feeding vedolux BL

I have burned a little black locust in mine, usually mixed with ash a cherry and oak. I have yet to feed the straight diet of BL.

I saw that little puff of smoke at 0:18 and thought "huh, I never get any smoke role out". Then I re watched that part and saw that you didn't open the bypass damper. Pretty cool that there is very little smoke without even opening the bypass. I don't even open the bypass when lighting a fire. I just put a couple of pieces of news paper in, a few pieces of kindling and load it up with wood. Then I turn the fan on and light it with the torch through the bottom door. Almost instant gassification and smoke free in under 2 mins and its off to the races. I do use the bypass when reloading though and I never get any smoke in my basement.

I really love my Varm.

Noah

I don't have a fan, so I always have to use the bypass until my draft builds, and then my fire establishes itself - which is really not that long. I leave my bottom window door out until that happens so the air will flow right up right from the bottom. I just get the firestarter laid, light that, leave it with the bypass open & bottom door out to get itself going ('spooling up the turbo') while I gather & ready the next layer of wood (usually resplit a couple pieces smaller for some of that), put the window door back in & load about half full with that next layer, then close it all up & close the bypass. Off to the races. Usually only start off with half a load - sometimes I get puffing if I load it full at a cold start.

And yes, I love mine too.

I have found that the bypass is sometimes handy for giving things a little head start when Im trying to get them lit. For instance if I have some coals that are hot, but the kindling isnt going right away, opening the bypass for 20 seconds or so has the fire burn upwards, and then when I close it, more has ignited, and it seems to take off better.

Like Coal Reaper, I have my fan shut off higher than the 120 to leave me coals for the next re-light. I also got a big ol' box of super cedars which was very helpful for when I had less than ideal wood. Really makes it easy to get stuff going.

Does the BL really send stack temps that high?

Coal Reaper said:

Yes. I was back to a steady 200*c with ash and silver maple tonight.

Click to expand...

Thats about where I cruise with clean tubes and a regular load in there.

Since you all have vedrolux boilers too how are your ceramics holding up mine are breaking down near the holes for the air injection and the stainless chamber in the bottom is melting away the unit is only going into its second winter

Hey Rob.

My ceramics both have a crack in the middle, but they did from the first year. My "nozzle" is also showing some erosion around the edges. Im going into my third winter with my boiler, and it might be the end of my ceramics before the end of the year. But, they can keep going until they collapse, so Im not too worried. Performance hasnt been impacted at all yet.

My combustion tunnel is also not looking happy, but working fine. The little "bridge" on the front is gone (I used mine to pull in and out of the boiler with the cleaning tool....oops), and Im starting to wear a hole in the very bottom of the "V" at the front of it. I pounded it back flat after last seasons burn, I had to clean some of the rust off of it, and it is still working just fine.

I burned much less than ideal wood for my first season, so I dont know what impact that has had on things.

How many cord have you run through the boiler so far?

Even if I have to replace ceramics at the end of this season, Im still OK with that. I havent had really any bridging problems, the nozzle never gets blocked, and the cleaning is super easy. I scrub my tubes every week, just cause its not a big deal.

My ceramics & secondary chamber is a bit different than you fan guys have, but my front top ceramic is also cracked. Right thru the middle, from the front back to the hole. Noticed it half way or so through last year (my first year). I think I must have either dropped a piece of wood on it, or jammed too much in one load. I haven't done anything with it, just leaving an extra thick layer of ash on it. Hasn't moved any, I'll run it until it won't run anymore - suspect that will be a while yet. Haven't noticed any wear around my nozzle, or the sides & bottom of my bottom chamber. BTW, that layer of ash I leave in the bottom of the burn chamber kind of builds up and sets up & goes hard after a while (after a few burns), almost like it's setting up or curing into something cement-like. So I'm not touching it (especially with the crack I have right underneath it) - it's almost like a second refractory layer. I think the stainless strap thing that ties the top of the side refractories together is still looking good - but I also think the horizontal baffle plate thing right above the loading door (right below the bypass damper door) is looking just a tiny bit warped. Unless it didn't come perfectly flat - I didn't really look at it when I got it.

Gotta get another fireplace grate for over my hole though - the one I put in last year is burned down to one little section barely big enough to not fall through the hole.

Yup, my crack looks just like yours, right from the front to the hole. I get the same crusty ash, but I usually get that outta the top chamber and leave maybe a cm or two of the loose ash on there. The ash fills in the crack just fine from the suction, and its worked pretty well for me so far. I wonder if my sorta wet wood has accelerated any of the wear, but not sure.

Ill have to try and leave more ash in there to see how that impacts things....

My horizontal baffle is still flat, but then again I dont have to use my bypass like you do for loading, so perhaps thats some of the difference there.

But why put a grate over the hole? Stuff still burns up even if it falls through (at least it does for me)

EDIT: Coal Reaper - I think that it looks worse than it is. I dont think that anything has really worn away from my ceramic, it just doesnt have a sharp edge like a new one. Seems to still be working great! Curious about a plate nozzle or even just some flat firebricks over the hole making a slot type nozzle instead.....

But why put a grate over the hole? Stuff still burns up even if it falls through (at least it does for me)

Yes, everything that falls through burns up. I did the grate thing so I could pull hot coals onto it on reloads for a nice hot optimum coal bed to get things going again ASAP. Otherwise it seemed to take a little bit for the fire to get established again when I reloaded. Actually not sure if I really accomplished much with it, but I'm going to try to keep doing it. The odd time I have cold coals left when making a fire it helps there too, I get the coals onto the grate & makes for a quicker start. Usually though there's nothing left but ash.

Very cool video Coal and just love that window.

My nozzle is pretty badly eroded going into the 5th season. The 2nd and 3rd year I cleaned the ashes more frequently around the nozzle (maybe 2 times/week) getting back to a nice flat ceramic upper chamber surface. I believe my cleanliness had a negative affect on my nozzle opening. Could be other factors, but when I wasn't so careful I think some of that ash in the upper chamber was insulating and protecting "somewhat" that top lip of the nozzle. Sorry, I wish I was more scientific, but now I treat some ash in the upper chamber as my friend instead of just wanting to see the upper chamber "neat".

BTW, I'm not put off by the expense of replacing the nozzle. But on three occasions I've tried to get it out without resorting to a hammer and chisel and gave up. Ash and creosote have my glued in. Hope yours is easier to replace.

This is my Vigas 40 at full gasification.This with a cast nozel.

Henfruit what did you use? Others have mentioned doing a nozzle repair with stuff from.... I think Menard's. I don't think Menards is in our area.

This was a cast iron (steel ) that Vigas has made for them, if you did not want to use a ceramic. I know it very heavy.

Copy. I was thinking cast/poured firebrick high temp stuff.

maple1 said:

Yes, everything that falls through burns up. I did the grate thing so I could pull hot coals onto it on reloads for a nice hot optimum coal bed to get things going again ASAP. Otherwise it seemed to take a little bit for the fire to get established again when I reloaded. Actually not sure if I really accomplished much with it, but I'm going to try to keep doing it. The odd time I have cold coals left when making a fire it helps there too, I get the coals onto the grate & makes for a quicker start. Usually though there's nothing left but ash.

Click to expand...

Makes sense. I try to get coals near the hole to hit with the torch when I am doing a relight, it is much faster. I wonder about one of the charcoal grates from the little Weber grills.... would fit over the hole and just get buried in the ashes around the edge.

I wasnt sure if the grate would hold up or not. Wasnt sure what sorta temps they are good for....

So three of us have the same crack? That's a curiosity.

I could maybe try to blame one of my kids for mine if I streatch it - but don't think he had anything to do with yours.

I'm not worried about mine, I just take extra care when loading & keep a layer of ash over it.

On the grate again, I started out with a full fireplace grate that had quite a bit of metal in it - it's burned down to one tiny piece barely big enough to lay across the hole. Pretty hostile in there.

henfruit said:

This was a cast iron (steel ) that Vigas has made for them, if you did not want to use a ceramic. I know it very heavy.

Click to expand...

You're dang right it's heavy. Two of them in my LLbean backpack BARELY made it to the car from the fair. They are sitting right next to the boiler for next year. I got a fair amount of wear on year one. Subpar wood. I probably could go 3 years with the wear I'm seeing. I'll likely change it out after this season.

JP