Few questions and feedback on my new install please

[BobUrban]

OK - I finally have my stove in that I ask questions about a couple months ago. I did everything myself except the chimney - I had the pros do that. I ran it through the house as you can see and it goes straight up so the draw is really nice. All the pipe is lifetime material so I should be all set there. The pipe from the stove to the ceiling is double wall black Ventis that snorkles so I can take it out easily for cleaning. I replaced the door gaskets and it is sealed very well. The stove was given to me so the price was nice. I built the hearth from 100+ year old pavers that really look nice and rustic IMO. I screwed cement board to the sub floor and wall with a 1" gap at the wall per code requirements and the bricks are 100% mortered to the floor and wall. It is a Vermont Casting knock off by Olympic Crest and for all intent and purpose is the exact same stove with regard to design and hopefully performance. My question(s) are: What do you think? Any simple sugestions? Tips/tricks I may not know? I have been around wood heat my whole life but not in my own home so this is a first for me. I am also a welder and amature blacksmith and built the handles and tools for the stove so if there are any simple mods that you know of it should be no problem for me to make them.

Also, there is a little lever at the top/back of the left hand side of the stove that is hooked to a bead chain and controls a small flap at the bottom that controls air intake. It has Hi - - - Lo settings cast into the top of the stove for settings. Am I guessing correct that after I get it running/burning well I set that at the "low" setting for the best performance reguarding heat? I finished it up last night and started a tiny fire this morning just to see how it works but due to nice weather I will not be running it to hot for at least a few weeks.

I also plan to line the bottom with an inch or so of sand per a sugestion I received here before I get it going this winter.

Needless to say, I am super excited to be warm this winter with out filling that dog gone propane pig so often. Thank you all for any help and all the suggestions so far.

Bob Urban

 

[fredarm]

Nice install! Love the old pavers. And the tools! If this works like the VC Defiant my parents had in the 1980's, the little lever controlling the flap is the primary air control. It should be connected to a bi-metallic spring on the flap that acts like a thermostat. As the stove warms up, the flap closes more and as it cools the flap opens up more. It works pretty well as I recall. Start the stove with the lever on high and once it gets going move the lever to medium or low depending on how much heat you want.

The horizontal handle on the left side above the door is the bypass. It controls a damper and reroutes the smoke to a primitive secondary combustion chamber. To start the stove and to burn with the doors open the handle should be as shown in your picture. Once the fire gets going, with the doors closed you can move it down to engage the secondary compustion which will make the burn last longer. Move it back to horizontal before you open the door to reload or you'll get a roomfull of smoke. Get a stove thermometer and attach it at the base of the chimney so you can see how the fire is doing. The Defiant was a great heater--hungry for wood, but really put out the heat. They didn't call it the "Parlor Furnace" for nothing! You may be able to find a manual for it on the web somewhere. Oh, and a coat of stove polish or high temp black paint would really dress it up. Happy burning!

 

[Jags]

Looking good. Nice work on the hearth and the tools. When it comes to tools, you might want to build a rake for separating the coals from ash.

That cast iron beast looks like it was built pretty tough. I am assuming that there is no reburn technology inside it (tubes, cat). That stove is gonna be a wood hungry dude. Long term, you may want to research some of the new tech. It will save you wood by recovering more heat than the old stoves do. That and a nice big window so you can watch the fire.

 

[BobUrban]

It does have secondary combustion and when damper is closed the handle is down precluding the door from opening and saving from an oops that fills the room with smoke. There is a similar stove in the cabin I hunt out of and I think it may eat wood but for what I am after it should work pretty good. As soon as it gets cold I will work to dial it in and see how long I can get a burn to last. If efficiency becomes an issue I will look into an upgrade but because the stove was "free" and so is my wood(sans labor) at this point it works for me. I did look at the newer, more eficient models but this one is so rustic I am liking the addition.

I did not paint it because no matter how you do it there is a stinky burn off for a while that I wanted to avoid. That said, is there anything I can put onto it that will bring back the black w/o the stink? I was thinking of treating it with a few light coats of cooking oil when it is hot like I do with the fire box on the offset hog cooker I built??

Am I alone here or did the rest of you get as excited for cold weather and low heat bills when you first installed your stove? Bring on the snow.

The rake idea is a good one - I will build one the next time I am in the shop as well as a stand to hold all my tools.

Bob Urban

 

[Jags]

It does have secondary combustion

Cool beans. I am not aware of any coating that will not stink when it gets fired up. If you want it black, your probably gonna have to bite the bullet and stink up the room a couple of times. Wait for a mild day when you can open up windows and doors and set fans accordingly.

 

[tickbitty]

I did not paint it because no matter how you do it there is a stinky burn off for a while that I wanted to avoid. That said, is there anything I can put onto it that will bring back the black w/o the stink? I was thinking of treating it with a few light coats of cooking oil when it is hot like I do with the fire box on the offset hog cooker I built??

Stove polish would do it I guess, there are several types, there will still be some off-gassing, but it's not as major a job as painting, I would imagine.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/ind...LACKSTOVE_POLISH_&_how_to_use._cook_off_smoke.

http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-Products-72-Liquid-Polish/dp/B001AWFJTE

 

[begreen]

Good start Bob. Rub the stove down with Rutland stove polish. It will smell a bit for one hot burn. Just open the windows for that fire and put a fan to blow it outdoors.
http://www.rutland.com/productinfo/stove-polish-paste.html

It's hard to see clearances on the 2nd floor setup. Does the class A pipe have at least 2" total clearance to any and all combustibles? Be sure the ceiling support box is totally clear of debris before enclosing the pipe in a chase, again honoring or exceeding the 2" clearance requirements.

Last, my preference is for the stove pipe to fit inside the stove's flue collar. This stops unsightly drips on the stove top. And the chimney needs a cap, but you probably already knew that.

 

[BobUrban]

All 2" clearance met but good info for sure. Also the pic was taken prior to the cap being added. There is a fire stop at the top of the chrome pipe in before it heads through the roof now and the insualtion was cleared back more than 2" prior to it being installed. The stove pipe is double walled and is inside the flue collar on the "inside" at least where the heat and fire goes is concerned. I did fire it up with a small burn to give a test run before my chimney crew left and it seems to draw nice and has no leaks. I will get the polish stuff and try it out. Just my dog and I here so a little stink wont get me into much trouble.

 

[begreen]

Sounds great Bob. With a bit of polish, the stove will look like new. You've done a fine job giving that stove a new home and new life. Congratulations.