Hello All, newbie here. I was curious if anyone is using a VC Montpelier. I’ve browsed the threads for a while and having seen any conversations on this stove. Does anyone have any first hand experience or thoughts on this insert?
Welcome to the FHC NJMARK As for Vermont castings they’ve been bought and sold think the last time was in 2017. I purchased my stove before then and they were not aConsideration. I had a family member that worked at the plant hundred miles south of me. That had a Vermont casting stove. And he could go and get stove parts. Where they manufactured them!!
Welcome to the site... I have the 1st generation Montpelier, bought it in 2009 when they were still cast and assembled in Vermont. They were no longer an independent company at the time but were owned by Monessen Hearth Systems out of Kentucky. Now they are part of Hearth & Home Technologies, a holding company that owns about a dozen stove manufacturers. While their casting is still done in Vermont, the stoves are assembled elsewhere. From what I understand, the state of Vermont would not let them use the name if they moved their casting facilities. What questions do you have? KaptJaq
Hello, mostly curious if other members are using this stove and how they like it compared to any other inserts they might have had. I bought the Montpelier late last season and wasn’t fully prepared with “seasoned” wood. So I’ve deal with every issue and learning curve last season. Do you find any benefit of putting a fan next to the stove and blowing air across the front of the stove to help move the heat around? Or putting an isolating fan in another part of the house blowing towards the stove? Also when you installed your insert did you also install a block off plate above the insert, or any insulation in the flu? It seems like a lot of hot air would make its way from the insert and go right up the chimney. Thanks for any input
Block off plate helps tremendously. And insulating around the liner also helps. Seasoned wood is the key. Trial and error with damper settings and you’ll be wearing shorts all winter inside Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My flue is stuffed with mineral wool for the top 6 feet (the section of masonry chimney that passes through the unheated attic crawl space) and stuffed where the liner enters the flue just above the stove to stop heat from freely flowing into the old ceramic liner. Even with it stuffed at both ends the masonry slowly warms up from the intense heat in the old fireplace. The fan on the insert blows out into the living room, then straight ahead into the connected dining room, there is an open door from the DR to the kitchen, leading to a breakfast nook, and then a hall that creates an circular path for the warm air to flow around and back to the fireplace area. I have never had the need for an additional fan. It has a small firebox so don't expect much more than 6 to 8 hours of a heat producing fire depending on the quality and dryness of the wood. KaptJaq
