Thermostat controlled? How?

[GrumpyDad]

I recall this when I was researching buying a wood stove and VC, however I forgot about this. The air control Ive been battling with on my VC Dauntless, should be a set it and forget it, according to this from their literature. How are they making these claims? Has anyone actually torn apart one of these stoves to determine if they do indeed have this tech inside the newer stoves and how it should operate and maybe why some of us are having such a challenge?
So apparently the control on the side is NOT an air intake control but a thermostat control. HUH?

THERMOSTATICALLY CONTROLLED COMBUSTION Our unique, built-in thermostat requires no electricity and automatically adjusts the required air for combustion. Just set the stove for the heat output you want and let the thermostat do the rest. The result—longer, more even heat.


And then there's this which I cant tell what the difference is...

Continuous Combustion Controlt (C3) Our exclusive C3 technology is tuned to provide optimal burn throughout the life of your fire. From startup to last coals, C3 technology manages all the give-and-take for you, automatically adjusting and delivering just the right amount of air to optimize efficiency and heat output. This heat activated technology requires no electricity or manual air controls. The result – the most consistent, easiest burn you will experience.

 

[PatrickWR]

As I understand it, the thermostatically controlled combustion is basically a bimetallic spring or metal doodad that expands and contracts based on the temp of the stove. The expansion & contraction in turn manipulates the actual air control aperture (located on the bottom rear of the stove; you can see it if you bend down and peer into the cylindrical opening down there). This manipulation appears to increase/decrease air to the stove based on temperatures. This is why you'll sometimes hear a metallic snap or ping as the aperture opens or closes a little bit during use.

I agree that this seems to indicate that what I call the "air control lever" on the side of my stove doesn't truly function as an air control lever. It is more of a "desired temp" lever, and then air control is further adjusted by the bimetallic spring.

The air control lever is still somewhat useful, and I definitely adjust it during regular operation, but I have found the damper/bypass lever to be far more effective at controlling air flow than the actual air control lever.

 

[baerjo]

It’s very similar to how stove top thermometers work. But yeah it doesn’t seem to actually work well. Anything other than lowest possible = raging 750F fire.