Selling inherited 1989 VC Vigilant & know nothing about them

[Wally dog's Mom]

Current inquiry wants to know if sand or bricks are needed in bottom of stove, I doubt it, but?? Have also heard "older stoves aren't as efficient as newer with cat converters?" (Mine's 1989, just prior to new EPA rules) They want to get most out of wood, aspen & spruce, to heat small cabin at 10K feet. What do you all think of this stove? I hear VC makes a great product but can't find much info & I've never used it.

 

[peakbagger]

VC made good product long ago and yours looks to be one of the original good ones. Unfortunately they went through a string of owners and made some bad choices on technology and for many years after they made the good ones they made some very complex ones that had crappy internals. There is a VC owner of late and everyone is hoping they got their act together but the jury is still out.

Given the stoves age it could be in great shape or in bad shape depending on how it was used. If not cleaned frequently or overfired there are inside parts that can warp or crack, on the other hand if the owner took care it may still be in great shape. Parts may be available to fix it but generally its not worth it as the parts and the work involved to install them cost more than the stove it worth.

There are newer technology stoves that meet EPA specs at Home Depot that will be far more efficient for $700 on up. They may not be the same quality and will have a tough time burning less than ideal wood but that sets the high end of the market for the stove. An older non EPA stove can usually burn wood with higher moisture content than an EPA stove but the trade off is more wood and possibly more creosote.

The other issue is seeing you are in a west coast mountain state is you may have local or state laws preventing the sale, reinstallation or operation of non EPA stove.

Therefore the value at best may be in the $250 to $500 range if there is no warped or cracked castings inside and the air damper assembly is present. If there is any warping or cracks in the back of the fire box or local or state ordinances the value goes down. From the photo its loons like a pretty well used stove that probably needs to be disassembled, resealed and repainted to get into the $500 range, as is with no warped or cracked internals I would guess the $250 range or less if there are local or state rules with respect to EPA stoves.

By the way, I know its big brother the Defiant has a ribbed bottom casting in the firebox and yes it should be filled with sand. Many folks just let it fill with ash. Burning wood inevitably brings dirt and sand along for the ride so eventually the area will fill with sand but its best start out with fresh sand if you rebuild it.

 

[Wally dog's Mom]

I was told it saw very little use, it's been sitting in an unfinished cabin for close to 30 years. No warping, cracking etc. Targeting small mountainous/rural areas that have no EPA restrictions (cuz, you know the fouled air in those areas never spreads elsewhere!)
What's the reason for sand or bricks in the box? Extended heat radiation? Thank you

 

[fbelec]

the bottom needs to be insulated from the fire. if not there is the chance that the bottom could crack. sand at first but then the ash builds up and takes over. how big is your cabin? this stove might be to big for a small cabin. i run it's bigger brother the defiant and if running hot it could drive you out. if you run it to cool it will creosote up your chimney and you could be looking for a chimney fire.

 

[Wally dog's Mom]

That's exactly why it's for sale, too hot for 624 sq ft! We will be using a pellet stove, don't want the mess of wood so trying to find a good home for the VC.

 

[fbelec]

if you have electricity that is reliable that's a good idea. easy to carry 2 bags of pellets for a weekend than a bunch of wood.but if no power your cold. i believe that vc is rated for 2000 sf