VC Defiant Flex in new home?

[ADK_XJ]

My wife has finally worn me down to seriously consider buying a new (bigger) place - looked at a live option today that has a Vermont Castings Defiant in what I'm assuming is the flex burn option based on the scroll work on the side plates / wings.

My question is this: the top level(s) of the house has a 1.5 floor split setup totalling 1800 sq ft..does.this sucker have the juice to heat that kind of space? I'm finding surprisingly little out there on this stove aside from the "VC was terrible in the 90s" posts.

 

[begreen]

Get the stove model ID and age off of the UL plate on the back. That will help. It may be capable of heating the place if in good working condition, but the question is what condition is it currently in? The older models needed rebuilds of the refractory assembly pretty frequently.

 

[defiant3]

Any of the Defiants should handle 1800 sq. ft., but yeah the condition is key. There have been many changes to the Defiant over the years, the ONLY way to positively tell is by model number, should be on the back label. A photo of the inside here would help though. Some are definitely better than others!!

 

[ADK_XJ]

Any of the Defiants should handle 1800 sq. ft., but yeah the condition is key. There have been many changes to the Defiant over the years, the ONLY way to positively tell is by model number, should be on the back label. A photo of the inside here would help though. Some are definitely better than others!!

Sounds good will do just that as we are going back tomorrow - I could actually share an exterior stovr photo from the listing:

 

[begreen]

When there it would be good to measure clearances and note the type of stove pipe (single or double wall). The wall behind it appears to be just a stone veneer unless that goes clear to the outside.

 

[ADK_XJ]

When there it would be good to measure clearances and note the type of stove pipe (single or double wall). The wall behind it appears to be just a stone veneer unless that goes clear to the outside.

Ok, good advice and will do - should I infer it might not be compliant? And, yes, it is just a veneer.

 

[begreen]

Ok, good advice and will do - should I infer it might not be compliant? And, yes, it is just a veneer.

The camera can be deceptive, but it's best to check before relying on the stove for heating.

 

[NateH]

Begreen, if that is a stone veneer it would still be compliant as long as there is a cement board backing behind the veneer, correct?

And maybe the photo is deceiving me, but the stove looks crooked on the hearth.

 

[begreen]

It depends. If the stove has the proper clearances from combustibles then yes, it would be compliant. If the veneer was an attempt at clearance reduction then maybe yes maybe no, depending on the veneer material and the amount of reduction attempted. A 33% reduction is allowed for a 3.5" masonry wall without air space. The flex burn gets hot at the back so without extra shielding on the stove and double-wall stove pipe it needs a generous rear clearance. How much will depend on the specific model. If this is a model 2040 then the clearance reduction table in the manual covers the ventilated wallshield case, but not the masonry only case. Assuming this is a proper masonry wall (cement stone) then whether a 1/3d clearance reduction would be allowed in this specific case may be up to the inspecting authority.

That's a long answer to your question, but what one doesn't know without probing is how the wall was constructed. What if it is fake stone glued to drywall with construction adhesive? When it doubt it's best to assume the wall is combustible behind the veneer.