A man who cleaned stoves professionally told me after years of cleaning Vigilants someone finally told him the simple means of opening up access to the baffles. Unfortunately, I didn't ask him how. Anyone here know?
How to access the baffles behind the firewall in the Vigilant for cleaning?
- Thread starter CarpenterAnt
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marco nunes
Member
I remove the reversible flue color , once that's out of the picture you will see a plate right behind the damper,pull that out just remember witch way it goes back in than you have access to the the other side of the fireback .other than that I vacuum the 5 small holes on the lower fireback .also not a bad idea to blow some air trough the side flap on the left side off the stove wich feeds the secondary port,s nice to see there are some vigilants still in use great heater.
Hmmm. I removed the reversible flue collar and saw the plate, it is not cast iron but steel. I was able to slide it an eighth of an inch to the left and right but couldn't lift it out with my fingers it seemed to be held in place along its edges. What did I miss?
marco nunes
Member
Yes your right it's steel plate it should be right behind the damper ,I think might just have to slide it back a inch than twist to remove.depends how long it's been since it was removed .mine usually comes right off since I take mine apart every season.once removed you can take your vacuum and clean it good luck hope that helps.
From the Vigilant rebuild manual posted here in the wiki. page E30:
"The smoke shelf rests on a ridge on the back of the fireback and under a tab on the back of the stove. With the damper in the closed position (handle pointed down) reach in through the flue collar opening and check to see if the smoke shelf is loose. If it is loose, slide it to the left (viewed from the back of the stove) and lift the left end, and remove it from the stove. If it is stuck firmly in place and will not fall out when the stove is tipped over, it may be left in position."
"The smoke shelf rests on a ridge on the back of the fireback and under a tab on the back of the stove. With the damper in the closed position (handle pointed down) reach in through the flue collar opening and check to see if the smoke shelf is loose. If it is loose, slide it to the left (viewed from the back of the stove) and lift the left end, and remove it from the stove. If it is stuck firmly in place and will not fall out when the stove is tipped over, it may be left in position."
marco nunes
Member
Some of the vigilants had a 2 piece fireback that you could take apart to access the baffle ,my stove still has the original one piece fireback eve,n if I had a 2 piece fireback all I would remove is, the smoke shelf vacuum the baffle out and your done
sorry to necro this thread but I just came across it and cleaned out a massive amount of ash from the back of my vigilant. I followed what I read here by removing the collar and sliding out the steel plate. My question though is how can I actually access the catalyst under that next shelf to inspect it for creosote and brush it off if need be? I've been getting some back puffing lately when burning "horizontally" and after cleaning the flue and vacuuming it out, I'm assuming it must be the catalytic converter not performing efficiently.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Actually, there is no catalytic combustor in a Vigilant. If you've vac.ed out the smoke chamber from above as described and from below through the rectangular opening in the lower right corner of the fireback then that's it, you're good. That's what's great about these old guys, easy to take care of inexpensive too. Usually.
If you still have back puffing issues, just try giving it more air by bumping the thermo. lever slightly. When you get a chance, check to see if the bi-metal coil on the thermostat is nicely coiled or kind of "sprung out" . If it's not as it should be it can screw with you like this. I have no idea why everything is underlined, but I wish it would stop!
If you still have back puffing issues, just try giving it more air by bumping the thermo. lever slightly. When you get a chance, check to see if the bi-metal coil on the thermostat is nicely coiled or kind of "sprung out" . If it's not as it should be it can screw with you like this. I have no idea why everything is underlined, but I wish it would stop!
Oh, I was under the impression there were ceramic composite "honey combs" in the baffles as it's referred to as the combustion chamber. How do the gasses ignite then if it's just two shelves to essentially slow down the air flow? Or is it that I'm confusing a combustion chamber and catalytic combustion with for the same thing?
OK so a Vigilant has neither of these things actually, which is one nice thing about it: it doesn't have those expensive maintenance items at all.
What it does have is a simple system by which pre-heated secondary air is introduced to the smoke path as it leaves the firebox to encourage secondary combustion. It's the same principal used in most modern clean burning stoves, just less sophisticated and less efficient. But it can work, and the Vig. can be a good workhorse heater that's reliable and very cost-effective!
What it does have is a simple system by which pre-heated secondary air is introduced to the smoke path as it leaves the firebox to encourage secondary combustion. It's the same principal used in most modern clean burning stoves, just less sophisticated and less efficient. But it can work, and the Vig. can be a good workhorse heater that's reliable and very cost-effective!
haha. So would I be correct in assuming it'd be fine to burn a CSL in a vigilant? Since there is no catalytic component to worry about.
One of those creosote reducing logs. I read somewhere you should avoid using them in catalytic stoves so I was hesitant prior to knowing the vigilant is just a series of baffles
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