What I learned getting the one down informed me on how to get the other one up. It involves building a 6' sled with carpet stapled to the bottom, ratchet straps, and the come-along hand winch. No problem, and no hurry.
Looks like winter
We got about 1/2” last Thursday which quickly melted. It’s been cold enough to be burning 24/7 for a couple of weeks now.
Haven’t you gone to the dark side with your BK princess? You should be getting much longer than 7 hours out of her. I’m averaging 12 hour Burns on oak with a little cherry and elm mixed in.
Or use a stove cart with a power stair climber.
Damn, I forgot I had that set up tucked away in the back of the barn!
Today was 25, tomorrow back up to 50...Looks like winter
So far I ended up replacing the cat, changing out the flue collar to a 6” round and chimney to a 6” excel. I’m going to limo the refractory box along for this winter. It is showing signs of age but no holes. I also re gasketed the lower fire back. If I can get through the winter without having to remove the cat for any reason I should be ok.
Woke up this morning to a solid 2” of snow. Looks nice outside but it is definitely going to make the job site sloppy.
They should!
Here is the picture of the clip I was speaking of. It just holds the probe cable in place so it doesn’t move around. I diconnected the secondary rod this morning to see how things run this way. I did a reload last night and the cat was off to nuclear melt down. I took a look with my flashlight and the shutter was taking it’s sweet time shutting. If I get a chance to let the stove cool down I will pull the secondary probe and see if there is a bunch of crude built up. Maybe put some anti seize on the washers and bolt for the coil...idk. Or better yet replace the damn stove.
J/k.... for now that is.
Here is the picture of the clip I was speaking of. It just holds the probe cable in place so it doesn’t move around. I diconnected the secondary rod this morning to see if this would help keep the cat on a leash.
Yes the button is your access. Pop that off and use a drill bit that is the same diameter as your probe and by hand, drill a hole through the refractory box. This will put the probe in the refractory box just under the cat. So don’t use use an obnoxiously long drill bit and accidentally go through the front of the refractory box as well.
Welcome and congratulations on your country home and the beginnings of being a wood burner. Did the house come with a good supply of seasoned firewood? If not this is something you need to get moving on. I hope you like tinkering because that is what you will be doing to keep the VC burning properly. Can you verify model number? It will be on the tag on the back of the stove. 2550? I see you have a stove top and flue thermometer which is good but you are going to want a cat probe thermometer as well. You can probably get away with the standard cat probe that Vermont castings puts on their stoves seeing as how you have a 360 degree setup and will be easy for you to look behind the stove. These encores really need 3 thermos to keep them from going nuclear on you. The better your burning habits the longer the life of the stove because these Vermont’s are expensive to repair. On a lighter note your stove and hearth look great. Maybe move your flue thermometer up to 18” above the stove top and feel free to ask any questions. Happy burning.
Hole location is the same though.
