Vermont castings Vigilant vs Englander 30NC

[Skywalker]

Hi everyone New to site. I have just purchased the Englander 30 NC. I just replaced the Vermont Castings Vigilant. I used it twice. I felt that it wasn't efficient enough. I am hoping hat I did the right thing. Have not yet used the Englander. But I have read numerous reviews on the Englander and decided it would be better than the Vigilant. It was the Vigilant and not the Vigilant II. Can anyone give me any advice. Thx

 

[Sprinter]

Welcome the forums.

I don't have personal experience with either, but based on many threads here discussing them both, I think it's pretty safe to say that you did the right thing. Lots of negative reviews of the VC, and many, many satisfied users of the 30NC. Yeah, you did good.

Let us know how you get along with it.

 

[jharkin]

The vigilant is from the glory days of VC when they where one of the best stoves money could buy. It was a great heater in its day. But that day is passed.

The 30 is a beast and a lot bigger than The old vig... Get ready for big heat.

 

[Oldhippie]

Hi everyone New to site. I have just purchased the Englander 30 NC. I just replaced the Vermont Castings Vigilant. I used it twice. I felt that it wasn't efficient enough. I am hoping hat I did the right thing. Have not yet used the Englander. But I have read numerous reviews on the Englander and decided it would be better than the Vigilant. It was the Vigilant and not the Vigilant II. Can anyone give me any advice. Thx

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the new stove! I take it you had an older used VC Vigilant and decided to go to something new? The Englander gets great reviews around here and there are a lot of experts very familiar with them (I'm not one of them), so ask away as you have questions.

PS we love looking at install pics if you have some. (hint, hint)

 

[Skywalker]

Welcome the forums.

I don't have personal experience with either, but based on many threads here discussing them both, I think it's pretty safe to say that you did the right thing. Lots of negative reviews of the VC, and many, many satisfied users of the 30NC. Yeah, you did good.

Let us know how you get along with it.

Thank you for your reply. I feel I did the right thing. Looking forward to starting this baby up. I will post pics for everyone as soon as I find out how. Not sure. If anyone has advice I would love to know.

 

[Skywalker]

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the new stove! I take it you had an older used VC Vigilant and decided to go to something new? The Englander gets great reviews around here and there are a lot of experts very familiar with them (I'm not one of them), so ask away as you have questions.

PS we love looking at install pics if you have some. (hint, hint)

Thx I am trying to find out how to load pics, so everyone can see. Don't know how.

 

[Skywalker]

The vigilant is from the glory days of VC when they where one of the best stoves money could buy. It was a great heater in its day. But that day is passed.

The 30 is a beast and a lot bigger than The old vig... Get ready for big heat.

Yeah she is a beast

 

[Skywalker]

I guess it was a little easier than I thought to post pics. So here are a couple of pics of the Englander 30 NC. Hope you can see them!

 

[Sprinter]

I will post pics for everyone as soon as I find out how. Not sure.

Put a proper size pic in a folder on your computer (like 600 x 480 or so) The click "Upload a File" in the lower right and put your pic in there. Either as a thumbnail or full size.

 

[Sprinter]

Yeah she is a beast

You'll learn to tame her. Small fires at first. How large is your space and house?

 

[Skywalker]

You'll learn to tame her. Small fires at first. How large is your space and house?

My house is 2500 sq ft. That is the space to be heated. I posted pice. Please let me know if you can see them

 

[Sprinter]

Yes, they're there. It would be helpful if you could make them upright, though

That's an appropriate size stove for that house. Not oversized at all.

 

[Skywalker]

Sorry about pics not being uprite. Will try to do a better job next time. This is a great forum. Thank you to everyone!

 

[Skywalker]

Sorry about pics not being uprite. Will try to do a better job next time. This is a great forum. Thank you to everyone!

The stove thermometer is approximately 8" up from stove. Is that appropriate? Or should I move it else where?

 

[Skywalker]

I am sorry about all the questions but there seems to be so much that I do not know. The stove came with a blower that is attached to the back of the stove but I was also considering purchasing one of those Eco fans that you put on top of the stove that runs off the heat of the stove. Has anyone had luck with these and if so, is there a particular website to find a good one?

 

[DuelburnJake]

I just put my 30 in, had a test fire in it, I think its going to be an awesome heater! Can't wait to see what it can do this winter. I have 2800 sq ft but I have a pellet stove as well as the wood stove.

 

[Sprinter]

The stove thermometer is approximately 8" up from stove. Is that appropriate? Or should I move it else where?

You may want to look up the directions for that particular thermometer on the web. My Condar probe says about 19" but yours may be calibrated for a different height.

 

[Oldhippie]

View attachment 113875

The stove thermometer is approximately 8" up from stove. Is that appropriate? Or should I move it else where?

That puppy is ALL Business.

 

[Oldhippie]

I am sorry about all the questions but there seems to be so much that I do not know. The stove came with a blower that is attached to the back of the stove but I was also considering purchasing one of those Eco fans that you put on top of the stove that runs off the heat of the stove. Has anyone had luck with these and if so, is there a particular website to find a good one?

What you want to do is purchase some small fans that can move floor level cold air from other rooms into the stove room, which will in turn push warm ceiling air out of the stove room into adjacent rooms.

Setting up a circular flow is even better if you can swing it in your home, depending on layout, number of floors, etc.

 

[Skywalker]

What you want to do is purchase some small fans that can move floor level cold air from other rooms into the stove room, which will in turn push warm ceiling air out of the stove room into adjacent rooms.

Setting up a circular flow is even better if you can swing it in your home, depending on layout, number of floors, etc.

Will research the circular flow idea. Sounds interesting. Thank you.

 

[Skywalker]

I just put my 30 in, had a test fire in it, I think its going to be an awesome heater! Can't wait to see what it can do this winter. I have 2800 sq ft but I have a pellet stove as well as the wood stove.

Cool!! Yeah I'm looking forward to firing my baby up as well. Not quite cold enough yet. Good luck

 

[Oldhippie]

Will research the circular flow idea. Sounds interesting. Thank you.

Some homes lend themselves to a natural circular flow of air, where with the use of some judiciously placed floor fans cool air can be pushed out which then draws warm air in. This is where you need to use toilet paper for something other than what it is normally used for, taped to the top of hallway or room entrances, and exits.. and then moving some small floor fans around.

I found this one on Amazon and it works well to push cold air from my hallway, into my main living area which in turn draws warmer high level air back into the rooms.

http://www.amazon.com/Vornado-Compa...2561&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=vornado+floor+fans

 

[Skywalker]

Some homes lend themselves to a natural circular flow of air, where with the use of some judiciously placed floor fans cool air can be pushed out which then draws warm air in. This is where you need to use toilet paper for something other than what it is normally used for, taped to the top of hallway or room entrances, and exits.. and then moving some small floor fans around.

I found this one on Amazon and it works well to push cold air from my hallway, into my main living area which in turn draws warmer high level air back into the rooms.

http://www.amazon.com/Vornado-Compact-Flat-Panel-Circulator/dp/B0031R4OB0/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1381192561&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=vornado floor fans

Thank you very much for the advice. I'm already looking throughout the house and finding areas that could use the fans.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I had an old Vigilant and I replaced it with a 30 last summer.

The heat output is very different. The Vigilant puts out scorching that can warm even the most drafty rooms, but that heat doesn't seem to travel very far. The Heat from the 30 isn't as harsh (it does crank out heat, though), but the heat seems to circulate far better than the Vigilant was able to do.

Burn times are far better, especially during the shoulder season. Packed tight with dry wood, you can maintain stove temps of 250 degrees or more for twelve hours.

Air controls are far better. No more spikes and crashes associated with the Vigilant. Get the 30 burning well and begin to cut off the air slowly and you should be able to have the 30 running at 600-750 for several hours.

Full consumption. That depends upon your burning methods and needs. You should see a drop. How much will vary on a lot of factors. Even if your fuel consumption doesn't drop, it is still a far easier stove to live with.

 

[Hoozie]

Get the 30 burning well and begin to cut off the air slowly and you should be able to have the 30 running at 600-750 for several hours.

Is that 600-750 measured on the stove top? Only having mine to ~400ish so far, I apparently have some more headroom to go