VC Aspen

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gweldgen

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Oct 15, 2007
34
Williamson NY
I finally got around to cleaning our stoves this weekend. The VC Aspen was new last fall (07). We were relatively pleased with the performance last winter. It is small but it was placed in a small room and seemed well suited. I was not impressed by the amount of creosote in the chimney -SS. We were using well seasoned dry wood but must not have been keeping it hot enough. I was surprised also to find a cracked firebrick at the rear of the stove -after just one season. Also I was not impressed with the "cleanability" -the baffles seem like they are not removeable with out major stove disassembly . Does anyone else here have one of these and have any tricks for getting the baffles out?
 
i posted about my vc aspen i bought last year,a real piece of junk,every gasket and every joint leaked.i cant believe the build up in the chimney what a hazard i cleaned mine a few days ago it was completely packed.people on here said the company went bankrupt and they wont back there warranties .well any way if you really want to get to those tubes there is 4 bolts that hold the top plate on there is a gasket under there that was leaking ,you can get to them that way or you can just push the bricks up from inside the stove they are just laying there nothing holds them in and if a log hits one it can push down and block the flue it happend to me.
 
I bought an older used Aspen stove this year for $100. Needs a good cleaning, and some new top firebrick,,, but I was thinking of installing it ina small room off our kitchen... for occasional fires.

in my research I learned that this stove might be more likely to do well ins high draft situations than it does in low draft situations. It would rather run . but for my situation with burnging dry pine( hot) and good draft it shoudl suite me well. But if I had a situation that I was burning less than hot wood and didn;t have greta drfat- I would have looked for a jotul 602 instead. They seem to run much hotter with less than ideal draft.

also
I ran into many customers Aspoen owners how had the draft near the bottom front of the stove get clogged with ash thta reduced their draft considerable... migth wnat to double check that... all in all I think this si a stove that you shoudl more than likely run wide open to get a hot enough fire...
 
My buddy has one of those stoves in his deer camp near Escanaba. I dog him about how small the stove is, but it does pretty good for heat.

He told me to be sure to reseal the primary air inlet cover with furnace cement whenever you take it off to clean it. If you don't, not all the air will be directed towards the fire and will just shoot up the chimney.
 
Rapid River said:
My buddy has one of those stoves in his deer camp near Escanaba. I dog him about how small the stove is, but it does pretty good for heat.

He told me to be sure to reseal the primary air inlet cover with furnace cement whenever you take it off to clean it. If you don't, not all the air will be directed towards the fire and will just shoot up the chimney.

Thats an interesting observation. I did not reglue it because I actually had it off several times last season to clean out the ash that gets in there. I am wondering if there is a high temp non hardening caulk / sealer that would work to seal the air but be removeable.

Thanks for the info.
 
I've been burning my Apsen for 3 yrs. I'm heating my 900 sq ft first floor of a not insulated Cape Cod. The upstairs goes cold. The previous owner for at least one yr, if not 2. There are many tricks with the Aspen. But first it is only a 600 sq ft stove. It got de-rated from 1000 sq ft by UL several months after it was released (my manual gave it the 1000 sq ft rating, but online I found it was down to the 600). It's a non catalytic secondary reburn cigar stove. Meaning it burns from front to back. Max 18000 btu, or about 3 full electric heaters. It's small. It's meant to be small. It can't be burnt hard because it's got a small box. On a 30 deg night you'll load it every 2.5 hrs if not sooner. At 20 deg feed it every hour.

I burn about 4 cord a year, replacing 3 tanks of oil. I burn about 100 gallons a year when not burning the stove, and when I sleep in and have to restart the fire.

First, broken bricks...very common. Jam the wood in and they will break. It's a 16 inch stove, so you're gonna recut wood. And those odd shapers are going to be recut, too. Rake the coals frequently to get the ash down. Bricks break just looking at them. I've rebricked every other year. It's not that hard to replace them, but the side bricks have to fit properly into the grate. If the top ones are broke change them out ASAP. they create the burn pattern in the stove. Otherwise, when you clean the stove. Bricks this year about 2.50 each at Tractor Supply. Be careful in doing this. There are gaskets between the bricks and the frame to seal the firebox and create the burn surface for the secondary burn tubes.

Consider purchasing a new glass window. One long piece that you think will fit will cause you a 2-3 wk shutdown for the special glass. Not to mention hauling the burning wood out to the snow bank.

Over burning or heavy firestarting will burnout and/or bend/crack the grate. Which brings you the the next subject.

Cut the back of the ash pan down. One over burn and the sheet steel pan warps and you'll have quite the job to remove it. Cut the back about half way down. Always shovel the compartment anyway.

Inside the door on the floor is a solid plate with one screw. This is the main air supply and it chokes out easily with ash. Remove the screw and use a magnet to hold it to a leg. Ash always goes down the air supply vent and you'll need to clean it out. I found that propping it up another 3/8 inch gave the stove the proper air flow for good burns. But you've got to channel the air to the center of the plate to create a proper burn. You've got to push the ash out from it every day. You'll see there is a small opening for the air to pass.

Clean it every 3 months. My stack goes straight up, so brushing it out goes right into the back of the stove. Hence I got to peel the top off (only 4 screws under the edge). Brush off the lid, clean the bricked area and back of the stove. About 1/2 hour maintenance when needed.

The secondary tubes fire off when the temp is just right and they usually start in the front and work back. You need a good bed of coals to get them to fire and it sounds like a gas cook stove. Cool to watch too!. But you can get too enthused and your stack temp will get too hot. Pallet wood burns too quick and can over burn the stove.

It's a air intake control for burn. I found I keep the throttle plate open with a piece of aluminum foil to keep a good fire. When the secondary burn kicks in (properly) the two air intakes on the outer sides, without a cover plate, then suck the air. If you find your stack temp is peaking fast, plug them with aluminum foil also. Put a dampener about 4' above the stove and temp guage above it. Don't peak the pipe over 400F, you've to a roarer at that time.

Can you cook on it. Yes, but you've got to stoke it well. Does great keeping the morning tea warm and put a boiler on top for moisture. This will cause the top to rust and you'll repaint it yearly. Do this every fall when you clean it. The paint's gonna stink first burn.

It's only 65% eff at a good fire, so creosote is common. Don't consider it for a tile/brick chimney. If you've got one, then steel line it. (But for that price get Intrepid or Defiant catalytic.)

Don't bother with the colored fire crystals, biologs, duraflame logs and the such. The window isn't big enough. Bio/paper logs are either waxy or flaky and since the smoke comes to the front so does the flakes and opening the door is a real bad idea.

Basically it's a old 1 room camp stove for the back mountains where you just need to boil coffee and Beefaroni.

After all this, I like it, but we're shopping for something a bit bigger if the budget can handle it. We're tired of feeding it more often than the baby. Working the midnight shift helps because I get it restarted when I come home and family is warm in time to get ready for the day.

Any questions, ask. I've tore it down twice to the frame. Glueing one together is a whole different subject.

Tx,

Mike
 
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awesome details- thanks soooo much!

I am pretty sure thta I need to tear it down and recement the joints... Do you happen to have pictures of the last time you did it?

any advice?
 
Being yoopers, I guess we do things a little differently here Mike. My bud can't understand why you have to prop the air intake flap with tin foil and also increase the height of the primary air inlet plate up another 3/8", yet add a stack damper to reduce the air. Seems like you are just asking for a short burn time and an over fire, which would result in burned out grills. I've been in his camp when it gets to about 5* F and there was no need to load the stove every hour. Up here we burn a lot of maple, and can get over several hours of really good heat with that toy stove. As you said, you are trying to heat a large uninsulated home with a tiny stove and I think you are probably over compensating for it.
 
Rapid River said:
Is your chimney internal or external?
Not sure who you directed that question to but mine is internal - straight up -single wall to ceiling then SS insulated out to roof -near peak on a 4/12 pitch roof.
 
M6 -thanks for the well detailed info. I may try to put some of your tactics to work. As far as the top bricks -I can't seem to get them out and now have dislodged the loose gaskets . Are those gaskets (fiberglass rope sections) really needed? The bricks are just setting above the tubes - loose -anyway. Seems like the only way is to remove the main stove top plate (4 screws) and clean and reposition everything. But that risks damage to the top and sides prying apart the refr. cement. We chose a red enamel version and therefore am cautious about anything chipping the enamel. we have been very careful about the glass door but I agree the rear brick probably suffered a jammed log.
 
gweldgen said:
M6 -thanks for the well detailed info. I may try to put some of your tactics to work. As far as the top bricks -I can't seem to get them out and now have dislodged the loose gaskets . Are those gaskets (fiberglass rope sections) really needed? The bricks are just setting above the tubes - loose -anyway. Seems like the only way is to remove the main stove top plate (4 screws) and clean and reposition everything. But that risks damage to the top and sides prying apart the refr. cement. We chose a red enamel version and therefore am cautious about anything chipping the enamel. we have been very careful about the glass door but I agree the rear brick probably suffered a jammed log.

There shouldn't be cement between the top plate and the rest of the stove. There is only a rope gasket.

Those tactics you might put to work may burn your house down.
 
Rapid River -

To be sure -those tactics I was referring to were NOT the ones about forcing the stove to overfire. I was more concerned with the cleaning and assembly procedures and about the primary air cover plate. Right now my biggest concern is the fiberglass rope pieces that are no longer between the top baffle bricks and the steel framing. I would like to put them back but it seems impossible with the stove fully assembled. I see by the parts blow up there is a gasket for the main top of the stove. You say i should be able to just remove the 4 bolts and lift the top without having to chisel refract cement?
 
gweldgen said:
Rapid River -

To be sure -those tactics I was referring to were NOT the ones about forcing the stove to overfire. I was more concerned with the cleaning and assembly procedures and about the primary air cover plate. Right now my biggest concern is the fiberglass rope pieces that are no longer between the top baffle bricks and the steel framing. I would like to put them back but it seems impossible with the stove fully assembled. I see by the parts blow up there is a gasket for the main top of the stove. You say i should be able to just remove the 4 bolts and lift the top without having to chisel refract cement?

Yes, that is all you have to do. The top plate is not sealed by furnace cement. Rutland sells fiberglass gasketing flat tape that can be used to replace the ones used between the top baffle bricks and the steel framing.
 
thanks for the quick post response. I will tackle that this weekend -supposed to be a rainout here in NY. We really like the look and fit of the Aspen . It is our secondary stove -used mainly to cut the chill on the west end of the house -a breezeway between the garage and main house. Since most of our winds and cold comes at us from the west it helps to have this room heated. Excess heat is drawn in to the kitchen . I just hope some of the negative posts don't apply to all Aspens.
 
No, the negative reviews do not apply to all Aspens. If you look at the stove review section here, it seems that more people are satisfied with their unit. The common complaints are that it is too small, has poor draft, and produces a lot of creosote. The first you can't do anything about. The second can usually be fixed by a good chimney and keeping the primary air inlet clear. I don't know about the third, except that the small stove runs best with well seasoned wood and an internal chimney.
 
Sorry I didn't get back sooner. It's gonna rain and get cold here too. So I started my short rebuild to find all my bricks (but not the top ones) well broken. I photo documented how it comes a apart. I'll get it online some how. Payday is tomorrow and I can buy the bricks then.

I prop the throttle because it seemed to close too early. I think the previous owner over cranked it and it's a gonner, but it does work on lower fires. Also if you put a fan behind it, you cool the throttle and it shuts you down too early. Maybe a ecofan this year instead.

Although my wife calls the house a cabin, its a Cape Cod with cement plaster walls and no insulation in the sides. Since we don't heat the basement, my side of the bed (on the north side of course) get about 55-60 deg. (Hint the stoves on the south side.) It's a good stove for a hunting camp, not a house.

Quick note on the recementing. You don't need to break down the walls, in doing so you just commmitted to a weekend of chipping and the elusive gluing it together, aligning it and getting all the joints right. Believe me it's not fun and most likely not needed (unless you didn't do it right the first time). It's a weekend job. The first year I did it I missed some, the second time I squeezed the walls together too tight and I had to cut the firebricks bottoms 1/8" to get the grate back in. See below...

The factory states to glue the top brick gasket in place. Tacking this gasket in would be better. The top bricks just sit on the gasket tightly together. The fire needs to go around the brick to the front, not through then to the top. You burn out the top in no time that way. I put 1/2" flat gasketunder them. Pull the tubes and clean them. The align tubes with notches to the correct angle, check each one. It mentions to seal the tubes and this may be a good idea, gluing them may be overkill. When I figure it out I'll post it.

The grate lifts up out of the bottom, then the side bricks, from front to back can be plucked. The last side bricks slide forward a bit, then come out. The rear brick swings from the bottom out. I didn't say vacuum, but use some safe suction device to clean every thing out. (And not a turkey baster or breast pump either.) I pull the top and top bricks upon every chimney cleaning. I brush everything down to the ash pan then vacuum, oops, er, safely suck out the bottom.

Funny note about sealing the primary air throat. The glass window allows air down the glass (to keep it clean), right in front of the upward burn draft. So I don't think lifting it causes much air up the chimney loss. Now totally removing and it will not burn at all. I actually have it at an angle so the feed circles into the burn. I was thinking of putting a gasket around the back of it and /or completely modifying it and making a secondary air channel. You've got to dig it out every other loading. Beside, free wood doesn't always come in 16's, I've got barrels of wood ends, and it's called a chop saw, duh! (There is a reason for cheap tools!).

I save the maple for January/February freeze. Otherwise I seem to be the only road picker that wants elm. So what if it's twisty, that's what a splitter is for. I burnt out the bottom grate after 3 yrs. $65 plus shipping. I've put alot of wet wood through it only due to my own lazyness of not recovering the wood pile or forgetting to put a board over the cover. There have been times we run it for hours with the door propped to steam the wood. Yup, not the best practice, but hey, when it's cold you'll burn your neighbors bushes to keep warm (no, I have not done that, yet...). This year I got it all done early.

Don't glue the top plate down as mentioned above. Regasket it and glue the gasket on the top plate. You don't have to regasket it every time you pluck the top off. (It's not a car.) Hand tighten the screws like you do a tire (pun intended) cross ways, but only hand tight. Don't muscle any of the screws. And put a bit of never sieze high temp / manifold bolt grease on them to go back in. They rust in easily. Remember the frame is going to expand and contract from the heat. You've got to trust in a good gluing. Biggest leaks come from around the secondary burn air feed on the front left and right walls near the door. It's a odd gluing situation around the door area, so just look closely. Don't glue the grate in (silly to say, but true), no air comes in that way. The air travels around the ashpit then to the front throat.

Stack dampner is not a fully closed one. It's in case of some errand piece of turbo wood (pallets) gets in and I need to shut it down quicker. I've got standard pipe to the ceiling (8' up') then Triple wall up the next 18'. One straight shot up. With the cigar box burner, you can't get a fire quench stick up there very easily. I've got to watch out because one chimney fire and so much for the chimney pipe. The roof is fall me off pitch of 12/12. Yup, you can put a square right on top. And I'm doing that roofing job next week.

Important gaskets are the door, flue collar, top bricks and top.

Yes, I'm probablly pushing the full heat from the stove, but it's not totally replacing the heat, just "supplementing", like oh 90%....lol

And yes I'm very satisfied with. And so is my wallet, just not my back...

I'm at my word limit...I'll post the tear down later.
 
Removed the top of the Aspen this weekend. It was actually easier than I thought. Thanks for all the info. I was just sorry that I did not have it off for the initial cleaning. That would have been WAY easier!. I found some of the Rutland flat tape -sticky on one side. Fit perfectly along the edges and the firebrick top baffles are now at least somewhat sealed. I could see by the carbon staining on the bricks that flue gasses /smoke had been bypassing the baffle. That may very well have contributed to the creosote buildup. I think what may happen is that when it was assembled the gasket was just set in place and the bricks set on top. In shipping the bricks jostle around and the gasket slips out of place. As suggested I used a small amount of high temp grease on the threads for the 4 bolts and only snugged the top down -crisscross pattern. The rope gasket for the top was in perfect condition and I saw no indication of any leaks there. The refract cement used on some of the other seams was kind of sloppy but i left well enough alone for now.
 
gweldgen said:
Removed the top of the Aspen this weekend. It was actually easier than I thought. Thanks for all the info. I was just sorry that I did not have it off for the initial cleaning. That would have been WAY easier!. I found some of the Rutland flat tape -sticky on one side. Fit perfectly along the edges and the firebrick top baffles are now at least somewhat sealed. I could see by the carbon staining on the bricks that flue gasses /smoke had been bypassing the baffle. That may very well have contributed to the creosote buildup. I think what may happen is that when it was assembled the gasket was just set in place and the bricks set on top. In shipping the bricks jostle around and the gasket slips out of place. As suggested I used a small amount of high temp grease on the threads for the 4 bolts and only snugged the top down -crisscross pattern. The rope gasket for the top was in perfect condition and I saw no indication of any leaks there. The refract cement used on some of the other seams was kind of sloppy but i left well enough alone for now.

Good, it's all part of the learning curve. You need to be careful when loading wood that you don't "jostle" the top bricks around.
 
Hi, we're newbies, and just purchased a used Aspen and installed it this weekend...we had a chimney liner professionally installed in an internal masonry chimney. All was fine until we noticed a 2 inch crack in the top of the stove from the right edge of the stove top in towards the middle. What would have caused this? Is this a fire hazard? Should we replace the top immediately? Thanks!!
 
Greetings, is this crack in the casting? If yes, it's a warranty flaw and should be replaced asap.
 
hmorrical said:
Hi, we're newbies, and just purchased a used Aspen and installed it this weekend...we had a chimney liner professionally installed in an internal masonry chimney. All was fine until we noticed a 2 inch crack in the top of the stove from the right edge of the stove top in towards the middle. What would have caused this? Is this a fire hazard? Should we replace the top immediately? Thanks!!

My guess, with such little information, is that somebody could have spilled some cold water from a steamer onto a really hot stove.
 
Hi, thanks for the responses to my post about the crack in the Aspen...I will post pictures when I get home this evening...if you're looking down at the top of the stove from above, it is a hairline crack on the right hand side that starts at the edge and moves perpendicular to the edge in towards the middle of the stove. It is about 2 inches long, and is widest at the edge of the top plate. When the stove cools back down, it almost disappears. We are 99% sure we did not overfire...nothing heated to the point of glowing. Our first concern is safety....if we can repair it in some way, that's great...if not, we're wondering what the next step would be.

Thanks again!
 
On a new stove I'd think this is a warranty replacement item. Have you spoken with the dealer about replacing the top?
 
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