Hello,
I am looking for some advice. We had a VC1945 defiant which now has a crack in the top panel. It is about 15 years old. I have a masonry chimney made of cinderblock with a plaster coating that would form the rear wall of the stove. So I think I can bring the new stove back a little tighter then some of the manuals suggest for rear wall clearance. I have a flagstone hearth that is 47 inches from rear wall to front. R value for the stone would be low and it sits on a wood floor under the stone. I am looking to get away from catalytic stoves. The width of my hearth is approx 60 inches. I am looking for as large a stove I can get. We live in midcoast Maine and have a large open floor plan. House is approx 2500 square feet. I have a jotul in an outbuilding and love it. I would need left hand opening for side loading stove. I have come up with the hearthstone manchester and the PE T6 and the jotul carrabesset. I do not like the looks of the jotul but like the idea of a proven winner that is low hassle and unlikely to have issues. I like the hearthstone but there is a thread on this forum discussing issues with the side loading door of the manchester. I had a T5 in a different house and loved the stove but like to cut my sticks long. The T6 looks like it can only hold 18 to 20 inch sticks. My gut is pushing me towards the hearthstone but I worry about long term quality and hassle with things breaking. There customer service also sounds like an issue and I really hate having to fight for service.
I suppose the other option is to fix the top panel of the VC stove but I also need to replace the catalyst and we have probably been guilty of overfiring the stove. The top panel is approx 550$ and I worry what other things are going on the stove. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated????
I am looking for some advice. We had a VC1945 defiant which now has a crack in the top panel. It is about 15 years old. I have a masonry chimney made of cinderblock with a plaster coating that would form the rear wall of the stove. So I think I can bring the new stove back a little tighter then some of the manuals suggest for rear wall clearance. I have a flagstone hearth that is 47 inches from rear wall to front. R value for the stone would be low and it sits on a wood floor under the stone. I am looking to get away from catalytic stoves. The width of my hearth is approx 60 inches. I am looking for as large a stove I can get. We live in midcoast Maine and have a large open floor plan. House is approx 2500 square feet. I have a jotul in an outbuilding and love it. I would need left hand opening for side loading stove. I have come up with the hearthstone manchester and the PE T6 and the jotul carrabesset. I do not like the looks of the jotul but like the idea of a proven winner that is low hassle and unlikely to have issues. I like the hearthstone but there is a thread on this forum discussing issues with the side loading door of the manchester. I had a T5 in a different house and loved the stove but like to cut my sticks long. The T6 looks like it can only hold 18 to 20 inch sticks. My gut is pushing me towards the hearthstone but I worry about long term quality and hassle with things breaking. There customer service also sounds like an issue and I really hate having to fight for service.
I suppose the other option is to fix the top panel of the VC stove but I also need to replace the catalyst and we have probably been guilty of overfiring the stove. The top panel is approx 550$ and I worry what other things are going on the stove. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated????
whenever you load a fresh charge of fuel. It's too easy with a busy family to get distracted and space out turning down the stove. And of course, by now you should have at least 3 cords of good dry wood already stacked or in the shed.
