The heavy hitters !

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

94ranger55

Member
Sep 11, 2008
91
New Hampshire SeaCoast
Helllo all ...I currently run a vigillant which i love by the way...but its a bit small for my heating needs . I was going to up grade to deifiant this winter ....until a friend of mine offered up a huge fisher stove( i think no pictures yet )I think it might be a papa bear ??? or one of there bigger models ..it has the double front doors . So I am wondering if the big bad as*ss Fisher has some of the same qualities as the Defiant? Burn time ,BTUS and all that stuff ? Thanks again, I know VC made some awesome stoves and so did Fisher which one would you chose ?
 
Any pre EPA woodstove is not going to be as efficient as a an EPA stove (post 1989). With that said and assuming the Defiant is a pre EPA model, both stoves are good examples of large stoves that will put out a lot of heat. The Defiant is cast iron and the Fisher is steel, but both work well.
 
Yep. Big metal boxes with a fire in them. Just a little different metal. There are a lot of old stoves burning out there but I have to tell ya that after switching from my old 1985 love of my life to a newer efficient stove I wanted to smack myself in the head for not doing it sooner. More heat, less wood and creosote is a word that isn't even in my vocabulary anymore.

If not a newer stove. Stick with the one you are used to burning.
 
Yes pre epa is what I am currently running.. I am aware of the benefit's of the newer stoves but that price of the fisher cant be beat. I also enjoy the pre epa stoves due to there simplicity of construction and how heavy duty there are ! ... My question is more along the lines of which stove would give me a better burn time and BTU out put .So what do you think Fisher and VC users ????
 
I am also liking the fact that the Fisher seems to be more bullit proof..plate steel with cast doors and it seems to be more air tight then there all cast iron pre eap brothers...I like the air supply conrtol knobs too pretty cool !
 
not sure about the fisher, but my old defiant gives me constant 8 hr burns running hardwood. it also can get a secondary burn and just about a smokeless burn. on pine i get 6 to 7 hrs burn time.
1 vote for the defiant.

if your into experiments, i think, there are a few people out here that added in a secondary into a fisher. i might be thinkin of the wrong stove.
 
The pre-EPA stoves will get'er done. Just gotta have good dry wood and keep that puppy burning at five hundred stove top temp or over.

And brush a lot. That is the part I do not miss at all.
 
Well I just talked to local old school wood stove restoration guy and he told me that the even the largest fisher could not keep up with the VC defiant ...He is currently in the process of restoring a old defiant to like new conditon . He also said that he would consider a partial trade in for my VC vigilant for the defiant !
 
Yeah, defiance are the best, oh wait, I just happen to have one I'm restoring that I'll give you a good deal on. Next week he is telling the next guy that the Fishers are the best, and he just so happens to be restoring one that he can cut them a deal on.

I should keep my nose out of this thread, cause I don't have any valuable input, lol.

Actually, though, secondaries would definitely make me choose on over the other, so I am not disagreeing with anything he said...
 
94ranger55 said:
P.S. he is also informed that the Fishers lack the advanced secondaries burn technology to that VC had ...a alot of heat just goes straight up opposed to the VC operating system.

He's giving you good advice. Many of the older stoves were solid, but sent half or more of the heat and combustibles up the chimney. This is somewhat similar to the evolution of chainsaws. Technology and reliability has changed since the 60's. New saws burn cleaner and are more powerful for a given size motor. Likewise, modern stoves burn much cleaner and return more heat to the room than sending it up the flue.

FWIW, we have had a few folks here that have added a secondary rack to their old tanks and have seen a notable improvement. The Defiant is a more complex stove, but at least it was designed to burn cleaner from the get go. Not as clean as a modern stove, but far better than the Fisher. If you are completely beholden to old tech, this is the stove I would go with.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.