dhcltr said:
We're buying a new woodburning stove for my parents 1890's 7 bedroom farmhouse and are down to choosing between the vermont casting defiant and the lopi liberty. Any pros or cons on either stove? We're a little concerned about the catalytic converter system on the vc. Is it reliable? Of coarse the dealer raved about how awesome it is, but he's obviously biased. Any advise?
Thanks!
Newer VC Cat stoves are a lot less maintenance intensive then previous models. The expensive catalytic assembly that was used previously has been replaced with a much more durable housing that lasts much longer. They also use a different Catalytic cumbustor that is cheaper to replace as well.
You will need to re-gasket the stove every 5-ish years. VC stoves use more gaskets than other manufactures. So, you need to understand that going in.
Burn times:
I am getting 10-14 hours of actual heat production on my older generation Catalytic Defiant.
Newer Defiants are reporting up to 18 hours in some cases. At the very least, burn times will be the same.
Is it reliable?
As far as function and heat, it seems it. But, maintenance time and costs must be taken into consideration.
Lopi Liberty:
Simple to use, low maintenance stove. I have never used one, though.
Which stove would I buy? If I was only burning one stove?
Seems like they are heating a pretty big home with 7 bedrooms. I would think a Blaze King King would be more appropriate. I am heating a drafty three bedroom stone farmhouse built in the 1700's. Especially if "Western NY" is the upstate part. A 7 bedroom home seems like a lot of space for a 3 cu ft stove.