looking for a VC Intrepid NON Cat.

[moondoggy]

first off- I have learned more from reading this site in 2 weeks, then I ever could have talking to the know-it -alls at the stores i've been to. you people kickass. thank you.

too bad for me, after all my learn'n, i found the stove I planned on would not do the job for me.
I researched more the perfect stove for me is the
INTREPID NON CAT. model 1640(dont want the issues with the cat.)

as with most of my choices in life this stove is NOT available anymore .... discontinued : (.
dont want the Acclaim...1600sq ft

anyone know of a dealer with a CAST IRON no finish, no cat. Intrepid?

 

[seaken]

first off- I have learned more from reading this site in 2 weeks, then I ever could have talking to the know-it -alls at the stores i've been to. you people kickass. thank you.

too bad for me, after all my learn'n, i found the stove I planned on would not do the job for me.
I researched more the perfect stove for me is the
INTREPID NON CAT. model 1640(dont want the issues with the cat.)

as with most of my choices in life this stove is NOT available anymore .... discontinued : (.
dont want the Acclaim...1600sq ft

anyone know of a dealer with a CAST IRON no finish, no cat. Intrepid?

Yeah, that may be hard to come up with. It's been discontinued for quite awhile. In VC brand you could opt for the Aspen.

Have you looked at Morso? They have some nice small stoves, like the 1400 series, or the 3100 series, even the 3400 series. All non-cat quality cast iron.

 

[elkimmeg]

The non cat intrepid was discontinued last year. It could not pass re certification expected. It was a poor seller and woefully under preformed it sibling cat version. If you are hell bent of finding a non cat intrepid, you will have to find it used of leftover old inventory. Reality is, the smaller Aspen out preforms it
So if you want less heat using much more wood go for the non cat, but if you want a good productive 6 hour burn in one of the best small fire box stoves with thematically controlled secondary combustion air, then seek the cat Intrepid. Cat replacement cost less than $79 factored every 7 years. I find it a small price to pay for cleaner longer burning using less wood.
The can non intrepid will require reloading every 3/4 hours to maintain productive heat. VC admitted to Goose and I, they were dogs as was the seville and madison models. Never preformed well or up to expectation. I have a cat intrepid here and I am speaking from years of experience with it. I know what it can do. I think who ever is feeding you the information is not very well informed. There is a reason the Cat Intrepid was recently re-certified for the next 5 years. Vc has nothing in the firebox range that competes

 

[seaken]

Well, I agree with elk about the value of the catalytic model. But if you are determined to avoid catalytics the Morso's are a great choice.

 

[kwburn]

ditto on the cat intrepid. if you have half a brain and can do the following you won't have any issues with it and be very satisfied:
burn dry seasoned wood
don't burn garbage
can read a thermometer
(i think all three of these apply to any stove)

believe me if there is something to complain about my wife will find a way, but she just said again last night as we sat by the fire how much she loves our Intrepid II. we'll be putting a used cat Defiant Encore into service in our other fireplace in the next couple weeks which is very similar and will be heating a larger area of the house. we like the overall design and operation of these stoves.

 

[moondoggy]

thanks guys.
-liked the VC intrpid for its size, and 1000sq ft. my entire home is 984 sq ft including bathroom. the main room it goes in is 224 sq w/ 12ft cathedral. will the
ASPEN cut it??
- the cat version w/1600sq ft would be too hot big/hot correct?
- i wanted cat-less because i didnt want to have to change the cat so often, i read of people having to do it w/in the first 2 yrs. do they really last 7yrs?
-ELK -- "Reality is, the smaller Aspen out preforms it " seriously? that is what i was originally thinking of buying... but is covers 600sq ft.
I didnt know the Intrepid NC was such an underperformer... my other choice was the jotul 100. but with no ash pan
I will have to drive to chk out the Morso, but they seem a bit tooo high. i want to slide a tad bit into the fireplace...26.5"high max.

 

[seaken]

thanks guys.
-liked the VC intrpid for its size, and 1000sq ft. my entire home is 984 sq ft including bathroom. the main room it goes in is 224 sq w/ 12ft cathedral. will the
ASPEN cut it??
- the cat version w/1600sq ft would be too hot big/hot correct?
- i wanted cat-less because i didnt want to have to change the cat so often, i read of people having to do it w/in the first 2 yrs. do they really last 7yrs?
-ELK -- "Reality is, the smaller Aspen out preforms it " seriously? that is what i was originally thinking of buying... but is covers 600sq ft.
I didnt know the Intrepid NC was such an underperformer... my other choice was the jotul 100. but with no ash pan
I will have to drive to chk out the Morso, but they seem a bit tooo high. i want to slide a tad bit into the fireplace...26.5"high max.

If the fireplace is exposed to the outside on any side (excluding the stack above the roof) you will want more BTU's. I would definitely look at the Intrepid NC or the Morso 7110 (rear vent is shorter than some of the other models). The catalytic does give you a boost in the BTU output on that small model. I would average cat replacements at about 4 or 5 years. I have some folks who replace it almost yearly, others who go over 8 years. For most, the extra efficiency and control is worth replacing the cat every few years. But some folks disagree and find the non-cat baffle type (as with the Morso and Jotul) to be more to their liking.

 

[moondoggy]

fireplace on all 4 sides in inside the home. you can walk aound it, the back of the brick is my back computer room.
maybe the jotul 100 is the way to go. but no ashpan seems weird.
crud. back to shopping.

 

[elkimmeg]

Let the other cat owners sell you the stove any stove can be run with less than a full load when only a little heat is needed but when it is really cold you will be thanking all of us you bought the cat Intrepid.. here are some other feathers to consider smokeless top loading no flying embers or logs rolling out. also the ability to really pack that fire box. Y this ash pan is small and will need to be emptied every other day in use. If you like to enjoy watching an open fire place there is the optional fire screen where you turn you stove into a fire place I even use the bread warming racks and mitten racks my wife will raise bread dough on the warming racks. I only open the front door to start the fire and to clean out ashes and remove the aSH TRAY

WHEN GOOSE WAS HERE I showed his the original 1987 cat combustor which still works. Figure 7 years of life expectancy many others will last even longer if you burn junk wet wood and engage the cat too soon you can damage it If you burn responsibly no reason not to get 7 productive years . Mine I wanted to experiment with the stovecombustor's off market replacement
it has a much lower ignition at 380 degrees. 3 years later no sign of degradtion and no performance hits. I very happy with the results cost me $59 at the time I bought it

as for cleaning about a 5 minute chore blow it out witha vacc and replace it my stove only requires removing 2 phillips head screws and that's it.

As for the Moroso, they are a real good quality stove. I can't tell you how it matches up performance wise But I doubt you are going to see 6 hours of productive heat per load

(Productive heat my explanation is griddle top temps over 450 with plenty of coals for the reload) But let other confirm their experiences with this stove or stoves


ITs the combination of the cat secondary combustion and thematically controlled secondary air that provides this long even heat output range

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

Last time I checked, there were several Intrepid II Non-Cats
floating around on E-Bay. Search for "Vermont Castings".

Hope This helps....

Rob

 

[moondoggy]

wow.
if thats not convincing info.

just got back from lunch, and i went to the local vc dealer.
Intrepid II cast iron finish 1599.00
that seems like a lot of a lots...
especially when i started this i was on ebay looking at a crappy Vogalsang for $200. thinking 'hey maybe I'll get a stove"
learned from here Vogal is crap.
then got hooked on the $800. VC Aspen.
drew out my floor plan showing 1000 sq ft of house and wound up at a $1600. stove.
think i better learn how to 'yodel' or come up with some more money.

-saw the ebays. thanks. but after these posts i'd feel like a tool buying the NC version of this stove.

 

[jjbaer]

wow.
if thats not convincing info.

just got back from lunch, and i went to the local vc dealer.
Intrepid II cast iron finish 1599.00
that seems like a lot of a lots...
especially when i started this i was on ebay looking at a crappy Vogalsang for $200. thinking 'hey maybe I'll get a stove"
learned from here Vogal is crap.
then got hooked on the $800. VC Aspen.
drew out my floor plan showing 1000 sq ft of house and wound up at a $1600. stove.
think i better learn how to 'yodel' or come up with some more money.

-saw the ebays. thanks. but after these posts i'd feel like a tool buying the NC version of this stove.

A VC Intrepid model 1640 (non-cat) on E-Bay is located here (says it's never been used):

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vermont-Casting...ryZ41987QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[kwburn]

wow that ebay stove is in the town i grew up in (and work in).
if i remember the later Intrepid non-cats are not top loading, a major compromise and deal breaker to me. the pictures in that auction don't show it. i don't think that stove was over $1100 new, so $1000 isn't exactly a bargain. if you want new, what about an Englander or Century from one of the big box stores? that should put you in the $600-800 range i think.

i see Intrepid II's used regularly at reasonable prices. the key is to not need it TODAY. if money is a concern you can find yourself a used II for under $400 if you give it some time. the problem is you're looking at the worst time of the year.

as far as worrying about overheating your area, i don't think thats a problem with any of these smaller stoves when its cold outside.

 

[moondoggy]

yea that did seem high. $1,000 for the NC.
and i found a local place 1,399 for the II.. top load/catalytic
dont love the metal stove from century and its too tall.
the englander isnt bad.. but what is 35 to 1 stuff mean

 

[elkimmeg]

35 to 1 is the fuel to air ratio used to exempt a stove from being EPA compliant. Plain and simple it is a way to sell a cheap stove and skirt testing and certification regulations.

putting it another way there is little air control to prevent sever overfiring or even controlling a burn

 

[elkimmeg]

Here is the closest one I have found to you $400 2 to 3 years old
(broken link removed to http://hartford.craigslist.org/for/455531387.html)

 

[moondoggy]

yea, saw that, great price.far drive to find out it needs something or is cracked...
great info. thanks for everything as usual.
think i'm gonna bite the bullet
considering I'm narrowed down to VC IntrepidII @ 1399. or the Jotul 100 @ 1099... the extra 300 bucks is worth it for top load and catalytic.
still going to see the morso tomorrow.


you know I go to bed and wake up thinking about wood stoves now?
guess a lot of you do though right?

 

[Corie]

Yeah, you really don't want the Intrepid Non-Cat just to echo what has been said by others. I know some inside sources at the company and they would recommend against it. Lets leave it at that.

 

[kwburn]

by the way, that $400 trep II in West Hartford was sold within 24 hours of listing weeks ago. i was going to go look at it but someone got there a couple hours before i could and grabbed it.

 

[moondoggy]

whats up with that? and 27,000 btu?
some one got the wrong hand out.

 

[seaken]

whats up with that? and 27,000 btu?
some one got the wrong hand out.

Yes, it's true that the Aspen is rated at a little higher BTU than the Int-II in the literature. But the key is the combustion technology used. The Aspen is non-cat and will need to be re-loaded more often to heat the same space as the catalytic Intrepid II. It also does not have top loading. But it is a good little box stove, very similar to the Jotul 602.