2013 VC Burning Thread

[Diabel]

I only use my BL for overnights when it is really cold (like last week) and still I will mix it with something else.
I treat my BL like fine wine for special ocassions I have about 1/2 cord (4yr. old) left and will be sad when it is all used. Also, I don't scrounge anymore. Few years ago I bought few lake front acres with an idea to build a house some day. There, all I have is birch (all kinds), beech, maple (some sugar), few other spiecies and crap load of hemlock.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I've used a lot of pine this year in my attempt to build up my future supplies of hardwood. I will go throw 5 cord of pine this winter but I am switching to hardwood when temps drop. I have some big ass splits of, what I think is, Osage-orange. Thought it was Black Locust at first, but after further reading, I think it is Osage.

I LOVE pine. It's light, so my wife has no problem loading stoves or bringing in a big wheel barrow full of pine. The hardwood, especially the big splits can be challenging. Some of the splits are 20 lbs and takes some effort to place them in and rearrange them as needed.

The pine comes up to temp very quickly which is also nice as it minimizes the time needed to tend to the stoves. I also like how little ash is produced. I went a month without removing ash (I don't use the ash pans on the VC stoves. I keep them full of ash and just shove out ash from the firebox.)

I have been burning the Osage the last week with the cold spell we, and most of North America, have had. I have some really large splits. Heavy, big and thick. Sometimes three splits is all that will fit in the Defiant and the 30. The Encore gets the smaller splits mixed in with some pine since I do not have a lot of small splits of the Osage.

The Defiant just finish 11 hours of stove temps above 350. The 30 did 12 hours. The stove temps were lower on the 30, but the blower allowed me to use the lower temps to still keep the room above 70.

The Encore did 8 hours, but I did not reload the stove. I will restart the stove around 4:30 - 5:30 to bring that area up to temp before my wife arrives home.

The glass on both stoves have stayed a LOT cleaner this year as each year my wood supply improves. I only occasionally dry wipe the stoves to remove fly ash build up. Any dark spots that appear after an overnight burn have been coming off with the day time burns.

Still wish the Defiant was more controllable. Still wish the VC stoves were more efficient. But, I can't complain. They heat the home and provide decent burn times when needed.

 

[Diabel]

From Mid Oct to the end of Nov all I used was spruce and pine (dead for yrs). It burnt hot but fast. By the end of Nov I was getting tired of reloading every 3-4 hrs. And I only work one stove.....
I think I emptied the ash pan twice during that period. That was nice.

 

[BrowningBAR]

With a decent load, I was getting 5-7 hours from the Defiant and the 30. During the weekday, when temps were above 40, I am only running one stove (huge difference from previous years)

So, loading one stove every 5-7 hours sure as hell beats loading and tending to three stoves all day.

This winter is so much nicer. When the super cold temps come I can look at the 10 day forecast and know that in a few days I will be back to loading fewer stoves and less often.

Previous years, it was always three stoves, just more often when chit got cold. That grew tiresome.

 

[Diabel]

With a decent load, I was getting 5-7 hours from the Defiant and the 30. During the weekday, when temps were above 40, I am only running one stove (huge difference from previous years)

So, loading one stove every 5-7 hours sure as hell beats loading and tending to three stoves all day.

This winter is so much nicer. When the super cold temps come I can look at the 10 day forecast and know that in a few days I will be back to loading fewer stoves and less often.

Previous years, it was always three stoves, just more often when chit got cold. That grew tiresome.

I remember reading your threads from few years back.... Working three stoves 24/7, it appeared to be a full time job.

 

[BrowningBAR]

By the end of January I was usually ready to burn the house down and collect the insurance money.

 

[jharkin]

Well, I got a present in the mail from Condar today! But with temps in the 50s and projected to stay mild all week I dont get the chance to test it.

On the bright side with mild weather and a cold stove it was easy to swap out SS cat looks in good condition visually but back it goes.

Heres hoping no more stalls and smoke with the new one

 

[BrowningBAR]

Good luck.

 

[Excavator]

you will be better now

 

[Diabel]

Treat it right. It will serve you long....

 

[jharkin]

I certainly hope so guys...2 problematic stainless cats in 4 years, if switching back to ceramic makes all the problems go away I will be thrilled... Right after I scream and punch a hole in the wall

 

[Excavator]

I certainly hope so guys...2 problematic stainless cats in 4 years, if switching back to ceramic makes all the problems go away I will be thrilled... Right after I scream and punch a hole in the wall

I took off my cleanout cup again in these warm days and looked like i shook a little pepper from a shaker

 

[grobinson2]

Looking forward to hearing how your new cat works for you! Just ordered a new VC Defiant for my self and a guy at work. I will of course report how mine at least turns out.

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[grobinson2]

Hey Guys, I do not know this gentleman but I did e-mail him about his VC for sale. I am from PA but if closer I would snatch it up in a heart beat. He is an old 35 year VC burner and will practically give this stove away to someone that would give it a good home. I thought if one of you lived up near him you may be interested.

(broken link removed to http://nh.craigslist.org/hsh/4279783667.html)

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[BrowningBAR]

Pretty much the same deal I got on my VC back in February of '12. I'd easily do that trip if I needed a stove.

 

[grobinson2]

How many of you guys have installed a manual pipe damper with your VC stove? I have excessive wind at times and with the 35+ foot chimney I can get some crazy draft. When I was burning coal stoves in the same chimney I always used an MPD and it worked great but I was not sure of using it on the wood stove.

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[Diabel]

No damper here. But I only have 22' pipe

 

[BrowningBAR]

How many of you guys have installed a manual pipe damper with your VC stove? I have excessive wind at times and with the 35+ foot chimney I can get some crazy draft. When I was burning coal stoves in the same chimney I always used an MPD and it worked great but I was not sure of using it on the wood stove.

Thanks,
Glenn

My Defiant would probably benefit from it at certain times. But, I do not have one installed.

 

[Excavator]

None here. My observation the last few months has been that my dryier wood just burns too hot and I have too turn down air supply sooner than I am a custom too since adding the ss insulated liner and new ceramic cat

 

[31 bertram]

After reading this thread I found 2 problems with my 2550 that I think was the culprit in causing my stove to overfire. I found one of the new gaskets that did'nt pass the dollar bill test and I suspect the secondary damper probe has not worked for years. I replaced both today and she's doing very well so far. Thanks for all the help by the good people here on the forum.

 

[jharkin]

Well I think we have a winner!

It was mild last week and the wife and I got away for a weekend without the kids in Boston, but today when I got back it was in the low 30s so I fired her up to try out the new ceramic cat with a small load. Right now Im waiting on a reload to heat up.

Observations:

• Lightoff is more sluggish than steel (expected)
• -After it lights, the probe temp climbs slower. Wheras the steel would shoot to 1100 in a minute or two the ceramic takes 5min+ to slowly climb to 900, then very slow rise to 1000+
  
• By the time the probe got to 800 or so there was minimal visible smoke outside (big improvement vs. steel)

I'll need more time to know for sure and have to relearn my habits a bit but the first fire is definately promising. The slower lightoff is a small tradeoff for having smoke free stack at much lower temps than the steel, and the slower rise in temp might be a sign that this is going to be more controllable and less prone to runaway.. ??


I caught a few stack shots.
First is a couple minuts after lightoff @ 900F probe. Second is 10 min in @ 1000, 30 min in @ 1150, and then midload ~ hour+ @ 1550F.



Now if only the Pats had done so well

 

[jharkin]

Ok so with a big storm moving in this afternoon /eve thats threatening Blizzard conditions an hour south of here, decided to work from home today

With 12F temps I lit up the stove again this morning. This time I let it get a lot hotter before engaging and was rewarded with a much faster lightoff and stabilizing at 1400 cat temp at 1/4 air with a lot of flame in the box and a very strong 650F griddle temp. The beast is reallllllly cranking out the heat right now.

Walked outside to take out the trash and I got quite the plume of steam coming out of the stack but its dissipating, so I think its just the water cooking out of the wood in the early stages of the burn.

Still too early to make a ceramic vs. steel verdict but I should get a good test the next couple days, including a big overnight burn tonight with lows near zero.

One thing I noticed even with the steel thats probably more important now.... I dont have a true stack thermo but I do have a surface thermometer on the single wall pipe just past the flue collar (only place I can see one). Its seems the magic formula for lightoff is when that one gets over 400, telling me my flue gasses are good and hot. That doesn't always correspond with 500 griddle.

 

[jharkin]

EDIT - Found out next day a piece of carbon was jamming the primary open. fixed and back to normal. See #309
------------


Holy $#%(&$%(@%% Batman this thing is cooking us out of the house. Its burning like a blast furnace, 13 out and I have it closed down but its got the living room over 80.

Either the ceramic is burning a heck of a lot more efficient or I suddenly have a leak. I doubt that it would just leak without warning.

 

[Diabel]

The temps dropped like a rock here last night. When I was reloading at 11:30pm (2 pieces of large and sexy four yr old hard/sugar maple and on top of that two pieces of even nicer three yr old BL) the stove took off like crazy. Shot her down 15min after reaload. 30 min later I looked outside at he pipe and it was steaming like a steam train

-15f with -28f wind this morning.

This morning at 8:30am this was my old limping stove

 

[31 bertram]

Good info, I'm gonna need to put some more money in mine also with a cat and the thermometer prode to keep a better check on what's going on. It was great to get my 2550 to where it is performing much better. Weather report is saying upper 20's tonight along the Al. Gulf Coast and we should be toasty. Although I have gone round and round with my 2550 the past 2 yrs. they are beautiful stoves and overall have not had that many problems when you consider I've had it well over 20 years.