replace VC encore 2550 after 10 years

[willis]

new member here but have been lurking for years and i'm looking for a new stove. i have a vc encore 2550 that i use full time to heat my 2000 sq. ft. house and i'm tired of buying parts. i looking at a p. e. alderlea t5 or a jotul f-50 tl rangeley. i really like top loading but i want a no bullshit stove that is high quality and dependable year after year. help me. thanks , mark

 

[begreen]

Greetings Mark. For 2000 sq ft, get the Alderlea T6. You'll appreciate the bigger firebox, flexibility and increased mass of the larger stove.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Listen to BeGreen. Go large.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I was in the same place last Fall with our Encore. I don't miss the top load that much. One less seal to worry about and no more splits tumbling into the glass.

 

[gasavage]

Mark
I'm south of you in Lafayette & I'm heating 1450 sq. ft. with a T5. I think you'd be really be pushing one for 2000 sq. ft. That is unless you have a very well insulated home with few windows. The T6 would be a better fit.

I bought my stove from a stove shop in Hebron....A Cozy Fireplace. I worked with Steve on the sale. Nice guy.

 

[grommal]

Used to love the top-loading feature of our old VC (didn't love much else, except the looks). But it turns out that we don't miss not having that option.

 

[summit]

can't go wrong with a PE... I'd also vote for going larger. 2000 sq ft is a little much to ask of the PE midsize units when it gets real cold. 1500 is a more reasonable heating capacity when you factor in the tail end of overnight burn times and below zero weather. I suspect that's part of the reason you had to keep fixing the encore 2550: they overrated the sq footage capacity of that unit way to much. Lotsa cast parts + having to run it hard all the time = burned out stove.

 

[defiant3]

A top loading stove, and there aren't many , necessarily means more moving parts and more complicated, expensive stuff in there to go wrong . I've maade alot of money over the years repairing Encores. At one time ALL stoves had catalytic elements and related bypass dampers, linkages, refractory materials, etc. but NOW we don't have to put ourselves through THAT anymore. There's a world of products that are EPA compliant with almost no moving parts, and certainly none of that wretched catalytic hooey. The exception of course arethe top laoders. Step away from the top loaders. If you must have one though, by all means let's get to know each other better!

 

[willis]

thank you for all the great input. yesterday i purchased the p.e. alderlea T6. i saw one burn a couple of days ago and was very impressed with the stove and the low maintainence issues. i will pick it up next week and will post some pics.
v. c. encore 2550 will be going to craigslist. thanks again, mark