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Vermont Castings Defiant
Table of Contents
Specifications .................................... 4
Installation ......................................... 5
Clearance Charts ............................ 12
Assembly......................................... 16
Operation ........................................ 17
Maintenance.................................... 26
Appendix: Catalytic Combustor ....... 32
Appendix:
Chimney & Fireplace Hazards ... 33
Parts Diagram ................................. 34
The Story of the Defiant
No wood-burning appliance, save for Ben Franklin’s Pennsylvania Fireplace, has a stronger heritage than the Ver-
mont Castings Defiant. Named for a 19th-century steamship, the original Vermont Castings Defiant Wood Stove came
to epitomize America’s resolve and independence during the Energy Crisis of the 1970s.
The year was 1975. With energy prices going through the roof, and not an attractive or efficient wood stove to be
found anywhere, two entrepreneurs set out to create a stove that was a thing of beauty as well as utility. Finely crafted
from cast iron, the Defiant was the first wood stove to combine an artistically designed exterior with a methodically
engineered interior, using new technologies for efficient combustion.
Americans purchased over a quarter-million Defiants, as they rediscovered the common sense of heating with wood,
a home-grown fuel with none of the political and economic entanglements of foreign oil.
Thirteen years later, in 1988, Vermont Castings ‘retired’ the Defiant, replacing it with modern wood-burners such as
the Encore.
With its 1998 return, the new Defiant incorporates all the finest aesthetic, convenience, and performance features to
be found on any wood stove. In a sense, the new Defiant has been 23 years in the making.
Due to its significant role in American history, the original model Defiant is in the permanent collection of the
Smithsonian Institution. Each new purchase of the Defiant stove continues that history.
#1560 Warming Shelf
#1902 Mobile Home Kit
#1904 Outside Air Adaptor
#1905 Bottom Heat Shield Kit
#1906 Rear Heat Shield Kit
#1907 Firescreen
#1860 6" x 12" Oval Starter Pipe
A line of porcelain enamel stove pipe is avail-
able in Sand, Blue, and Forest Green colors.
Installation Accessories