so check for cheaper parts!

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I just found it on page 7 of the VF55 manual, the Hi Limit Snap disc is only 200 Deg F ! ! ! This seems very low! I would change it out!

http://www.vistaflame.ca/Manuals/C-11976 Instruction VF55 Domestic Owner's Manual.pdf

AUTOMATIC SAFETY FEATURES OF YOUR PELLET STOVE:
A. EXHAUST TEMPERATURE SWITCH: The stove will shut off when the fire goes out and the exhaust temperature drops below 49°C (120°F). It will display a #3 flash code.
B. HIGH LIMIT SAFETY SWITCH: If the temperature on the hopper reaches 93°C (200°F), the auger will automatically stop, the stove will shut down, and it will display a #4 flash code. If this happens, call your local dealer to reset the 93°C (200°F) high limit switch. ALSO FIND THE REASONS WHY THE UNIT OVERHEATED.
C. VACUUM SWITCH: Notifies when the unit has lost vacuum. This can be caused by either a combustion fan/vent failure, or simply the unit’s outer door, pedestal door, and/or hopper lid beening left open. It will display a #2 flash code.

Here is a case where burning hi heat pellets on heat level 5 will shutdown the stove with the 200 Deg F Hi Limit snap disc! ! !
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-high-limit-temp-senor-trip.78698/#post-78698

 

[DexterDay]

That is a different stove. Changing the High temp switch? May cause worse damage.....

It all depends on where this switch is placed. That extra 50° may mean a lot.

Enviro/Regency/Vista Flame (Sherwood Ind) has already came up with there own fix. They have introduced a larger CFM convection blower and also a feed/slide plate in the hopper (restricts feed).

Changing the disc will only allow for higher temps (not good IMO).

Just because a stove hits its high limit, doesn't mean you raise that limit....

My old Englander (17 yrs old), is the only stove thats hit a high limit. But I was cranking it! No other stove I have, or that I have installed, or seen, has hit the high limit.

Maybe a sister stove that has similar parts.... Can have a part like that replaced. But I wouldn't ever just up the Over temp on a stove, just because another model has one that high. My opinion.

 

[Don2222]

That is a different stove. Changing the High temp switch? May cause worse damage.....

It all depends on where this switch is placed. That extra 50° may mean a lot.

Enviro/Regency/Vista Flame (Sherwood Ind) has already came up with there own fix. They have introduced a larger CFM convection blower and also a feed/slide plate in the hopper (restricts feed).

Changing the disc will only allow for higher temps (not good IMO).

Just because a stove hits its high limit, doesn't mean you raise that limit....

My old Englander (17 yrs old), is the only stove thats hit a high limit. But I was cranking it! No other stove I have, or that I have installed, or seen, has hit the high limit.

Maybe a sister stove that has similar parts.... Can have a part like that replaced. But I wouldn't ever just up the Over temp on a stove, just because another model has one that high. My opinion.

Hi Dexter

Thanks for your opinion from what you have seen. That's fine for those stoves.
You are very correct it does depend where the switch is placed. Thanks for the Info!
My Astoria has the 200 Deg F Hi Limit Snap Disc on the bottom of the hopper.

I see that the Hudson River Sarnac with a 250 Deg F Hi Limit Snap Disc has the exact same metal shell as my US 5660 with the 200 Deg F Hi Limit Snap Disc on back of the burn chamber! This is a hotter place!
This poor guy in Rhode Island, also has the US 5660 like mine and when he used it on Hi Heat Level 5 it shut down during a very cold winter night and was almost freezing by morning!

See
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/us-stove-5660-damper.78719/#post-1003621

That can be dangerous with water pipes freezing and what not! ! !
If there is a fire it will still trip the 250 Deg F snap disc no problem, but I would not want the house to freeze ! ! !

Same with the Baby CountrySide even the 225 Deg F Hi Limit switch trips too easily ! ! !Even though it is located on the bottom of the Auger chute, I just bumped it up to 250 so my friend would not have as much trouble. She could not reach way in to reset it. It was a real problem for her! ! !

See pic below of the 3 stoves and their Hi Limit Snap Discs. Click to enlarge!
I am beginning to realize that some stove designs do have flaws, and if I can correct them to make a more reliable stove then I certainly will ! ! !

 

[corkman]

i downloaded both manuals for the m55 and the vf55 and they seem to be pretty much a carbon copy of each other.i had noticed the difference in the firebrick but i wonder if i could just order the cast iron one and swap them out.what are the pros and cons of each.i think i will pull the trigger 2moro

 

[DexterDay]

They are the same stove. The Regency, Enviro, and Vista flames are all made by Sherwood industries.

The firebrick is prob another reason that the VF-55 can be sold at a better price point than the M-55 steel.

 

[Don2222]

They are the same stove. The Regency, Enviro, and Vista flames are all made by Sherwood industries.

The firebrick is prob another reason that the VF-55 can be sold at a better price point than the M-55 steel.

The VF-55 does have an optional upgrade to fluted cast iron firebrick! ! !

 

[corkman]

i am the proud owner of a vf55.picked her up today and buddies on the way to help me unload.has the updated auger cover plate and box has stamp on it that says "new convection blower".i'm hoping that means upgraded convection blower.the upgrade for the fluted cast fire back is $110.may end up getting that.
i think i got a pretty good deal at $2000 cash.they still have some at Franklin Fireplace in franklin ,Ma.
pics to follow once i get it uncrated to prove it did actually happen

 

[Don2222]

Congrats Corkman

Sounds like you got a summer sizzler of a good deal! ! ! Can's wait to see some pics!

Like pics on this vf-55
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-vistaflame-vf-55-enviro-m-55.40144/

I did not know it was nicknamed the Harmonator! ! ! LOL

"His rep from Enviro used to work at Harman and he calls the MF-55 / VF-55 the "Harmonator".