Opinion on brands. Hearthstone, quarda fire, or VC.

[Crash525]

Hello all. I have posted on here with the troubles of my current VC encore. I may just purchase a new stove since I do not trust this stove unless I'm checking on it every 5 minutes.

I hear yay and nay about VC but who prefers it and why.

Same for the Hearthstone and Quadra fire.

These are the ones sold locally by me.

It's used a adjunct heat so I don't have to use propane. 1620 sqft ranch with basement. Stove is on the first floor in a 860 sqft great room with 12ft vaulted ceilings and two ceiling fans. Good insulation and a pretty tightly sealed house. The VC does a pretty good job of warming the whole house.

 

[jwoair23]

Hello all. I have posted on here with the troubles of my current VC encore. I may just purchase a new stove since I do not trust this stove unless I'm checking on it every 5 minutes.

I hear yay and nay about VC but who prefers it and why.

Same for the Hearthstone and Quadra fire.

These are the ones sold locally by me.

It's used a adjunct heat so I don't have to use propane. 1620 sqft ranch with basement. Stove is on the first floor in a 860 sqft great room with 12ft vaulted ceilings and two ceiling fans. Good insulation and a pretty tightly sealed house. The VC does a pretty good job of warming the whole house.

I have a Hearthstone Heritage and absolutely love it. Beautiful stove that heats me out of my 2,000 sq ft home. Really enjoy the way the stove burns and the looks are incredible.

 

[Crash525]

Thanks. That is a nice looking stove. I do kinda regret not buying a hearthstone soap stone model.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

I would say either the Hearthstone or Quadrafire of those choices. I have no experience with any of the three, but the VC stoves have too many complaints about poor construction. If you want a collection of owner experience, there are lots of detailed ones in the reviews here:

Stove Reviews

www.hearth.com

 

[labans]

I would say either the Hearthstone or Quadrafire of those choices. I have no experience with any of the three, but the VC stoves have too many complaints about poor construction. If you want a collection of owner experience, there are lots of detailed ones in the reviews here:

Stove Reviews

www.hearth.com

I bought a VC Encore Cat-C after returning a Rocky Mountain Green 40 which had factory defects and refused to draw. The VC came out of its box and immediately provided outstanding performance! I love the top loader, the solid andirons and especially the fact that you can run the stove with the front doors wide open and it does not smoke up the house. Has never failed to provide a roaring fire from scratch no matter what. The construction looks good and I only expect to have to replace gaskets, which is normal. Having the catalytic was a game changer because when on, the chimney goes to Zero smoke. Gotta say that top loaders rock! And never any smoke when I open it up. So do I have any complaints? Yes, the handle on the top loader door is too small and I burn my hand when using it. I'll fix that one day.

 

[bholler]

I bought a VC Encore Cat-C after returning a Rocky Mountain Green 40 which had factory defects and refused to draw. The VC came out of its box and immediately provided outstanding performance! I love the top loader, the solid andirons and especially the fact that you can run the stove with the front doors wide open and it does not smoke up the house. Has never failed to provide a roaring fire from scratch no matter what. The construction looks good and I only expect to have to replace gaskets, which is normal. Having the catalytic was a game changer because when on, the chimney goes to Zero smoke. Gotta say that top loaders rock! And never any smoke when I open it up. So do I have any complaints? Yes, the handle on the top loader door is too small and I burn my hand when using it. I'll fix that one day.

You will have to replace way more than just gaskets on that stove. Luckily they have improved them so it won't be every few years. But we have already replaced some internals on some of the newer VC stuff.

 

[begreen]

but the VC stoves have too many complaints about poor construction.

That was quite a while ago when they were owned by a teacher's union. The quality of the stove is high and we don't hear a lot of complaints about construction. The issue is more about the core design which is more complex and has internal refractory components that need to be replaced regularly. How frequently depends on how many hours there are on it.

@Crash525 drop into the VC owners thread to chat with owners. Those that do their own maintenance and servicing seem to be the happiest with their stoves.

2021/22 VC Owner thread

Started new thread for the new season.

www.hearth.com

As for the other two, I'd be looking at the Discovery 3 to replace the Encore. At 2.3 cu ft, it's not a large stove. Of the 3 mentioned, it is the simplest design. The Castleton is now a catalytic hybrid, which adds additional parts, maintenance, and a regular replacement item. It qualifies for the 25D tax credit. I would also recommend considering going up a size to the 2.2 cu ft Heritage.