We have a couple woodstoves: a 1979 VC Resolute that we've used for 8 years and a 2005 Hearthstone Phoenix that we've been using for 3 years. I have a question about each of these stoves.
On the VC we top-load through the lid once the fire is going. However, the lid will not quite open 90 degrees as the handle hits the chimney, so we've got to hold the lid open with one hand while adding wood with the other or else the lid will come banging down. Has anyone overcome a problem like this, or does anyone have any creative ideas? Sometimes we need two hands to handle the wood, so this is a real annoyance. I've thought perhaps we could fabricate a metal strap around the chimney with a hook or pinch-type latch to which we can attach the lid while open, but I'm not sure what materials I could make it of.
On the Phoenix we would like to add some small andirons or something to keep the logs from rolling forward into the window, but I don't see any actually made for this stove. The only things I've found to help so far are to load some wood diagnonally or in a N-S orientation and avoid stacking the wood too high. We burn a lot of small diameter (2" to 4") logs that have not been split; splits from larger trees don't have this problem as they don't roll so easily. Does anyone else have this problem with your stove and if so what have you done?
These are only annoyances and we like both these stoves a lot, especially the Phoenix. And thanks in advance for any and all comments and ideas.
On the VC we top-load through the lid once the fire is going. However, the lid will not quite open 90 degrees as the handle hits the chimney, so we've got to hold the lid open with one hand while adding wood with the other or else the lid will come banging down. Has anyone overcome a problem like this, or does anyone have any creative ideas? Sometimes we need two hands to handle the wood, so this is a real annoyance. I've thought perhaps we could fabricate a metal strap around the chimney with a hook or pinch-type latch to which we can attach the lid while open, but I'm not sure what materials I could make it of.
On the Phoenix we would like to add some small andirons or something to keep the logs from rolling forward into the window, but I don't see any actually made for this stove. The only things I've found to help so far are to load some wood diagnonally or in a N-S orientation and avoid stacking the wood too high. We burn a lot of small diameter (2" to 4") logs that have not been split; splits from larger trees don't have this problem as they don't roll so easily. Does anyone else have this problem with your stove and if so what have you done?
These are only annoyances and we like both these stoves a lot, especially the Phoenix. And thanks in advance for any and all comments and ideas.
