Opinions on VC Defiant vs. Hearthstone Equinox

[Eagle Rock]

Hey All-
Back again. I had recently posted the Blaze King Ultra questions....After talking with several dealers and the company themselves, it's been determined that the Ultra won't work well with my install requirements (All their opinions). I don't have the 36" recommended vertical from collar to 1st bend, which is a 90, chase goes thru the wall (8" flue) then to another 90, then up. Bummer. I can't afford to rip it out, etc. My newest search pits the VC Defiant (either 2n1 or cat) vs. the Equinox. Same scenario as before - 2500 sq ft house built in 2003. Good insulation. Great room in front center of house with a lot of glass, 20 ft ceilings. 500 sq ft loft (open) above stove installation site. Insulated foundation (temps stay around 55 degrees in winter without any heating in basement). We like temps. around 75 in the main rooms and due to set up/insulation of house this is relatively easy to do. Our old 2003 VC was great when it worked.....I won't go into all that but needless to say that stove is gone. Is the new VC Defiant improved over old? Is the equinox too much stove for us? Will I need to burn the equinox too low to avoid losing 20lbs in sweat per day? Opinions are appreciated. Sorry in advance to be a PITA.

 

[bogydave]

I had a 90, learned this last week from Stove guru.
I have 31 ". (top of stove to center line of metalbestos "T"
Stove guru guy told me to use two 45° s
Working so much better than before.
Thread here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/73529/
Don't know rules there.
Stove guru said hearthstone equinox best non cat stove on the market for most heat.
That thread is here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/73505/

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

Equinox beats the Defiant in looks hand down... it is a freakin awesome looking stove.
I can't really comment on performance personally, but have heard multiple people on hear talk about problems with VC's 2ndary burn system, & advise going cat. on any VC's. The Equinox won't cook you out of your house- especially since it has soapstone tiles, which absorb heat from the fire & radiate it as a nice steady, even heat into the room. The stone will continue to radiate stored heat long after the fire has burned out.

 

[Fsappo]

It wont be too much heat. Its a nice soft heat. It will only make as much heat as the wood you put into it. Buy it. Its a freaking huge, beautiful work of art. You'll fall in love with it and probably end up needing therapy because of your Equinox obsession. Eagle Rock, I sent you a PM buddy.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

You'll fall in love with it and probably end up needing therapy because of your Equinox obsession.

EA- Equiniox Anonymous?

 

[shawneyboy]

I couldn't agree more with Franks. I have a Mansfield. One of the reasons for the Mansfield was the looks. The wife required an attractive stove, as she said not a big black box, that looked as good with a fire in it as well as without. The other reason was for the thermal mass of the soapstone and it's "softer" heat. Both of which made the choice an easier one. I wanted long term, soft heat with a nice heatsink. If I could have I would have built an all brick masonary heater but that was not an option.

I was also able to pick it up on sale. Which you should be able to do around this time of year as well.

If you go with the Equinox be prepared to become obsessed with it and put some money aside for the therapy.

Shawn

 

[certified106]

My vote would be to go for the Equinox not only does it look great but the reviews are really good from the members on this site. I have done a lot of research and examining wood stoves in the last four months and when I examined the VC 2in1 I just have a hard time seeing how the entire backside of the firebox will hold up over time considering it's essentially built out of refractory material (yes I know they changed it but only time will tell). I was close to buying a VC but it just concerned me way to much and I want something that will be hassle free for years.

Edit: The dealer I bought my PE from said PE was expected to come out with a porcelain coated T6 before to long if that stove interests you at all

 

[Eagle Rock]

Hey guys -
Can any of you guys that run this beast give me an idea of your temps when running it? Stove top and flue if you have them? I know everyone's situation is different but perhaps some info. would be helpful. I thought I remember reading about 400 degree stovetop somewhere on here? How about your flue temps if you have them? How full are your loads and how often to acheive an average burn? Basically, are you guys throwing tons of wood in to get results vs. using less in a cat stove for a long burn time?
Thanks!

 

[defiant3]

+1 for Hearthstone! Nothing to go wrong in there, unlike the Defiant

 

[shawneyboy]

Eagle,

I have the little brother to the Equinox, but I can cover temps. For me with a full load I get the top to around 550, and flue temps, with a probe thermo are in the 800-900 range. I will tell you what, it pushes the heat. I do not have a blower on it, I will be getting one this off season in order to help circulate the air a bit better. I have an insulated basement install, and my furnace is off unless it is one of those brutally cold nights. Even when the furnace is on, it only calls for heat in the early morning, while I am getting the stove back up to temp.

Another nice thing about having a rock is during shoulder season, because of the heat sink, I can push say 2 loads of kindling, truely sticks, 1 1/2 inch and under, say 2 cycles, get the stone up to temp and she radiates heat for a loooooooong time. Just a way to get full use out of all of the fallen fuel I get from my property. Yes it is a smidge more work but he it's free heat, and the branches would have most likely rotted on the forest floor.

Shawn

 

[tlingit]

Our kids tease me about how much I love our equinox. At 20 below, our house was warm. We really don't have heat upstairs, but have vents in the floor and a ceiling fan. Stovezilla pumped out enough heat that we were comfortable. Some rooms were cool, but still. Something to think about too is a good stove as backup heat. We have lost power for days at time. We may have lived by candlelight, but we were warm.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Opinions on VC Defiant vs. Hearthstone Equinox

My opinion is that VC charges a premium stove price for a sub-standard stove.

It is further my opinion that soap stone stoves are an overpriced and unsightly fad.

 

[begreen]

I'm curious about the aversion to soapstone as they work particularly well in the PacNW. What brought about this dislike for soapstone? Is this because of a personal negative experience?

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I'm curious about the aversion to soapstone as they work particularly well in the PacNW. What brought about this dislike for soapstone? Is this because of a personal negative experience?

I was onboard the soap stone bandwagon until I actually saw one. They look awful. Sometimes I feel like this place is a echo-chamber for SS lovers.

 

[begreen]

Well, we know from the BK King that looks don't correlate with performance . I have run my friend and neighbor's big Hearthstone and have to say it helped my choose the Alderlea because they perform similarly. Mass rules when you want even heating.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Well, we know from the BK King that looks don't correlate with performance . I have run my friend and neighbor's big Hearthstone and have to say it helped my choose the Alderlea because they perform similarly. Mass rules when you want even heating.

I don't disagree with the physics, but that's not why people buy them (if it was all about heating everyone WOULD have a BK), they buy them because "they sure do look purdy!" Then they come here trying to figure out why their "purdy" stoves aren't working properly. . .

 

[begreen]

There are a lot of happy Hearthstone owners here. I would guess that for every person coming here with a question there must be a thousand that don't. Most of the folks here pay the premium for soapstone precisely because of soapstone's remarkable heat retention. That is the main selling point for these stoves, not their looks. This is the first image on Hearthstone's website on their "Why soapstone" page. Not a purdy picture, but a graph of heat retention. If I bought soapstone, this would be why.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

My purdy stove works fine, and happily heats way above it's rated square footage. I don't know if people comment on "other" stoves, I do know EVERYONE who has seen ours loves it, and when we have people over, no one complains about the lack of heat.


EDIT: and back on topic, I have seen an Equinox run, besides being the best looking stove on the planet, it was pumping out the heat. The guy who owns the one I saw running is heating 4000sqft, fairly open floor plan, two stories. It was 10F out and between 71 and 77 throughout the house.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Well, we know from the BK King that looks don't correlate with performance . I have run my friend and neighbor's big Hearthstone and have to say it helped my choose the Alderlea because they perform similarly. Mass rules when you want even heating.

I don't disagree with the physics, but that's not why people buy them (if it was all about heating everyone WOULD have a BK), they buy them because "they sure do look purdy!" Then they come here trying to figure out why their "purdy" stoves aren't working properly. . .

Plenty of people come here with ugly stove problems too. A bad install or clueless operator, have nothing to do with the stove itself, and as you say, can't argue with the physics.. but what we can do is help people get their stoves running as well as possible, even the ugly ones.

 

[Fsappo]

Well, we know from the BK King that looks don't correlate with performance . I have run my friend and neighbor's big Hearthstone and have to say it helped my choose the Alderlea because they perform similarly. Mass rules when you want even heating.

I don't disagree with the physics, but that's not why people buy them (if it was all about heating everyone WOULD have a BK), they buy them because "they sure do look purdy!" Then they come here trying to figure out why their "purdy" stoves aren't working properly. . .

Awww, someone seems a little sensitive about the love soapstones get. It aint an echo chamber, its math. Show 20 people a hearthstone, 15 will say it looks great. You and 4 others wont like it. It's personal preference. In 26 years of selling Hearthstones off and on I can probably count on my fingers and toes the number of people who didnt like the look.

Me? I could care less what it looks like. But in the showroom, if I need a 12 hour fire with nice even heat. I'm gonna light up the Mansfield.

 

[begreen]

I am on the fence on how they look. My wife doesn't like the looks of them though, too dated for her. But regardless, I wouldn't mind having a Mansfield and would be happy to give it a run.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

Show 20 people a hearthstone, 15 will say it looks great...

...& show those 20 people a Blaze King & 15 will say it looks ugly! Lol

 

[Fsappo]

Show 20 people a hearthstone, 15 will say it looks great...

...& show those 20 people a Blaze King & 15 will say it looks ugly! Lol

Yup, but if it was me, and I was single, I'd take the Blaze King.

 

[shawneyboy]

I on the other hand will take the stone stove.

Shawn

 

[begreen]

I might try the BK, considering it is made in WA. except it would have to sit in the laundry room which might be harder to heat the house from. :coolsmirk: