2022/23 VC Owner thread

[arnermd]

Draft is the engine that drives the stove. when draft is super high its pulling tons of air through the stove.. Its also the opposite.. Lack of draft will kill the stove and stall the cat/stove.

So.... I agree with all your comments and understand that draft is essential and variable. For proper operation it need to be in an acceptable range.

My question is what is the acceptable range?

• I have found no guidance from VC for my stove.
• Has anybody measured their draft levels? If so what pressure was measured, where and under what conditions?

Common guidance is as you said. Uncontrollable runaway temps and active flames = high draft, low temps and lazy firs - low draft.

In my setup:

• I get very active flames with the stove in bypass, I suspect everybody does.
• I have very limited control on griddle / flue temps in bypass. If I close air all the way down temps generally will continue to rise. Again I suspect this is normal as air is coming in through the secondary which I have no control over.
• In cat mode if I close my air all the way down early in a full load my griddle temps will crash <300 while cat temps will soar to 1600.

So....... does this sound like an excessive draft problem? I am not so sure. Best way to know of course is to measure and compare the pressure.

 

[GrumpyDad]

It definitely produces heat. My layout is less than ideal and I can get the upstairs up to 70 and the stove room to the mid 70s. The furthest point it heats will get up to the mid 60s which is fine. That is a poorly insulated mudroom with 4 windows and a sliding glass door plus a door to the garage.

The process to run these correctly just takes some trial and error. Every setup and wood supply is different so there won't be a one size fits all approach here. I think the point you made earlier about ignoring the mechanics and looking at why the stove is operating the way it is is key. Cat takes off, ask why? There are a few reasons to this but I think the most common will be fuel. In most cases the primary is probably not closed down quick enough I feel from my end. But sometimes if the coal bed is too small and the primary goes down too quick it stalls. It just has come down to feel and timing making sure the cat goes off and the primary is cut when it does.

I loaded this morning cat at 630. Half box of wood. Closed damper. Cat got up to 1000 I shut the air to half. I haven't touched it or looked since. That was almost 3 hours ago. No alarm went off and its getting warmer in my house from the overnight cooldown. As much hate as these stoves get, they can be run effectively and I would not consider them defective. Are they the simplest, absolutely not. But effective heaters, absolutely.

Defective, probably not. Well, for some they are - as some have had to take apart their stoves and clean up sloppy labor or fix rods.
Working as advertised, absolutely not.

Not working as advertised, defective....that's pretty much the same thing to me. My wife can't operate this stove. My kids can't operate the stove. I was told 'set it and forget it', and handed a brochure that showed the 'automagic' features.

My neighbor stoves can all be operated by their family members. Drolet, Jotul, Bargain basement no name stoves....just chuck some wood in, if it's cold turn up the heat and if it is too warm turn it down. Nice flames, decent over night burns. They dont worry about creosote, things going nuclear for no reason, wood moisture levels...none of that.

VC casting stoves remind me of the car brand Alfa Romeo. You know the car is going to have problems, and have odd engineering decisions but you bought it anyway,...why?! Because they are fun to operate and look good. VC only looks good, it is not fun to operate.

If Honda or Ford sold a stove, Id buy it tomorrow.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

So.... I agree with all your comments and understand that draft is essential and variable. For proper operation it need to be in an acceptable range.

My question is what is the acceptable range?

• I have found no guidance from VC for my stove.
• Has anybody measured their draft levels? If so what pressure was measured, where and under what conditions?

Common guidance is as you said. Uncontrollable runaway temps and active flames = high draft, low temps and lazy firs - low draft.

In my setup:

• I get very active flames with the stove in bypass, I suspect everybody does.
• I have very limited control on griddle / flue temps in bypass. If I close air all the way down temps generally will continue to rise. Again I suspect this is normal as air is coming in through the secondary which I have no control over.
• In cat mode if I close my air all the way down early in a full load my griddle temps will crash <300 while cat temps will soar to 1600.

So....... does this sound like an excessive draft problem? I am not so sure. Best way to know of course is to measure and compare the pressure.

Draft can somewhat be controlled.. By how hot your getting the stovepipe. I use a thermometer that i have on there. I heat the stovepipe to 300/400 degrees and my stove should be 550/600 and close the bypass.. Maybe your getting the stovepipe to hot creating to much draft

You can worry less about the creosote build up if you cats in and running properly. I sweep twice a year.. not that I have to, only for peace of mind and to see how things are going. I run my stovepipe on the cooler side drafting well, not over not under..
I did a post a few pages back. Worry about what your doing to the stove, not what you thing it should be doing mechanically or what you think or how it mechanically operates.

to me it sounds a little like you have an air leak and you should check your gaskets.. I have complete control of my stove with the bypass closed. I close my bypass and I can let a load catch .. if I turn the air all the way down ALL flames will be gone. Depending on where the air is I will not have flames on my splits but above them inside the box floating around..

As long as you woods dry.. sub 20% and your cats working well you can run the stovepipe on the cooler side.. But..to cool your stove may stall.. You should.. as well as the others reading this should start with partial loads.. not over draft make note of what temp the stovepipe is and see how it burns

As long as the cats in good shape it will burn all of the un burned fuel in the chamber prior to it going into the stove pipe.. look at said stovepipe and see of is clean

 

[Woodsplitter67]

This is how my stove is running right now air is half way.. with 3/4 of a box of wood.. stove pipe like 250.. cat 1029 stove 500 no smoke out of said stovepipe

 

[GrumpyDad]

Draft can somewhat be controlled.. By how hot your getting the stovepipe. I use a thermometer that i have on there. I heat the stovepipe to 300/400 degrees and my stove should be 550/600 and close the bypass.. Maybe your getting the stovepipe to hot creating to much draft

You can worry less about the creosote build up if you cats in and running properly. I sweep twice a year.. not that I have to, only for peace of mind and to see how things are going. I run my stovepipe on the cooler side drafting well, not over not under..
I did a post a few pages back. Worry about what your doing to the stove, not what you thing it should be doing mechanically or what you think or how it mechanically operates.

to me it sounds a little like you have an air leak and you should check your gaskets.. I have complete control of my stove with the bypass closed. I close my bypass and I can let a load catch .. if I turn the air all the way down ALL flames will be gone. Depending on where the air is I will not have flames on my splits but above them inside the box floating around..

As long as you woods dry.. sub 20% and your cats working well you can run the stovepipe on the cooler side.. But..to cool your stove may stall.. You should.. as well as the others reading this should start with partial loads.. not over draft make note of what temp the stovepipe is and see how it burns

As long as the cats in good shape it will burn all of the un burned fuel in the chamber prior to it going into the stove pipe.. look at said stovepipe and see of is clean

That is an important statement about the stovepipe. It would be interesting to know how much draft one gets as a stove pipe warms.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I dont know why but I've been opening the door and doing a quick scrap with the green scrubby before reloading in the morning. Helps get the coals going in the morning and I can see better what my reload is doing. I still struggle with reloads and having to fiddle.

Weren't you the guy in another thread saying how well your operating the stove and was willing to bet me a grand that no one is as good as you or some crap like that..

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I dont know why but I've been opening the door and doing a quick scrap with the green scrubby before reloading in the morning. Helps get the coals going in the morning and I can see better what my reload is doing. I still struggle with reloads and having to fiddle.

I found it.. this wasy your reply

expand...

Huh?
Poor wood?
Poor burning habits?
You are way off base.
My wood is exceptional, my burning habits are spot on at this point. If anyone can do better than I on this stove I'd gladly wager 1k with a smile.

If your a man of your word.. you owe me a grand

 

[Woodsplitter67]

There are a number of things that factor into running the stoves.. the climate outside, the diameter and length of stove pipe. My set up is a follows.. My stovepipe is 8 inch.. and 16 ft. .. I went with 8inch because my run in not long. many not all are first time stove owners. I was not. It was recommended to me to go with 6 inch but having a down draft stove I knew 8 is better in my application. My living room is large and opens to my kitchen.. the opening to my kitchen in 16ft wide my kitchen opens up to my diningroom.. that opening is 14 ft wide to the kitchen.. my dining room is 30x14.. My stove is on the backside of the living room closest to the kitchen.. so its more to the middle of the house. kitchen is 14x18ft.. air moves freely throughout the house. I set my home up for wood burning..
As in the case of @GrumpyDad.. he has to much stove for his room.. the hot air gets trapped and he has not figured out convection or making a convection loop

Having the air move freely throughout the home will help run the stove as you're able to set up the stove without making 1 area to hot and having to turn it up and down all the time.. @GrumpyDad feels that he was sold a bunch of good and not told the truth about his stove and how it works but really the truth is its to much stove for the area.. that no stove putting out that many BTUs will work in his application and that a small stove was need and should have been purchased. Its not the stoves fault it was put in a small area and the owner should have done a better job of selection..

People who have limited knowledge will make some mistakes in either the purchase of the stove( wrong size) or something in the setup..(stovepipe) Its unfortunate.. I think many here need to take note of how the stove burns.. and when it burns well for you Replicate it.

Keep asking questions guys.. you'll get this..

 

[Eman85]

Stove surprised me today. After about a 13 hour burn still had good coals and opened the air and opened the bypass, cat was in the 700's. Put 3 medium splits in and closed the bypass and put air at 1/2, cat ran to about 1200 and I just bumped the air a tiny bit more closed and the cat held steady. About an hour or so in the stove did the backflash and puff even with the air open that much, then settled and it's burning fine.

 

[GrumpyDad]

Weren't you the guy in another thread saying how well your operating the stove and was willing to bet me a grand that no one is as good as you or some crap like that..

wow your internet warriorness is amazing! Recall though, my statement is after you once again tried to sh*t over my comments with more wild assumptions which you've done on numerous occasions. Have you ever been told by someone that you read/listen to what you want but not everything?
You seem rather obsessed with me. But sure, I'm willing to pay someone 1k to prove to me that this stove can be run in a manner that my heart wouldnt feel guilty reselling it. They cannot. No one would leave this stove running and leave their house for 8 hours if it were their only source of heat. No one in their right mind. Yet, all other stove manufacturers that exactly what people do.

Regarding reloads:
So you are telling me that you just plop a bunch of wood in there, dont check your 700 probes, stand by and babysit, mess with air control through the next hour, nothing? You reload, and leave the house for 8 hours, come back and you have a warm house and still have some wood burning?

Sure...tell me another NJ story.

As you have nothing of value aside from excuse making for a mediocre at best stove, I'm setting you to ignore.

 

[Jmorg]

@GrumpyDad not looking for arguments here but I leave my Dauntless running all the time. I run it the same as all my other stoves before it…as far as closing the primary air down halfway before I leave the house or go to bed. Always come back to a STT of 350-450 and lots of coals. This thing’s been running for 6 days 24/7 and I haven’t had to use kindling one since the initial startup. I’m not going to say you’re running it wrong because I think every stove is a little different. I do think there are many of us on this thread though that are very happy with our VC stoves, but there are a few having issues, but I don’t think it’s good to keep trashing a certain brand over and over on this forum. Good luck

 

[dmccoole]

What do you all use to sweep your stove pipe? What kind of brush? Drill or no drill? This is my second year with an Encore 2040 and I had a 6" SS flex pipe installed with it. Straight shot to the clean out so fairly easy. Previously, I had a Noble for the last +30 years. It was very easy to use but it was not efficient and created a lot of creosote. I'm finally getting the hang of the Encore mostly from all your posts! Greatly appreciated!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Stove surprised me today. After about a 13 hour burn still had good coals and opened the air and opened the bypass, cat was in the 700's. Put 3 medium splits in and closed the bypass and put air at 1/2, cat ran to about 1200 and I just bumped the air a tiny bit more closed and the cat held steady. About an hour or so in the stove did the backflash and puff even with the air open that much, then settled and it's burning fine.

Thanks for posting.. backpuffing is a sign of weak draft.. there was a build up of flammable gases in the box that was lit off.. note the stovepipe temperature..

Backpuffing can be avoided by keeping the cat more active or stovepipe temperature up drawing more air into the stove

 

[Woodsplitter67]

What do you all use to sweep your stove pipe? What kind of brush? Drill or no drill? This is my second year with an Encore 2040 and I had a 6" SS flex pipe installed with it. Straight shot to the clean out so fairly easy. Previously, I had a Noble for the last +30 years. It was very easy to use but it was not efficient and created a lot of creosote. I'm finally getting the hang of the Encore mostly from all your posts! Greatly appreciated!

Im using to soot eatter knock off.. from Amazon. I got it a number of years ago.. I couldn't see spending a ton of money as I sweep 2xs per year so in 10 years its only 20 times.. Im using my Dewalt 1/2 in cordless drill..

I do mine normal early January and then at the end of the season like may.. I started doing my own because scheduling the sweep was a pain, if weather was bad they canceled and I waited a month.. and honestly.. I do a better job.. most of the employees didn't understand my stove

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Good morning, been a while since I’ve looked at the thread…unfortunately looks like people are having a lot of issues. I wish you guys luck and hopefully these issues can get resolved quickly!

On the other hand, my Dauntless has been running smoother than ever. It’s been going nonstop for 6 days now. I’m into my good wood now…all white and red oak seasoned about 1.5 years with a mc of 15-18%. Getting consistent 11 hour burn times at night and easy re starts in the morning with a lot of hot coals to get going easily. I load up at 10 pm and make sure the load catches well and the cat is lit off and then I close the air exactly half way and that gets me 10-11 hours easy. STT is usually about 350-400 deg when I wake up and I open the air fully and let the coals get nice and hot before reloading. I usually keep the primary 3 clicks back from fully open during the day and that keeps the STT between 550-650 for a few hours. I hardly ever change the air setting…it might get a little over 650 STT for a bit but usually doesn’t stay there too long. My glass gets dark at night but seems to burn off pretty well after getting it going in the AM. Here are some pics from this AM after 11 hours and opening up primary before reloading and right after reloading…

View attachment 306449 View attachment 306450 View attachment 306451

Thanks for posting.. this sounds like your really getting it dialed in.. keep up the good work.. please.. help others on here

 

[arnermd]

Data from last 2 burns, pretty warm here so burning much smaller loads. I removed my key damper yesterday afternoon.

On the first burn stove was cold, <100 on the griddle. 3 med size splits and some kindling. I struggled to get the cat up to temps, cut the air back too soon a couple times and killed the cat off. Eventually got it to 1100 and set air for 50% for the duration.

Second burn was easier as stove was still hot, again a small load, dialed air down at 1000F to 50% and left it.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

What do you all use to sweep your stove pipe? What kind of brush? Drill or no drill? This is my second year with an Encore 2040 and I had a 6" SS flex pipe installed with it. Straight shot to the clean out so fairly easy. Previously, I had a Noble for the last +30 years. It was very easy to use but it was not efficient and created a lot of creosote. I'm finally getting the hang of the Encore mostly from all your posts! Greatly appreciated!

The 2040 is a great heater and throws off alot of heat when its going.. what are your burn times like

 

[Woodsplitter67]

wow your internet warriorness is amazing! Recall though, my statement is after you once again tried to sh*t over my comments with more wild assumptions which you've done on numerous occasions. Have you ever been told by someone that you read/listen to what you want but not everything?
You seem rather obsessed with me. But sure, I'm willing to pay someone 1k to prove to me that this stove can be run in a manner that my heart wouldnt feel guilty reselling it. They cannot. No one would leave this stove running and leave their house for 8 hours if it were their only source of heat. No one in their right mind. Yet, all other stove manufacturers that exactly what people do.

Regarding reloads:
So you are telling me that you just plop a bunch of wood in there, dont check your 700 probes, stand by and babysit, mess with air control through the next hour, nothing? You reload, and leave the house for 8 hours, come back and you have a warm house and still have some wood burning?

Sure...tell me another NJ story.

As you have nothing of value aside from excuse making for a mediocre at best stove, I'm setting you to ignore.

I really cant believe your upset.. You post your problems and issues and I have responded with what your doing wrong.. Thats not shitting on your post.. thats help.. you post on another forum of how your stove is putting out a creosote smell and.i post a clip of a post YOU made of YOU pulling out your cat and cutting the air back.. Somehow you cant figure out why your stove smells like creosote burning.. You really dont want help.. you just want to groan about the problems you have created. Ill tell you this again.. you have already had 1 chimney fire.. your well on your way to your 2nd chimney fire.. Your posting of how your stove and vc is a pice of S%$T.. the stoves not the operator is..
Your attitude is terrible.. your thought process is that if you can't run this stove properly nobody can.
Lets face it .. wood burning in not for you.. take the advice.. sell the stove before you burn your house down or worse yet.. injure a family member.. More solid advice...

 

[arnermd]

Interesting article on excessive draft, found it searching through past posts on.... Hearth.com. Where else....

Florida Bungalow Syndrome

www.gulland.ca

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Interesting article on excessive draft, found it searching through past posts on.... Hearth.com. Where else....

Florida Bungalow Syndrome

www.gulland.ca

the restrictor plate is an interesting idea

what are your thoughts

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Any of you guys start splitting.. we started the week

 

[Eman85]

Started splitting a couple of weeks ago, we dropped 20 trees right behind the house. Most were 70'+ Oak Locust and Poplar.

 

[dmccoole]

The 2040 is a great heater and throws off alot of heat when its going.. what are your burn times like

It's certainly a lot easier when it's cold outside. I work from home during the day, so I tend to add 2-3 splits every few of hours. That seems to keep a steady burn and I don't have to mess with the vent. I'll load it up around 9pm, turn the air up to half way and watch it for an hour or so and slowly turning down the vent to about a half inch from lowest.

At 7am, there is 4-5 inches of nice black chunky lump char. I'll open the bypass, turn up the air to get the coals going, then add 2-3 splits. After 15 minutes, I'll shut the bypass and turn the air down to half way for another 10-15 minutes and then back to almost lowest and off to work I go And repeat.

So, long way to say 10hr burn at night.

It's going to be in the 50s tomorrow so I may burn it out in the morning and clean it out.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

It's certainly a lot easier when it's cold outside. I work from home during the day, so I tend to add 2-3 splits every few of hours. That seems to keep a steady burn and I don't have to mess with the vent. I'll load it up around 9pm, turn the air up to half way and watch it for an hour or so and slowly turning down the vent to about a half inch from lowest.

At 7am, there is 4-5 inches of nice black chunky lump char. I'll open the bypass, turn up the air to get the coals going, then add 2-3 splits. After 15 minutes, I'll shut the bypass and turn the air down to half way for another 10-15 minutes and then back to almost lowest and off to work I go And repeat.

So, long way to say 10hr burn at night.

It's going to be in the 50s tomorrow so I may burn it out in the morning and clean it out.

This sounds really good.. if your glass is a little dirty in the morning crank it up.. burn the glass clean.. dial it back down..

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Started splitting a couple of weeks ago, we dropped 20 trees right behind the house. Most were 70'+ Oak Locust and Poplar.

the poplar will season fast.. not many BTUs.. its a great shoulder season wood.. I wouldn't want to have to much of it and be stuck burning it in the dead of winter.