Identifying Resolute Aclaim Model & Intro

[Oldhippie]

Hey all, first let me into myself and then ask a couple questions that you might be able to help me with.

My name is Steve and I'm a home owner in Ashby Mass, which is on the norther border of Massachusetts just south of Keene NH. Ashby is a nice (one blinking yellow light, one gas station and one general store with more horses than people) little town and there's lot's of wood. I built a mid sized Cape style home here in 1979, righ tin the middle of the first gas crunch. (some of you may remember that one)

I put a Garrison One in the upstairs (an elongated octogonal cold rolled steel stove with soapstone bed/sides inside) which is supposed to heat 10K cu/ft and I also remodeled the basement and turned it into a family room and put a CDW cat stove in there in '86. I only use the Garrison for the real cold weather, as it is probably too big for our needs, and last year the CDW gave up the ghost from getting 25 years of use. I have been telecommuting since mid nineties and keep that one going around the clock.

So this year I was looking around for a new stove and found my neighbor replacing this Resolute Aclaim with a gas fed stove they use more for decoration and to take the chill out some mornings than any real wood burning. I bought it from him for $200. What do you think?

I think it was purchased new in 88 or maybe 89. They haven't used it 50 times since then. The husband works outside the home and the wife couldn't be bothered. Plus, they did mention they had a hard time controlling the heat and it would get too hot for them. I've also noticed this stove runs hot. I am always a year ahead on my wood, so the wood I'm burning now I cut and split last year. I go through about 3.5~4 cord a year. Sometimes a bit less, or more.

I decided to put a stove damper in and located it about 8 inches up from the collar. That is helping me control the heat, that and I'm starting to get a feel for this stove. On the griddle temps will run up to 750-800'F but the stove pipe with a magnetic thermometer is about 300~350F. I know it's burning clean, but I barely get a burn through the night, filling it up at 10:00PM and usually I'm down to just a small bed of coals by 6:00AM. But it's usually enough to be able to get a burn going again pretty easily.

I will say I love the pretty glass door and the top loading. But it seems like the EPA regs forced VC into building a stove that the end user has very little ability to control the heat output of. Am I doing something wrong? I've got this in the basement of a 2 story Cape, so it's about 30 feet of chimney so I know I've got a good draft going there.

So now I'm trying to make sure I've got the directions right and have found a couple of versions of the user manual on line.. and there were apparently some changes made in the first few years of this stove. This one doesn't appear to have anything to "shake the grates" but there is a small bar the runs from the left side of the stove under the grates and fits into a small hole in the front grate.

Any hints on this stove? Were there problems with this stove?


Thanks for any input on the Resolute.

Steve

 

[Oldhippie]

Here's a pic of the monster in the living room. This one is a candidate for replacement.

 

[defiant3]

Steve, if yours has that rod thing, then it's an older Acclaim I. It's definately leaking air, and should be better behaved. It's not true that EPA complkiant stoves have to be out of control.

So my 1st thought is that there should be a SHAKER ROD that would stick out on the lower left front of the stove. Left of the draft control.I couldn't see it in the photo. If for some reason it were missing, that would leave a nice hole to allow air in.

Otherwise check gaskets, esp. the glass. See if it rattles.

I could fill volumes with the stuff that goes wrong w/Acclaim I's, and you'll ;likely find out all about it in the years to come. The good news is you'll certainly get $200.00 worth out of it.

Graham "the Stoveman"

 

[defiant3]

Oh yeah, look underneath at the air control thing. Sometimes the "butterfly valve" isn't actually closed when the handle is in the closed position.

 

[rwhite]

I don't have any clue as to an answer to your question but that is a pretty stove and would look right at home where that old black thing is.

 

[Oldhippie]

Steve, if yours has that rod thing, then it's an older Acclaim I. It's definately leaking air, and should be better behaved. It's not true that EPA complkiant stoves have to be out of control.

So my 1st thought is that there should be a SHAKER ROD that would stick out on the lower left front of the stove. Left of the draft control.I couldn't see it in the photo. If for some reason it were missing, that would leave a nice hole to allow air in.

Otherwise check gaskets, esp. the glass. See if it rattles.

I could fill volumes with the stuff that goes wrong w/Acclaim I's, and you'll ;likely find out all about it in the years to come. The good news is you'll certainly get $200.00 worth out of it.

Graham "the Stoveman"

Graham, there is a "shaker rod" sticking out on the lower left front of the stove, But it is either frozen or just immobile. It has a little cap on the end of it, and then a circular loop on the end of the cap. Should it move in and out freely to shake the grates? it's frozen solid.

I agree with you that I may have an air leak someplace. I did replace the main door gasket all the way around, but not the glass gasket, it looked okay and the window seemed solidly in place. There is also a griddle gasket... hmmm? Maybe it needs replacing. it looks okay, but that doesn't mean much.

Thanks for any follow-on thoughts.

 

[Oldhippie]

Oh yeah, look underneath at the air control thing. Sometimes the "butterfly valve" isn't actually closed when the handle is in the closed position.

Good suggestion, it maybe be off a hairline. I just noticed that, but the stove is going now, so I'll let it die and then check it with a mirror. I can see the bolt to tighten and adjust it, that looks easy.

 

[Oldhippie]

I don't have any clue as to an answer to your question but that is a pretty stove and would look right at home where that old black thing is.

I've been considering that too.

 

[Ash Man]

Steve, I also am new to the forum. I joined to figure out which stove to replace my VC Resolute Acclaim with. It has given us 12 good years of service. I never had any problems controlling this stove, especially once I flipped the lever that closes off the chimney, forcing the air to exit the stove below. I am considering getting another VC, but am concerned about getting parts in the future since they have had troubles of late. I would check for leaks, as this stove should behave itself better than what you have described. Best of luck with this.

 

[JonOfSunderland]

That's not an Acclaim I, it's a Resolute Acclaim 0041, built 1988-1992 with shaker grates.

http://www.discountstove.com/0041.html

 

[Oldhippie]

Thanks all for helping me identify the stove. It does have that "rod thing", although it appears to be frozen. I'll need to look at it more when the stove is cold.

So now, help me get un-confused please. The neighbor claims it is a "non-catalytic" stove. I'm used to cat stovers having on of those round ceramic waffle like components about 3 inches think that the smoke passes through. This doesn't have that, but in the blow-up that Jon posted there is a "combustion-package". Can anyone explain what that is? Is that a Catalytic converter of some type?

Another question I have is that I noticed that someone in another thread mentioned that keeping surface temps down was to "open up the stove and the external flue pipe damper" to let the stove breath. That even though there might be flames in the stove, the surface temp would be less. This seems counter intuitive, but maybe it's correct, or did I misunderstand?

Thanks, and safe burning!

Steve

 

[JonOfSunderland]

That's not a catalyst but rather a chamber where secondary air is introduced and the unburned gasses are ignited. Most non-catalytic stoves introduce secondary air at the top of the firebox. This stove, however, is what's called a downdraft stove where the unburned smoke is burned at the bottom of the firebox right behind the hot coals.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not an "Everburn" stove (do a search).

I have a friend with a Resolute Acclaim 2490, a similar but newer model, and he's quite happy with it.

 

[Oldhippie]

Defiant3 called it.

I found the leak! Well, at least the first leak. I let the stove go out last night, as I was gone all day retrieving my daughter from Brooklyn for the holiday. I normally burn 24/7 and have been getting better at controlling the heat, but I still notice that even with the Primary Air Valve shut down there was still lot's of draft getting in the stove.

This leads me to 2 questions.


1. Is there a secondary air inlet on this stove I am not seeing? I know it's not adjustable, but I wonder of there is a secondary air inlet feeding the "Cumbustion Package". The manual doesn't say. (It's like it's a secret, even though they do reference "secondary air". Almost seems like VC deliberately left out information.

2. Where is the leak/s.

I've replaced the door gasket and that seems tight, even though I'm not at all impressed with the door lock mechanism/adjustment with the washers.

So this morning I checked the stove cold and found that a 6 inch length of damper gasket material in the lower middle of the damper is missing. That has got to be creating a stronger draft pull through the stove and giving me these high griddle temps. So I've got the gasket kit and will replace that gasket. The griddle gasket still looks good, but that one might get replaced too as it is pretty flattened, probably has never been replaced. It will be a little difficult to replace the damper gasket, as it faces toward the back wall, and I'm probably going to have to clean the surface and glue and fit the gasket by feel rather than take the stove apart to get at it. But I'm pretty mechanically inclined (working on my motorcycles for 30 years) so I'll just take my time and fit it nicely in there.

Any other suggestions?

Is there a secondary air source someplace? I know it's an out of date stove with a poor reputation, but it fit my budget nicely and now you guys have got me looking at one of those Woodstock stoves for the livingroom to replace that older Garrison box stove I've got there. (you guys are corrupting my mind, just like I do to Harley Newbies over on the cycle forums!)

Steve L
Ashby Ma.

 

[YankeeFarmer]

The damper gasket area is easily accessible through the stovepipe opening.