damper for pre1990 resolute

PT,

Return the damper, thats the last thing you need.

What you need to do is clean the stove.

I burn a Resolute Acclaim (1988) at the womens house, and the back of the stove is removable by two iron wedges. When I remove the wedges, it exposes two secondary air channels on both sides. If yours is like mine, they are packed full of ash and you are not getting enough air for secondary combustion.

Find a manual for the stove you have, and inspect for points you need to clean.

I know when this unit needs to be cleaned, because the "horizontal" combustion mode will simply not work.

When its clean, it works like a charm.

Also, there is a "space age" material that aids in secondary combustion. Its behind the back of the firebox, and it may have (actually, it probably crumbled long ago) fell apart and is blocking the rear lower flue exit. Stick your fingers in there and make sure its open... pull out any loose material and trash it. Stove works fine without it.

Sandor, I think he has a Resolute I or II, not an acclaim! That means no space age material, but a cast iron fireback assembly.

Still, the advice holds. the damper is only for overdraft - this is an underdraft. Also. make certain all stovepipe is tightly fitted - with furnace cement between joints.

Can you post a link to the manual? I can't find it on the VC website.

In the mean time, take a look in the back of the firebox to see if the back is held in by two metal wedges. On the Acclaim, the back comes off and exposes two air channels that feed the secondary burn. Yours may be different, but the concept is the same... they preheat the secondary combustion air.

Also, if you use cement on the pipe joints, it will fall apart when you separate the pipe for inspection/cleaning. Clean up and reapply.

If I remember correctly, the Resolute is exactly like the Defiant: ashes need to be removed from behind the fireback. With the stove pipe removed and the damper open, you will see a cast iron plate that can be removed to gain access to the area between the fireback and the back of the stove. The drawing in your manual should show this. Removing and reinstalling this plate is difficult and tedious, so I use a 1" diameter tube ducttaped to a vacuum house and stick it through the opening on the left without removing the plate. This needs to be done yearly. Failure to clean this area leads to a build up of very fine fly ash which interferes with the draft and is probably the number one cause of cracked firebacks - the build up of ash eventually causes overheating.
Sealing stovepipe joints with cement always looks bad and the cement fails quickly. A damper in the pipe is not needed.

I will try to offer some advice since I use the same stove as you. First, your stove and chimney may be physically fine. Second, do not install a damper in the pipe. This stove operates efficiently through controlled air intake not restricted exhaust. Reading your initial post I believe the problem is air supply. If your stove is holding 500 in updraft and you close the stove damper you will not hold that temp without increasing the air intake. You need to add more air for the secondary combustion to take place. If your house is super airtight it is possible there is not sufficient inside air to feed the stove. You can try cracking a nearby window to check for this. Also the thermostat is not always a simple set it and forget it deal. Depending on the type of wood, dry/semi-dry, wind, inside air, outside air temp, etc will all effect how much air you need to adjust. I often adjust my thermostat to the load of wood. Also, there is little flame with this stove when burning horizontal, maybe just the bottom few inches of the wood. This can be deceiving if you have the glass pane option on your stove.

To clean behind the damper area, you need to unscrew the plate on top or rear of the stove. Mine is setup for rear exit so I don't have to mess with the pipe, I just pop the top plate off. If yours is a top exit, the plate will be on the back of the stove but it is far easier to clean it from the top. There are a couple of hex head screws that hold the plate and exhaust collar on. Scrape behind and under the damper area and then shop vac out all the build up and be sure the gasket stays in place when you reinstall. Shop vac all the air ports while your there. You can expect to do this at least a couple times each season depending on wood quality and burn temps.

You probably already know all this but maybe it is a simple operational issue since this stove is new to you. You should have the round air port (on the left side of the stove) all the way open. There needs to be a bed of ashes on the bottom of the stove, about an inch below the 6 air holes in the fireback. Ashes should not get above the holes, but cinder will during operation (that is OK). You need a good bed of cinder before you close the stove damper. Use some small stuff to get a good cinder bed before putting in your normal size pieces. When you load the stove, let it run up to around 500 before closing the damper since it will die down as it adjusts to burning horizontal, then adjust to your liking after 15-30 minutes. When you first light the stove, slowly get the temp up to 500-600 in up-draft and hold it there for 30- 45 minutes. This will warm the stove, burn off build-up in the back of the stove and firebox, and warm your flu. Measure temp from the top griddle, you want to stay between 300 - 600 when operating.

I have been picking away at this from work in between actually working so I apologize if some else has replied with the same info since I last looked at the original message.

Jack

Sounds like your stove is working fine. 500 in horizontal is a pretty good and safe setting for the top end, but you can adjust the thermostat to get more air. The chain clips onto the intake door so you can move the chain length to your desire. If you shorten it, you will be able to swing the lever farther to the right. Keep in mind small adjustments make a big difference. I don't see the manual available online but you can probably get it direct from a VC dealer. I do have the original manual that came with my stove somewhere. I'll see if I can locate it.