I have some VC Intrepid questions.....

[Nyquil Junkie]

BTW, Hi, nice place ya have here!

Here's the issues. I have 2 VC intrepid stoves, one is the simple 80's first version intrepid, no cat, top loading. I have that one in my elderly moms house, and she loves it.
I want to clean out the air ducts, and re caulk the innards, but I have a problem.... 1) I have no idea where the air ducting IS in these stoves, and where it goes.

On the old VC-Intepid, with no cat, there is a brick in a holder in the rear of the stove. Why is it there?
Also, if it has no cat, why does it have a closeable flue flap? My mom has always used the thing with it open, and her house is tiny so it does a fine job of keeping her warm.
I know these are stupid questions, I should have asked yrs ago. LOL. Should she close that main damper flap, and if she does, where does the smoke go? Ot would seem it follows a secondary path over the brick and up the pipe. Why?

The only NC manual VC has is for an intrepid NC stove with NO top load and the insides dont look like this one. So I'm lost.

But I need to know how the incoming air flows inside the stove and where to seal and not to seal it.

OK now on to the other intrepid, model 1990 CC. This one I know pretty well how it works and have taken it apart and cleaned it well (the parts that just come out) BUT... some of the caulk is falling out inside the firebox, and I'm not sure what should be sealed and what shouldnt be.

And like the other old one, I have NO idea where the air flows in and through this stove.

are there air flow charts for the intrepids somewhere?

I just bought the 1990 model the other day used, it's in fine shape, and will be a much better stove than the old pot belly I'm using now.

If you guys can explain to me where the air goes once it enters the back air intake flap I'll have a better idea how to seal it up inside.

Also, the model 1990 I just picked up has a cat-con, and the honeycomb is very clean, but the white foam case thing its in is a bit beat up. It's all there enough I'm sure it will function well enough. I was curious to know what that white soft material is that box is made from? Can you buy a replacement?

I also have another wood stove of unknow make Ive never been able to find out who made it. Thats a whole other post.

So...... educate me on the air flow design of the intrepid NC and the intrepid2 CC wood stoves and I would greatly appreciate it.

and yup... I did a search here for "intrepid" and found lots of interesting info. Not much on how the air flow design works.

 

[begreen]

Greetings. Without using the bypass damper, a lot of wood is being wasted. However, it could be your mom knows this and it's why she wants it cleaned. First thing to do is download the manual. It's in two parts:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/File:vcresimanual1_8.pdf/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/File:vcresimanual9_17.pdf/

It would be good to assess whether this is worth it or not. The stove will likely need disassembly to thoroughly clean it. There is also a possibility of the bypass damper being warped. Check parts prices before going further if this is so. It could be time to get mom a new stove if this one is beat.

As for the cat model, it sounds like the refractory assembly may be shot. If so, it will need a potentially costly rebuild. There are a few members here that have done this. Do a search for Intrepid rebuild. This is a rebuild for a Resolute. Not the same stove, but similar enough process and procedure:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/2899/

If possible, post pictures of the innards of each stove. That would help a whole lot.

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

I'm going to take the cat one apart to paint it today so I'll take some pics.
Thanks!

I dont think either stove is shot, they are in very nice condition. The old NC my mom has was a decoration piece in some rich couples home they were selling off to redecorate ($100 bucks, had never been fired!) so she is really, the only person who has ever fired it. And she's really, really careful and has never come close to over firing it and keeping any creosote or soot cleaned out. So her stove is more a maintenance issue.

The one I just bought the other day (the 1990 cc) has been used for 10+ yrs but apparently well maintained, and from the looks of their flue pipe their major sin was burning it on low to much to long.

It seems to me and my eye there are no warped parts. I think the trashing of the refractory assembly is from them taking it apart and cleaning it and not being careful handling the soft stuff its made from.

if there is a way to convert the cat system into a simple bypass system like the old NC is, I'd do it because I doubt after 10 yrs the cat block is any good, even if its clean.

We both have very small houses, and they heat up very well with little wood, even my house with an old potbelly gets uncomfortably hot with just a moderate fire going in it.

We have tons of wood, so fuel waste is a minor issue. My mom heats her house to uncomfortable warmth and to my knowledge has never burned hers with the main damper shut.

But then she is always cooking on her griddle top anyway and the book says you have to run it open when cooking or the doors open. But if closing it and using the NC bypass will save her some wood, that will save me the work of hauling it in for her all winter.

keep in mid I'm used to fueling a potbelly, and any improvement in efficiency will be a big difference. Potbellys are a bottomless pit.
LOL

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

interesting links, but those models are not built the same as the intrepids. I was looking at the ones I have it seems the air intake goes from the back intake hole, and along the backside (through a hidden manifold) and forward on each side of the floor, then up a manifold on each side and exits into the fire above the doors through a thin gap. (the air wash).

if the air wash slot above the glass is the ONLY place the incoming air is suppose to enter the firebox, then sealing it is just a logical step. Seal every seam in the firebox, except the gap around the doors.

Looks like a pretty simple design. I just dont want to end up sealing a vent gap somwhere by accident if there is one.

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

I went ahead and took my moms VC-NC apart inside, which I should have done before. I see now how the air manifold is made, it intakes from the back and flows around to the front, and exits out of a small 1/2"x2" gap on either side of the front of the ash pan, and washes up into the flames.

I see now how the CC model 1990 is different, instead of the air exiting from those gaps, the CC model has NO gaps, but a second manifold plate in the front of the stove that directs the air UP and across the top and exits down, above the door.

In the old NC stove all the parts fit together tightly dry, and are apparently made so to be taken apart and cleaned.
The CC stoves manifolds are tightly caulked in place and bolted. The best I can do is to scrape and re caulk the seams. I blow compressed air into the read air intake, and its clear by doing that where the air flows.

Pretty cool.

I also removed the back innner plate on the old NC stove where that brick is, and inside there is actually 3 bricks, set loosely to form an S curve and up the flue. it was full of ash so I cleaned it out, replaced one of the bricks, and explained to my mom how that is suppose to work.

I think the old NC unit is more user-friendly.
I took some pics of the CC units refractory assembly. I'll post em/

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

cover intake plate in place. The front edge is a little toasted.

cover removed, you can see the catalyst assembly

the front slab of the box removed, cat in place

cat block removed, you can see the damage to the insulation box itself

a close up of the exit side of the box, the part that holds the catalyst block is ok, these side vent parts are pretty dinged up.

Do you you think this refractory chamber is to damaged to be used?

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

This is the inside of the CC1990 stove, showing the one piece front manifold (the yellow and red arrows).
The older NC intrepid lacks this front manifold, and only has the side floor manifold (blue arrow).

I can see now where the CC unit has to be caulked, if air is only suppose to exit over the window.

I have a question about caulking this part...

the green line/arrow shows the air flow, and as far as I read, the air should wash down over the glass BUT, does it wash in from the side too? (red arrows) or should this seam be caulked? (red arrows)

You can see the edge/gap of the manifold over the inner door opening. Since the doors have full glass and not half glass, I was wondering if the air washes from the top down only (green) or, from the top down and from the sides in? (red)

 

[summit]

looks like every other intrepid i have ever seen.... cooked!

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

The only part of the inside metal that's cooked is that throat hood. the rest of the metal is surprisingly good.

Its better than the burned out hulk heating my house now. LOL

 

[Redburn]

Nice find looks like it with the right parts you'll be in burning I believe the air flows the bottom and you have to keep the ashes from building up in front or the glass won't stay clean a friend of mine has this stove .. good luck..

 

[summit]

The only part of the inside metal that's cooked is that throat hood. the rest of the metal is surprisingly good.

Its better than the burned out hulk heating my house now. LOL

hate to say it, but when you go to put a new throat in, you will find that the backplate is warped and will not accept the new piece...

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

Ya think? I'll keep that in mind. My house is so small, I probably can get away with burning it without using the cat. I'm only heating a 12x30 room with a 7 foot ceiling w/fans. (being 5'2" helps) It doesn't take much fire to keep it warm. Burning it with the main damper open seem by its design to be no different than how a RR potbelly works.

With luck maybe I'll trip over another 100 buck unused one later on or maybe a bigger VC NC of another model. I think it'll do me fine for a few winters.

I blew 100PSI air hose into the back air intake, and lots of fly ash came out. I blew the air back in the exit points above the doors, and kept doing that till no dust came out anywhere, so the air manifolds are clear. Once its caulked a bit inside I think it'll work ok. The cat assembly thing kinda worries me but its clean and open, so the worst it can do is not activate.

Do these stoves burn OK with the cat block removed? the flow pattern of the smoke without the cat block in is basically the same as the NC old intrepid with the 3 brick setup where the cat assembly is in the 1990.

I'm wondering if the whole refractory assembly couldn't be copied and cast with fireproof mortar, or even cut brick and used to make it a NC stove.
For that matter, if there is no cat being used, I dont see why a plate steel welded copy of the chamber wouldnt work fine, just to preserve the exhaust flow, and mimic what the old NC version of this stove does perfectly well without a cat.

Anyone here ever tried to fabricate the assembly from brick or mortar and not use the cat? I can't see why it wouldn't work.

The old NC models from the early 80s worked. If I can get some light in the room where the old stove is, I'll take some picks of that setup.

 

[branchburner]

Thanks for posting those pix. Nice to see ya getting your hands dirty! I'm about to pull apart an old Federal Airtight cat, which is a VC product, and I'll probably run it without the cat... so I'm curious to see what folks say about that. It's just doing a take-the-edge-off/keep-pipes-from-freezing duty in a basement.

My Dad runs a 1970s VC Defiant with the bypass damper open, kind of like your Mom does. Plows through the wood but keeps the flue clean. My Dad's in much better shape at 80 than the stove is at 30, but it works for him. Just a metal box with fire in it.

Keep your eyes open for a small used EPA steel stove like an Englander if you want an affordable upgrade.

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

Since I have tons of wood, I think keeping the pipes burned clean is preferable to being pinchy with the wood and gunking it up. As I said my moms intrepid shes used for the last few yrs shes had it with the main damper wide open, and her house is always to hot. She has that stove down to a science, even with the thing wide open she can choke it back and make it burn slow and hot.

She will use about a full cord a winter to heat her living room where she spends most her day, the rest of her house is heated with oil.

My house is a different deal, I ripped out the oil furnace yrs ago. I have an oddball potbelly that is shaped sort of like an intrepid but the flue pipe is in the center of the top, and the main baffle is long been burned out, so the heat just goes right up the stack. The only good thing about it is I can burn anything that will catch fire in it.

and since I told the gas company to shove their prices and their LP tank, the cooking griddle in the intrepid will be pretty cool to have.

My mom had a brand new VC Aspen, she liked that model alot, but she's gotten to old to lean down and keep raking that deep long firebox to keep it going. The Intrepid she can flip the griddle up and add wood easy.

I shoulda kept that aspen, it was a nice little stove.

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

After some more cleaning, a good caulk job and a new flue pipe to the wall, I fired the pictured intrepid 2 up with a little fire to cure the caulk and the paint job. Everything works perfectly, even the battered up cat seem to fire up properly when activated. It went from warm to pretty dang hot (and no smoke coming out of the stack) with a nicely slow burning hunk of cherry. I'm impressed.

I prefer it burning with the damper open, the griddle stays nice and hot. I even perked a pot of coffee on it, and kept it warm for hours on the side rack.

I have another question for ya....

The sides of the back-end of the stove that houses the cat assembly, how hot should this normally be when the cat is actively working? It got pretty hot, I'm going to get another magnet stove thermometer to stick on the back to keep tabs on it.