1977 Vermont Castings Vigilant - How to use?

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Monmouth00

New Member
Jan 13, 2020
7
New Jersey
Hello All,
I bought a house with a 1977 (or so is cast on the inside of the firebox) Vermont Castings Vigilant stove.

Can someone teach me how to use it?

I've been in the house maybe 8 years, and have probably only burned in the stove about 2 dozen times. It's obviously not our primary source of heat, but I burn on those days when it's just unbearably cold and windy outside.

The limited number of burns also has to do with how much work I have to put into it when I do have a fire. I'm constantly having to attend to the fire for one reason or another. I'd love to just throw logs in and let them burn, but I'm having to babysit the stove.

I have a small lever on the back that opens up the trap door - I guess what you would call the thermostat. It closes very quickly after I start the fire, and essentially snuffs out the burn. My normal operation is to prop it open, but sometimes I even have to open the front door to keep oxygen on the fire. I'm always having to turn and re-arrange logs because it only seems the left side of the fire box wants to burn wood.

When I do get the fire going hot - it's ungodly hot. My house is an 1800 sq.ft. split level with the stove downstairs. When the fire is going enough to be self-sustaining, the upstairs of my house is 85 degrees or warmer.

Also, when it's going hot, it eats wood. Like, I'm putting wood in it every 20 minutes.

Last, a buddy told me that I could shut the flue when the fire's going really hot, and it would help conserve wood and burn more efficiently. But, when I loaded the sucker up on a snow day and shut the flue, then went out to play with the kids in the snow, I came back in to a very smokey home. It smelled like a campfire in my house for a week.

Can someone tell me how to burn efficiently in this thing? Or at least have a fire that doesn't have to be burning at a temperature where my family is sweating bullets?

Thanks!
 
You are very fortunate to have an original VC with low hours.

The small lever and trap door control the primary air thermostatically. Open the thermostat all the way (to the left) when starting the fire and be sure the bypass is open.

Once the fire is burning well, close the bypass, then set the air control lever to about the middle position. Do you have a thermometer on the stove top? If not, get one.

Do you have the manual? If not, it's located here in 3 parts. The manual covers all the early VC stoves.
 
I would hold off on running this stove until you have had the chimney and installation inspected by a competent person. VCs are great but old VCs have some issues. They need to be cleaned. One of the areas that need to be cleaned is hidden and not obvious but very important. If the stove is up to temperature and the bypass is lever is closed and the soteve starts to smoke that is good indication that something is not right.
 
Even though I don’t run the stove much, I’ve had the chimney and stove cleaned and inspected probably 5 times in the last 8 years. I’m confident that all is in working order.
is the bypass the flue that leads to the chimney? I’ve always run the stove with that wide open because of the smoke issue I mentioned. I don’t want to smoke out my house again.
With regard to the small lever on the back, I always start the fire with it wide open. But it closes quickly once the fire gets going. Moving it to the middle wouldn’t do anything because the flap door is already closed.
As far as the thermometer, I have one. Where should it be positioned for correct temp measurement?
 
The flue damper is not the same as the stove bypass control. It is the handle on the side of the stove that controls an inner bypass. This allows flue gases to go directly up the flue for starting, or direct them through the secondary combustion chamber in the stove. Please download and read the manual. It will answer many questions.
 
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Second that you should download the manual. Also read the threads on this site. Lots of useful info. I was not savy of the operation of mine at first either.
The damper is has a temperature adjusting spring, that's why it will close after you get a fire going. As it gets warmer, open it a bit more until it's up to temp. Be gentile though as they can easily be broken.
The secondary combustion chamber needs to be cleaned after every heating season. Removing the flue from the stove makes it a lot easier.
 
I’m assuming the secondary combustion chamber is the opening to the right side of the inside of the firebox?
Is there an easier way to clean it than removing the flue?
Wouldn’t they have cleaned that when they cleaned the chimney?
 
I have the big brother of your model so I cant give you detailed instructions. On mine the flue pipe had to come off, the secondary damper was removed and then cast plate has to be popped out to gain access. Then a vacuum cleaner has to be used with a long nozzle to clean out the area. These are getting to be "old timers" by now so I expect many people who clean chimneys are not even aware of this hidden chamber. By this time in a VCs life many of the stoves needs resealing the mortar joints and one of the benefits of taking a stove apart to reseal it is you get to learn how it works and all the hidden spots.
 
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My God hat sounds like a lot of work, with huge potential in screwing up the reassembly. I'm not sure I trust myself to do it. At all.

Can I vacuum from the inside somehow? Like through the hole in the right side of the firebox?

There is slim to no chance that I remove the flue pipe. That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
 
My God hat sounds like a lot of work, with huge potential in screwing up the reassembly. I'm not sure I trust myself to do it. At all.

Can I vacuum from the inside somehow? Like through the hole in the right side of the firebox?

There is slim to no chance that I remove the flue pipe. That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
I take it your flue is vertical.
Also don't forget to open the "keyhole" on the bottom of the left side when having a fire.
 
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Nope, my flue is horizontal. There's still little to no chance that I remove the pipe, though. The mere thought scares the crap out of me. Dirty, sooty, rusty, probably wouldn't be able to get the screws out, definitely wouldn't be able to put it back together like it was.

Again, can I vacuum or clean without removing the flue?

Where should I position my thermometer, and what temps should I shoot for?
 
You have a pic of your setup? You can try to vacuum some from the inside. I have duct taped a 3/4" hose to my vacuum to help get in there. Really need to remove flue to do a thorough clean.
 
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You are very fortunate to have an original VC with low hours.

The small lever and trap door control the primary air thermostatically. Open the thermostat all the way (to the left) when starting the fire and be sure the bypass is open.

Once the fire is burning well, close the bypass, then set the air control lever to about the middle position. Do you have a thermometer on the stove top? If not, get one.

Do you have the manual? If not, it's located here in 3 parts. The manual covers all the early VC stoves.
Where can I get a user manual for this stove. Tried different links on her but they don't work.
 
Cant open any of the links
Is this on a phone or computer? What browser? On this page? I just tried them and they open ok for me.
 
Nope, my flue is horizontal. There's still little to no chance that I remove the pipe, though. The mere thought scares the crap out of me. Dirty, sooty, rusty, probably wouldn't be able to get the screws out, definitely wouldn't be able to put it back together like it was.

Again, can I vacuum or clean without removing the flue?

Where should I position my thermometer, and what temps should I shoot for?
First make sure the horizontal pipe is pitched upward toward chimney at least 1/4 inch per foot.

The pipe should be able to be removed without much effort. If it is rusted that bad or crumbles you need new anyway. You don’t know if it was removed when chimney was cleaned. There could be fly ash blocking pipe, or debris from cleaning chimney flue in it causing a blockage. It needs to be removed and is not a complicated procedure. Absolutely need to know what is in it unless you saw the sweep vacuum it out. I have seen many chimneys “cleaned” and have draft issues to find the horizontal connector pipe half full of debris.

The temps for any stove while smoke is present are as follows;
The surface thermometer magnetic type on pipe will read about 1/2 the actual inside flue temperature. The object is keeping inner flue temp above 250*f all the way to the top when smoke is present. This is why the normal burn zone starts at about 250 on the thermometer. Measuring 500 internal, this takes into consideration cooling as it rises to the top. This is only a guide. All chimneys cool differently. If you have an insulated chimney or liner the same size as stove outlet, the temp zones are close to correct on thermometer. If you have an 8 inch chimney connected to a 6 inch stove, the expansion where flue gases go from 6 to 8 inch diameter cool drastically. They can cool by 1/2. So in that scenario, 500* internal reading 250 can cool back down to 250 where it expands. This cools much more as it rises causing problems.

The reason for staying above this critical temperature is due to the water vapor from combustion condensing on flue walls below 250*f. This allows smoke particles to stick, forming creosote. Measuring temp about 18 inches above stove on pipe is common. Measuring where pipe enters chimney is a good indication of what temperature the flue gases are entering chimney.

In your case, there may be other temperatures for stove controls, and again, all systems cool differently, and moisture content in wood is detrimental to stack temp, so check creosote formation often until you know how much you are forming.

When the chimney is brought up to the correct temperature, vent system is correct, proper loading and proper fuel, and in your case venting passageways are clear, you will be able to close down air and continue a reasonably clean burn. Smoke inside is an indication of poor draft when the chimney was not hot enough, clogged passageway, wet wood, or operator error.
 
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Anyone have a suggestion for an oval adaptor for a 1977 vigilant. The oval hole measures 10 in need to reduce to a 6 in pipe.
Thanks for any help
 
Anyone have a suggestion for an oval adaptor for a 1977 vigilant. The oval hole measures 10 in need to reduce to a 6 in pipe.
Thanks for any help
 
Anyone have a suggestion for an oval adaptor for a 1977 vigilant. The oval hole measures 10 in need to reduce to a 6 in pipe.
Thanks for any help
I was able to take an 8" stove pipe and turn the one side into the oval. Then you could add a reducer.