New 2022 Defiant - Break In Question

[baerjo]

Just finished install today by a pro. Saw the manual recommended a break-in period so have been working at that. Did not come with a thermometer as I thought it would so I'm snow-balling a bit more than I'd like till one comes Friday.

Here's what I did:
-1st burn was small kindling, got decently hot activating stop top thermal fans.
-2nd burn was putting slightly larger kindling onto coals still present from the first burn. Note the stove wasn't "room temp", but it was touchable.
-3rd burn was adding smaller splits with some kindling onto coals still present from the second burn. Note the stove was still hot but could quick tap it with my fingers without dying.

Now after that 3rd burn I'm letting the coals go out completely and will let stove go completely cool. At that point I plan to build a maybe 1/2 firebox or 2/3 full firebox regular fire and get it burning, setting it for a slow burn for the rest of the night. Note that at 1st burn I had some minor smell, 2nd burn got worse, 3rd burn definitely worse along with a faint "mist" spreading around. I've heard that this is just the paint setting and misting and is normal.

Question after all that...would this be considered a proper "break/burn in"? Some people say to do what I did, others say to let it cool completely to room temp, which would be 65F right now in my basement. Trying to figure out if what I did worked fine or I need to redo something? Would have been much less guess work with a thermometer.

 

[baerjo]

I ended up doing two more heat then cool cycles fully versus my previous shortcuts. Took each one a bit hotter than the last and have since been just letting her rip like normal. At this point there's little to no smell and we can enjoy the heat.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It sounds like you're breaking it in right! Any time you reach a new temperature you may get some smell.

 

[wolfize69]

I ended up doing two more heat then cool cycles fully versus my previous shortcuts. Took each one a bit hotter than the last and have since been just letting her rip like normal. At this point there's little to no smell and we can enjoy the heat.

We still have occasional odor when the stove gets hot. We've had it 4 months and run it 24/7. Never have had a load last more than 6 hours so the manufacturer is a liar right out the gate. Had I known this I never would have bought Vermont casting. The catalyst is broken but they replaced it and the ash door handle got all bent up because it was defective and they replaced that. Had 3 chimney fires so far. Fortunately I have been able to contain them.

 

[baerjo]

We still have occasional odor when the stove gets hot. We've had it 4 months and run it 24/7. Never have had a load last more than 6 hours so the manufacturer is a liar right out the gate. Had I known this I never would have bought Vermont casting. The catalyst is broken but they replaced it and the ash door handle got all bent up because it was defective and they replaced that. Had 3 chimney fires so far. Fortunately I have been able to contain them.

Wow! Yeah we get 7hrs max on stuffed full load. Have a SS chimney on the outside of the house and no fires, barely even dirty. VC big time lies though for sure. My Defiant is supposed to last far longer. They also certified it air tight which is laughable. Cat has been fine so far but overnight burns are a no go.

 

[Eman85]

As far as smell goes even after years of use I've had stovepipe give off a smell if it gets very hot, usually a sign it's too hot.
Are these full size Defiants and you're not getting a long burn? I have an Encore which is small and it will easily burn 8 hrs if I don't use the cat and I've gone 12+ hrs using the cat.
@wolfize69 You say you've had multiple chimney fires in 4 mo That seems impossible. I've run my stove with no cat and burning low and never had a chimney fire, what are you burning?

 

[baerjo]

As far as smell goes even after years of use I've had stovepipe give off a smell if it gets very hot, usually a sign it's too hot.
Are these full size Defiants and you're not getting a long burn? I have an Encore which is small and it will easily burn 8 hrs if I don't use the cat and I've gone 12+ hrs using the cat.
@wolfize69 You say you've had multiple chimney fires in 4 mo That seems impossible. I've run my stove with no cat and burning low and never had a chimney fire, what are you burning?

In my case it's a full size defiant yes. What's your definition of "burn"? First light to last glowing coals? Of course even then Id be short lol.

 

[Eman85]

I wouldn't count from first light as it takes time to build heat. I count from when I reload to go to bed until I reload the next day. Without the cat I can load and go to bed at 11 and reload it the next morning at 7 or 8 as it will have good coals to get splits burning. If I use the cat I reload earlier as I have to keep the cat under control. Load at 9 or 10 and I don't have to reload until 12 hrs later. With the cat the stove will be cooler, in the 350 STT range all night.

 

[baerjo]

I do question the point of the cat if it cools down the stove. If we ran it at 350 it would be pretty much pointless in our house. 500-600 is the range we run it at and it's in that golden recommended range that's supposed to cause less creosote. That being said, if I have any wood in there, I can crank the temp all the way down and it will never get as low as 350. If we're talking coals then yes it may sit at 350 or 400. I generally count from when it's "set" and I can "walk away" until I have just enough coals to get more splits to light and start her back up. I might get an extra hr running with cat, but it's not that big of a benefit so far. I will say engaging the cat does visibly slow the flames, so that's something. I think VC just shipped a crap leaky stove, so I keep chasing possible solutions. At the moment the front doors are at least much better sealed, the backdraft issue due to wind is resolved with a vacu-stak chimney cap. Next up are the ash pan gasket and the griddle gasket. I think we need a "lemon law" for wood stoves :D.

 

[Eman85]

I hot loaded last night at 10PM and with the cat engaged and the air cut back to keep the cat in the 1100 range the STT was 350. I didn't touch the stove until about 9 AM and only to open the air all of the way and let it burn. STT went to 500 and I let the coal bed burn for an hour or so before I threw a few splits in. With a few splits I can keep STT in the 500's and the cat in the 1000-1100 range and the air open about 40%.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I wouldn't count from first light as it takes time to build heat. I count from when I reload to go to bed until I reload the next day. Without the cat I can load and go to bed at 11 and reload it the next morning at 7 or 8 as it will have good coals to get splits burning. If I use the cat I reload earlier as I have to keep the cat under control. Load at 9 or 10 and I don't have to reload until 12 hrs later. With the cat the stove will be cooler, in the 350 STT range all night.

I do a full load at night, and am getting around 7.5 hours (that's just when I reload it). STT will be between 375-425 and I'll have decent coals.
I then reload 3/4 of the way, and that will take me until about 3p.
Another 3/4 load, takes me up until 830ish?
Then I will either top that off if I got to bed earlier or if I stay up late, almost a full packing on top of large chunky coals.

So 1 full load per day, 2-3 3/4 loads.
I find 3/4 to 5/6 loads are a bit easier to manage the stove...for me.

 

[baerjo]

I ended up tightening the crap out of the ash pan latch and that made a big difference. Flames are way more controllable and I got my first 8hr burn the other day with CAT engaged.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I ended up tightening the crap out of the ash pan latch and that made a big difference. Flames are way more controllable and I got my first 8hr burn the other day with CAT engaged.

You may be onto something here. While my ash pan door seals well I might tighten in as maybe it deforms with heat and allows a ton of air in. When cleaned out my flames are much more active.

 

[baerjo]

You may be onto something here. While my ash pan door seals well I might tighten in as maybe it deforms with heat and allows a ton of air in. When cleaned out my flames are much more active.

In my case the gasket was so flat that it wasn't sealing well. I have a feeling this thing sat closed and in storage at VC for awhile because all the gaskets looked kinda flat. I plan to leave it unlatched during the non-winter months in the hopes my gaskets will round out a bit without the pressure constantly on them.

 

[sarwilky]

my old defiant (4 years old, then moved) could least 7-8, with hot coals to get the day started. I have a question about my brand new defiant (2 weeks). I just fired up the stove for a full burn after a week of break in. I can SEE flames (very small opening) between the flue and the stove itself. and I turned it down fast and smoke came out of the same location. I have never experienced either of these things. My installer tells me this is normal to have that very small gap. is it?? It seems to me that eliminates the stove being airtight?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Is the flue inserted into the stove? Are there screws securing it? Maybe it backed out a little?

 

[baerjo]

I had this same thing. Its a double wall flue pipe into the flue collar. The inner wall inserts into the flue collar while the outer is supposed to have a gap for stove pipe cooling purposes. What happens is that the inner is crimped and so doesn't seal worth a damn. I had one spot like you described and I used high temp caulk on it. Id invest in a CO meter, that caulk, and make sure you warm your flue/chimney well before starting it so you have a good updraft to capture all the smoke. We usually run it 24/7 so don't worry, but otherwise have used a hairdryer to get that updraft started. These are finicky stoves, leaky and temperamental. Installers seem to not know what they're doing I swear.