Bottom heat shield for Vermont Castings wood stove

poppy · November 10, 2010, 07:05:40 PM

As I have reported in my rehab thread, I purchased this used stove. It is a Vermont Castings Defiant Encore model #2190.

Unfortunately I bought it from the second owner who had not hooked it up and I didn't know enough to know that there were missing parts.

Since I have wood floor framing, the stove requires a bottom heat shield even with a non-compustible surface directly under it.

I now know that the stove was equiped with the bot. heat shield as new from the factory. It was mounted on (4) 1 1/4" spacers on the bottom of the ash drop. Two of spacers were still attached when I picked up the stove. You can see them laying on top of the stove in the pic.

Parts for this stove are readily available, however sources I have found so far want over $250 for this heat shield which is just a hunk of bent up sheet metal.

So my question for youall is do any of you have this stove and can give me some dimensions so that I can get the shield fabricated locally?

cmsilvay · November 14, 2010, 11:22:58 AM

Even it the lower heat sheild allowed you to put it directly on the wood floor I would be leary to do that. I would think a standard hearth base be enough to protect the floor. Anyway I would want a hearth around the stove to protect the floor from any embers that might fall out during loading

November 14, 2010, 12:17:16 PM

I have used cement board with a custom made (by me) sheet metal cap painted flat black. Low cost and works o.k. Make sure and get a heat shield made for the stove to.

MountainDon · November 14, 2010, 12:22:41 PM

The stove had a bottom heat shield for good reason. The installation also needs a proper hearth of non combustible material. Sorry but I don't know anyone with that stove, it is a nice one. Is that a post 1990 model, they've made it for decades?

Windpower · November 14, 2010, 04:11:38 PM

I put Dura Rock down and tiled over it for my stove ( about 4 X 5 feet)

looks good and wasn't too time consuming or expensive

November 16, 2010, 12:43:43 PM

Thanks for the replies, but I think youall missed the point of the post.

QuoteSince I have wood floor framing, the stove requires a bottom heat shield even with a non-compustible surface directly under it.

I'm fully aware that the floor needs to be directly protected by a non-compustible surface. My plan is to put down cement board on the subfloor and ceramic tile on that with coverage that is larger than the recommended.

The stove also requires a bottom heat shield mounted to the bottom of the ash drop. My problem is that I don't want to buy the factory product at about $270. I was asking for help in fabricating a shield.

Don, the stove was made sometime between Dec. 1991 and Feb. 1995. It has a date code, but I haven't got it decoded yet.

MountainDon · November 16, 2010, 01:04:46 PM

Most likely poppy you could make a substitute starting with making a cardboard or poster board, foam board template. Be easier if you could turn the stove over or at least on its back. I would think that as long as you covered the bottom you'd be on the right track. Mine (on the Aspen) attaches with only one bolt in the center and has lips bent up to make it stiff. IIRC, the one on our old Vigilant attached in several places like yours. You could always weld a rod or tube along a couple edges to stiffen the plate if you don't have access to a bending brake.

Sure is a nice stove.

Poppy knows this, but to clarify.... the stove needs the heat shiled spaced under the bottom to cut down on the amount of heat that is radiated to the floor. As was mentioned in another thread there is danger that long term exposure to heat can change the characteristics of the wood under the rock, tile or metal hearth under the stove, making it possible to actually ignite at temperatures that would normally be safe.. This is what poppy is trying to prevent. The VC information does state that the heat shiled can be omitted only if the stove sits on unpainted concrete that is poured directly over mineral soil. Tile or other non combustible cosmetic flooring may be used on the concrete, but nothing that could burn.

poppy · November 17, 2010, 11:51:57 AM

Don

QuoteSure is a nice stove.

Thanks, Don; I think it is a nice stove too. It was kind of an impulse buy, although I knew that they were top of the line and very efficient. I didn't really want to buy the catalytic version, but it is what it is.

I happened to be the first call on the craigslist ad and while I was looking the stove over and reviewing the manual, the seller got 2 or 3 calls on it, not counting the half dozen calls he got between my call and my inspection.

These stoves don't come on the market very often, so I pulled the trigger.

I will probably do what you suggest and make some kind of template to take to my fabricator who can probably make the shield for less than $100. I was just hoping that I could make it as close to the factory part (which has multiple angled brakes) as possible.

considerations · November 21, 2010, 04:07:57 PM

Lovely!

November 22, 2010, 08:10:05 PM

On my way home from the Sat. auction (see AdrionDoc's thread about dowsing), I stopped at the Amish wood stove store down the road. I ran into the husband of one of my HS classmates; they have a house just a couple of miles from me.

He was considering replacing his basement stove and told me that their upstairs stove was a Vermont Castings so he invited me over. There sitting in their great room was a Defiant Encore model exactly like mine complete with sand color finish.

So I got excited because I figured I could measure the bottom heat shield, but of course the stove was installed on a masonry base so didn't need a shield; so back to Don's suggestion.

I will stop posting to this thread and report my shield work on the rehab thread. Thanks to all.