2017/2018 VC owners thread
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Diabel
Minister of Fire
I think i had part of a pile that was under seasoned. everything has been seasoned for over a year, but i did find some spruce that was still pretty heavy. Back to maple, aspen, and cedar that was all less than 12%
RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
Holy smokes. I leave town for a week and a half and the forum comes to life. Good to see everyone is burning good and figuring out their issues. Son, what did you ever end up doing about a cat probe?
By the way I was in Arizona and California ripping dirt bikes in 80 degree sunny weather... definitely did not suck.
By the way I was in Arizona and California ripping dirt bikes in 80 degree sunny weather... definitely did not suck.
SonOfEru
Member
I bet holy smokes is an in-joke here on the forum.
I got an AT100 and set it up and SO GLAD I DID. It's like the closest thing to an open window looking in on the cat action.
Hi, have a couple of threads regarding my stove but i will try here as well. Its an intrepid II in a danica cabinet.
With only three logs in it,totaling about 2-3 kg the fire keeps roaring even though i put it in bypass mode and the temp easily gets to 300 celsius on the stove top. I also notice that there is smoke coming from the chimney even when in bypass mode, not really black smoke but quite a lot of white smoke.
I guess there must be some leak with air entering the stove? Where would you start to search? I have tested all around the door with a bill and that seems tight. there is one side of the the bypass flap that is not as tight but could that really be causing the stove to run rampant? I guess it could explain some of the smoke though.
How much fire is normal to see when in bypass mode and air lever on 50%? mine is burning a lot and heat as i said goes up a lot on the stove top.
This all got worse after i cleaned the refractory chamber and the catalytic element. Before this, one half of the refractory chamber was covered in ash and soot after a chimney sweep and that made the draft worse so it was easier to runt the stove without it getting to hot.
With only three logs in it,totaling about 2-3 kg the fire keeps roaring even though i put it in bypass mode and the temp easily gets to 300 celsius on the stove top. I also notice that there is smoke coming from the chimney even when in bypass mode, not really black smoke but quite a lot of white smoke.
I guess there must be some leak with air entering the stove? Where would you start to search? I have tested all around the door with a bill and that seems tight. there is one side of the the bypass flap that is not as tight but could that really be causing the stove to run rampant? I guess it could explain some of the smoke though.
How much fire is normal to see when in bypass mode and air lever on 50%? mine is burning a lot and heat as i said goes up a lot on the stove top.
This all got worse after i cleaned the refractory chamber and the catalytic element. Before this, one half of the refractory chamber was covered in ash and soot after a chimney sweep and that made the draft worse so it was easier to runt the stove without it getting to hot.
RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
K thermocouples use the resistance across a bimetal junction to measure temperature. The actual bimetal junction is very small and is most likely to be at the tip of the probe, so the length doesn't matter that much as long as you can get 3-4 inches inside the stove.
Diabel
Minister of Fire
After almost three season of use my K thermocouple is toast!
Spoke with Auber today and they confirmed that its behaviour is very indicative of toast! The AT100 is ok.
At about 900 it goes to EEEEE (error I suppose). I ordered a new one (19.00). I tell you running the stove on flue pipe temp and stove griddle temps and its sounds is sooooo weird. But since I know the stove so well I am doing ok.
Trust me, running these stoves with only a stovetop thermo. is a definitive death sentence in other words, sure and premature stove failure.
Spoke with Auber today and they confirmed that its behaviour is very indicative of toast! The AT100 is ok.
At about 900 it goes to EEEEE (error I suppose). I ordered a new one (19.00). I tell you running the stove on flue pipe temp and stove griddle temps and its sounds is sooooo weird. But since I know the stove so well I am doing ok.
Trust me, running these stoves with only a stovetop thermo. is a definitive death sentence in other words, sure and premature stove failure.
Diabel
Minister of Fire
Nice.....
No, if anything running too cool. But I quickly notice it since the flue temp drops to 200 at which point I know the cat stalled.
I can see a small difference but still the fire is still going quite strong. There is no way can I stop it by just closing the primary.
RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
And with it in the cabinet there’s no way to get to the back of the stove?
Try leaving a couple inches of ash in the bottom of the stove. Also replace you ash pan gasket and your griddle gasket. And while you are at it, your glass gasket as well.
RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
Any indication as to why it burnt up on you? I feel like I’m on season 3 or 4 on my probe and running just fine. (Knock on wood).
Thanks for the input so far,
No I dont think so, I can remove the bottom heatplate and by usint the phone almost see a little bit of the back but thats about it. I always leave quite a lot of ash before loading the stove, only emptying the ashpan itself.
Is there gasket to the ash pan on these? From what I can tell its just slided into metalframes in the stove, I dont think it would need any gasketing?
Not sure how I can replace the griddlegasket either, it seems to be mounted on the back of the upper firewall only accessible with the bypass open so I guess it would need to remove the cabinet and back of the stove to access that in an easy way.
I have replaced the gaskets on the door, it didnt change the situation at all so the leak must be somewhere else I think. I think I will try the topdoor gasket next just to be sure but it seems to be really tight.
Diabel
Minister of Fire
I let the stove go cold last night. Pulled the probe out this morning and it looks slightly bent downward and it has a golden tint to it. Who knows if they are actually good to 2000*F. I am pretty sure they are made in China.
RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
The griddle is the top loader. That should come off easy in the open position. Replace the gasket in the groove on the actual stove top. A lot of us are fans of just using regular 5/16 graphite gasket rope for this. There should be gasket on the door of the ash pan. You stated you replaced the door gasket, but did you replace the glass gasket as well? This is a very small gasket and turns to dust in a few years. Post some pics of your stove also of the ash pan door.
SculptureOfSound
Feeling the Heat
I would love to hear from Montpelier owners what are your likes and dislikes? Also, how long have you owned it and have you had to do any repairs or is it showing any signs of wear and tear outside of the norm?
Diabel
Minister of Fire
Not tooooo busy lately in this thread!!
So, I just had a interesting experience. This has never happened to me before.
On a reload I needed to shift a split in the fire box with a poker. I accidentally dislodged the flame shield, exposing the cat.
Luckily, it was the first split that I was trying to shift around as I always do. I suppose I will let it burn with bypass open.
Interestingly, it was a piece of big ash that was css seven years ago. There is almost zero smoke out of the pipe.
So, I just had a interesting experience. This has never happened to me before.
On a reload I needed to shift a split in the fire box with a poker. I accidentally dislodged the flame shield, exposing the cat.
Luckily, it was the first split that I was trying to shift around as I always do. I suppose I will let it burn with bypass open.
Interestingly, it was a piece of big ash that was css seven years ago. There is almost zero smoke out of the pipe.
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
SculptureOfSound
Feeling the Heat
Anyone heating 1500 or so square feet in far north climate (Central Wisconsin here) with a Montpelier? Curious to hear how it fares.
Following the advice of the seasoned veterans on this thread, I almost have my Defiant Encore 0028 under control. It still wants to run hot with more than half of a load. Recently when I had the primary almost closed it apparently got starved for air and back puffed. I was looking at it at the time and it looked like smoke came out of the joints between the top and sides. Short of a complete rebuild, do you think I could pull the top off and re-cement the joints to tighten it up?
Hi all, I posted another thread on this forum a few days ago regarding a new VC Encore I bought last month but was actually made about a year ago in February of 17'. Problem was the access panel apparently is to small whereby it nearly falls out into the stove. This leave near a 1/4" gap at the Top. Is this right? Dealer says it shouldn't affect the operation of the stove but I'm not so sure. My take is during normal operation all smoke/gases should pass underneath the access panel not some at the top, right? This panel is apparently the thicker version made due to breaking problems the thinner panels had previously according to the dealer. Anyone else here have/had this problem? Saw one review posted on a stove dealers webpage regarding a similar issue but that's it. Maybe just my dumb luck. It's been a year since the stove was built so maybe they fit better now. Sorry about hijacking this thread on this but this seemed to be a better thread for VC issues. Regards, Kevin
Woodwringer that's definitely a good idea. The top seems to be the Achille's heel on Encores of that vintage. You'll have trouble accessing the rear bolts without removing the upper fireback/damper assembly though. My big fat fingers can never get back in there.
31 bertram
Member
It's been awhile since I've posted here, I just got back home from a three year stint in the Marshall Islands, was hoping it would still be cold enough to have a fire here at home so forecast was for upper 30's along the Gulf Coast yesterday so I fired up the old VC 2550 and she's going good with no problems. I did a complete overhaul on her a few years back and man was that an ordeal. Still just as beautiful as the day I got her.
Thanks
Bo
Thanks
Bo
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