help! no heat from Stack Vista 640

[cold kiwi]

Hi all,

I have just moved into a new house with a Stack Vista640 woodburner installed.

The woodburner has only 1 vertical lever, High to Low.

I build hot fires with plenty of dry wood etc and can get the fire burning hot and clean no problem, but hardly any heat is emanated from the woodburner. Open the door and hot hot hot. Close the door and sure the top vents get a little hot to the touch but hardly match what is going on inside the burner.

So far it has been an expensive (firewood not that cheap) but good to look at ornament.

There must be something wrong... maybe there is another lever i cannot find somewhere?

I have tried starting fire on HIGH and then when burning hot turn to LOW for rest of night - didn't help (thought HIGH/LOW may refer to Flu open or closed.
I have tried keeping on HIGH all night, still not much heat and wood burns like crazy.

So far the only way i can get some decent heat is by a) keeping the door open or b) running the gas heater as well - both defy the point of having a woodburner.

Any help would be really appreciated!!

Thanks

Jon

 

[BrotherBart]

Call in the lobby for Tom. Paging thechimneysweeponline to the Hearth Room.

Tom used to sell the stoves back when Lassie was a hit TV show. He will probably be able to give you some tips.

 

[begreen]

Hopefully Craig and Tom will chime in shortly. Things I can think of to check are the baffle placement (make sure it is tightly seated towards the back of the stove) and making sure that the door gasket is in good shape and sealing all the way around. Do the dollar bill test on the stove when cold to check the gasket sealing.

"Place a dollar bill between the gasketed closed doors. If you can pull it out easily without resistance the gaskets need to be replaced or the door latch needs adjustment. Move the dollar bill around and try multiple spots where the gasket contacts the door frame."

 

[cold kiwi]

Thanks for the quick responses..

The flue has a cover and it gets hot but not really hot hot.. I can put my hand on it without going ouch.

The inside of the door has the fireproof rope around it in very good condition. I think the door is sealing ok as it is hot with door open but then when i close it i cannot feel any heat escaping apart from what is radiated through the glass.

Will do the dollr test
cheers

 

[begreen]

If you can take a photo of the stove and another one of the stove interior and post them here, that may help us spot something.

 

[BrotherBart]

If you can take a photo of the stove and another one of the stove interior and post them here, that may help us spot something.

It is liable to have a fire in it. I hear New Zealand is getting a bunch of snow right now.

 

[cold kiwi]

No fire as I am finding there is no point due to lack of heat. So photos attached. The top plate (is that the baffle?) is cracked by the looks of it.

 

[begreen]

Hopefully there will be a chance for a quick shot of the interior at the late coaling stage.

Of course, this could be the obvious candidate - unseasoned or wet wood. kiwi do you have a stove thermometer on the stove top or stove pipe?

 

[begreen]

Great. Nice looking stove!

Hmm, that baffle doesn't look in great shape. It appears warped and cracked. But this is my first look at one in a Stack.

Calling Tom Oyen for an eyeball.

How is the wood you're burning? Is it nice and dry and well seasoned?

 

[cold kiwi]

I thought it could be wood too, so have tried various types and and am pretty satisfied it's not the wood.. When i open the door its really hot inside and can feel the heat booming out. It seems to just insulate the heat inside the box and not let much out..

 

[savageactor7]

I don't see any fire brick in there either.

On our old non EPA stove we had a damper in the single wall pipe...once the fire was going we closed down the damper, but not all the way, and that's when the stove put out the heat. I'm thinking the pipe needs an inline damper.

Everyone around here with non EPA stoves has dampers...just say'en

 

[cold kiwi]

The High/Low level does work, it does allow more oxygen into the box as the fire burns more intensely, but heat output remains the same it seems - not much.

Is it right to say that when lever is switched to high and more oxygen is let in and the fire burns more intensely, the more heat is lost up the flue?

cheers

 

[BrotherBart]

One thing. That baffle in that stove has to be installed upside down. Has to be. I dont' know anything about that stove but I cannot imagine a baffle with the reinforcements on the bottom. And the lip on the front of it should be directing the exiting exhaust gases up and over the baffle, not trapping them behind the flange in the front.

You should be able to remove the baffle by lifting up on the right side of it and lowering the left side into the firebox. Try that and re-install it with the flat side down.

As to more heat going up the flue with the input air on high, yes to a degree. But the stove should get hotter also. If the wood is dry. If not all the heat is getting used up by the moisture in the wood.

 

[thechimneysweep]

The Stack Vista is a great little heater, designed to heat about 1,000 sq.ft.

It is an air convection design. The outer (Red, in your case) box reflects radiant energy back at the firebox, causing the air in between to heat and rise out the grill in the top. The radiant heat is very gentle at sides and rear, to the point where you can sit right next to the stove when burning.

There were never any firebricks in your stove.

Your baffle is upside down, and cracked. I'm betting you aren't getting much if any secondary burn, which would rob you of about half the heat the Stack was designed to produce.

I'm a little curious about your perception of heat output with the door open / closed. The ceramic glass in your Stack is about 90% heat transfer efficient, so there shouldn't be the huge difference you describe.

The Stack has an excellent airwash to keep the viewing window clean. The creosote buildup on the window in your picture could be the result of the broken/upside down baffle, but could indicate you are burning green or wet fuelwood.

If a 1.000 sq.ft. heater will heat the area you want it to heat, replace your baffle and burn dry wood and the Stack will do the job.

 

[cold kiwi]

Great thanks for the info. Weird that the baffle has been installed all these years upside down! Definately makes sense though.

I tried to remove the baffle but it has been designed so that the sides are angled to slide out when it is the right way up, i would guess - as it is not possible to pull it out now.

I will try and see if I can remove the flue cover then the grill and then open the top of the box and take the baffle out that way.

Does anyone know if that is possible? or is the firebox sealed completely?

cheers

 

[begreen]

If this is like it's children, this is a welded stove and it will not be top accessible.

Use a block of wood against the baffle and use that to hammer on to dislodge the baffle.

BB and Tom, thanks for the insight. This looks like a great stove for it's day.

 

[thechimneysweep]

There are two removable plates in the Stack Vista: the baffle plate and the rear plate. The baffle sits on the rear plate when in place, so you might be able to get a little slack for removal by manipulating the rear plate a bit.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php?ACT=24&fid=2&aid=7349_7wdg7Haqh2trsQUSJY7R&board_id=1

 

[cold kiwi]

Interesting.. that user guide suggests there is a back baffle. However, there seems to be a distinct lack of one in reality. I can see the lugs where it looks like it should be...

Still no joy getting the top baffle out, i don't want to hit with hammer as it is cracked and already a little chunk has fallen off it.

Haven't given up yet though, will persevere. Might make a great aquarium.

 

[KLb3]

Hi, I have the same heater in a house I purchased with the same problem ... no heat output.
After reading your posts I did a bit of research in Australia, where I live.
I had a back baffle but no top one. I have one available from a supplier here in Aust $88 plus P+h. In the meantime, I made my own from a 1/4 sheet of cast iron. There is also a heat shield of some sort that sits over the door, angled down at 45 %.
With all these things in place, the heater is brilliant. Heats up my place of about 450 square feet, easily.
I found it well worth the trouble to repair it.


KLB3 in Australia.

 

[Tactical71]

Hi all
Just moved to a farm (USA read: ranch) in the snowy mountains of NSW. We have 2 fires here in the house. One is an Arrow wood heater, which is not too bad, and the other is the Vista 640 as described above by the Kiwi.

We are also having a similar problem to Kiwi with regards to heat output along with another problem.

The previous owners of this place said they moved the fire here to this house from their previous farm and prior to moving the fire, it worked really well at their last place, but they could never really get it cranking out the heat after moving it, which is why the bought the second fire and installed it in another area of the house.

The fire itself works, but doesnt really put out a great deal of heat. Not compared to the other one anyway.

The second problem we have with it, is the Hi/Low control mechanism. Its super tight and required a two handed operation to move it up or down.

After speaking with a local wood heater supplier, he informed me that the rods/cables might be kinked or the device that it operates might be bent or jammed. He wasnt too sure. But this might also be part of the reason that the fire doesn't produce a great deal of heat when closed.

So this is what Ive done so far to try and fix my problems;

Cleaned out the fire.
Removed both the top and rear baffle plates. Both appear in good order and came out relatively easily.
Unscrewed the outer cover frame and removed the frame exposing the rods for the Hi/Low controls.
Controls look to be ok, but will give them a squirt of WD40 in any case to ensure they are working ok.

I cant seem to find any access to the part that the controls operate. It sounds as thought its underneath the firebox but I cant seem to get access.

I will clean all moving parts and then replace it all back together so we can give it a go tonight to see if it makes any difference.

Any assistance as to fixing the problem with the super stiff control arms/rods would be appreciated.

Cheers
Gus
Jerangle, NSW,
Australia.