Resolute Acclaim air control question

[kwburn]

I'm a happy user of both a VC Intrepid and Defiant Encore, both catalytic.

By next winter I'm considering replacing the Intrepid with something slightly larger to get maybe a 20% longer burn but not looking to cook myself out of that end of the house. Don't want to give up top loading (would possibly consider side) so I was thinking of maybe going to a Resolute Acclaim (either new or used) since it's kind of in between the Intrepid and the current Encore.

Here is my question. From what I can tell the Resolute Acclaim has no thermostatic air control. I love the fact that on both of my current stoves with it I can really set it and almost forget it and it will maintain a burn +/- 75 degrees for the life of the load. I read one person in an old thread complaining that on his Resolute Acclaim he had to baby the air control quite often through the burn to get a steady temp.

Can any Resolute Acclaim users out there give me their opinion on this?
Also, is there an engineering reason of some sort that the RA doesnt have thermostatic air control??
Seems silly that it doesn't.

 

[dougand3]

I start a 10 hour fire everyday (rehabbing this house - don't live in it, yet). I do fiddle with my air control during a full load burn. I like to get it up to 550, close bypass, then back air control off to 1/2 - sometimes it still wants to climb over 600 - back off to 1/4 air. Sometimes it drops to 450 - go to 3/4 air. It seems to cruise well between 500-600. I can't compare this to other EPA stoves - my only stove experience prior to this RA was an old Buck smoke dragon. Bottom line - you gotta pay attention or you get an 700 deg fire or a smoldering 350 deg one. Every fire is little different - building daily. I bet if you burned it 24/7 and got a solid coal bed - you could figure out positioning much faster.

 

[Brian VT]

I burn 24/7 and it still takes some fiddling. My b.i.l. had an older one with the auto damper. He misses it. I assume the EPA made them go to WFO secondary.
I mess with it for 1/2-3/4 hr. to get it where I want it before going to bed.
I made a secondary air control for mine. I originally made to shut down in case of emergency but I found I can use it control the burn rate too.

 

[jdinspector]

I burn my Resolute 24/7 (probably 5 cords this winter). I guess I never thought about how much messing around I do with the air control, but now that you ask, I guess that I do. An earlier response said that his stove likes 500-600 temps. That's about where mine is. If the wood is very dry, it will run up pretty quick and could easily overfire, with wood that isn't especially dry (20-25% +/- moisture) it will cruise at a relatively steady temp without so much messing around. I usually turn the air way down just before bedtime and haven't had any worries about smoldering or overfiring. It burns completely and I get 6 hours of useful heat out of it. It's about 150-200 degrees after 7-8 hours.

The comment about having a full bed of coals is true. However, I've found that I have to empty ashes every day. If it gets too full of coals/ashes, then it will stifle itself even with wide open air. The combustor box air inlet gets clogged with ashes pretty easily. I went away a few weeks ago and my wife kept the stove going the whole time. Unfortunately, she never emptied the ashes. When I got home it had a full load of red hot coals that I had to empty just so I could get it to fire properly on bypass.

One other thought about this stove... The crazy thing is costing a fortune in replacement parts every year or so. ($300 or more) All of the parts are specific to VC, therefore, I can't buy refractory brick at the local big box, I have to special order them at a relatively high cost. The combustor box is particularly frustrating and expensive. It simply falls apart after a while. (And costs over $200 to replace). I thought that this was all normal procedure on any stove until I found this site and read reviews of other stoves. I'm currently looking hard at the soapstones (WS Fireview or the Hearthstone Heritage) Honestly, I'd think twice about buying this stove again. I don't have a bone to pick with VC, I'm just seeing a little bit about the grass being greener with other stoves.

 

[Brian VT]

One other thought about this stove... The crazy thing is costing a fortune in replacement parts every year or so. ($300 or more) All of the parts are specific to VC, therefore, I can't buy refractory brick at the local big box, I have to special order them at a relatively high cost. The combustor box is particularly frustrating and expensive. It simply falls apart after a while. (And costs over $200 to replace). I thought that this was all normal procedure on any stove until I found this site and read reviews of other stoves. I'm currently looking hard at the soapstones (WS Fireview or the Hearthstone Heritage) Honestly, I'd think twice about buying this stove again. I don't have a bone to pick with VC, I'm just seeing a little bit about the grass being greener with other stoves.

I'll 2nd that. This is my first stove and I paid $450 used. It's heated my house well and taught me how to burn wood. I'm not unhappy with it but, after hanging out here for a while, I'm thinking maybe I don't want to put any money into it in the future. When this one needs parts I'll probably look into the same stoves JD mentioned.
My wife likes the look of those soapstones so she'll be chomping at the bit. I'll be trying to guess how many years it'll take to recoup the cost by not burning oil.

 

[dougand3]

Same thoughts as Brian and jdinspector....When my refractory box and 3 arches crumble (prob $300-$400 parts)....prob will buy an Englander NC13 at about that price when on clearance. BUT this is one FINE looking stove.

 

[kwburn]

thanks for the detailed replies guys. i'll have to think about it. no big rush i guess. reviews in general on the RA are a mixed bag. really no one hates it, many like it a lot, but most are less than thrilled with the maintenance costs.

its ashame though because the thing is designed perfect for the fireplace that currently has my Intrepid. the fireplace is a half moon type opening and with its beveled (?) top edges the stove would fit right in without looking like you are slamming a square peg into a round hole.

 

[dougand3]

The more I look at this Resolute Acclaim, the more I like the looks. Would hate to trash it b/c of high repair part prices. And whomever owns VC this month isn't going to come down in price fro these proprietary parts.

Anybody try to build a refractory box? Is it basically firebrick material? Thin firebricks are cheap. Doug

 

[Brian VT]

Anybody try to build a refractory box? Is it basically firebrick material? Thin firebricks are cheap. Doug

The 2490's box is a Kaowool-like material. I don't know if Kaowool would be suitable but I plan to try it this spring.
A solid refractory material would be nicer/more durable but then when you overfire and warp the upper fireback
it would probably break the refractory box. The "wool" type is somewhat flexible.

 

[dougand3]

Good idea, Brian. Love to see your results - please take pics! The best kaowool prices I saw were on ebay but shipping is high. TSC said they had firebricks at ~$2.50 ea - unsure of size - I'm guessing ~ 4.5" x 9". Doug

 

[michaelthomas]

I have thought about replacing the RA with a nc-13 but it is such a good looking stove! Not that the nc-13 is not attractive, but it is kind of a "function before fashion" stove. The resolute always gets compliments on it's looks and my 30 always gets compliments on how warm it is. The maintanence costs are high and the cleanout of the space behind the refractory is kind of a pain, and the fiddling with the air and the secondary are time consuming, but the stove looks good and when it is dialed in it works beautifully!

 

[begreen]

The more I look at this Resolute Acclaim, the more I like the looks. Would hate to trash it b/c of high repair part prices. And whomever owns VC this month isn't going to come down in price fro these proprietary parts.

Anybody try to build a refractory box? Is it basically firebrick material? Thin firebricks are cheap. Doug

I agree, but as my old auntee once said, you can't heat with looks. (That is unless you're Penelope Cruz) I love the looks of the VC stoves, but eventually one has to look at the cost of running one. This is similar to cars. When having a working stove becomes like trying to keep an old TR3 running, it gets a bit tedious, especially if you need it to be day to day reliable.

 

[jdinspector]

When having a working stove becomes like trying to keep an old TR3 running, it gets a bit tedious, especially if you need it to be day to day reliable.[/quote]

I agree, however, the Resolute is reliable by definition. I can rely on the fact that it will cost me $300-400 per year in parts. I can rely on the fact that the combustor box will fall apart after time. That's, unfortunately, the kind of reliability that I'm not looking for! As someone said earlier, this stove works great when dialed in. I've got it dialed in this year, but it took me a long time to learn that I can't get away without replacing parts on it. :zip:

All of this "reliability" is why I'm looking at a new stove for next year.

I'm off to pick up some 2010 wood. Later....

 

[kwburn]

anyone know the improvements/changes made in 1994 when it went from the 0041 model to the 2490?

Ohio Burner, who is new on the forum, ran the RA for many years and highly recommends it. part availability was more his concern and he moved out of it recently as his main burner. just don't understand how one person could need to replace the refractory every year or two and others hardly if ever. certainly how much you burn may have something to do with it but there has to be more to it.

my defiant encore is not for everyone. just last week i had to remove the combustor for cleaning and it was quite a hassle. i remember thinking i just can't imagine the average user going through this whenever i work on the stove. it would certainly lead to people bashing it. but dang the stove just performs incredibly at all levels when in operation and i wouldnt trade it despite the compexity. not saying the Resolute Acclaim fits this model, but it sounds like it might fit the VC trend as far as the love/hate opinions out there.

 

[begreen]

I think the original VC stoves were universally loved. We had the original Resolute and were very sad when we moved into a house that wouldn't accommodate the stove. My brother still burns in an old Vigilant. When they came out with the Acclaim things went downhill as far as reliability was concerned. It was still a good heater, but needed rebuilding like clockwork every 2-3 years. My understanding is that they improved the refractory and firebacking in the mid-90's but that seems to have just delayed the rebuild to about every 5 or so years. With the recent parts price increase, it's taken the affordability out of this classic stove design. Shame, it's a beautiful stove.

 

[Redbear86]

kinda off topic but does anyone know the last year they made the Acclaim with blue enamel? Picked one up today seems pretty new but i noticed VC doesn't offer it in blue anymore- need to check the stove out pretty good, hearing so many problems with this stove i'm tempted to just sell it and turn a buck rather than install it