Few questions about VC Resolute

[Komrade]

First time poster.. longer time lurker. Relatively new to wood stoves.

I have recently came into a possession of a VC Resolute via CL.It says 1979 inside. I believe it's "version I"
The previous owners have bought it during the oil crisis, and have been hauling it around since, until finally listing it on CL. The owners have preserved all the accessories and manuals. I have studied the manual and understood how to use all air vents (keep small one always open, use the other one to control temperature when stove is closed)

The stove hasn't been used much. My construction company helped me set it up with a Duravent Pipe (double wall on the inside, triple wall on the outside) in my cabin.

I have fired it up twice now. The first time the temperatures reached 550-600 degrees ,and I did use the secondary chamber. The second time I used it primarily in "fireplace mode", and it never went up above 500.

Questions:
What are "normal" or "desired" temperatures? The first day when stove was running 600, it was too much for us to handle.

The stove does smoke through the giddle. Probably a sign of poor gaskets. are "Rutland Grapho-Glas Woodstove Gasket Rope, 3/8 by 84-Inch" from amazon a good buy to try to address the seal below the griddle?

Manual recommends to keep some ashes at the bottom and to remove ashes whenever they start blocking air from coming it.. how does one determine that?

Anyone uses it with the glass? Which part is it? Is it worth it? (e.g. i've seen stoves with glass where the glass is covered with soot, and you can't see anything)
http://www.cozycabinstoveandfireplaceparts.com/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=0042_0043

Thanks

 

[DougA]

I've got a very similar one. Once the fire gets going, you should be closing the primary, which is the large handle on the far left. Turn it all the way down and it should click and stay.
The small stick on the back left is the air/temperature control. Turn to the right (toward chimney) for full air and max. temps., move it left for slowing burning and lower temps. Bottom air control, as you stated stays open unless you are burning too hot, then close it a bit. The back air control will normally be close to straight up but if your gaskets leak, that will change as they are letting more air in.

The bottom of mine bed has ridges in the cast iron. You want sand to the top of these ridges to help keep the heat from damaging the bottom of the stove. My manual says sand but ashes would work almost as well. When you are cleaning it out, it's easy just to let the ash shovel scrape the top of the ridges and you're fine.

You're right, the gasket on the top needs replacing. My original one lasted forever but once I replaced it, i get 3 yrs, then need a new one. Make sure that you take a wire brush and clean the groove out well, then apply cement, place gasket into groove and shut the top to hold it in place.

Mine burns at 450 to 550 depending upon how dry the wood is. It can go higher, but you want less going out the chimney and more inside the house. We used to use it with the door open on a rare evening but could never operate it without getting smoke in the house, so we haven't done that in years. The stove is much less efficient that way.

I don't recall seeing these with glass but it could be. They will soot up and be useless IMHO. The older stoves did not have the air wash system that is used today.

Hope that helps.

 

[defiant3]

Good stove but first you should:

Somewhere on hearth.com you can find an operations manual. DEFINATELY download one and read it. But consider placing a thermometer on the pipe as well, as it's helpful to know the flue temp. I don't even bother with stovetop on mine.

Does it smoke when the damper is open or closed or both? Gasketing alone will not likely fix what's really wrong. It could be draft, wood, or that it needs cleaning behind the fireback. Maybe all 3.

Definitely keep at least 1 1/2" of ash in there to protect the bottom from cracking. This is really important.

Do you have the single drop down door type Resolute? If so unfortunately you'll have to forego the glass. You can get the glass and parts you need for the 2 door ones though, and it's kind of cool to have even though it may soot up.

And welcome, Komrad!!

 

[Komrade]

It's a single door resolute. I am already using a thermometer to monitor the stove.I have read the manual, and I am comfortable with all the vents and dampers. I do have a single door that swings down. I will give up on the glass based on comments. I will leave ashes moving forward in the stove as suggested./16" for door. The griddle depends: If it's a"raised griddle", that is it doen't sit flush w/ the top, then use the same 5/16". If it's a flush griddle, then get the fancy 5/16" armorseal stuff with the meatal wound around it. Armorseal doesn't work w/ raised griddle, but standard gasketing can work w/ flush graiddles. Just deosn't last as long. Is there glass? Use 5/8 or 3/4 adhesive tape. With the cast panel, 1/4" regular rope works fine. Careful removing old stuff, (asbestos)

As it was around 7 degrees in the morning the stove has been running all day. It's been in the 300-500 range.. My wood is not the best (an oak tree that was lying on my property with some insect damage).

My problem with smoking is not just the gasket. While it smokes through the gasket, it smokes through all the air vents as well for the few minutes that the stove is cold.

From the research I have done today I have a combination of poor placement of the stove (in the corner of a home with cathedral ceilings), plus too short of a chimney (about 7 feet inside and 6 feet outside. I think if I add another 3 feet, I'll be just around the height of my ridgeline (it is more than 10 feet from it). If that doesn't work, I will try "priming" the chimney with a smokeless fire starter. If that doesn't work, I will be forced to move the stove if I want to enjoy it w/o the smoke. I believe what I have is called "Cold-Backdraft-at-Standby"

I really wish I paid more attention to placing the stove as close to highest elevation as possible, but I hope the 3 foot stove addition will help.

One question on the gaskets.. This is what I found elsewhere on these forums. Is 5/16" the right gasket size? Any particular manufacturer recommended?

5/16" for door. The griddle depends: If it's a"raised griddle", that is it doen't sit flush w/ the top, then use the same 5/16". If it's a flush griddle, then get the fancy 5/16" armorseal stuff with the meatal wound around it. Armorseal doesn't work w/ raised griddle, but standard gasketing can work w/ flush graiddles. Just deosn't last as long. Is there glass? Use 5/8 or 3/4 adhesive tape. With the cast panel, 1/4" regular rope works fine. Careful removing old stuff, (asbestos)

 

[Komrade]

Update: added 3 feet of pipe, and secured the pipe to the roof (it's now about 5 feet long).
Observed two issues:

1) "cold backdraft on standby" still exists. I tried to "prime the chimney" with a firestarter (smokeless), and cracked a window open to take care of the pressure

2) there was strong wind, and weather was changing. The stove started to smoke all of a sudden. As soon as I opened a window (pressure change?), it stopped smoking. I really don't believe my house to be this airtight (it's a log cabin). I haven't seen it smoking since, and it's been burning 400-550 (I try to keep it down, as it gets hot too quick)

 

[begreen]

This sounds like negative pressure. This could be because of leaks in the attic or eaves, etc. Or it could be that you are in a very windy area and could use a vacuum creating cap from Vacu Stack. http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Stack-Re...ted-Chimney/dp/B0013KY06G/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_4

 

[Al McKegg]

I've got a very similar one. Once the fire gets going, you should be closing the primary, which is the large handle on the far left. Turn it all the way down and it should click and stay.
The small stick on the back left is the air/temperature control. Turn to the right (toward chimney) for full air and max. temps., move it left for slowing burning and lower temps. Bottom air control, as you stated stays open unless you are burning too hot, then close it a bit. The back air control will normally be close to straight up but if your gaskets leak, that will change as they are letting more air in.

The bottom of mine bed has ridges in the cast iron. You want sand to the top of these ridges to help keep the heat from damaging the bottom of the stove. My manual says sand but ashes would work almost as well. When you are cleaning it out, it's easy just to let the ash shovel scrape the top of the ridges and you're fine.

You're right, the gasket on the top needs replacing. My original one lasted forever but once I replaced it, i get 3 yrs, then need a new one. Make sure that you take a wire brush and clean the groove out well, then apply cement, place gasket into groove and shut the top to hold it in place.

Mine burns at 450 to 550 depending upon how dry the wood is. It can go higher, but you want less going out the chimney and more inside the house. We used to use it with the door open on a rare evening but could never operate it without getting smoke in the house, so we haven't done that in years. The stove is much less efficient that way.

I don't recall seeing these with glass but it could be. They will soot up and be useless IMHO. The older stoves did not have the air wash system that is used today.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info. I'm a new owner, am in the process of changing the solid door insert for glass. I have the parts but damn little in the way of guidance on how to install the glass. The old frame bolts broke in half on removal, so I'll have to drill them out and retap the holes for larger bolts.