Long time VC Defiant owner looking for advice on new stove

[emory]

So after a very long run, my Vermont Castings Defiant II has finally been put out to pasture. I knew this stove inside and out, having rebuilt it back when it was new to me and have kept it pristine for all these years. It was a workhorse and kept our small ranch toasty even on the coldest of New England winters.

I'm now in the market for a new stove and have read what feels like hundreds of pages of reviews and comments on the various stoves I've been looking at. I was hoping to get some words of encouragement from folks about a couple of these stoves in the hopes of being able to go into this purchase knowing that I've made the best decision given the information available.

So please forgive me for generating yet another, help me pick a stove thread.

Location: New Hampshire
Stove Location: Basement, so don't care really about looks.
House size: About 1,500 square feet including basement where stove is located
Year Built: 1990

Stoves I'm considering:
Pacific Energy - Summit
Blaze King - Princess or King
Englander - 30-NC

Things I didn't like about the VC Defiant: Never woke up with more than a couple coals to get going with in the morning. Constantly having to go up and down the stairs, all morning and in the evening when I got home from work to get it going back up to temperature again. Accidentally opening the front door while in side draft mode. Gaskets, gaskets and more gaskets of all shapes and sizes.

Things I'd like in a new stove: Longer burn times, ease of used, ability to keep house toasty in the coldest of winters.

I'm currently seriously considering either the Pacific Energy Summit or one of the Blaze Kings. The sales folks tell me I'm going to love the long burn times, save a bunch of wood, have an out of body experience, etc, etc.

I also can't ignore the Englander, given it's insanely low price point. However, price is not a major factor in my decision.

Thanks in advance.

 

[brushcll]

I just got 30NCH at Home Depot $719 on line delivered to store. Usually $999. Had it 3 weeks the smell is gone and I love it. Did some modifications to it to make me happy. Will let you know if you decide on the 30. Heats 2400 sq ft two floors no problems. Took me a You Tube video and some experimenting to get me comfortable with it. Can get a 6 hour burn using well seasoned hickory and oak. I burnt a big Huntsman for 30 years, did the job but used a lot of wood.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[firefighterjake]

I think all three choices are pretty good picks . . . but I would be remiss if I didn't suggest taking a gander at the Woodstock line up of stoves -- both cats and their hybrid line -- as you specifically mentioned long burn times. While many stoves can do long burn times, the Blaze Kings and Woodstocks with their cats get high marks from their owners for their extended burn times . . . plus Woodstock is in your state . . . granted it's on the opposite side of the state, but taking a drive over may be worth your time.

 

[emory]

plus Woodstock is in your state . . . granted it's on the opposite side of the state, but taking a drive over may be worth your time.

Their stoves are pretty amazing I'd almost feel bad about putting it in the basement without anyone to admire it down there!

 

[webby3650]

Going from a VC to a BK you are very likely to have an out of body experience!

 

[Diabel]

Going from a VC to a BK you are very likely to have an out of body experience!

As long as you keep your eyes closed

Sorry webby, you walked into this one! All in good spirit.

 

[webby3650]

As long as you keep your eyes closed

Sorry webby, you walked into this one! All in good spirit.

Guess I don't get it..

 

[Diabel]

Guess I don't get it..

Plain and simple, they seem to have the reputation of the best cat stove available in North America.
But they are by far the least pleasant to look at.

 

[emory]

OK, pulled the trigger on the PE Summit.

 

[webby3650]

Plain and simple, they seem to have the reputation of the best cat stove available in North America.
But they are by far the least pleasant to look at.

Ahh, ok. Well at least with the PE Summit he will get planty of time to look at it. You know, with constant reloading! You walked into that one!

 

[emory]

Ahh, ok. Well at least with the PE Summit he will get planty of time to look at it. You know, with constant reloading! You walked into that one!

From what I could gather from the BK threads, if I was to actually run a BK in cold weather, 15-25F, to keep the house comfortable, it would still require frequent reloading. The only time folks seemed to get really long burn times was at outside temperatures near or above freezing with the stove on the lowest setting 1.5 or L?

 

[begreen]

All good choices. Each have their strengths. I would add the Drolet HT2000 to the pool.

 

[webby3650]

From what I could gather from the BK threads, if I was to actually run a BK in cold weather, 15-25F, to keep the house comfortable, it would still require frequent reloading. The only time folks seemed to get really long burn times was at outside temperatures near or above freezing with the stove on the lowest setting 1.5 or L?

Not entirely accurate, since every house is different.
Even in the nastier part of winter I get 12-14 hours with not just a few coals left over like other stoves, but huge chunks, some still resemble wood. Then when temps come up over freezing and beyond I go right into 24-40 hour burns. I've had big non-cats, they can't begin to keep up with my BK's.

 

[RH52]

I am in the same boat. I need to replace my VC Defiant. Ended up having a problem with it being a complete creosote hog etc, etc.

Right now I am down to a Jotul F600 and a Napoleon Banff 1400C.

Pros and cons to those choices???

 

[begreen]

I am in the same boat. I need to replace my VC Defiant. Ended up having a problem with it being a complete creosote hog etc, etc.

Right now I am down to a Jotul F600 and a Napoleon Banff 1400C.

Pros and cons to those choices???

They are two very different design stoves and two different sizes. The F600 is a 3 cu ft true cast iron stove. It's highly radiant and preferably a right side loader. The 1400C is a 2 cu ft cast iron jacketed steel stove. It is more convective in design.

If the Defiant was right sized for the house then I would stick with ~3 cu ft stoves. In addition to the F600 he Hearthstone Manchester is another cast iron model to look at. In cast clad there are many now on the market like the Quadrafire Explorer III, the PE Alderlea T6, the Jotul F55, and in catalytic the Blaze King Ashford 30.

 

[RH52]

They are two very different design stoves and two different sizes. The F600 is a 3 cu ft true cast iron stove. It's highly radiant and preferably a right side loader. The 1400C is a 2 cu ft cast iron jacketed steel stove. It is more convective in design.

If the Defiant was right sized for the house then I would stick with ~3 cu ft stoves. In addition to the F600 he Hearthstone Manchester is another cast iron model to look at. In cast clad there are many now on the market like the Quadrafire Explorer III, the PE Alderlea T6, the Jotul F55, and in catalytic the Blaze King Ashford 30.

stopped by the dealer with the wife. she leaned towards the Quad Explorer III. Thats what we are going to go with. Nice unit and the top load feature was the tie breaker. I have heard that is one feature from the old VC that would be missed if we didnt get it with the new stove.

 

[heavy hammer]

I would look at the kuma if possible. The sequoia is a great stove, I have been only heating with it for three to four months but it is a great stove. The heat and natural convection it has is unbelievable. I'm using it to heat from my basement and the amount of heat it pumps out is amazing. I can heat about 4000 sq feet by itself. I have been using the summit upstairs just to help out because it has been real cold and we like a very warm house. Right now it is 20 out and sunny the only stove going is the kuma and the house is 79 the far bedrooms are 72. My stove salesman told me the same thing about the blaze King maybe not having enough to heat on the real cold days. that is why he recommended the kuma, from King owners here that doesn't seem to be the case and ever situation is different. I not telling anyone to not buy a blaze King they have a great rep and very many happy owners. I'm just stating to look at Kuma, I'm a very happy owner. Remember I was going to buy a blaze King I wanted one and I'm still very interested to see one in action. Happy shopping!

 

[RH52]

I would look at the kuma if possible. The sequoia is a great stove, I have been only heating with it for three to four months but it is a great stove. The heat and natural convection it has is unbelievable. I'm using it to heat from my basement and the amount of heat it pumps out is amazing. I can heat about 4000 sq feet by itself. I have been using the summit upstairs just to help out because it has been real cold and we like a very warm house. Right now it is 20 out and sunny the only stove going is the kuma and the house is 79 the far bedrooms are 72. My stove salesman told me the same thing about the blaze King maybe not having enough to heat on the real cold days. that is why he recommended the kuma, from King owners here that doesn't seem to be the case and ever situation is different. I not telling anyone to not buy a blaze King they have a great rep and very many happy owners. I'm just stating to look at Kuma, I'm a very happy owner. Remember I was going to buy a blaze King I wanted one and I'm still very interested to see one in action. Happy shopping!

i don't have a Kuma dealer close by. they do look nice. the jotul and quadrafire brands are most represented near me. wife likes the quad the most. thanks for the info

 

[emory]

So just about a week into the new stove, PE Summit. Took a couple days of small fires to get rid of the paint smell but then finally got the stove running full time on Friday. Luckily I learned a lot during during the small test fires.

The stove had no problem keeping the house 70 degrees at -10 to 0 outside on Friday and Saturday. Damping it down in the evening and before work has resulted in more than enough coals in the morning to get things going again. On top of that when have woken up at like 3-4am we've noticed the house is still warm due to what so far appears to be a much longer burn time.

The stove took some getting use to as it runs a lot different then the VC Defiant. That said the learning curve is quite small.

Things I really like is having the glass so that I can quickly see how efficiently the fire is going without having to open a door and peak in. North/South loading is also nice. It burns from the front middle and that's where you need to start your fire from in the morning or when starting a new fire. You definitely need a hoe to mange the coals/ash and to pull logs forward after they've burnt for a while. Again burns mostly front middle. The burn is way more consistent as opposed to the Defiant which definitely would spike and then drop until you fed it more wood.

I got mine on a pedestal with the Ash pan, however I would say the ash pan is fairly useless given the design.

 

[moresnow]

Good to hear its working out.

 

[emory]

One other major difference I forgot to mention. It would appear that we are using way less wood already. Normally when it has gotten down to the negative digits it felt like we were constantly bringing in more wood to keep temperatures up. We will have to see over the course of the entire winter, but as of right now usage appears to be way down.

The other anecdotal example I have so far is that I just don't feel like I'm brining in more than an armful of wood once a day and sometimes that seems to last 24+ hours.

 

[moresnow]

The other anecdotal example I have so far is that I just don't feel like I'm brining in more than an armful of wood once a day and sometimes that seems to last 24+ hours.

Stove is running exceptionally well from the sounds of it. Or you have a giant set of arms!