Well, I bought this house about 3 months ago and I'm looking into my woodstove options here, and it looks like the 'ole lady who owned this house previously had a Vermont Castings Defiant (that's all it says, "Defiant", says 1975 on the back of the firebox, and the placard on the backside mentions it was safety-tested in 1980; house was built in 1981) upstairs with a horizontal 8" pipe going straight into the chimney (looks like the chimney collar was designed with the height of the stovepipe in mind). Far as I can see, no visible cracks on the inside or outside, but it's very dirty with caked up soot and glossy creosote on parts of the firebox and inside one of the doors. Lots of ash and grime inside the air inlet in the back and the secondary air inlet on the side. The stovepipe is bent thanks to a mishap involving the mantlepiece (a big slab of wood, which isn't secured to the masonry or wall in any way, fell onto the stovepipe when I leaned on it once...) but I have a chimney sweep coming by next week to check that out and sweep the chimney, not to mention give me the low-down on what kind of chimney I have (no idea of its size, don't care to climb up on the roof either) and its condition.
As for the stove, is it easy to clean the inside of these, and should I disassemble anything to get to the secondary chamber back there? Anyone have experience with mucking around with these things?
Downstairs there's another stove, this one a Jotul Fireplace Stove 8, doesn't appear to have a cat and its mfgr. date was in 1984. Looks like a much simpler unit but it's a little dirty inside too, not as much glossy creosote though. From what I've read about the Defiant, that one's meant to be burned hot and I guess the previous owners didn't quite get that. It's a beast either way though, and maybe a bit much for that living room; the sellers mentioned the downstairs stove heats the whole house pretty well. Looking to try some brick fuel like WoodBrickFuel in either of these stoves (should burn hot like the Defiant prefers) once it gets cold out, but I'm lining up all my ducks right now. Probably give one of them a good burn once we have a modestly cold evening this month or next.
As for the stove, is it easy to clean the inside of these, and should I disassemble anything to get to the secondary chamber back there? Anyone have experience with mucking around with these things?
Downstairs there's another stove, this one a Jotul Fireplace Stove 8, doesn't appear to have a cat and its mfgr. date was in 1984. Looks like a much simpler unit but it's a little dirty inside too, not as much glossy creosote though. From what I've read about the Defiant, that one's meant to be burned hot and I guess the previous owners didn't quite get that. It's a beast either way though, and maybe a bit much for that living room; the sellers mentioned the downstairs stove heats the whole house pretty well. Looking to try some brick fuel like WoodBrickFuel in either of these stoves (should burn hot like the Defiant prefers) once it gets cold out, but I'm lining up all my ducks right now. Probably give one of them a good burn once we have a modestly cold evening this month or next.