New stove, or keep my VC Encore

[njk4o5]

Trying to decide to keep my 1994 VC Encore. Its time for a major overhaul as the refractory isnt in good shape anymore and the fireback has a small crack. I love the look of the navy blue stove and no manufacturers make them that color anymore. The enamel on the VC is in excellent shape too. The only thing i dont like about it is the burn time. I stuff it with dry oak and beech for the night and wake up in the morning to ashes, its a pain having to relight it every morning. I just replaced the gaskets on the stove hopefully that will help my burn times.

House is new construction 2020 in Maine. Its a vacation home i dont normally keep heated, and i have forced air propane to go along with the stove to get the house up to temp when i come up to snowmobile.

Are the new stoves (VC Defiant, Blazeking Ashford, Jotul F500) night and day difference in burn time to make it worth the upgrade? I really hate to get rid of the navy blue stove for a new black one but i would consider it if its worth it. Attached is a pic of my setup.

 

[Diabel]

Before i saw the pic, i was going to say. Most encore set ups should get an overnight burn 7-8h. You likely have very strong draft that needs to be controlled in order to get longer burns. Plugging one of the intake holes or putting a key damper would extend your burns. Having said that, i personally would not pump any more money into the encore. You will need to do it every 4-5 yrs depending on usage. These are very finicky stoves and need perfect set up conditions to run well. My only experience is with the encore (that had very good set up) and BK Princess (Ashford will run very similar). BK wins in all departments in my opinion.

 

[begreen]

The stove is heating a large volume of space due to the high ceiling. Are ceiling fans running to move the hot air that stratifies near the peak?

Whatever stove is chosen, it should have a key damper on the stovepipe to reduce draft. Is the current setup 6" or 8" stovepipe?

Unfortunately, the big cast iron stove choices have dropped. The Jotul F600 and Quadrafire Isle Royale are no longer made.

 

[DonTee]

I had a VC encore (about 10 years newer than yours), and now have a BK Princess. I could never, ever go back to the encore again.
The BK puts out just as much heat as the VC, but with much longer burn times.

Also I have a lot better control of the BK. With the encore I had to get a key damper to calm things down. With the BK I just adjust the thermostat and it does it’s thing.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

thats a lot of space .. Id go with a bigger stove.. something like a 3 cuft box.. the old stove is pretty but a larger more modern stove will serve you better.. you could save the stove and see if you have a need for it later down the road

 

[begreen]

I'd consider a basic, unshielded, steel stove like the Drolet Austral III for that location. Yes, it's a big black box, but it will radiate a lot of heat. A large open space like this will benefit from the radiant nature of the sides of this stove and it can have a blower added to boost convection. A large cat stove like the Ashford will match the Encore in output, but its cast-iron jacket will minimize radiant heat, so it may not feel as warm. My guess is that its burn times would not be spectacular either because it would be running at high output most of the time. The good thing about the Drolet is that it won't break the bank if you try it for a year and decide to change it for aesthetic reasons.

Another alternative would be to put a big, 4 cu ft, clean-burning, EPA ZC fireplace there. Something like the Montecito Grand Estate would work and it qualifies for the 26% tax credit on the fireplace and installation.

 

[Todd]

I agree a more radiant type of stove would be good here. Take a look at Woodstock Soapstone PH or Ideal Steel.

 

[DonTee]

@njk4o5
How long is the stove pipe? Just curious. From the pic it looks like you have 15’ or 20’ of stovepipe there.

And how long is the chimney on top of that?

 

[njk4o5]

@njk4o5
How long is the stove pipe? Just curious. From the pic it looks like you have 15’ or 20’ of stovepipe there.

And how long is the chimney on top of that?

16'-8" to the ceiling where it turns to double wall pipe, another 8' or so after that.

I replaced the gaskets and ran the stove up at my camp this weekend, i got it to burn for 7 hours and still had coals left to toss in a log without having to relight it. Im going to add in a damper next to try and slow my draft down even more.

The gaskets that were in it were garbage, and if the door was cracked open slightly the stove pulled so much draft it howls, need to slow that draft down.

 

[njk4o5]

just to close this one out, after replacing the gaskets and adding a damper to my flue pipe like you guys recommended i can get a 8-hr burn out of her on white oak and have enough coals left in the morning to just toss some more wood in and open up the air and it re-lights itself. Thats good enough for me. Long live the blue enamel VC Encore.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

just to close this one out, after replacing the gaskets and adding a damper to my flue pipe like you guys recommended i can get a 8-hr burn out of her on white oak and have enough coals left in the morning to just toss some more wood in and open up the air and it re-lights itself. Thats good enough for me. Long live the blue enamel VC Encore.

glad it worked out for you