Dutchwest Small Non-Cat Model 2477 - Help Please

[BoontonBurner]

Hello all,

My name is Mike and I am a somewhat new wood burner from NJ and have been very successful heating a 1500 sq. ft. 1890's colonial home with the DW Small Model 2477, which is a Non-Cat type. I have been burning for 3 years. I burn from the beginning of November until the end of April every year. My 24 hour burns begin at the beginning of December and end the end of March. I am burning red and white oak that has been seasoned for 1 year or more.

Every year I have had issues with my stove. I will just list the issues to make them shorter. I just need some advice as far as what to do so I don't have to start spending a ton of money fixing this stove.

1. 2012-2013 First year after burning, fountain assembly released so many chips into the firebox that when I took it out, there were giant burn holes in the fountain assembly. Vermont Castings sent me a new fountain assembly and right side refractory (cracked).

2. 2013-2014 Second year after burning, VC castings sent me the following parts: Fountain Assembly, metal retainers to surround the FA, upper refractory, shoe refractory and insulation, right side refractory and insulation, Upper Inner Top, right side of stove (cast iron), all new gasket and glue to hold it in place. I would guess about $1500 worth of new parts, which is more than I paid for the stove. When I spoke with John Davidson (head tech/engineer) from VC, he walked me through each step of the rebuild. I sent him videos and he assured me my rebuild was good and that the stove would probably work better than it coming straigt out of the factory.

3. 2014-2015 Third year after burning I cleaned the stove out in May and noticed that the shoe refractory was cracked in half (brand new) and the right side refractory was cracked (brand new). I admit that the right side refractory is probably me trying to fit too long of logs into the stove. I took the top of the stove off to vacuum the inner top and noticed a 3 inch long crack starting from the back middle and going toward the front of the stove.

VC has now told me that my parts are no longer under warranty and will only send these parts to me one last time but in the future I will have to pay for them.

The stove back-puffs all of the time. Sometimes the everburn goes out of control and I have to turn the air control all the way down and just wait out the rapid rise in temperature. I usually stack the stove with 3 or 4 normal pieces at a time. I don't always completely clean the stove during the 24 hour burn months. I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. Please ask any questions you would like and I will do my best to answer them. I am looking for a good solution to these problems.

 

[begreen]

Greetings. Sorry to hear about your troubles with the DW non-cat. This stove is a known problem. The best thing you can do to stop spending money on repairs for this stove is to sell it. Put in the new parts and then if you can afford it hold off on selling until October. It should sell quickly then. Get a decent stove and start enjoying wood heating. There are lots to choose from.

 

[webby3650]

I agree. We have rebuilt several and refunded a credit to others toward a new stove. It's a bad deal for sure..
The ones I've worked on all had the same issues you have, including cracked inner tops.

 

[kennyp2339]

Hey BoontonBurner, its Kenny P from north jersey - you may want to take a ride over to fire comfort in Goshen NY, they have a huge show room with many brands of stoves, (all high end) also if you are on a limited budget, look at the Englander stove models - imo best bang for the $$$, and you can pick one up at home depot in Riverdale. I personally think the VC will get worse before it gets better, buts that's just my 2 cents.

Edit - also forgot the energy barn in Newfoundland (west milford) RT23 S. they have a few different brands, I think they are a VC dealer to.

 

[Grisu]

There are some good stoves available that are in the $1000 price range or even less (e. g. Englander 13NC or Madison, Pacific Energy True North, Drolet 1800 Escape, Heatilator Eco-choice WS18 etc). When you can tell us more about your heating needs and other requirements we can help you in determining the best stove(s) for your situation.

As an aside, oak is a very dense hardwood and dries very slowly. Your new stove will benefit when you can give it at least 2 years of drying time.

 

[firefighterjake]

. . . I am looking for a good solution to these problems.

1. Repair stove with the free part they are sending you.
2. Sell stove and get another make/model.
3. When, after six or seven years of doing no repairs to your new stove, wonder why you didn't do Steps 1 and 2 earlier.

Sorry to hear about your troubles . . . but honestly . . . knowing what I know after being here for several years . . . I would take this last free part, repair the stove, sell and consider another more reliable make/model.

 

[BoontonBurner]

Thank you all for responding so quickly.

Would you be able to give me some advice as far as size of stove and brand names? I am interested in the Englander and. Or looking to spend a ton at this point. But size of stove would be extremely helpful. Here is some info on my home.

I am trying to heat a 1450 sq.foot house. 90% of the house has R13 insulation in the walls while 10% is an old product called CEFI (foam insulation) that has shrunk and dusts. Nasty Stuff. The attic has blown fiberglass insulation with a wooden floor and I am in the process of installing R30 in the basement ceilings and filling in all cracks with Great Stuff. The stove is in my living room about 15 feet from the stair case which leads to our bedrooms. It's an 1890s colonial. Downstairs is now an open floor plan of approximately 725 sq. ft.

you have all been so helpful so far and I am extremely grateful.

Mike

 

[Grisu]

I would maybe go a bit bigger than the Dutchwest although when it was able to heat your home so far you may not need to go really large. Englander Madison with a 2.4 cu ft firebox would be around the ideal size and with ~$900 pretty affordable. It is a new model but Englander makes solid stoves that heat well and last a long time. Really very different from your Dutchwest. Heatilator Eco-choice WS22 would be another affordable mid-size stove.

If you want to get something better (looking) there are plenty of stoves in that size range: Jotul F500 or F45, Regency 2400, Osburn 2000 or Matrix, Enviro 1700 series, Quadrafire Explorer 2 to name just a few. Or consider a BlazeKing 30 (Sirocco, Chinook, Ashford) or Princess. Those are catalytic which means you can regulate the heat output better giving you longer burn times especially when it is not that cold outside. Plus a cleaner, more efficient burn. The Woodstock Ideal Steel works similar. It sounds a bit like overkill with a firebox of 3.2 cu ft. but you could almost run it like a furnace: Fill it once a day and let it go for close to 24 h. It will cost quite a bit less than the BlazeKing stoves.