Cooking with Vermont Castings

[RustyMcD]

Hello all, new to the forum. Researching a few different brands, so far I'm enough of a newbie to have no brand loyalty. Yet. Looking to get our first ever wood stove. I saw an interesting video regarding the V.C. Dauntless that showed a grill insert that can be dropped into the top opening. Never thought about cooking on the heating stove, but that seemed really cool. Like cooking over a campfire, essentially. The issue is that the Dauntless model is a bit undersized for the big open floor plan great room it would be serving. Does anyone know if the drop-in grill insert is an option available on the larger Defiant model as well? The Vermont Castings website doesn't give as much info as I would hope.

 

[gthomas785]

Welcome! I don't know the answer to your question but I'd caution you against making your stove choice based on this feature. Cooking on these stoves is certainly doable, but I'd say it's really not that much fun and you'll probably do it a handful of times at most.

The main problems I have with cooking (I have the Encore 2040) is that the stovetop is too low, the stove performance suffers when cooking (you have to have the bypass open), and your shins will get roasted from standing in front of the glass window. That said, you certainly can cook on it in a pinch, like when the power is out, and I do. I don't use the drop in roasting pan but just put pans on top of the griddle.

I personally am a big fan of VC stoves for heating. Admittedly, there was a while when they did have some manufacturing / QC issues which seem to be resolved now, but I think there are some lingering trust issues with some users on this forum so you may hear differing opinions from them. Like most cat stoves they will be a little higher maintenance than a tube stove, needing catalyst replaced every few years if you use it a lot.

 

[bholler]

Welcome! I don't know the answer to your question but I'd caution you against making your stove choice based on this feature. Cooking on these stoves is certainly doable, but I'd say it's really not that much fun and you'll probably do it a handful of times at most.

The main problems I have with cooking (I have the Encore 2040) is that the stovetop is too low, the stove performance suffers when cooking (you have to have the bypass open), and your shins will get roasted from standing in front of the glass window. That said, you certainly can cook on it in a pinch, like when the power is out, and I do. I don't use the drop in roasting pan but just put pans on top of the griddle.

I personally am a big fan of VC stoves for heating. Admittedly, there was a while when they did have some manufacturing / QC issues which seem to be resolved now, but I think there are some lingering trust issues with some users on this forum so you may hear differing opinions from them. Like most cat stoves they will be a little higher maintenance than a tube stove, needing catalyst replaced every few years if you use it a lot.

I agree with everything you said but it was never a problem of manufacturing or quality it was design and customer service. Things are getting better but they still insist on the down draft design.

 

[gthomas785]

I agree with everything you said but it was never a problem of manufacturing or quality it was design and customer service. Things are getting better but they still insist on the down draft design.

Well yeah there were also some design issues especially on the older models. For the record I am very happy with my 2040, downdraft and all

 

[bholler]

Well yeah there were also some design issues especially on the older models. For the record I am very happy with my 2040, downdraft and all

Yeah some people are happy with them but overall it is a much more problematic design in many ways. Every company that has tried it has had durability issues. Their current system is has been the most durable we have seen but they havnt been out all that long yet.