After having this Quadrafire for 10 years we are looking for a stove to cook and heat water on with out the catalytic problems mentioned on the newer models of Vermont American. Looking at an early Resolute or Encore model. Stove must have 6" pipe option for venting . Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.
Quadrafire being replaced with Vermont American
- Thread starter Shado
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We were considering a vigilant but have not found close by yet. Trying to limit our travel time to a couple hours on the road. We are near Syracuse NY.
The chimney needs to be 6" and the early model Vigilant were 8" according to the spec sheet so they won't work.
Which model Quadrafire and what's wrong with it? There are several stoves that might work depending on the budget. Finding an old Resolute or Vigilant in excellent working condition could be challenging, especially now that the heating season has started. What is most important - capacity, looks, clearances, or ??
Quadrafire Explorer 2 medium wood stove. Purchased 10 years ago and works great but a little to big for our living area. No thermostatic control and an updraft type instead of a horizontal type draft like the VC. The main reason for considering the change is we want the griddle option to cook and heat water. We are sitting here nice and warm then running the electric griddle and electric water heater for meals.....
They’re out there all over and a great stove, you want a 2 piece back, start looking for one with tall doors and multi piece handles. Look for an “eyebrow” above the vent holes, this shows it’s a 2 piece and you can not only buy new firebacks to replace worn or cracked ones, as you see mine is, I have a couple waiting in the wings for rebuilds, personally I have never seen a Vigilant with cast or glass inserts in the doors that wasn’t a 2 piece.
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It looks like the Resolute model will have to be the choice due to needing a 6 inch pipe. I see there are a few with single door drop down type, not sure of the correct name for that type of door. If anyone has owned one I was wondering how they perform loading etc or the double door being better?
Vigilant is suitable for 6” pipe but you can’t burn in fireplace mode, I never did anyway.
I think we have decided on the Resolute due to size and style and will be looking for one in good condition or restored if possible. Would like the warming shelves to be able to be used But am finding info that not all stoves will accept these? They have to have mounting holes possibly? Yes, I like the dragon brackets. If anyone has had the opportunity to add the warming shelves to an early resolute model I would be interested how it was attached.
Consider the wood size, 16” is an absolute max for a Resolute, if it’s at all gnarly you want even shorter. If this is ok with you, that’s just fine, if like me it means 2 different split lengths, that’s a pain. My FIL has a resolute I did for him, he says he has 16” wood but reality is that its 12”
Thank you for the info on wood size. Most of our wood has already been cut at 16" or larger to fit the Quadrafire. We really want something to cook on. We have about 30 face cord on the ground and lots of small pieces mixed in. I can sort it out if needed, I guess moving wood around is what I do best right now.
Brought home a Resolute 3 yesterday that is in fair condition. It has double glass in the doors and one set is broken and the gasket is missing. I'll get some photo's posted to see the project. Trying to remove the fettle and interior today. It will need complete disassembly and new cement, gaskets etc. I found the warming shelf in the bottom under the ash 😀 Now I have to figure out how to attach it. Big project and any experience info doing this will be appreciated.
Thank you for the disassembly information. My hopes are not to get into too much trouble with frozen bolts. Started soaking them yesterday with PB blaster and giving them time to set.
It’s a little late now, but I was going to say that the cast is porous, be careful with oil, because whatever you soak with oil won’t take paint. Heat is your friend.
It's very possible that the stove has been polished in the past in which case, it won't paint well. Stove polish leaves a waxy buildup in the pores. The only way to paint it is to remove that buildup first, usually by sandblasting. This is why I stopped using stove polish decades ago.
High quality cast iron absolutely is not porous. Yes the surface may be rougher so things will stick to it more. But no nothing actually soaks in.
Not worried as much about the stains from lubricant now and was going to clean the area with mineral spirits or other grease cutter. The andirons were bolted on a metal brace behind the fettle and the bracket was stopping me from removing the fettle. After removing the bolts I got the fettle out but found the metal bracket that supports the andirons is all rotted away in the bolt areas, not repairable☹️☹️☹️. I did not find the part in any pictures yet. Most photos I have looked at only shows the ash fettle but no andiron bracket behind it. Has anyone seen one of these? The flat head tapered bolts are rusted on the side panels and was wondering if they are Phillips or some other driver slot ?
Have you ever welded cast? If you had, you would know that that is absolutely not the case.
I believe they are #3 Philips, if you have an impact driver it may help you here, don’t get crazy, a couple ugga lugga’s backwards, a couple forwards, and so forth, I find I have better luck with an impact than by hand with getting rusted bolts loose without breaking.
I will send photos tomorrow. This piece would have to be re manufactured,all the top half is totally gone and the rest is crumbling.
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