Defiant Fireback Question

[WildTroutPA]

Hi all,

First time posting here. I bought a home that came with a 1975 VC Defiant stove. I have not used it, and would like to occasionally burn wood this winter. I am in the middle of inspecting/cleaning it, and I have some concerns on the fireback. Based on my research, it looks like I have a 2 piece, and it is cracked/warped. I believe it has been used in this condition for the last few years. Photos attached. (I am going to deep clean it)

My quesiton is: Is it dangerous to operate the stove with the fireback cracked? This will not be my main heat source, but a backup for supplemental heat during the coldest days in PA. Is it worth trying to repair/patch with cement?

Thanks for any input. Cheers.

 

[peakbagger]

IMHO it is not dangerous just really inefficient. It basically a ben frankin stove.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

so you have a crack in the fireback.. so the secondary burn will not happen in this stove. Looking at your anirons.. or the lack of.. this stove may have been run hard.. My guess.. others may chime in.. you should rebuild this stove. I wouldn't operate it the way it is. You will need to thoroughly check this stove for.. anything warped like damper.. cracked.. and leaking gaskets like around doors and stuff

This stove may have been overfiring because the gaskets are bad and theres no control of the air being fed inside..

 

[WildTroutPA]

so you have a crack in the fireback.. so the secondary burn will not happen in this stove. Looking at your anirons.. or the lack of.. this stove may have been run hard.. My guess.. others may chime in.. you should rebuild this stove. I wouldn't operate it the way it is. You will need to thoroughly check this stove for.. anything warped like damper.. cracked.. and leaking gaskets like around doors and stuff

This stove may have been overfiring because the gaskets are bad and theres no control of the air being fed inside..

Thanks for the feedback. I also believe it was run hard based on the conditions you noted. Replacement parts don't look cheap for all that may be needed. It may come down to replacing the stove altogether, though I hoped not.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Thanks for the feedback. I also believe it was run hard based on the conditions you noted. Replacement parts don't look cheap for all that may be needed. It may come down to replacing the stove altogether, though I hoped not.

This stove is old and outdated.. parts will probably be difficult.. and slow..

My personal opinion is to ditch it and get a more modern stove. the Lopi price point is good

 

[WildTroutPA]

This stove is old and outdated.. parts will probably be difficult.. and slow..

My personal opinion is to ditch it and get a more modern stove. the Lopi price point is good

Thanks for taking the time to lend the advice and suggestions. It is nice how generous folks are on here with information.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Thanks for taking the time to lend the advice and suggestions. It is nice how generous folks are on here with information.

You should hang out in the vc threads.. Learn to get your wood situated.. storage.. stuff like that.. If you get the right stove youll find yourself burning more often as its not the chore you may think it is

 

[begreen]

@WildTroutPA just to verify, this is an original Defiant and not the model 1975 Defiant, correct?

If the stove is burned in this condition it is possible that high heat will get deflected in unintended locations inside the stove. Burning in this condition may lead to further component damage. I would not burn it in this condition. Whether it's worth fixing will depend on the shape of the rest of the stove. Is the bypass mechanism still working ok?

 

[peakbagger]

The OP asked if it was safe and I replied. On the other hand I agree that it is not a good candidate for a rebuild My guess is the bypass damper is probably warped and other parts are probably damaged or missing. That said if someone has marginal wood it will probably burn it fine but lots of heat will end up going up the chimney.

 

[WildTroutPA]

@WildTroutPA just to verify, this is an original Defiant and not the model 1975 Defiant, correct?

If the stove is burned in this condition it is possible that high heat will get deflected in unintended locations inside the stove. Burning in this condition may lead to further component damage. I would not burn it in this condition. Whether it's worth fixing will depend on the shape of the rest of the stove. Is the bypass mechanism still working ok?

In regards to the model, I have been trying to figure that out. I am new to VC (and this stove in general) - noticeable differences to me are: The stove pipe comes out of the top and not the back. There is what appears to be a heat shield on the bottom held on with 1" spacers. These features are different than what is shown in the old manuals I've found.

I looked over the damper last night. I was surprised to find a seemingly uniform seal across the the length of it. I opened and closed it, it works smooth. I feel no draft when it is closed, and visually it seems fine.

I am ok sacrificing some heat to the chimney, I am sort of assuming that. I did reach out to the previous homeowner about these concerns and his reply was "I never had any issues with it" - for whatever that is worth.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like the original Defiant. Can you post a picture of the stove? Are there ceramic glass windows on the stove doors or all metal doors?

 

[WildTroutPA]

It sounds like the original Defiant. Can you post a picture of the stove? Are there ceramic glass windows on the stove doors or all metal doors?

Absolutely, attached are photos. Sorry for the christmas one - best one I have off hand (notice what is ironically on the TV above? lol) All solid metal doors.

 

[begreen]

OK, that is not a model 1975 Defiant. 1975 is the date of the casting mold, not necessarily the age of the stove. It's the original pre-EPA Defiant and it's due for a rebuild if the other parts are not toast at this point. Moving this post to the classics VC forum.

 

[WildTroutPA]

OK, that is not a model 1975 Defiant. 1975 is the date of the casting mold, not necessarily the age of the stove. It's the original pre-EPA Defiant and it's due for a rebuild if the other parts are not toast at this point. Moving this post to the classics VC forum.

Understood, that is great information. And thanks for directing this to the correct forum space. Being that it is original, would there be any significant value attached to the stove? If I were to sell it to offset the cost of a new one. Curious, as I'm not sure which years were considered "original".

 

[begreen]

The Defiant 1 and 1A were made from 1975 to 1980. The owners of the stove here can provide more details. It looks like it may be the original 1 with a single piece fireback but there are better experts here on this model like @defiant3 .

Here's some more history:

https://d3munzpmppxgon.cloudfront.net/1003/resources/History%20of%20VC%20Defiant.pdf

 

[peakbagger]

I have the same stove, an original Defiant, in my basement that I bought used 20 years ago. It was a single piece fireback that was warped and at some cost, I bought the kit and converted it to the two piece fireback which also meant changing out the left side casting and the door. They sold a lot of them early on and they are not that rare. Sure there may be someone pining for an old Defiant but parts and labor to convert it to the two piece configuration is IMHO not worth it. IMO, some one with a poorly insulated hunting camp would love to have it as is.

BTW Mine has a heat shield out back but no signs of one underneath.

 

[WildTroutPA]

I have the same stove, an original Defiant, in my basement that I bought used 20 years ago. It was a single piece fireback that was warped and at some cost, I bought the kit and converted it to the two piece fireback which also meant changing out the left side casting and the door. They sold a lot of them early on and they are not that rare. Sure there may be someone pining for an old Defiant but parts and labor to convert it to the two piece configuration is IMHO not worth it. IMO, some one with a poorly insulated hunting camp would love to have it as is.

BTW Mine has a heat shield out back but no signs of one underneath.

Understood. Cool youve got the same stove going. Mine has the back heat shield as well - but I havent seen one with the bottom shield like on mine. I may change the gaskets. They seem to be thin - I've read 5/16? The front and side doors look to be the same size gasket. Another picture attached showing that. Any idea on gasket size for this model?

 

[WildTroutPA]

Thanks again for the all the help above. I am going to replace the gaskets on the stove doors. Does anyone know if these are 5/16"? This seems to be right, but have not been able to confirm.

I cleaned the inside and outside of the stove yesterday, brought some life back into it for sure. Thanks!

 

[Eman85]

Midwest hearth will most likely carry a gasket kit for that stove also Mountain View Hearth will carry parts. https://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/vermont-castings-wood-parts/
Before getting too deep what shape is the chimney?

 

[WildTroutPA]

Midwest hearth will most likely carry a gasket kit for that stove also Mountain View Hearth will carry parts. https://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/vermont-castings-wood-parts/
Before getting too deep what shape is the chimney?

Thanks very much for the link. The shape of the chimney, or the condition of the chimney? I am having it professionally inspected/cleaned this coming Friday. I hope to learn more then to determine if it is fit to burn.

 

[fbelec]

if you have a two piece fire back then you don't have to get the left side. that's great. if your chimney is good to go then if you occasionally burn it then rebuild is a cheap way out if you wind up selling it it will be worth next to nothing if the fire back is warped and or broken. but if it is all fixed you could get 400 or 500 dollars in september when burn season is starting.