Resolute III 0042 stove opinion

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T.O.Jim

New Member
Feb 16, 2020
4
Milton ON
Hi all, new to the forum. I’m looking for some honest feedback.

I’ve been living in my current house outside of Toronto for the last 3 1/2 years. It has a Resolute III stove that was already here. The first winter I didn‘t use the stove at all. The second winter I ran it as a fireplace strictly for ambience since it’s located near the kitchen. Last winter I started to use the stove to heat the house on weekends to see if it’s worth running. The thing I’ll add here is that the damper has separated from the handle and Is now stuck in a half way position. The chimney sweeper can’t get a brush inside the chimney from inside, and a steep roofline keeps him from doing it from outside. He recommended to my wife replacing the unit since it needs to be disassembled to reattach the damper and is not a good stove to begin with. I was burning mostly wood that was already here so I didn’t mind that I was burning through the wood a lot faster than with the damper closed. Even then, the house temperature got up to 78F on the coldest days. So with a more efficient stove, I could heat the house with a similar sized stove. The other thing I’ll add is that the chimney is still clay lined.

Okay so now the questions.

1- do I need to tear the whole thing apart to get to the damper handle?

2- other than less buildup of creosote, what other advantages does adding a steel liner have?

3- would the stove work the same if I were to just hook up a stove pipe with a damper in it?

My wife wants to get a new stove, but it has to be cosmetically pleasing. She’s looking at ceramic ones which have price tags north of $3500. Plus steel liner which is now code, I’m looking at $6000+. If we do go with a new stove, my plan is to move the resolute to my workshop.

Is the hefty price tag worth it to get a newer unit? With this winter being warmer and more seasonal than the last 2 winters, I’m not using as much propane as I have in the past. If this keeps up, then the return on my investment gets smaller. I do miss not having a fire, but the chimney does need sweeping, and with a steep roofline, it needs to be done from inside. I’d be good rebuilding the resolute, but my wife took the sweep’s advice as gospel (or as a good excuse) to get a new one.

Sorry for the long winded post.
 
The bypass damper on this stove is fairly simple, but it needs to be determined if something broke, warped or just out of adjustment. It is a decent little stove and a good heater. We had the Resolute I and loved it. I would pull the stove and figure out what it needs. That has to be done to clean the chimney regardless, which will need to be done before putting in the new liner. (Get at least a few quotes). Then if you fix the stove it can go back in. If not, then proceed to looking for a new stove. You may be able to find a good deal if you shop hard. Dealers are clearing out old inventory before the 2020 EPA regs take effect in May.
 
Thanks for the response begreen.

My wife’s sister was over tonight and they were talking about the stove and they both love the idea of a ceramic red stove in that spot. So there‘s that part of the equation settled. We’ll start calling around and seeing if there’s any such thing as end of season, or as you suggested clearance sales before epa 2020 kicks in.

So now it makes the resolute available for workshop duty. I don’t know much about woodstove design, but the first person to come out and quote us originally for a pellet stove had mentioned I could get a stove pipe with a damper in it to avoid having to tear the stove apart. I’m not sure how well it would work. I have no qualms about tearing the stove apart and rebuilding if that’s the better way to go.
 
My how things change!!! So now it looks like we’re putting off buying a new wood stove. I’m going to open up the stove to see if I can reattach the damper rod to the damper.
So before I take on the task of a rebuild, what will I need to do this job? From what I’ve been able to gather, two tubes of cement, a full gasket kit, and some wire brushes. Is there a rebuild guide somewhere online for these? There are a few threads here, but no step by step guides.

As another possibility, has anyone painted their stove red? That seems to be my wife’s preferred color. How will it hold up?
 
Hi, T.O.Jim. I'm new to the forum and just saw your post. I was one of the early Canadian Vermont Castings Dealers - from1981, a time when to become a dealer, you were required to travel to Randolph, Vermont for a week long training session. The Resolute was (and still is) a favourite of mine. Regrettably I no longer use a wood stove and I miss it. My daughter and husband are in the process of installing a Resolute III which they acquired and have been asking for advice. My memory has failed me. Could you tell me what size of gaskets are used: 1. around the doors; 2. on the griddle top; 3. under the stovepipe adapter (their stove had been vented to the rear and they are converting it to vertical) And then, I must ask - did you rebuild the stove? I rebuilt a few VC stoves over the 20+ years I was in the wood stove business. It is a messy job but those VC stoves are worth the effort. If we were closer (I now live in Saskatoon) I would offer to assist - it would be like old times again for me. Cheers, Rod
 
Hi Rod,
I’ll get you the gasket sizes tomorrow when I’m in the workshop. I found a set of genuine VC gaskets online which I bought for the rebuild.
I haven’t rebuilt it yet. I ran into a couple of issues, which are serious enough to give me pause: the flue collar had a piece break right off, and the threaded hole that holds the flue collar broke off similar to the one in the previous post. I’ve been too busy with other things to work on it. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m going to fix it since we’re getting a new stove next month.
 
Hi Rod,
I’ll get you the gasket sizes tomorrow when I’m in the workshop. I found a set of genuine VC gaskets online which I bought for the rebuild.
I haven’t rebuilt it yet. I ran into a couple of issues, which are serious enough to give me pause: the flue collar had a piece break right off, and the threaded hole that holds the flue collar broke off similar to the one in the previous post. I’ve been too busy with other things to work on it. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m going to fix it since we’re getting a new stove next month.
Ok. That would be great. Thank you. And good luck with the new stove.