Use Caution, at least with Vermont Castings products.
Last fall, my wife and I were finally ready to make the jump from an old fireplace to a wood stove. We were interested in Vermont Castings due to their aesthetic, reputation and efficiency; so FyrePro (being a dealer) was the logical retail choice.
After talking with a pleasant salesperson, we decided to go with the Vermont Castings Intrepid II. You certainly pay a premium for VC (they cost a ton), but the stove is beautiful and we expected decades of solid use.
We got the stove installed per code and FyrePro's recommendations. I must say we are pleased in a lot of ways, but there are some hard lessons I wish we knew before the purchase (which probably would have steered us toward another brand such as Jotul).
First, any accessory from VC cost a ridiculous amount. We didn't want the ornate door style, so we bit the bullet and bought the simple doors. These set us back several hundred dollars and didn't even include the glass. It would if been nice if you could just choose your preferred door style from the start, but no biggie. The enamel side warming trays cost close to $400, and let me tell you; you will either laugh or cry when you see what you are getting for the price (more on this soon).
Second, our stove has quality control issues. We haven't had the stove a whole season, and the intake control already fell apart causing me to pull it the stove out, take off the back, and reassemble the mechanism. The rope gaskets are falling off, and the stove’s fit and finish are a little sloppy for a several thousand dollar piece of cast iron.
Third, the performance. The Intrepid II is a small stove, so these comments probably don't apply to VC's larger models. In a word, it's finicky. To get a smokeless fire requires skill and attention. We wanted a high efficiency wood stove to cut down on emissions, but this stove is prone to smoke if the conditions aren't perfect. It really likes burning hot and wide open, which is hard to achieve with what I believe is a slightly undersized intake. Our stove pipe is properly sized and designed FWIW, and yes, we are using well-seasoned pine and oak.
Fourth, retail outlets such as FyrePro are the face of VC from a consumer's perspective. Don't even try to contact VC with issues - they won't give you the time of day. This normally wouldn’t be an issue, but...
Last, and most painful of all - the side warming shelves. We couldn’t afford them initially, but were certainly planning on buying them once the funds were there. This is primarily because the desire for a stove humidifier (a hot stove will make a house feel really dry). The Intrepid II has a top loading feature which is nice, but it makes it challenging to have a humidifier without the extra real estate from warming shelves. About a month after purchasing the stove we ordered the warming shelves, which FyrePro said would take two weeks to get. Close to two months later we finally had our warming shelves, which had cracked enamel and such a poor fit that they were essentially unusable.
I called FyrePro and the owner said that they have been having trouble with VC’s service and quality for some time. FyrePro said they could order a new pair, which would take close to a month and a half to get. We ultimately decided forgo the side warmers and return the messed up pair.
What is really disappointing, and the reason I am writing this review, is FyrePro insisted that they were not responsible for these issues, even though they are the face of Vermont Casting from the consumer’s perspective. If I had known that having a humidifier would challenging because the side warmers are junk, that VC’s quality control had slipped, and FyrePro would not stand behind the product they sell, I would have steered clear.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
