2013 VC Burning Thread

These stoves tend to burn each load differently. I experience it a lot. You just can't replicate your good previous burn/load. Leak... highly unlikely.

I like to put two small splits on the coal bed when reloading. They light off almost immediately. Then I try to put a monster split on top of the two smaller ones. Then I finally place two small rounds on the very top near the height of the griddle. I find this gives me the longest consistent burn, but not always the most heat.

If I want lots of heat now or need to build up the coal bed quickly if we slept in too long I just throw in all small stuff and watch the stove very carefully.

After changing the griddle gast and replacing the secondary damper probe last night I loaded it up about 3/4 full with good bed of coals and once the cat was engaged and dampered back it stayed around 650 for maybe 3 or 4 hrs. and slowly dropped. Alot better with the new damper probe..

Sounds good, maybe you will do well tonight. Keep us posted.

Just read thru this entire thread. Great stuff! I've been running a 2550 for the last 10 years & have had many of the same issues discussed here. Tried the steel cat for a while, was very happy to get back to the ceramic. Started running cat probes 5 years back or so & I agree that it is a must have for this stove. I did notice some talk about the primary not closing, and it just being brought up with Jeremy's recent issue. I want to share some knowledge on this subject, because it was a problem that plagued me for years. I think it could be a problem for a lot of you that have fire control issues.

As you slowly move your primary air control from open to shut, you should hear the primary flap shut. You shouldn't have to move it rapidly to hear the flap shut. If you don't hear it, do the following. 1. Move the primary air control fully closed. 2. Lay on your back with a flashlight and observe the flapper. You should be able to push the valve open with your finger and slowly let it close, and it should rest on its seat. It it very critical that it go completely closed & stay there, because if it does not go completely closed - there will be times when you will not be able to shut your stove down when it is loaded with dry wood! Just like Jeremy was experiencing recently.

On my stove, it came from the factory with the valve not able to fully close. It was very difficult to control, and there were times when loaded with dry wood when I could not bring the cat temp below 1500F. As many of you know, the primary air bi-metalic coil (located behind the primary control handle) has a steel cable attached to it. This cable runs down the side of the stove & is connected to the primary air valve. The air valve has a wire, about the thickness of a clothes hanger, that runs behind the inside of the stove to pick up the movement of this cable. The cable is threaded thru a loop in this wire & terminates in the air valve. On my stove, this wire was bent incorrectly from the factory. When the cable would go slack (hot stove) and try to shut the air valve, the wire loop would come in contact with stove casting and would not let the valve close! You could close the valve with your fingers, but the wire would act as a spring and open the valve about 5 degrees off the seat when you let go. When I finally figured out this problem, I had to bend the wire about 15 degrees to correct the problem. Then, the valve could shut completely and it was like having a brand new stove. With the EPA holes plugged, you could just about put the fire out (even with bone dry wood) if you shut the primary's down.

Another issue is broken off cement can fall under this "valve wire loop" and prevent it from closing. I have had this problem as well. I take out the primary air valve (by removing the 2 phillips screws) and tape a 1/2" flexible tube to my vacuum cleaner hose. You fish this tube in the back of your stove and suck out this debris.

Hope this helps some of you! It's 0F here in northern Michigan & I'm lovin' the fire.

The new Defiant 1975 arrived during the snow storm on the 21st without any issues and although the wife was not too happy I was able to get it in the house and set up with out too much snow coming in the door. Of course the exterior of the unit looks about the same as my previous 1945 but as soon as I opened the doors it was a completely different animal. First of all I would have to say that VC has diffidently stepped up there game when it comes to there quality control as everything from there castings to the refectory was spot on. All bolts are stainless and appear to have been coated with anti-seize grease. They have done away with the non-reversible glass for the doors and the front door latching mechanism is completely different with a roller bearing that engages the door jam. This is very smooth and locks up tighter then what was possible with my 1945. The stove does not run away on you like my 1945 would do but it also does not take off as fast as my 1945 and so takes a while to come up to temp. I have burned it with and with out the cat and while I like the burns better with the cat the doors will coke up with in a day or two if I am running the stove at 500 or less. So over all I am very pleased with the unit except for two things: The heat shield is a royal pain in the ass as it hides everything. I would normally just remove it but unlike on the 1945 the back of the 1975 is really ugly and they did not paint it (something I could easily fix of course) but the wife will not allow the stove to sit in our living room with out the heat shield. The second is the griddle handle. It is like the 2550 Encore in that it goes up and out where the 1945 was strait out. This is not as handy and hits the pipe if you have the stove setup in a top vent. I have attached pictures as I have seen very few shots of these stoves on the forums.

Thanks,
Glenn

More pics...

Yes, very nice stove.
It is interesting what you say about the griddle handle hitting the pipe in open position.... It just does not make sense.

Congrats on the stove, is this a new unit, are they (VC) still making stoves?

The cast refractory is light years a head of the soft refractory from the 1945. It is so thick and heavy that I would have to really smash a piece of wood or a poker into the front of it to get it to brake.

jharkin said:

What do you think about the durability of the hard cast refractory so far ? The one concern Ive heard about these models is getting cracks if you hamfirst the wood in there...

Click to expand...

I will attach a picture below that shows what I am talking about in reference to the griddle handle hitting the top discharge pipe.

Diabel said:

It is interesting what you say about the griddle handle hitting the pipe in open position.... It just does not make sense.

Click to expand...

This is a new unit and they are pumping out stoves faster then ever before. Mine was made in KY though not VC, or at least that is where it was shipped from and what is engraved into the back of the stove.

31 bertram said:

Congrats on the stove, is this a new unit, are they (VC) still making stoves?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the comps guys, I really do like it.

Glenn

If I had the handle extender on my Defiant, it would also touch the pipe. Mine is an older cat model.

Not sure on site of or organ but as far as the handle is concerned I am really starting not to like it at it's current location.

Glenn

Hm,
Minor but I am sure annoying design flaw.
The encore has a good 2" space between.

There are previous posts about the 2n1's removable refractory cover being very easy to break, however there have also been reports that when replaced the new replacement seemed to be more hardy than the original OEM cover.

So far my 2n1's (encore) has been holding up. It is the sea-shell design which may still be the original OEM "light-duty" cover...but it hasn't broke on me yet (finger's crossed). The replacement's all seem to come with your oval design.

Yep unit came with the thicker oval.