Reduced Flue for Vigilant. Will it work?

[afptl]

so does anyone have an opinion on an 8 inch flue reduced to a 6 inch on an old 1977 vermont castings vigilant? Chimney is a 6 inch stainless steel liner about 13 or 14 feet long. would it work other than no open watch the fire doors?

 

[remkel]

Hey, Ann

Just replaced my old 77 vigilant with a new Jotul F600.

Will the reduced flu work? Possibly yes, but the real question is how well. I would be very leery about reducing any amount of draft for the Vigilant- they are creosote monsters when running perfectly, it is very possible the reduced draft could exacerbate this issue.

Also, you have a very short chimney run that could also contribute to some draft issues.

This, of course, is stated as my humble opinion as I had an 8X12 clay liner which has since been replaced due to an incredible amount of creosote buildup.


Good luck.

 

[afptl]

thanks for writing back! I was concerned about reducing the flue size on the older stove. The attraction of the VC is it fits space wise well for us. I think I am going to keep looking as the seller is wanting a little more than I want to pay.

 

[webbie]

I think the short height of the flue works against you.

Every little thing counts in such a situation. If the flue is straight up that helps greatly.

All in all, if you don't have the stove yet...you are best to keep looking.

 

[afptl]

Yes, I do not have the stove. I am backing off of the VC and looking for something else. thanks for the help!!

 

[Kenster]

Hey, Ann

Just replaced my old 77 vigilant with a new Jotul F600.

Will the reduced flu work? Possibly yes, but the real question is how well. I would be very leery about reducing any amount of draft for the Vigilant- they are creosote monsters when running perfectly, it is very possible the reduced draft could exacerbate this issue.

Also, you have a very short chimney run that could also contribute to some draft issues.

This, of course, is stated as my humble opinion as I had an 8X12 clay liner which has since been replaced due to an incredible amount of creosote buildup.


Good luck.

Interesting, Remkel. I don't understand why you were having a creosote problem unless you were running at low stove temps and/or with wood that wasn't dry enough. I haven't had an excessive amount of creosote in my Vigilant. I had it cleaned professionally last year for the first time since we've lived here (five years) and who knows how long it had been before that. Only in the past couple of years have I become educated as to what makes good, dry firewood. I think the Sweep got less than a coffee can full of creosote out of a 30+ foot pipe.

 

[Kenster]

Ann, what did you end up getting? I love our Vigilant and there are probably thousands of them out there still in use.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I'm currently running a Vigilant with a 6" liner. Chimney is about 20'. This is my fourth year with the stove. It runs fine. It runs dirtier than an EPA stove, but I still get by with a once a year cleaning which I do myself. This will probably be the last year running the Vigilant, though.

 

[afptl]

Ann, what did you end up getting? I love our Vigilant and there are probably thousands of them out there still in use.

I ended up passing on the Vigilant. I have to work with the 6 inch flue. I found an Avalon Olympic that can be either an insert or a hearth heater. I have it painted and just trying to work out when I can get enough man power to get this thing in and in its spot! I am hoping to do it tomorrow or by the end of the week. Trying to work out the schedules with my 2 sons' friends so I can "borrow" those young muscles!!

 

[BrowningBAR]

Ann, what did you end up getting? I love our Vigilant and there are probably thousands of them out there still in use.

I ended up passing on the Vigilant. I have to work with the 6 inch flue. I found an Avalon Olympic that can be either an insert or a hearth heater. I have it painted and just trying to work out when I can get enough man power to get this thing in and in its spot! I am hoping to do it tomorrow or by the end of the week. Trying to work out the schedules with my 2 sons' friends so I can "borrow" those young muscles!!

Sounds like you made a good choice.

 

[remkel]

Hey, Ann

Just replaced my old 77 vigilant with a new Jotul F600.

Will the reduced flu work? Possibly yes, but the real question is how well. I would be very leery about reducing any amount of draft for the Vigilant- they are creosote monsters when running perfectly, it is very possible the reduced draft could exacerbate this issue.

Also, you have a very short chimney run that could also contribute to some draft issues.

This, of course, is stated as my humble opinion as I had an 8X12 clay liner which has since been replaced due to an incredible amount of creosote buildup.


Good luck.

Interesting, Remkel. I don't understand why you were having a creosote problem unless you were running at low stove temps and/or with wood that wasn't dry enough. I haven't had an excessive amount of creosote in my Vigilant. I had it cleaned professionally last year for the first time since we've lived here (five years) and who knows how long it had been before that. Only in the past couple of years have I become educated as to what makes good, dry firewood. I think the Sweep got less than a coffee can full of creosote out of a 30+ foot pipe.

Well, I think the issue was more of a chimney issue than it was how I was running the stove. Wood was dry, always ran it at high temps (450-550 range). Upon investigation I, and the chimney sweep, believe that too much air was getting into the chimney and cooling the gases as they went up. Have now had the clay liner removed, installed a 6" ss insulated liner, and bought the new F600. Hoping that makes all the difference, I know it has made a difference from a heating perspective so far.