2022/23 VC Owner thread

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JohnDaileyNH

Member
Oct 10, 2022
203
Seacoast, NH
I let the stove go out last night.... it was 80 deg in the house.

This morning lit it off (with a match), 3 smaller splits (~3x5 wedges), and one 2.5" round.
Ran 100% air, cat engaged at STT = 275 but flue gas was at 800.
Cat climbed to 1200 (STT=600) hung there for 20 min and is now slowly decaying, air still wide open.
3 hours from match strike I have a nice bed of coals, no flames, STT = 430, Cat= 708, flue = 466, air wide open.

Here is my point.... I ran barely a 1/4 load of smaller pieces, air wide open the whole time and got 3+ hours out of it....

I can't imagine how @wolfize69 is getting 3-4 hour burns on a full load.... something is really wrong.
Agreed. My full load last night was 11 hours. Full load now, air all the way back and it will go all day. Cats been cruising between 1100-1250 so far. STT now is 500. House has been 67-70
 

Eman85

Minister of Fire
Oct 10, 2022
643
E TN
Full load last night and some of my splits are smaller and the stove ran like a champ. 11 hours later opened the air and cat temps rose nicely from the load of coals. Threw a 1/2 box of splits in and they took off closed the damper and all was good. Had the air cut back and the stove was cruising nicely. By the 2nd cup of coffee flames lightly dancing in the box and the cat at 1350 damn if it didn't have the flashover and a light back puff. Just when you are really feeling good about it!
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
2,934
Woolwich nj
That sounds nice guys.. last ningh I loaded the stove with 3 large oak squares 5x5x18 in kinda stuff and closed the bypass at 6.45pm this morning I slept in and got up at 6.15 am and shes still going.. opened up the air.. dropped in 3 splits and got it to temp.. closed the bypass shut the air and its still going a 1pm.. house staying at a steady 70 degrees
 

Eman85

Minister of Fire
Oct 10, 2022
643
E TN
So it was 9 AM when I loaded 1/2 box and let the stove do it's thing all day. It was in the high 50's and I was busy so I just let it burn down. House stayed warm to the point of opening a window in the room I was working in. 8PM I piled the coals threw a couple of pieces of kindling in a few small splits emptied the ash tray and we're rolling again.
 

Eman85

Minister of Fire
Oct 10, 2022
643
E TN
Same scenario this morning, this time when I opened the air and let the coals get hot when I looked at cat temps they were at 900 after a few minutes. Reloaded about 1/2 and away we go again. Rainy and in the 40's so I'll be keeping a small fire all day.
One thing I do notice is even with the cat in 1300's to 1400 range I'll get wispy white smoke until later in the burn. This wood is very dry to start with and what I'm burning now has been in the rack near the stove for weeks or longer. I'm using up what I have at the house, indoor rack is 2'x2' and porch rack is 4x8.
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
2,934
Woolwich nj
Same scenario this morning, this time when I opened the air and let the coals get hot when I looked at cat temps they were at 900 after a few minutes. Reloaded about 1/2 and away we go again. Rainy and in the 40's so I'll be keeping a small fire all day.
One thing I do notice is even with the cat in 1300's to 1400 range I'll get wispy white smoke until later in the burn. This wood is very dry to start with and what I'm burning now has been in the rack near the stove for weeks or longer. I'm using up what I have at the house, indoor rack is 2'x2' and porch rack is 4x8.

its hard to believe that its warmer here in nj then TN... on a side note.. I cut the grass today
 
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Eman85

Minister of Fire
Oct 10, 2022
643
E TN
It's been crazy warm here now it's started to turn back to cold. I should have mowed a week ago, went and started the mowers today so I'm ready when it stops raining.
 

arnermd

Feeling the Heat
May 16, 2014
305
Tolland, CT
Ummm what? Seriously? You guys are cutting grass? I still got piles of snow here.... First cutting might be early mid April.....
 

GrumpyDad

Minister of Fire
Feb 23, 2022
1,029
Champion, PA
I let the stove go out last night.... it was 80 deg in the house.

This morning lit it off (with a match), 3 smaller splits (~3x5 wedges), and one 2.5" round.
Ran 100% air, cat engaged at STT = 275 but flue gas was at 800.
Cat climbed to 1200 (STT=600) hung there for 20 min and is now slowly decaying, air still wide open.
3 hours from match strike I have a nice bed of coals, no flames, STT = 430, Cat= 708, flue = 466, air wide open.

Here is my point.... I ran barely a 1/4 load of smaller pieces, air wide open the whole time and got 3+ hours out of it....

I can't imagine how @wolfize69 is getting 3-4 hour burns on a full load.... something is really wrong.
Same. 2 splits yesterday morning last 3 hours. Put off good heat on lowish.
 

Eman85

Minister of Fire
Oct 10, 2022
643
E TN
Daffodills have bloomed and are withering, Magnolias have blossomed out and so have the Bradford Pears and fruit trees. other trees are leafing out and now this week it's going to dip into the 20's. Temps have been all over the board this winter from 0-80. I can't imagine what this is going to do to agriculture if this keeps up. I can't keep up with the dead trees on my property from previous stress and disease.
 

arnermd

Feeling the Heat
May 16, 2014
305
Tolland, CT
Jerky batch #2.... 😋

7 lbs of marinated eye round.

IMG_20230312_094027324.jpg
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
2,934
Woolwich nj
Ummm what? Seriously? You guys are cutting grass? I still got piles of snow here.... First cutting might be early mid April.....

It was one of my first cleanups.. of the year also blew the lawn... the grasses need to be cut back, I sprayed the beds for weeds and my son started the garden, raking cutting back the asparagus.

Honestly I dont like it to wait to long as things get harder to work on. Im transferring all my plants to the greenhouse this weekend and should be planting in a month or so. I would have done it this past weekend but its super cloudy this week so Ill wait a few days
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
2,934
Woolwich nj
Daffodills have bloomed and are withering, Magnolias have blossomed out and so have the Bradford Pears and fruit trees. other trees are leafing out and now this week it's going to dip into the 20's. Temps have been all over the board this winter from 0-80. I can't imagine what this is going to do to agriculture if this keeps up. I can't keep up with the dead trees on my property from previous stress and disease.

Your way ahead.. Only forsythia is starting to bloom here.. got some small signs of life.. like buds really swelling, but this is it.. couple weeks and we'll see some real change
 

arnermd

Feeling the Heat
May 16, 2014
305
Tolland, CT
Had a string of really nice burns lately.... plot below.

Key damper has been full open the entire time
Generally air is set to 100% till cat >1000 then I cut it back to 40-45% for cruise. Minimal adjustments once up to temp.

What changed?
Wood: I finally got through my junk wood (stuff that came from neighbor and was sitting on ground for 3-4 years) It is 2 years dry but definitely a bit light. So now I am into some fresher stuff, heavier and bigger splits (some barely go through the griddle opening)

Also coming up on 1 month on the metal cat, maybe it is calming down a bit?

Ready for winter now.... bring it on.

1678789130493.png
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
2,934
Woolwich nj
Had a string of really nice burns lately.... plot below.

Key damper has been full open the entire time
Generally air is set to 100% till cat >1000 then I cut it back to 40-45% for cruise. Minimal adjustments once up to temp.

What changed?
Wood: I finally got through my junk wood (stuff that came from neighbor and was sitting on ground for 3-4 years) It is 2 years dry but definitely a bit light. So now I am into some fresher stuff, heavier and bigger splits (some barely go through the griddle opening)

Also coming up on 1 month on the metal cat, maybe it is calming down a bit?

Ready for winter now.... bring it on.

View attachment 310975

Totally awesome... Wood has a lot to do with the burn.. I fined that the really large splits like 5x5 kinda stuff offgass a little slower and dont dump all at once. Having alot of small in sometimes wreaks Havoc. The temperatures have been warmer lately so Iv been trying to slow the burn down.. not letting as much catch and using large splits.. lastnighs cruise was 925 on the cat.. and believe it or not.. the glass was extremely clean .. the box wasn't filled neither
 

Stevepupnorth

Member
Aug 18, 2020
5
Woodruff, WI
30” snow on the ground here in north central Wisconsin. I went to the dark side and put a catalyst in my intrepid flexburn and like it a lot. Got it from condar. Yeah, there’s some learning involved but no tragedies yet. Burning red oak that was harvested three years ago, cut two years ago, and split last spring, measuring mid to upper teens for moisture content. I’m definitely burning less wood and making it overnigh a bit easier now. It’s been up around 1700 a time or two but the catalyst looked fine last time I cleaned things. So, very low-drama here. I guess once in a while things work as expected.
962415A9-47C2-49A7-BDC9-4FB8635F508F.jpeg
 
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GrumpyDad

Minister of Fire
Feb 23, 2022
1,029
Champion, PA
30” snow on the ground here in north central Wisconsin. I went to the dark side and put a catalyst in my intrepid flexburn and like it a lot. Got it from condar. Yeah, there’s some learning involved but no tragedies yet. Burning red oak that was harvested three years ago, cut two years ago, and split last spring, measuring mid to upper teens for moisture content. I’m definitely burning less wood and making it overnigh a bit easier now. It’s been up around 1700 a time or two but the catalyst looked fine last time I cleaned things. So, very low-drama here. I guess once in a while things work as expected. View attachment 311026
I get spikes too and I stopped caring or looking honestly. I took the cat out to save it for shoulder season as I never burn below 450 or 475. Aside from the last gasps of a full load but by then I'm on coals , my glass is clean with white flakes on it, and my room is toasty. Reload, refire, kick over to secondary when the time is right. Boom.
Of course I say that and just a few days ago I left a reload take off on high for over and hour and I overheated my stove pipe a bit. I overheat my stove pipe more than the cat area.
Stove looks great there btw. Love the color.
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
2,934
Woolwich nj
30” snow on the ground here in north central Wisconsin. I went to the dark side and put a catalyst in my intrepid flexburn and like it a lot. Got it from condar. Yeah, there’s some learning involved but no tragedies yet. Burning red oak that was harvested three years ago, cut two years ago, and split last spring, measuring mid to upper teens for moisture content. I’m definitely burning less wood and making it overnigh a bit easier now. It’s been up around 1700 a time or two but the catalyst looked fine last time I cleaned things. So, very low-drama here. I guess once in a while things work as expected. View attachment 311026


Stove looking good, I hsve a similar drystack mine is a little more gray in it. The catalyst is a good 5hing to have installed, keeping the stack cleaner, the stove will burn longer and have a more even heat distribution.. Good job putting it in, you'll certainly see the difference also when it warms.up outside and you dont need as much heat
 

NewGuy132

Burning Hunk
Jan 22, 2021
215
Central MA
30” snow on the ground here in north central Wisconsin. I went to the dark side and put a catalyst in my intrepid flexburn and like it a lot. Got it from condar. Yeah, there’s some learning involved but no tragedies yet. Burning red oak that was harvested three years ago, cut two years ago, and split last spring, measuring mid to upper teens for moisture content. I’m definitely burning less wood and making it overnigh a bit easier now. It’s been up around 1700 a time or two but the catalyst looked fine last time I cleaned things. So, very low-drama here. I guess once in a while things work as expected. View attachment 311026
Do you have a link to the CAT that you bought? I'm thinking that its time to replace mine on my Intrepid.
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
2,934
Woolwich nj
Do you have a link to the CAT that you bought? I'm thinking that its time to replace mine on my Intrepid.

You can just go on amazon.. they have most of the vc catalyst it will be a midway hearth brand.. in the description.. will be the models of the stove
 

Stevepupnorth

Member
Aug 18, 2020
5
Woodruff, WI
From the condar website I ordered what they listed for the intrepid flexburn and it wasn’t right so they hooked me up with a CC-802 used in the dauntless. The correct dimensions are around 6x2x1. I shoved a little rope gasket material around it to fill the minor gap and everything works. Condar was super to work with.
 
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NewGuy132

Burning Hunk
Jan 22, 2021
215
Central MA
From the condar website I ordered what they listed for the intrepid flexburn and it wasn’t right so they hooked me up with a CC-802 used in the dauntless. The correct dimensions are around 6x2x1. I shoved a little rope gasket material around it to fill the minor gap and everything works. Condar was super yo work with.
Excellent. I'll measure mine when I get a chance and see what is closest. Seems like the ones specifically for the Intrepid Flexburn are hard to come by.
 

Eman85

Minister of Fire
Oct 10, 2022
643
E TN
Excellent. I'll measure mine when I get a chance and see what is closest. Seems like the ones specifically for the Intrepid Flexburn are hard to come by.
Applied Ceramics makes the ceramic part of the cat for some and the whole cat for VC and Midwest Hearth. MW Hearth is great to deal with and fast shipping, they also sell on Amazon.