I've got one of the original Vermont Castings Vigilants, from the '70s, and I've been using it all these years, so I thought I knew something about avoiding creosote build-up. But recently I've been getting flue-clogging build-up in, like, six weeks. Dry oak, hot burning in the morning, good chimney cap, regular chimney sweeping -- I'm doing all those things -- yet still I have big problems. By process of elimination, I'm beginning to wonder whether the stove needs some maintenance I'm not giving it. (I haven't done a thing to it in all these decades.)
I guess my first question is -- I live in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge about an hour west of Washington. Does anybody know anybody knowledgeable who would give it a look and a tune up? (I'm having no luck asking area dealers for this kind of service, and I've also been blown off by the new owners of Vermont Castings.)
Absent having some expert look it over, is there something I should be doing? The two areas that occur to me are:
* The actual damper (not just the handle) is loose, and I have to jiggle it around to seat it right. Could that be contributing to my problem? Is there a way to fix that?
* What about gaskets?
FWIW, while I have friends who are adventurous handymen if somebody tells them what to do, I'm more likely to buy a new stove than totally field strip this one myself.
(But I am sentimentally attached to this old beast that's served me all these years.)
Thank you for your help.
I guess my first question is -- I live in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge about an hour west of Washington. Does anybody know anybody knowledgeable who would give it a look and a tune up? (I'm having no luck asking area dealers for this kind of service, and I've also been blown off by the new owners of Vermont Castings.)
Absent having some expert look it over, is there something I should be doing? The two areas that occur to me are:
* The actual damper (not just the handle) is loose, and I have to jiggle it around to seat it right. Could that be contributing to my problem? Is there a way to fix that?
* What about gaskets?
FWIW, while I have friends who are adventurous handymen if somebody tells them what to do, I'm more likely to buy a new stove than totally field strip this one myself.
(But I am sentimentally attached to this old beast that's served me all these years.)
Thank you for your help.