Anyone own a Vermont Castings Merrimack?

[cpgrim]

Hi,

We're looking online at the Vermont Castings Merrimack. It seems to meet our requirements of having a ledge to steam water and cook on, and a large window. We have a large fireplace opening (33" high; 51" wide), and we feel a small window will look bad. Whatever we choose, we're planning on having a custom surround made to fit the arch.

I've heard/read that Vermont Castings was purchased by the parent company that owns Quadra Fire, so I'm wondering if the issues VC has had in the past have been resolved.

That said, has anyone had experience with the VC Merrimack?

Thanks!

Caryn

 

[dbnewlon]

Hi,

We're looking online at the Vermont Castings Merrimack. It seems to meet our requirements of having a ledge to steam water and cook on, and a large window. We have a large fireplace opening (33" high; 51" wide), and we feel a small window will look bad. Whatever we choose, we're planning on having a custom surround made to fit the arch.

I've heard/read that Vermont Castings was purchased by the parent company that owns Quadra Fire, so I'm wondering if the issues VC has had in the past have been resolved.

That said, has anyone had experience with the VC Merrimack?

Thanks!

Caryn

Caryn,
I have owned the Vermont Castings Merrimack for going on 4 heating seasons and while it is an excellent fireplace insert and I really like it for my home...your requirement of a ledge to steam water and cook on is what I doubt? That won't be happening with the Merrimack, unless they have made huge changes to it in the pas couple of seasons. That ledge is not exposed to the heating chamber (not directly anyways). That top ledge is actually removable by the user and the mechanics for opening and closing the vent is inside that space, so that ledge only gets slightly warmer than what you can rest your bare hand on when the fire has been running full out for several hours. I don't think you could warm water up there. The only way we have ever considered cooking with the stove is to open the doors and put fireplace pies into the burning chamber. Sorry. That said, this fireplace insert puts out serious heat, rated at 55,000 BTU, we have saved considerably on our heating bill for the last three seasons. It's a star performer at pumping out heat once it gets going, but it takes a couple of hours to get it seriously going, because it has serious metal bulk. It is very heavy, and to warm up that much mass takes a good 1-2 hours. The fan doesn't kick on for about 45 minutes after starting the fire.

-Dan

 

[cpgrim]

Caryn,
I have owned the Vermont Castings Merrimack for going on 4 heating seasons and while it is an excellent fireplace insert and I really like it for my home...your requirement of a ledge to steam water and cook on is what I doubt? That won't be happening with the Merrimack, unless they have made huge changes to it in the pas couple of seasons. That ledge is not exposed to the heating chamber (not directly anyways). That top ledge is actually removable by the user and the mechanics for opening and closing the vent is inside that space, so that ledge only gets slightly warmer than what you can rest your bare hand on when the fire has been running full out for several hours. I don't think you could warm water up there. The only way we have ever considered cooking with the stove is to open the doors and put fireplace pies into the burning chamber. Sorry. That said, this fireplace insert puts out serious heat, rated at 55,000 BTU, we have saved considerably on our heating bill for the last three seasons. It's a star performer at pumping out heat once it gets going, but it takes a couple of hours to get it seriously going, because it has serious metal bulk. It is very heavy, and to warm up that much mass takes a good 1-2 hours. The fan doesn't kick on for about 45 minutes after starting the fire.

-Dan

Thank you, Dan! That is very helpful. I'm not sure I'm ready to sacrifice the cooktop requirement. Back to the drawing board!

 

[dbnewlon]

Glad I could help, good luck with your search - hope you find what you are looking for.