Vermont Casting wood burning stoves?

[swampdragon]

Anybody have one of these brands of stoves?
They seem to get good reviews.
But...I also heard they were sold or went out out of business or something?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Swampdragon/e4390fcd.jpg

http://www.vermontcastings.com/products.asp?model=defiant

[old Grump]

Top of the line in my book, get one if you can. As far as I know they are still active. I used to have a Franklin Stove and it was pretty good but my next one was going to be a Vermont.

http://www.vermontcastings.com/

[swampdragon]

Top of the line in my book, get one if you can. As far as I know they are still active. I used to have a Franklin Stove and it was pretty good but my next one was going to be a Vermont.

http://www.vermontcastings.com/

Top of the line?
That's good to know.
I figure it gets damn cold in Vermont, so they should know about stoves...lol
I thought about a fireplace, but stoves give off more heat from what I understand.

[aliceinchains]

Big seller around here if you have the coin. Top of the line stove.

[swampdragon]

Big seller around here if you have the coin. Top of the line stove.

True, they are expensive.
The one I'm looking at is almost $3k.
Geeze.
However, I don't want to build the new house and then put a POS stove in it.
Just wouldn't make sense to me.

[abpt1]

I have a large old mill in the living room its coal/wood but has a built in blower is a key feature IMHO .


I will snap a pic of mine.

[swampdragon]

I have a large old mill in the living room its coal/wood but has a built in blower is a key feature IMHO .


I will snap a pic of mine.

The Vermont I posted above is coal/wood and also has a heat activated blower as well.
I agree.
The blower was a big selling point for me too.

[samiam]

swamp does it have to be a stove? what about a wood furnace?

[abpt1]

The Vermont I posted above is coal/wood and also has a heat activated blower as well.
I agree.
The blower was a big selling point for me too.
ahh like this the 5 holes are close to 3/4in each and the normal fan pushes the hot air strong for 15ft easy
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/abpt1/WOODSTOVE1.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/abpt1/woodstove2.jpg

[swampdragon]

ahh like this the 5 holes are close to 3/4in each and the normal fan pushes the hot air strong for 15ft easy
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/abpt1/WOODSTOVE1.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/abpt1/woodstove2.jpg


That's really cool!
Or...warm...I should say.

[swampdragon]

swamp does it have to be a stove? what about a wood furnace?

No. It doesn't "have" to be a stove.
But I like them a lot and enjoy a nice fireplace.
These stoves are more effecient than fireplaces.
Our main heat will be electric.

[abpt1]

that stove will burn white hot and honestly when its going top gear like that wow its a real monster :thumbsup: oh I am using a stainless steel sleve in a 4ft stone wall lined with brick so I can run it hotter than most with out setting the house on fire ;)

I have four fire places the largest is a 4.5ft x10ft walk in in the basement that is currently sealed since I need to burn a small forest to get the venturi effect going so the cold air dont come down but i do have a wood stove in the kitchen. that sits back in a upstairs walk in fire place ....my oil heater is 176,000 btus and has a burn rate of 1.67gph my hot water heater is .75gph it was ok 10-20 years ago ....changing that bitch out for a eletric on demand deal when i get my income tax back .

[Schuetzenman]

These stoves are more effecient than fireplaces..

That is for sure. It is proven that a fireplace makes the room it's in hotter but other rooms in the house can experience a significant drop in temperature. They have to draw air from somewhere or they won't move the smoke up the chimney.

[swampdragon]

that stove will burn white hot and honestly when its going top gear like that wow its a real monster :thumbsup: oh I am using a stainless steel sleve in a 4ft stone wall lined with brick so I can run it hotter than most with out setting the house on fire ;)

I have four fire places the largest is a 4.5ft x10ft walk in in the basement that is currently sealed since I need to burn a small forest to get the venturi effect going so the cold air dont come down but i do have a wood stove in the kitchen. that sits back in a upstairs walk in fire place ....my oil heater is 176,000 btus and has a burn rate of 1.67gph my hot water heater is .75gph it was ok 10-20 years ago ....changing that bitch out for a eletric on demand deal when i get my income tax back .

Electric on-demand water heater is exactly what my wife asked for too.
I'm all for it.

[swampdragon]

That is for sure. It is proven that a fireplace makes the room it's in hotter but other rooms in the house can experience a significant drop in temperature. They have to draw air from somewhere or they won't move the smoke up the chimney.

Interesting you mention this!

There is an outside air draw-in kit for the stove I'm looking at too.
That way, no problems with lack of sufficient air draw.
Also no problem with lack of interior pressure (negative) in the house either.

[old Grump]

We lost power for a month after a March 1983 ice storm in Mineral Point Wisconsin. That Franklin stove of ours kept 3 rooms warm and cooked our food for us while we were without power. My wood supply was dead Elms and Maples from peoples yards and the local hospital I worked at.. They didn't want to pay to have them taken out and I didn't want to pay for firewood so I took them down for the wood. Win win for both of us.

Our refrigerator stuff was in coolers on the back porch so we didn't lose anything. Some dry ice kept our freezer stuff froze till we got power back. The house I built and live in now has natural Gas now because it was so cheap when we built the house, now electric is cheaper but either way, we lose power we lose heat. I deliberately built an over sized closet in my living room so I would have a place to install a Vermont stove. The one thing I have here is an abundance of oak and some cherry and ash. Plus I am surrounded by sawmills that sell the slash for firewood, all I have to do is cut it up.

Stove I had was a hazard to the young ones because it got so hot, the Vermont I'm looking at has the soapstone shell, no matter how hot the stove you can touch the outside without getting burnt. Bonus is long after you bank the fire it keeps radiating heat. Air diffuser on the stack takes a lot more heat out and puts it into the house instead of up the stack and that makes a big difference. What I had done with the old Franklin stove was have a long length of stove pipe in the room to the chimney, not elegant but it radiated heat. I'd be a bit more sophisticated with my next stove.

[HDR]

That is for sure. It is proven that a fireplace makes the room it's in hotter but other rooms in the house can experience a significant drop in temperature. They have to draw air from somewhere or they won't move the smoke up the chimney.

As where they are located gets hot and the other rooms get cold is true with kerosene heaters also.


....changing that bitch out for a eletric on demand deal when i get my income tax back .

I put a timer on my hot water heater and saved quite a bit. As a hot water heater is keeping the water hot 24/7 there is a lot of wasted electricity.

The tank is heavily insulated and is programmed (mine isn't electronic) to come on during the heavy need times for hot water. Make sure it has an override for laundry days and use the savings over an on demand system to buy gun.

[Goodman]

I also heard they were sold or went out out of business or something?

That wouldn't affect a stove's usefulness would it?

[swampdragon]

That wouldn't affect a stove's usefulness would it?

No.
But it "might" affect parts and service later on.
Since I posted that, I discovered they were bought by another company.
Not out of business per say.
So that's good news.

[Gunner1558]

Built my own fireplace in the last home we lived in. Heatilator type unit.

Built against attached garage wall, so vented the firebox to the garage to get the air that went up the stack

Built a 5 sided box of copper tubing that surrounded the fire but left the front open for access, to act as a grate.

Tied the tubing into the hot water baseboard heat and added a circulating pump and cut outs that diverted the water through my fireplace 'grate' and heated the whole house.

Had fireplace doors to keep the warm air from inside the house from going up the chimney.

Unions at the floor level of the firebox allowed for removal of the heat exchanger in case the power went out and we needed the heat but couldn't circulate the water.

The unit could then be used as a regular fireplace.

Worked very well, wish I could have brought it with me when we moved...

[Moebrown20]

....changing that bitch out for a eletric on demand deal when i get my income tax back .
They're not the best for your house load. Go with the propane or both.

[swampdragon]

They're not the best for your house load. Go with the propane or both.

I just got rid of my propane tank last fall.

[Moebrown20]

I just got rid of my propane tank last fall.
The load on your house is two people and a few pets. It's a bit different than his.
I have 4 people so LP would be a bit better, but I will have a electric backup installed.

[swampdragon]

The load on your house is two people and a few pets. It's a bit different than his.
I have 4 people so LP would be a bit better, but I will have a electric backup installed.

How long can the electric on-demand water heaters run?
I mean, can you take a shower and then go do a load of laundry too or whatever?
This was my wife's idea.
I've not researched them in-depth yet at all.

[abpt1]

How long can the electric on-demand water heaters run?
I mean, can you take a shower and then go do a load of laundry too or whatever?
This was my wife's idea.
I've not researched them in-depth yet at all.
I am looking at a 220v 6-8gpm ;)

[Goodman]

No.
But it "might" affect parts and service later on.
Since I posted that, I discovered they were bought by another company.
Not out of business per say.
So that's good news.

??

What's to service on a hunk of cast iron?

Not trying to to be difficult- just that in 20 years of wood stove usage the only thing I've ever seen needing attention on any stove is the rope gasket on stove doors, and that material is cheap and plentiful

[swampdragon]

??

What's to service on a hunk of cast iron?

Not trying to to be difficult- just that in 20 years of wood stove usage the only thing I've ever seen needing attention on any stove is the rope gasket on stove doors, and that material is cheap and plentiful

The glass doors on the model I'm looking at was my main concern.

[Congo]

Built a 5 sided box of copper tubing that surrounded the fire but left the front open for access, to act as a grate.

Tied the tubing into the hot water baseboard heat and added a circulating pump and cut outs that diverted the water through my fireplace 'grate' and heated the whole house....
excellent job Gunner.
The whole key to energy is once it "happens", ya either gotta use it, store it, or lose it.

I've also had the idea of running diagonal metal channel thru the "fireplace" that's made of thick stone/mortar. That'd be the heat storer, the battery so to speak.

[Congo]

The glass doors on the model I'm looking at was my main concern.


"G" for "glass shops, glaziers, etc." on the internet. ;0

[gun papa]

When I was a boy we had an old style pot bellied stove. Man that thing put out the heat. The apron on the bottom would get red hot. It was something.

[old Grump]

The glass doors on the model I'm looking at was my main concern.
Vermont uses Ceramic Glass and you would have to order replacements from them. Chances of that glass breaking without you hitting it with a hammer or shooting it out is pretty slim.

[abpt1]

??

What's to service on a hunk of cast iron?

Not trying to to be difficult- just that in 20 years of wood stove usage the only thing I've ever seen needing attention on any stove is the rope gasket on stove doors, and that material is cheap and plentiful

in 25-30 years replaced the sleeve and the bricks twice that's all .

[shorthair]

That is a beauty for sure. I got this free and it has a variable speed blower. I had a manifold fabed to blow hot air into the cold air return. It will heat the whole house. At night when the fire goes down and the furnace comes on the furnace will pull what heat is left in the stove. QUOTE=swampdragon;91969]Anybody have one of these brands of stoves?
They seem to get good reviews.
But...I also heard they were sold or went out out of business or something?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Swampdragon/e4390fcd.jpg

http://www.vermontcastings.com/products.asp?model=defiant[/QUOTE]

[Congo]

When I was a boy we had an old style pot bellied stove. Man that thing put out the heat. The apron on the bottom would get red hot. It was something.
And the problem with that is while it was kick butt at radiating heat, radiant heat goes away pretty fast unless with such a setup. That's why some thick, concrete/stone/mortar would store more heat, longer, thus radiate it back out into the room much longer after the fire goes out.

Add diagonal metal pipe/channel into your design and when the air in the pipe heats up, it'll rise and leave thru the top end of the channel, up high, while sucking in the cooler air from the other end, along the floor. So if one builds something like this, they can have it set up for two types of heat.

[Congo]

in 25-30 years replaced the sleeve and the bricks twice that's all .

and refractory places sell refractory bricks and all things related to furnace/boiler/etc. type things.

[El Jefe]

Personally, if I wanted something passive and low tech, I'd go with a soapstone hearth.

http://www.soapstone-woodstove.com/?gclid=CIWA4vjf36YCFQS7Kgodn0SP3A

[El Laton Caliente]

Tractor Supply carrries several models of US Stove:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?storeId=10551&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&pageSize=20&beginIndex=0&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&error1=&ip_text=wood+stove&ip_textHH=wood+stove&ip_requestUri=ProductDisplay&ip_categoryId=&ip_mode=&ip_perPage=20

Pricing isn't bad and most are on sale/close out in the stores this time of year...

[swampdragon]

Tractor Supply carrries several models of US Stove:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?storeId=10551&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&pageSize=20&beginIndex=0&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&error1=&ip_text=wood+stove&ip_textHH=wood+stove&ip_requestUri=ProductDisplay&ip_categoryId=&ip_mode=&ip_perPage=20

Pricing isn't bad and most are on sale/close out in the stores this time of year...

Tractor is one of my favorite stores!
Everything from horse feed to gun safes to clothing.

[Congo]

Personally, if I wanted something passive and low tech, I'd go with a soapstone hearth.

http://www.soapstone-woodstove.com/?gclid=CIWA4vjf36YCFQS7Kgodn0SP3A

http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab220/Congo284/soapstone1.png

I really like that look. Not the cobble on the top tho. I'd do it all in that stone. Don't know how efficient it can be made to be, but the look is nice.

[HDR]

I really like that look. Not the cobble on the top tho. I'd do it all in that stone. Don't know how efficient it can be made to be, but the look is nice.

That is a two hearth. My parents had a 3 hearth (open on three sides) fireplace; very pretty to watch and you could see the fire in two rooms but not too efficient.

Prices for a 3 opening were expensive.

AFA wood stoves I'd buy used to get one without the catalytic because they are expensive to replace. Or at least the ones I checked were expensive.