Defiant circa 1978

[southbalto]

My dad runs an old defiant. A few days ago he asked me about a small hole in the stove that's just below the side door. I think it might be item 22 in the sketch that I linked.

(broken link removed to http://www.discountstove.com/def1.html)

Any ideas? Anyone confirm that it is infact a secondary air control?

 

[begreen]

Yes, secondary intake flap.

 

[Battenkiller]

I'm still trying to figure out where and when to use the secondary air flap on my VC Vigilant (located in the same place as on the Defiant). The manual says to keep it open when burning wood. My stove repair guy says if it was meant to always be opened, then why didn't they just drill a hole and leave out the control flap. I've tried closing it during a burn in updraft mode and didn't notice anything different. I think it just feeds air behind the fireback to warm it up for better secondary combustion in the horizontal burn mode. The stove seems to burn the way I want it to, so I'm just leaving it open full-time until I hear some words of wisdom directing me otherwise.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I'm still trying to figure out where and when to use the secondary air flap on my VC Vigilant (located in the same place as on the Defiant). The manual says to keep it open when burning wood. My stove repair guy says if it was meant to always be opened, then why didn't they just drill a hole and leave out the control flap. I've tried closing it during a burn in updraft mode and didn't notice anything different. I think it just feeds air behind the fireback to warm it up for better secondary combustion in the horizontal burn mode. The stove seems to burn the way I want it to, so I'm just leaving it open full-time until I hear some words of wisdom directing me otherwise.

Are you talking about the air vent on the side of the stove? If that is what you are referring to, you leave it open when you have it on horizontal burn, but you close it when it is running a vertical burn.

 

[fbelec]

i burn a 1978 defiant. the manual says to only open it when using it in the horizontal burn mode. ( damper closed ) if using it in the updraft mode close it so the primary air thermostat can have better control over the stove. on my stove if i left it open when burning updraft it wants to head into the overfire range. i have caught it with the primary air closed and secondary open in updraft mode and the thermometer on the cooktop was 750.

 

[Battenkiller]

Thanks, guys.

I'll do that tomorrow morning and see how it goes. I guess that't why I'm getting stove top temps above 750 when running it with the damper open.