Greetings all-new poster here. Been burning for 20 years in our home-first with a VC Encore that came with the house. "Upgraded" in '06 to a VC Non-cat Defiant 1610. There aren't enough hours in the day to tell the saga of that stove....cracked firebacks, replaced fountain assemblies, ZERO help from VC as they'd been bought and no longer warrantied the stove..on and on. Any VC owner knows this story too well. My Dad, age 90, has been burning in his Vermont soapstone stove since 1973 with, maybe, one cracked panel in 40+ years and I think the company sent him a free new one decades after the original purchase. I love the simplicity of that stove! Few moving parts! Anyway, I've had to install a 6" insulated liner because of cracked flue tiles which has prompted me to finally decide to stop rebuilding my VC 1610 and bite the bullet on a new stove. I'm heavy into the research on the following: Lopi Cape Cod, Lopi Liberty, Hearthstone Mansfield and the Hearthstone Manchester. Looked at a Jotul top-loading unit (can't remember the model) but really didn't like to reduction in firebox size with the grilling unit in there. Love all the burner feedback and thought I'd see if anyone has any hard-won knowledge to share. We're in NW CT and burn 24/7 in our ~2400 sq ft home. Other heat source is electric radiant panels. Nice heat but like to use it minimally. Many thanks-PhilDee
Looking for new large woodstove
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That is quite a variety of stove designs. Take a look at the Jotul F55 Carrabassett. It's a bit like the Jotul F50 but without the toploading feature. Nice big stove that can load N/S as well as E/W. Also look at the PE Alderlea T6 and the Quadrafire Explorer III.
My Cape Cod cracked, it was less than a year old. Most hearthstone soapstone stoves are cracked somewhere.. The Manchester is a great stove, I’ve never seen an issue with any I service.
Hearthstone has a few new cast iron stoves available, they are hybrid like the cape cod.
Hearthstone has a few new cast iron stoves available, they are hybrid like the cape cod.
What year was your Cape Cod? I've heard that the newer models are cast in Europe not China and they have performed better. Others report that you are quite knowledgeable, Webby 3650! Im eager to hear more info from you. Thx-Phil Dee
I’m not sure they were actually cast in China. It was the design anyway. I was probably one of the first to have a cape cod, so it was an early run of them. Lopi did absolutely nothing to help with the problems I had prior to the crack. I’ve even talked to the engineers since then, they claim they’ve never heard of one cracking...?
No. We carry Hearthstone, Jotul, Blaze King, Lopi, and Enerzone . We only service what we sell usually.
And in your estimation-given my lousy experience with VC and numerous rebuilds-what would you recommend in terms of big firebox, lots of btu's with minimal maintenance? Thanks again!
Overfireinthehole
Minister of Fire
Doing homework as I type. Thanks so far for all of your info. Much appreciated! Supposed to be 35 tonight!
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Like webby, I was one of those waiting for the Cape Cod to hit the market, and ran to the dealer to see them as soon as they received their first units, but then ended up holding off on buying it. I had doubts as to whether that stove could really be used as a full-time heater, for a few reasons I can’t fully remember now, other than the complete lack of any ash belly. Then a few folks who bought them started posting some of their problems and not-fantastic reviews, so I was glad to pass on Lopi, and narrowed my search in on Woodstock and BK.
I was not interested in the more-limited performance range of non-cats, so my search was limited entirely to cat stoves, and a few hybrids. If I were going to look at non-cats, Jotul and PE would likely be at the top of my list, today.
I was not interested in the more-limited performance range of non-cats, so my search was limited entirely to cat stoves, and a few hybrids. If I were going to look at non-cats, Jotul and PE would likely be at the top of my list, today.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
If I needed a fairly large stove for 24/7 heat I would be looking at a Woodstock Progress Hybrid. Jotul makes nice looking durable large cast iron stoves as well. If you want a cast iron clad stove definitely look at Pacific Energy. Blaze King makes great stoves, but I don't really care for the looks of most of them. I also prefer a radiant stove.
barnaclebob
Feeling the Heat
I'm just going to throw the Woodstock line of stoves into the mix. Great customer service.
Did you not like the look of blaze kings? Too pricey?
Did you not like the look of blaze kings? Too pricey?
More the look than the price but certainly a consideration. I'm beginning to trend towards the Hearthstone Manchester-I like the relative simplicity of this year's non-cat unit, the price and the apparent relative ease with possible removal/replacement of cracked soapstone firebricks.
Just fired up my new Jotul F55 this week to cure the paint. Time will tell how it performs but its a nice big stove.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
I have a small house with a small Morso 2b Classic. A Progress Hybrid would be beautiful but way too big. A Blaze King stove could be turned down low enough to work, but I don't like the way they look and a huge stove in a small house would be weird.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
If you like the look of the classic Vermont Castings, but not the reliability issues I might suggest the Jotul F600 (possibly F500) since you mentioned simple, ease of use. Pacific Energy also has some good looking stoves which might suit your needs.
Blaze Kings get high marks for their heat output and reliability, but as you noted, some folks find their looks to be a bit polarizing.
Woodstock also makes some nice soapstone heaters for folks who are serious about heating. I'm kinda partial to the Progress Hybrid myself as I find many stoves in their line up to be a bit too ornate or too industrial looking for my taste.
Blaze Kings get high marks for their heat output and reliability, but as you noted, some folks find their looks to be a bit polarizing.
Woodstock also makes some nice soapstone heaters for folks who are serious about heating. I'm kinda partial to the Progress Hybrid myself as I find many stoves in their line up to be a bit too ornate or too industrial looking for my taste.
I want simplicity from a maintenance standpoint. The VC system-at least my 1610 Non-Cat Defiant and the smaller Encore that came with our house-are remarkably un-user friendly in terms of replacing parts. I get that no stove design is perfect but simplicity in the design goes a long way to ease of maintenance. All stoves will need some maintenance at some point. That's a given. My Dad's old soapstone unit could not be simpler to use and maintain and that's driving my research. Again, thanks to all who have shared their thoughts thus far!
weatherguy
Minister of Fire
Hi Phil, Im a neighbor in Mass. I'm heating 2800sf with the Progress Hybrid, the Ideal Steel would also work, if I had room for a big free stander I'd look at the Blaze King King. The new hearthstones intrigue me too. Lotsa choices for you.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
My feelings exactly, excellent summary. But BK does make a few attractive stoves, now.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I’ve never owned a VC or Defiant, but everything I read on this forum seems to indicate they’ve made some of the most troublesome stoves on the market over the last 20 years, and supplemented that with some pretty horrendous user support. The good news is that all of the stoves mentioned above are known to be exceptionally reliable, that’s why the same brands keep getting recommended on this forum: BK, Woodstock, Jotul, PE, and a few others.
As an owner of three Jotul’s too old to be relevant, and two new BK’s, I can only speak for BK today. The maintenance is bone-simple, and they’re as reliable and un-exciting as concrete, but will admit that pushing these stoves to the bleeding edge of burn time capability can create a requirement to have a more finely-tuned setup (i.e. ideal chimney) than most other stoves. If you’re aiming for 30-40 hour burn times in milder weather, BK is the way to go, but also expect to have a chimney that will permit them to do their thing.
If you only need 8-10 hour burn times from a mid-size stove, or 10-12 from a large stove, then a non-cat can give you that with lower cost. Of course, the more limited output range of a non-cat means compromising more on burn time range throughout the heating season, you won’t be able to just stuff them full of wood in November and let them eek out a low level heat for 24 hours. That’s the sole domain of the cat stoves (BK & Woodstock).
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