Should I keep a vermont castings vigilante coal/wood stove?

[howlinggood]

Hi, I have a question. We just sold our house with a jotul 3 stove. We used it to burn wood to offset heating costs. We loved this stove. Now we are buying a new home (which is much larger). I purchased a used but in very good condition vermont castings vigilante coal/wood burning stove. I didn't realize at the time of purchase that it burned coal as well. Now from what I've read, the stove is not very efficient at burning wood (which is what we want to do) and will most likely burn wood at a faster rate due to the way the stove is set up. Should I keep this stove or sell it? (I've already listed it on CL and have had multiple interested parties). Money is a little tight for us after the purchase of the house. I would ideally want to buy a new stove that will burn wood efficiently but am unsure of my decision to sell something I haven't even tried. HELP :–)

 

[begreen]

Welcome Donna. That's a tough call. I can appreciate the dilemma. Is the Vigilant correctly sized for the house or area to be heated? Has it been closely inspected for bypass damper operation and cleaned secondary passages? If the stove is in great condition, then you could be good to go, with a few caveats.

My approach would be to look at the long term. The Vigilant stove will consume more fuel than a newer unit. It will need larger, more expensive piping to install. It will need greater clearances and a larger hearth. So, if the intent is to regularly heat with wood then I would consider investing in a modern EPA stove with a 6" flue that is correctly sized to the home. It will pay for itself over the long haul. I sense that you have a fondness for cast iron stoves. No problem there, we do too. But to put things into perspective, I should mention that there are good, medium sized steel units for under $800 that might work out well for you for the next few seasons until the budget settles down.

On the other hand, if the budget is already groaning, then the Vigilant is a good strong classic stove and it may get you through the next few seasons just fine. Equally important right now is the fuel supply. Getting dry wood at this time of year is very challenging.

 

[howlinggood]

Thanks for the advice but we did end up selling it. We will purchase a new unit that best suits our needs even if it means spending a bit more at this time. The vigilant probably would have been well suited for our size to heat but in the end we felt better selling it.

Thanks again for your reply! :–)

 

[begreen]

No problem, that's probably what I'd have done too. There are some great stoves on the market. Feel free to inquire about them.

 

[BurningIsLove]

Thanks for the advice but we did end up selling it. We will purchase a new unit that best suits our needs even if it means spending a bit more at this time. The vigilant probably would have been well suited for our size to heat but in the end we felt better selling it.

Thanks again for your reply! :–)

Let us know what you decide to get, just cuz we're a curious bunch who love to see how people rate their new stoves.

 

[howlinggood]

Well, I have read some negative things about them but I believe we will be purchasing the VC defiant catalytic stove in enamel blue with warming shelves. We found it online for $1750.00 - only problem is we have to pick it up in PA. We live on Long Island! Whew, that'll be a long haul. I know I stated we are tight on dough and now it seems we are spending quite a bit more on a stove. Our original budget did allow for purchasing a stove for around $2500.00 from a local dealer. But then I found the Vigilante used online and you know the rest of the story. With all the closing costs involved in a move, and a higher mortgage, we are trying to save money in anyway we can.

What do you think? Our house is around 2500 sq. feet of space, it's a cape with 2 beds down, 1 huge master bed up. We'd like to put in a heat register somewhere around the stove in the ceiling so that some of the hot air can come upstairs into our bedroom more easily and may also try fans in the door ways. What are the thoughts on our choice of stove. The person I would be buying from said he personally worked for VC during the sale of the company and he thinks they are still making excellent stoves. He also said that this unit would and should be covered by the new company due to a clause written by the new company saying that they will warranty stoves purchased after Jan, 2008 which this particular stove was. He has paperwork to prove this.

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

[BurningIsLove]

The VC Defiant is a good stove. The problems w/ VC lately have been around warranty support & some design issues affecting efficiency. But the casting & construction of the stoves are still rock solid and I sleep very soundly at night w/ a VC/Dutchwest stove going in my home.

The one thing I'd caution you strongly against is the heat register above the stove. This is an EXTREME fire hazard and is most likely not allowed by your local building codes for just that reason. The ability of a house to withstand a fire has a lot to do w/ time & resistance to the fire spreading. This is why drywall makes such a good fire retardant between floors/rooms. If you cut a hole in the ceiling, the fire is going to be drawn towards that opening, and the high velocity going up it will cause the surrounding area to catch fire at an alarming rate. I know the heat registers were a common design in old homes, but there is a reason why they no longer do this.

As far as heat transfer, there are some good threads on the forum around this. The heat is naturally going to want to move to where it would by normal convection currents in the house. I have a similar sized colonial w/ all the bedrooms upstairs and a centrally located staircase. The heat REALLY moves well up the staircase and heats the bedrooms well, to the point where I have to open my bedroom windows sometimes at night. Fans moving heat through low doorways will help as well, but if there are too many openings to go through, its going to be difficult for heat to move evenly through the house. Long version short, if you have a mostly open floorplan, then the heat is going to move on its own w/o help. If you have lots of small rooms, especially between the stove & the staircase, then heating the upstairs will require some planning.

 

[begreen]

Please read up on recent VC Defiant owners reports here and in the ratings section. Although a pretty stove and a good heater, the maintenance costs can be high. Your concerns about warranty are valid. Given the recent track record I'd want to buy a VC stove only from a local dealer with a great reputation.

For the moment, suspend the cost issue and decide what would be the ideal stove. I'd recommend considering a simpler stove or if you want a catalytic stove, consider a Woodstock Fireview. For cast iron stoves I'd look at 3 cu ft stoves like the Quadrafire Isle Royale, Hearthstone Bennington, Morso 3610 or the Jotul F600 (Fireview). Or for a hybrid, the Pacific Energy Alderlea T6. All of these stoves are great heaters and should provide years of low maintenance operation. Read up on them here and ask lots of questions. This is an expensive item. You'll want something that gives you a lot of long lasting satisfaction.

If you can post a quick sketch of the floorplan, there are probably much better solutions to getting the heat circulated. Cutting holes should be the last resort. There are often good ways to get the heat moving. Lots of posts here on the site about this issue. It must come up a couple times a week.