I'm in the final decision stage on these two. Does anyone know if the 1 cf difference between these is the width? Reason I'm asking is so far I haven't found a dealer that stocks either so I may have to order blind. My wood is all cut 14"-15". So I'm wondering if the Encore will just have empty space at each end of my splits? The only stocking dealer I've found so far only had a resolute and defiant everburn. roben.
VC Intrepid and Encore cat firebox volume?
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webbie
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Those are two VASTLY different stoves, and I have a had time imagining anyone choosing between the two!
The amount of square inches on the OUTSIDE of the encore is probably double or more than of the Intrepid, and therefore it is a vastly larger heater.
I'm sure you will cutting more wood in the future, do don't base a decision on what is in your pile now.
In terms of length, the Encore can handle 21-23+ inches and the Intrepid 15-16", but in terms of pounds of wood the Encore is probably double
The amount of square inches on the OUTSIDE of the encore is probably double or more than of the Intrepid, and therefore it is a vastly larger heater.
I'm sure you will cutting more wood in the future, do don't base a decision on what is in your pile now.
In terms of length, the Encore can handle 21-23+ inches and the Intrepid 15-16", but in terms of pounds of wood the Encore is probably double
Thanks web, I don't cut my own wood. 60 years old, 3 collapsed discs and one with a bone spur. I've ridden hard and gone to bed wet too many times. So I have my wood delivered now. one dealer says get the Intrepid, the other says get the Encore. to recap; 1000sf house. No insulation in the walls, heavy insulation in the attic and under the floor. living room 325 sf, 1/2 with vaulted ceiling, two ceiling fans, Dining room/ kitchen 230 sf 4' wide opening between them. The Encore is a lot more money but I don't want to buy twice. roben.
jpl1nh
Minister of Fire
I'd go with the Encore. Few people complain they've bought too much stove, most complain they've bought too little. I agree with Web, you can get larger wood in the future. You can load the shorter pieces on diagonal if you need to and fit much more in than you could in the intrepid, hence longer burn times.
webbie
Seasoned Moderator
The Acclaim does not get talked about here much, but that is also an ideal mid to mid-small sized stove. Personally, I would take it over the Intrepid any day (my opinion, obviously) -----
I think we can pretty much say to scrap the intrepid for whole house heating.....also, you are probably burning softwood, which means even less capacity. So my advice would be to step up from there!
I think we can pretty much say to scrap the intrepid for whole house heating.....also, you are probably burning softwood, which means even less capacity. So my advice would be to step up from there!
We also have a 1000 sq ft house. We have a Jotul F600 Firelight which is from what I understand similar to the Encore in BTU and size. We lack wall insulation in the oiginal structure but have it in the addition. Im sure a smaller stove would heat my house but not as nicely as my firelight. It also has a ridiculous burn time. We put a load in onto a estabished coal bed before we go to sleep,usually around 10:00, damper it down and there are cherry coals still burning in the morning around 6:00 am. I'm a rookie but I'm pretty sure you couldn't do that in a smaller stove.
Web, since the Resolute is an neverburn I want to avoid it like AIDS! When I looked in inside I said mygod it's got a tiny firebox! Of course my Schrader has about a 7 cu firebox so anything looks small. roben.
Roben, revisit your past posts and threads. This has been already discussed several times. You are in a mild climate and have expressed many concerns about too big a stove. I think the Intrepid will fit the bill just fine, unless you are having trouble getting wood cut to fit the stove. FWIW, I have a friend with an Intrepid heating an A frame locally that has almost twice your sq. ftg. However, I would be remiss to not mention that he is now moving to a PE Alderlea T5.
Well I just got back from the only VC "gold" dealer in the state. 155 miles each way! Actually got to see all the models. Salesman said I should go for the Encore cat. He said the Intrepid might work OK but with my lack of insulation in the walls and burning douglas fir I'd be safer with the Encore. They had a Encore everburn running in the showroom but he said the cat stoves were the way to go. I asked if they were having any problems with the everburns? He said they don't run good damped down. I did notice they had a digital draft meter hooked up on it. roben.
Gooserider
Mod Emeritus
Web - minor detail - I cut my wood for my Encore Cat with a target length of 18" and trim anything over about 19.5" - this fits with slack at the bottom of the firebox, but I have to look for shorter peices up near the top - this is the advice that Elk gave me when I first started to get the Encore - NO WAY will it handle more than about 20" on the bottom of the fire box, and that is also the size listed in the manual.
However, I find that I end up with the occasional short chunk (actually I've currently got about 2 cords of short chunks...) and those are good for filling in the extra space at the ends.
To get back to the OP's question, yes, I'd reccomend going with the CAT-Encore given the low insulation and that there is a debate about the size - as I've said earlier, I see far more complaints about undersizing, so if someone is on the fence between two sizes I will allways say "super-size it!"
Gooserider
However, I find that I end up with the occasional short chunk (actually I've currently got about 2 cords of short chunks...) and those are good for filling in the extra space at the ends.
To get back to the OP's question, yes, I'd reccomend going with the CAT-Encore given the low insulation and that there is a debate about the size - as I've said earlier, I see far more complaints about undersizing, so if someone is on the fence between two sizes I will allways say "super-size it!"
Gooserider
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