So a month ago we installed our barely used Vermont Castings Defiant Encore. There were people who told me to run away from this stove. It was old, hard to find parts, notorious, etc. This was a stove given to me by a friend who was flipping a house. I read alot on this site about rebuilds. Taking it apart, recementing it...Considered that..Looked closer at the stove. It really did not need anything except a few wedges for the fireback and new gaskets excluding the glass for the doors and the damper. I ordered them. We had it professionally installed. We fired it up and the draw is good. It is on a granite slab on top of a raised trex deck that we turned into a 20x20 foot screened in porch. The window systems are vinyl windows that are in tracks with a screen behind them The manufacturer is Sunspace. I am wondering how the raised deck and vinyl windows will contain the heat this winter. I have been burning from scrounged wood that was standing dead trees so the wood is dry. I don't have a moisture tester yet so I'm not sure how dry. I have about three to four cords and have been picking up oak on Facebook Marketplace with ease. I'm in northern Maryland near the PA line. Right now, it takes me about three hours to heat the 20x20 room on a 40 degree night. I might insulate the flooring underneath the deck in the colder months. I'll plan to have the chimney cleaned out in the Spring. You can see the two 90 degree bends on the stove pipe. Some semi wet wood can increase creosote . I imagine I will burn maybe a cord or cord and a half each season. We have been having fires like 5 nights a week for about 7 hours each night start to last embers. Again this is not to heat the house it just heats a 20 x 20 porch. I just bought a cast iron teapot to add moisture into the air. I boils violently. I'm going to put orange peels in it tonight. I have a Thermometer on the stove and I am burning in the 400 to 600 degree range and have not overfired. I am burning Apple and Oak. To say we are pleased is an understatement. My wife is totally comfortable and no longer bothers me about having "too much wood" anymore! I thank everyone here for their insight and opinions. It has been, and continues to be, a great resource for me!
