Few Questions on VC Vigilant 1977

[skyline7349]

Hello! Sorry if im asking questions that have been asked before. Ive been trying to find good instructions for this stove online and they all seem to only talk about initial starting of the stove.

Let me start from the top, I just purchased my first house and it contained a VC Vigilant 1977 wood stove. Ive never had or used a wood stove before so i really didn't plan to use it until i got my first electric bill of 1200$ for heating(heat pump was broken and using AUX heat entire time).

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. I had a new flue(8 inch) installed, had the stove cleaned, then i got 2 cords of 2 year seasoned wood delivered. (Hats off to you guys stacking all this wood, been chipping away at it for over a week now).

Now onto my process, I take some kindling, some logs. I open the flap in the back, open the damper(horizontal mode), Open the secondary combustion chamber hole(little hole on left side). I light the logs, keep door cracked until it catches. Then when it has a good flame i close the door. I wait for the wood stove surface temp to reach around 500 then close the damper(vertical mode)

So i think i have the above process correct, now comes the efficiency. I want to run at a lower temp but also efficiently. Apparently that has to do with the secondary combustion chamber.

So my question is, after i close the damper, what should i do with the secondary combustion flap, do i leave it open? closed? How do i know if the stove is running in secondary combustion mode. I assume secondary combustion mode is to make the stove more efficient.

Also is there a minimum stove temp recommended when running this stove? since its not that cold out ive been running stove around 200 degrees and i noticed alot of black build up in the stove, it looks like tear drops on the top loading lid. Ive attached a picture of it.

 

[rwh63]

creosote!

 

[begreen]

Yes, that's a lot of creosote. 200º stove top temp is too cool. If the weather is mild it is better to burn a short hot fire in the morning and evening than to try to smolder a fire at a low temp all day or night. Creosote can start forming at below 250º. If the stove top is 200º, imagine what the flue temperature is up in the chimney outside. It would be good to check and clean the stove pipe and chimney before doing a large fire.

I wouldn't trust the seasoned 2 yr firewood until verified. That 2 yrs may have been with the tree in log form lying on the ground. Has the firewood been properly checked for internal moisture content?

It would help to also have a thermometer on the stove pipe. This would be a surface mount if single-wall stove pipe and a probe model if this is with double-wall stove pipe. You want to be sure that the flue gas temps are exiting the chimney top around 250º to avoid significant creosote accumulation in the flue system. That will mean running the stove top between 400-700º.

 

[skyline7349]

Yes, that's a lot of creosote. 200º stove top temp is too cool. If the weather is mild it is better to burn a short hot fire in the morning and evening than to try to smolder a fire at a low temp all day or night. Creosote can start forming at below 250º. If the stove top is 200º, imagine what the flue temperature is up in the chimney outside. It would be good to check and clean the stove pipe and chimney before doing a large fire.

I wouldn't trust the seasoned 2 yr firewood until verified. That 2 yrs may have been with the tree in log form lying on the ground. Has the firewood been properly checked for internal moisture content?

It would help to also have a thermometer on the stove pipe. This would be a surface mount if single-wall stove pipe and a probe model if this is with double-wall stove pipe. You want to be sure that the flue gas temps are exiting the chimney top around 250º to avoid significant creosote accumulation in the flue system. That will mean running the stove top between 400-700º.

Hey thats exactly what the wood was being stored as. She said they store it in logs for 2 years then split it per order. I did order a moisture meter and sadly my % are between 19 - 25%. I also have a thermostat ontop the stove and i bought one of those laser/ir thermostats.

Ive been having a hell of a time getting this thing hot unless i LOAD it up with wood. Last night i finally got a good fire going with 7 logs in there and got the top of the stove up to 450. Then i shut the damper and put the thermostat to the middle position. when i woke up it was all ash.

Im all for shot hot fire in morning and night but im having such a hard time getting a fire going. I bought these small fire starter squares but the logs just take soo much to get going and im assuming this is due to moisture. What do you suggest i do? Did i just waste 500$ on 2 cords of wood i cant use this season? Separately did do any damage to the flue burning at low temps? I just had this Flue installed last month so its only seen probably 2 weeks of burning.

 

[begreen]

I'm sorry to hear that, but it's a common practice and deceptive. The wood is not wasted, but it may not be ready to burn for a year. Try to burn the lightest splits first. Bring the wood into the house and put it in big boxes or totes so that it can dry out indoors for 2-3 weeks. That will help. A damp split of wood can shed a pound or two of water weight by being indoors in a heated space for a few weeks. Also, if you can, get some 2x4 scraps from construction cutoffs to mix in with this wood. Unfinished hardwood flooring scrap cutoffs are also good. Clean the flue frequently, like once a month until dry wood is in good supply.

With dry wood and cooler weather the stove will be much more predictable and ok to run on 1/2 loads if desired.

 

[skyline7349]

I'm sorry to hear that, but it's a common practice and deceptive. The wood is not wasted, but it may not be ready to burn for a year. Try to burn the lightest splits first. Bring the wood into the house and put it in big boxes or totes so that it can dry out indoors for 2-3 weeks. That will help. A damp split of wood can shed a pound or two of water weight by being indoors in a heated space for a few weeks. Also, if you can, get some 2x4 scraps from construction cutoffs to mix in with this wood. Unfinished hardwood flooring scrap cutoffs are also good. Clean the flue frequently, like once a month until dry wood is in good supply.

With dry wood and cooler weather the stove will be much more predictable and ok to run on 1/2 loads if desired.

Thank you for this, currently i put 3 stacks of wood in garage so im hoping this will help it dry. Now i know not to use this person again. So going forward i need to get wood that split this seasoned for a year or 2 and not stored in logs. This explains why her prices were the lowest(around 75$ per cord cheaper).

Could i bother you once more on my previous question. Is my use of the stove correct? Im not sure how to achieve secondary burn. But after this discussion im assuming secondary burn isnt possible with this wood as its too moist?

 

[Fred B. NJ]

One thing I learned many years ago. Log length wood can lay on the ground forever and still be wet inside. I used to have the same results ordering wood that was "seasoned" but cut and split just before delivery. I buy my wood as early in the Spring as I can get it. Stack it on pallets uncovered until about the end of August, then cover it until I start using it sometime in October. I've gone through many wood dealers over the years but now have a good one who likes to start work sometime in March. I even get a discount by ordering it so early in the season.

You might also explain what you mean by horizontal and vertical burn. You may have them reversed. At least the why I read your post.

 

[skyline7349]

One thing I learned many years ago. Log length wood can lay on the ground forever and still be wet inside. I used to have the same results ordering wood that was "seasoned" but cut and split just before delivery. I buy my wood as early in the Spring as I can get it. Stack it on pallets uncovered until about the end of August, then cover it until I start using it sometime in October. I've gone through many wood dealers over the years but now have a good one who likes to start work sometime in March. I even get a discount by ordering it so early in the season.

You might also explain what you mean by horizontal and vertical burn. You may have them reversed. At least the why I read your post.

Hey sorry for delay in response. When i say Horizontal/Vertical im referring to the damper. Apparently the VC Vigilant can be run in either mode (Damper Open/Horizontal or Damper Closed/Vertical). I think next year ill need to order from somewhere else that splits then stores the wood. I will say ive improved my technique on starting a little. I wasnt really using kindling before. Now im using the scraps from the delivery to get the fire going then i throw a log ontop and its been catching faster. Ive also been able to get the stove top above 600 recently. So maybe i was just doing it wrong before and finally figured it out.

 

[Fred B. NJ]

HA HA, to me damper open means straight updraft, from the firebox right up the chimney or vertical. Damper closed would funnel the the smoke through the opening in the bottom right horizontally through the baffles and then up the chimney.

I live in the country. Lots of trees. Everytime the wind blows small branches come down. I save them in garbage cans and use for kindling. When starting a fire I start with very small pieces and work my way up to much bigger, slowly building the heat in the stove. This will take at least 10 to 15 minutes. You want to build a base of coals before putting logs on the fire.

 

[skyline7349]

HA HA, to me damper open means straight updraft, from the firebox right up the chimney or vertical. Damper closed would funnel the the smoke through the opening in the bottom right horizontally through the baffles and then up the chimney.

I live in the country. Lots of trees. Everytime the wind blows small branches come down. I save them in garbage cans and use for kindling. When starting a fire I start with very small pieces and work my way up to much bigger, slowly building the heat in the stove. This will take at least 10 to 15 minutes. You want to build a base of coals before putting logs on the fire.

Is it ok to put branches in there? i have alot of downed trees in my yard that ive been slowly cutting up, is it ok to put in stove or do i need to wait a year? that would save me ALOT of trouble if i can use for heat

 

[Fred B. NJ]

I only use dry branches. The ones falling from the trees are all dead and dry.

When I have trees cut down I save pretty much everything except the leaves. 😀 It all burns the same. Right now I have about 5 garbage cans full of seasoned kindling. At the end of the season I may have one left.