Vermont Castings insane price increases

[bwaterma]

Hello all,

Has anyone else had the much less than pleasant experience of trying to order parts for their Vermont Castings stove lately? My local dealer just told me that the price for a replacement refractory for my Intrepid II (model 1990) went from $87.24 to $229 as of 1/15/08 I was flabbergasted to say the least! I called the folks at Discount Stove and Fireplace (www.discountstove.com) and they had the same price. I called VC and they told me they only sell those through dealers. Both VC and the dealer told me the prices have gone up for MANY parts, not just the one I was looking for. The guy at VC said it's because the costs for warehousing and labor has gone up. And that a lot of parts coming from the Orient have gone up too. I just can't believe they would have almost TRIPLED!! This is just unbelievable!! Hopefully everyone's stove is running in peak form and will never need parts again

 

[Henz]

A relative of mine just got a quote for a VC insert..Dont know which model..it was close to $4k just for the insert!

 

[webbie]

VC appears to be in a bind again - one source reports they are having a 5 million dollar inventory public auction. They obviously need to raise money.

Parts is one place that they can always make a profit since folks have to buy them. No way that warehousing parts has gone up that high - and the cost of labor in VT at the plant is fairly low. I suspect it is simple economics - they have to get some money in. Remember that the present company just took over 2 years ago and times are tough out there. They probably have a short leash as far as available credit. I don't envy them or any of the stove makers at this point. It should be a good time for the business, but it is not because people are broke!

 

[swestall]

I hate to see it happen because it is a Vermont employer. Having said that, I wish they would just get out of the way and let the real stove manufacturers provide good support to the world. But, then everyone knows I am no fan of theirs.

This price stuff, just adds more fuel to my already negative opinion of what "they" have done to the company that once was, "Vermont Castings".

 

[moondoggy]

hate hearing this.

BUT I have the Intrepid II 1990 cat stove. .... I have refactory? as in bricks, i seriously do? if so where?

i thought the INtrepid non cat had bricks only.


and this explains why my warming shelf /shelves were 180. for 2 small shelves.

 

[STOVEGUY11]

It is incredible to swallow this price increase. In that week of the price change. We had many customers cancel orders on parts. The stoves themselves have gone up the typical amount that you see season to season

 

[bwaterma]

Honor Society,

The refractory on the Intrepid II model 1990 sits behind a plate at the back of the firebox. It is held in by 2 "knobs" secured with 9/16" bolts (5/8" on the back side of the stove). The refractory is what houses the catalystic combustor. It is VERY fragile. If your stove is running nicely, I'd not worry about it until you have to. I did talk to my dealer again today and am going to delay purchasing the refractory because he told me that pretty much every dealer in the U.S. called VC and yelled about the big price increase. Maybe VC will come to their senses and drop the prices. At least one can hope! If they don't, I'm afraid I'll have to bite the bullet and buy it anyway. Mine was damaged and needs replacement but still holds a Clear Skies combustor (so the stove still runs) but not for much longer.

 

[moondoggy]

really, thanks for clearing that up. i know about the combuster, didnt know it sat in a pc of refactory
i was flipping through the manual, looking online, like wth?

i love my stove, but have worries about VC. Hopefully because of this, another manufacturer my step forward and start producing an aftermarket refactory like some co's do the combuster.

 

[webbie]

This is a shot in the dark, but I suspect in some cases it might be possible to rebuild (or even build) the refractory chamber in some of these models.....probably not perfectly, but maybe passable.

You can get very high temp ceramic board and the glue for it. It cuts easily.

Maybe we have not come to that yet, but in the future it may need to be done.....when parts are not available, etc.

Can't expect dealers to take a bath, BUT - when I was a dealer...if something like this happened, I would be likely to discount the parts somewhat to my existing customers (those who bought stoves from me).....just because there was always an implied promise (with a sale) that I would not skewer them. However, all bets are always off when the customer bought elsewhere or had the stove for a decade or more. Not that I want to take customers to the cleaners, but the other side of the coin was always our back room full of thousands of dollars of ordered parts that customers never picked up!

Well, you folks know how capitalism is! Now it is time for someone to make "aftermarket" parts!

 

[tkirk22]

It looks to me like a company in it's last dying throes. ..... Wriggling and squirming to get the last dollar out of anyone who will give them money so they can continue to pay the execs while they dismantle the factory and screw their customers.

I could be wrong though. I do know this. I would not ever consider buying a stove from them or any company they own or any company who owns them. Whether I'm right or wrong it's not good business.

BTW, Does orient=China?

 

[Hubjeep]

Vermont Casting brings teh over-rated, my very image conscious friend owns one, good stove, but too $$$$

 

[bwaterma]

Admin,

Thanks for the idea about the ceramic board and glue (Where can I get it? Does it have a specific name?). I had called my local dealer to ask about cementing the sides of the refractory where the damage was. The sides were still there, but had "peeled" and "flaked" so my plan was to cement both sides on each end to hold it all together. They suggested I use furnace cement, which I did. I used a small trowel like tool to spread a thin coat on both sides of each end of the refractory (left and right ends looking from the front). I wasn't able to coat the facing part of the ends because they were so brittle. I let it dry over night then installed the Clear Skies combustor. The next day, following a day long burn, I pulled off the cover hoping to find no warpage. Unfortunately, the cement had "bubbled" and warped such that a VC combustor would never fit, but the Clear Skies still does. The stove works, but the ends that hold the combustor are still very fragile and may not last much longer. If I could cut them off and insert ceramic board in their place it might just work. If I can find where to get the board and glue I'll try it. Thanks a lot for that tip... hopefully I can find the stuff.

 

[webbie]

You can get fancy, such as wrapping stainless steel wire around the assembly to hold it together - hardware store has wire.

Not sure which exact board they use, but lots of high temp similar materials are available at:
http://www.mcmaster.com/

search on ceramic or ceramic insulation. They should have cements also. In fact, you could rebuild the entire earth with what they have there!

 

[Mandoo]

If it was me I would make my own box hey who knows if you study it long enough there may be room for improvement. Hope this link helps!

http://www.armilcfs.com/pages/products.htm

 

[elmoleaf]

I fixed my chamber by using short lengths of wire to internally pin the broken parts together.
Then, dampen the existing refractory material so the furnace cement will stick.
Make a mixture of perlite and refractory/furnace cement (about 50/50) to fill cracks/voids between pieces.
Let dry thoroughly for several days or slow dry at very low temps in an oven. If you try to heat up too hot too quick, moisture trapped under the cement's dry skin will try to bubble out and ruin everything. Note, try to test fit your combustor before the cement is dry, or make sure to keep the proper chamber clearances so it'll fit back in when your repair is done.

My repair (rebuild) has held up for 2 years now (knock on wood). I was going to replace it in the spring, but at $200 large, that probably won't happen.

 

[jetmech]

I was going to order bottom heat shield for my 1303 intrepid untill i found out VC wanted 115.00 for it. Looks like sheetmetal job is in the works.... This is nuts , hope there is another option if i need parts in the future

 

[moondoggy]

jetmech, mine isnt attached, although not sure iwant to give it up.
if you want me to measure it all out let me know. least you get exact #'s.

 

[Chrisg]

Would it be possible to rebuild the refractory chamber on a dutchwest 2479 with any of the materials in the second link? If so how would you know what to use. I plan on taking the back apart this summuer to fix an issue with the soft refrac package and if I could do it without giving anymore money to VC CFM that would be outstanding. Not sure what the parts cost from them but it is probably expensive.
Don't want to hijack thread this just really caught my attention when I read thru it. Thanks Chris

 

[jetmech]

moondog, that would be awesome. if you can tell me how it attatches that would be great.. I was going to hang it from leg bolts using aircraft saftey wire... anything would be a plus. Thanks for the offer

 

[moondoggy]

i will do it up this weekend.
to do it the VC way, you put it on before you attach the legs, the holes line up with the leg screws.
dont know if you want to move your stove and remove the legs to attach, but at least you'll have an idea on what the original looked like.
if your not into taking off the legs, you'll have to modify it.

 

[webbie]

Would it be possible to rebuild the refractory chamber on a dutchwest 2479 with any of the materials in the second link? If so how would you know what to use. I plan on taking the back apart this summuer to fix an issue with the soft refrac package and if I could do it without giving anymore money to VC CFM that would be outstanding. Not sure what the parts cost from them but it is probably expensive.
Don't want to hijack thread this just really caught my attention when I read thru it. Thanks Chris

We really don't know if this is possible - just speculating about repairing some of them. I think many folks replace them prematurely - a little wear and tear probably does not hurt them much. Being the type of person to get the most of our my $$, I always try to "keep 'er running" as long as possible without forking out for new parts.

 

[Chrisg]

Yeah I like to think that way as well. It just has a small hole in the top if you look down at it with the black stove pipe removed. After I posted I wondered if I could just cement a pc over that area instead of messing with the whole thing.

 

[elmoleaf]

The bottom heat shield is an easy part to make. Mine is very heavy gauge aluminum from an old storm door. If you use thin gauge sheet metal, you might have to crease it to add stiffness, or have tight mounting points to keep it in tension and prevent sagging.

I traced the outline of the stove bottom onto the metal and cut with tin snips. Then, I notched out each corner where the legs are. I made 4 "z" type straps with two holes each from some old scrap sheet metal. Before rebolting the stove legs back on, I added this "z" clip to each leg location. The new heat shield is attached to these 4 clips with small bolts & nuts. It's suspended about an inch or so away from the stove bottom.

Good luck.

 

[jetmech]

Thanks elmo, Thats what i was thinking on doing except i was going to hang the shield using stainless saftey wire. Does the shield angle up at the ends of the stove???. I was going to hang it about 2 inches from the bottom.

 

[oldAGE]

Yup... trying to get my Encore 2550 back in business has cost me nearly $500. Still awaiting my refractory and if that doesn't do the trick, I am kicking it to the curb. Another Defiant Encore will be up for sale.

AGE