Defiant Vermont Casting??

[cboehm]

I've always had a non-cat wood stove, now in the market for new stove, I see mostly cat stoves, so am deciding on the Defiant, looking at videos on starting fire, there is way more involved, plus many moving parts to go out. Is this a good choice?
Have 1800 sq. floor new build.
I saw the replacement cat is $500.00
Just not sure if I should go in this direction.
My other option is Pacific Energy - Summit Classic model, its non- cat
Way easier to start a fire.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

If it’s a new build, what is the heat loss calc for the building?

 

[AsylumResident]

I am one full year in of burning with the VC Defiant. To address the catalyst price, you can get a metal cat for about $180.00 at Midwest Hearth Store (also on amazon) or you can get the ceramic version for about $140.00. I am sure someone would sell you one for $500.00 though. I can send you the link if you'd like.

The catalyst is great feature because it will allow you to burn lower and slower for longer burn times without a horrible build up of creosote and is typically much more efficient than non-cat stoves. I put almost 3 cord of wood through it this year (mostly ash and locust) with a lot of low and slow burns. When I cleaned by flue, not much build up to speak of.

I would say it isn't difficult to start a fire, I'm sure it's pretty much the same for any cat stove.

The best thing about the VC Defiant (in my opinion) is the look. Great looking stove. I have been on here and had countless conversations with others who own other VC's as well as some who own the Defiant. The VC stoves have a bit of a different design in that they are down draft stoves. The design forces the draft of the stove to go down through the catalyst before it goes up and out of the flue instead of up through the catalyst. Does this have any major changes in how a stove operates and behaves? I couldn't answer that. Just giving you the detail.

It took me most of the year to really learn how my stove likes to operate and behave based on the different inputs I give it. It is definitely not a stove you get going and walk away from. There is a learning curve, every stove has one of course, but based on the many conversations I have had, this stove seems to have more of a learning curve than others. Once you have the fire going, the only control you have is the primary air; some of the other (older) VC's have a primary air control as well as a secondary air control. The newer Defiants have secondary air intake, but that is controlled 'automatically' by a bimetal coil. I wish the newer Defiants had a manual secondary air control. I have had a few times where my stove wanted to take off and the primary air control didn't give me enough control to slow that take off. I monitor the temperatures of my stove top, cat, and internal flue gasses with thermocouples. Not a requirement, I just like to know what's going on.

This stove really throws off some heat. When I have it dialed in, it's great. I have it in my basement. The basement is about 1,000 square feet of open area (concrete floor mostly finished walls) and my first floor is about 1,650 square feet. Once I have the stove going it takes about two days for the entire house to be up to 70 degrees without my boiler going. Once I have the house up to temp, it doesn't take much to keep it there. When it drops into single digits outside, the first floor starts to cool down.

Overall some people will tell you to never touch a newer Vermont Castings stove. I have seen some guys bash them and do everything they can to turn people away from them. On the flip side, there are guys who love the one they have and wouldn't trade it for anything. I can tell you that if I was to do it all over again, I would not buy the VC Defiant. Every stove has it's pros and cons, but it seems to me that operationally the cons outweigh the pros. I could go into vast details on that (mostly speculation as to the causes) but I don't think that's really necessary. There are thousands of messages in the VC forums on here that dig into more detail than you can imagine. I believe the only caveat to my saying I wouldn't go this route again is if I was retired and sat home all day with the stove. My stove operates more like a hobby, needing a decent amount of attention. Again, not really the best version of a set it and forget it.

This is my opinion based off my experience over the last year. Some may agree with me and others may disagree. I can only speak to my experience and the many conversations I have had with fellow VC owners on this website.

 

[begreen]

If it’s a new build, what is the heat loss calc for the building?

^^This^^. My main concern with either the Defiant or Summit in a new build would be overheating unless this is conventional 2x4 construction with modest insulation. And even then the floor plan and stove location will determine sizing.

Note that the Defiant and Summit are very different types of heaters. One is highly radiant and castiron and the other is a convective steel stove.

PS: There are now 3 threads on this same topic. Closing this one to reduce redundant responses.