Not online here lately or elsewhere for too many reasons, so here's the story of a wood stove ( actually two ) gone bad. Sorry it's so long. Now heating happily for the 2nd winter with a Jotul Rangely (thanks Pallet Pete ! ). We're getting a second Rangely now discontinued to replace a 18 year old Jotul Oslo in the second part of the place. This place ~ 2000 ft sq , heating 24/7, has no central heat in coastal Maine. We had used a VC Encore cat 2550 hard for near 20 years. It was a high maintenance beast needing &%^$# work yearly including the cat of course every 2-3 years ( life of ~ 12,000 hours is right on steel or ceramic ). But it put out . So, we decided to give VC's "new and improved" Encore Flexburn a try. The new models looked improved and hardened, their specs were like the old Encore, and with an extended warranty. Besides, she liked the pretty look and the new "Midnight" porcelain finish. The first Encore primary air was not operable, or in any way adjustable to close to off or low. The techs from the dealer tried twice without success. They delivered a second new Encore. This 2nd Flexburn was worse. For the first time in decades of using wood stoves we had an uncontrollable over fire, hitting over 850F on a top thermometer. The primary air flap would not shut. I had to pull the splits out, throwing them in the snow. Scared the #$@%$ out of us. The bad news was that the selling dealer blamed it on user error. They didn't want any hassle. There is a YouTube showing VC Flexburn problems in Canada. Good news was that the original owner of the store with another shop in Maine ( recently sold ) came, took the Encore back to his southern Maine store, and refunded the complete purchase price including delivery. Ex Navy and Maine Maritime grad . Rare. No moral of the story. Make up your own mind. JMNSHO.
Sorry to hear this.. VC 6 years ago was so hard to get parts for my cousin could not get them!! He worked at the plant in Bethel.
Both Woodstock and BK were my choices, not hers. I do follow orders . The Jotul Oslo is getting long in the tooth needing worn burn tubes, some gasketing on top plate, the usual broken bricks. Great reliable stove. Looking at higher output and knowing the Rangely, it's ordered. It's discontinued for 2020 regs, so the dealer gave a slight break on pricing. Not as pretty as the Oslo ( or the lovely VC Encore ), but we're thinking of the senior years. Hey, you do get older.
