Well the stove we have been using for 4 winters now is finally to the point it need some major work.
It is a VC Defiant Encore 2140 - cat, not sure of the year - it came with house 4 years ago.
We use the stove as 24/7 heat. Oil heat only comes on upstairs on cold days. We plan on heating with wood for the foreseeable future.
A couple days ago a second tab on the damper door broke, now the door will not close and seal. Best way to fix this is to replace the whole damper assembly - ~$125. Also, from inspection, lots of the refractory is falling apart. I think is interfering with the air flow, so efficiency is down. New Refractory is ~$325, add in gaskets, bolts, etc we are looking at ~$600 in parts to get the stove up and going again. The secondary air control probably needs replacing too. Probably some more small stuff once I get into it.
From what work I have done I know all the bolts will be stuck. I do have the stove manual, and there still seem to be replacement parts around. Over the summer I should be able to get it running like new. Or will I spend months looking for air leaks? Knowing that it will need parts again in 3-5 years, and I might not be able to find them later.
So, should I sink the money and time into the VC? We do like the stove, it makes plenty of heat. We are used to using it and think it works great. Looks good - wife would never go for a sheet metal stove.
If we replace it, we would go with something similar, probably cat again - maybe soapstone, maybe another cast iron stove.
As anyone done a full re-build on a similar stove? Does a dealer do this? How much would it cost?
Thanks.
It is a VC Defiant Encore 2140 - cat, not sure of the year - it came with house 4 years ago.
We use the stove as 24/7 heat. Oil heat only comes on upstairs on cold days. We plan on heating with wood for the foreseeable future.
A couple days ago a second tab on the damper door broke, now the door will not close and seal. Best way to fix this is to replace the whole damper assembly - ~$125. Also, from inspection, lots of the refractory is falling apart. I think is interfering with the air flow, so efficiency is down. New Refractory is ~$325, add in gaskets, bolts, etc we are looking at ~$600 in parts to get the stove up and going again. The secondary air control probably needs replacing too. Probably some more small stuff once I get into it.
From what work I have done I know all the bolts will be stuck. I do have the stove manual, and there still seem to be replacement parts around. Over the summer I should be able to get it running like new. Or will I spend months looking for air leaks? Knowing that it will need parts again in 3-5 years, and I might not be able to find them later.
So, should I sink the money and time into the VC? We do like the stove, it makes plenty of heat. We are used to using it and think it works great. Looks good - wife would never go for a sheet metal stove.
If we replace it, we would go with something similar, probably cat again - maybe soapstone, maybe another cast iron stove.
As anyone done a full re-build on a similar stove? Does a dealer do this? How much would it cost?
Thanks.