Resolute 1979 Questions

[MattyRetro]

Hey all, I recently bought a new home, to me anyways and there is a very nice VC Resolute 1979 stove. I decided to give it a good clean out and now I'm at a loss as to what to do next. My first question is, does it need fire bricks? The bottom was packed with ash, gravel and some old nails. Not a lot of gravel and just a few nails but they were there. I've taken some pics to show what I have. I've had a few decent fires over the last week and I should have just left well enough alone but my OCD tendencies pushed me to give it a good cleaning with the shop vac.

Thanks so much in advance. The stove is not my primary source of heat. It is just supplemental. I have read the manual to it but I still have some questions.

 

[begreen]

There were no firebricks in this stove. Put an inch of sand in the bottom first. Considering it hasn't been fired up in a while, do a couple small break in fires first before fully loading. This is a great little stove. You should get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Do you have the manual? If not, we have it in 3 parts here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/vermont-castings-older-stove-models/

 

[MattyRetro]

There were no firebricks in this stove. Put an inch of sand in the bottom first. Considering it hasn't been fired up in a while, do a couple small break in fires first before fully loading. This is a great little stove. You should get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Do you have the manual? If not, we have it in 3 parts here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/vermont-castings-older-stove-models/

Thanks begreen for the tip on the sand! Sounds like an easy fix. I will definitely go thru the manual and see what I can learn from it.

 

[beatlefan]

That's a great looking stove...

 

[MattyRetro]

Had a great burn last night. Thanks again for the advice!!