Just got back from the local VC dealer. They've never had a Defiant in their store, but they sell plenty of Encore's, and they told me that VC has gotten rid of their silly oval stove pipes. They showed me an Encore with a 6" round collar, and claimed they "thought" the Defiant had gone to a 6" or 8" round, but could not confirm.
Now, it's been at least 12 hours since I looked at the Defiant literature on the VC website, but I'm pretty sure they're still showing the stupid oval connector pipes in their data sheets and manuals for the Defiant. Does anyone know the scoop?
This dealer is also a Lopi dealer, and was really pushing the new Cape Cod Hybrid, as was the local Jotul/Lopi dealer. They all seem real excited about this stove, which should be out in roughly 60 days. I'll wait until it's proven in a few years to consider that stove, so it looks like I'll be buying a new VC to use for at least this year and next.
I did see the refractory rear burn plate, which others had spoken of in another thread. Looks fairly durable, but I can see how it could be broken, if one really chucked the wood into the firebox hard. This dealer did claim the cat cost was over $400, although I recall reading that a major part of the recent redesign of the VC stoves was to get them away from expensive custom cat's, and into cheaper standard-size cat's, so I'm doubting the dealer's info on this.
They also showed me the VC gasket kits, which are $70/each. Apparently, some of the gaskets are custom items, not the typical glass or graphite/glass gaskets. Not something that I like, but not enough a problem to write off the only cast catalytic stoves on the market.
Now, it's been at least 12 hours since I looked at the Defiant literature on the VC website, but I'm pretty sure they're still showing the stupid oval connector pipes in their data sheets and manuals for the Defiant. Does anyone know the scoop?
This dealer is also a Lopi dealer, and was really pushing the new Cape Cod Hybrid, as was the local Jotul/Lopi dealer. They all seem real excited about this stove, which should be out in roughly 60 days. I'll wait until it's proven in a few years to consider that stove, so it looks like I'll be buying a new VC to use for at least this year and next.
I did see the refractory rear burn plate, which others had spoken of in another thread. Looks fairly durable, but I can see how it could be broken, if one really chucked the wood into the firebox hard. This dealer did claim the cat cost was over $400, although I recall reading that a major part of the recent redesign of the VC stoves was to get them away from expensive custom cat's, and into cheaper standard-size cat's, so I'm doubting the dealer's info on this.
They also showed me the VC gasket kits, which are $70/each. Apparently, some of the gaskets are custom items, not the typical glass or graphite/glass gaskets. Not something that I like, but not enough a problem to write off the only cast catalytic stoves on the market.
