VC Aspen C3 (2023) Can’t Heat Small Room

[stovelark]

I don't remember exactly, but I thought VC suggested putting the stove top thermometer on the "griddle top" or in the Aspen's case the cook top plate, and the temp of the steel top was higher than STT for the cast iron... not sure though. Looked at the C3 manual, saw not temp guidance for the STT. This is an odd one, seems like the stove should like well. I too wonder if the block off plate/insulation in damper area will break this case. Good luck.

 

[begreen]

I should have added, yes, draft can be checked with a manometer with a low reading range. One that reads from 0 to .25 is what is commonly used.

Good luck with the backoff plate. There are several example threads on the topic. With an existing install, a 2 piece design usually is the easiest. It helps to mock it up and make a cardboard template first.

Resource icon

Make a damper sealing block off plate

Aug 3, 2022

Why damper seal is needed, block off plate install

• webfish
• How to Build, Install, Operate, Etc.

 

[meagloth]

I put these block off plates in today and shoved a bunch of rock wool up the chimney. Also made this baffle to blow cold air behind the stove with the box fan. It seems to push air pretty good.
Doing a test burn right now. Similar conditions to the other night, starting at 68 degrees in the thermometer.

 

[bigealta]

The rockwool should help a lot if you actually filled All the gaps around the pipe.
The block off plate looks unfinished, there seems to still be gaps around the pipe. It should be tight to block any moving air.
That's the whole purpose of the block off plate.... Block the air from moving past it.

 

[meagloth]

The rockwool should help a lot if you actually filled All the gaps around the pipe.
The block off plate looks unfinished, there seems to still be gaps around the pipe. It should be tight to block any moving air.
That's the whole purpose of the block off plate.... Block the air from moving past

There has to be enough clearance on the two pieces to maneuver them through the existing setup. The pictures of the block off plate are from the test fit up before I put the rockwool in. I used the rock wool to fill the gaps.

I think it helped. Stove burned good last night and the room warmed up a few degrees. Started at 68 and I think it read 73 when I went to bed two hours later. Did not cook us out of the house by any means.
Was like 45 F overnight here so there wasn’t much of a struggle. I don’t think it will heat the house if we loose power.

 

[bigealta]

There has to be enough clearance on the two pieces to maneuver them through the existing setup. The pictures of the block off plate are from the test fit up before I put the rockwool in. I used the rock wool to fill the gaps.

I think it helped. Stove burned good last night and the room warmed up a few degrees. Started at 68 and I think it read 73 when I went to bed two hours later. Did not cook us out of the house by any means.
Was like 45 F overnight here so there wasn’t much of a struggle. I don’t think it will heat the house if we loose power.

2 hours is really not very long. Get that burning for a couple cycles of reload when the firebox just has coals left in it. See what happens after about 6 to 8 hours of burning (probably 2 or 3 burn cycles of load and reload on just coals). That will give that brick and interior contents of the house time to warm up.

Think of it more as recharging a battery (the whole house contents) vs. blast furnace for massive instant heat.

 

[bigealta]

Frankly i'd pull that fan / duct set up out. Especially while trying to figure out if your stove is burning correctly. The stove should start to warm that brick enclosure up and that will help warm your house as a heat sink. I also would wait to use any fan until that enclosure is very warm to hot. If it never gets hot then we still need to figure out if there is some other issue with the stove.

 

[begreen]

That's a very leaky block off plate. Add a plate or two to cover the large gaps. The better the seal the better the (heat) deal.

 

[stoveliker]

silicone is your friend to seal the block off

 

[bigealta]

How is it going with your recent burns with the block off plate installed?

 

[bigealta]

you might want to ping @30WCF.
He's running the same stove and might have some insight?

 

[30WCF]

@bigealta
Someone Rang?

@meagloth

Totally different hearth set up here, but if that stove can’t run you out of the living room of a 700ft sq house in SC, something isn’t right.

My house is 1,100 sq ft in central NC, so probably not too different from your situation. My living room is 12x20 instead of 12x12, and I don’t think I’ve complained about it not heating enough other than in single digits and over coaling before I found pine. My main problem is keeping the STT below 800-900. Ok, it’s not that bad, I have a pretty good handle on it, but you really shouldn’t be cold in S.C.

Looking at your video, you have wet wood. It might be draft, but that wood isn’t burning well. The “alcove” may be giving false readings to the thermostat, but good dry wood with a fully closed auto-damper can reach some crazy temps. I have added an E-brake to my stove because sometimes I hear hit huffing, whomp whomp whomp, and have to shut it down with a custom intake damper, beyond what the factory damper will do.

Can you see the probe on top of the wool liner if you pull the stove pipe?
The probe for the bi-metal coil should be visible above the blanket.

Add a some real dry 2x4 lumber to a load and see what happens.

As for measuring the temps where the gasses exit the chimney, I’ve done that too…it doesn’t lose that much.

Here is my ramblings over the last few years with pictures and videos.

Thread 'Vermont Castings Aspen C3 2022'

Nov 19, 2022

Looked around the forum rules, didn’t see anything against an ongoing review. ( only prohibiting promotions and bashings, this may contain both in the same post😁 )
I have a few other open threads on this stove, but since reviews on this stove seem very hard to come by online, I thought I would consolidate and try to get a decent review for this stove. I’ll have some questions along the way.
I’ll skip the standard YouTube unboxing video where you would see how nice the cardboard box was.
For reference, 1950s drafty 1100 sqf house in central NC. I’ll try to post up outdoor temps, stovetop...

• 30WCF
• Replies: 290
• Forum: Vermont Castings

 

[30WCF]

Right now I’m sitting at about 500 in the pipe, 700 STT, very visible flames, 67 inside the house, and 18 outside.
It’s m burning 4 year old covered hickory and holly. 1950 uninsulated, drafty house.

 

[30WCF]

This morning I’m at hanging in the neighborhood of 622 in the pipe, 800-850 STT, and 15 outside.
The old house is cool but comfy on this side of the house. If it was a normal NC winter day(35-45*) I’d maybe crack a window if it was 850 STT.

Camera is focused on the Auber, so you can see both.

 

[30WCF]

Got a good secondary burn going.

 

[30WCF]

@meagloth
Looking back at your video, maybe the wood isn’t wet. The glass is clean , but something is off to me on the condition of the wood when you reloaded with the big log. The smaller ones don’t look like they burned down very much.

I’m at the stage where I’m getting excess coals from the hard wood, which keep the damper shut and it just holds coals forever and doesn’t throw as much heat. The solution, pine. I’ll burn a load or two of pine to eat the coal bed up, then switch back to oak or hickory for the overnight.

You can see the pine log is sitting high atop a coal bed. It’s about half way up the height of the box and the pine split is touching the baffle plate.

 

[meagloth]

Thank you for the informative replies @30WCF


I think the block off plate is helping a little. I still think the stove or draft is suspect. The box fan and baffle/duct blows cold air behind the stove pretty well. Not sure which has been helping more.

Been busy with winter storm prep Friday and yesterday, and have had the stove running all weekend , expecting to loose power any time. It seems to be better than nothing at all but it’s still hard to get the room to 70F. When we woke up at 6 am this morning stove had burned down to coals under the ash and it was 59 F in the living room. It was filled up pretty good with ash so I scooped about half of it out and loaded it up, got it burning good. Re-filled again around 8:30. It got the room up to 62 this morning, 64 now after a few more loads. Now it’s 4pm (68F in here but heat pump, and oven in kitchen running also) and it’s filled up so full with coals I can’t hardly put anything in it. They are red on top and towards the front but if I scoop around in back they are black charcoal like 6” deep. See pictures. Stove top temp in this condition is 250 - 300 F.

 

[meagloth]

@meagloth
Looking back at your video, maybe the wood isn’t wet. The glass is clean , but something is off to me on the condition of the wood when you reloaded with the big log. The smaller ones don’t look like they burned down very much.

I’m at the stage where I’m getting excess coals from the hard wood, which keep the damper shut and it just holds coals forever and doesn’t throw as much heat. The solution, pine. I’ll burn a load or two of pine to eat the coal bed up, then switch back to oak or hickory for the overnight.

You can see the pine log is sitting high atop a coal bed. It’s about half way up the height of the box and the pine split is touching the baffle plate.

View attachment 345585

To answer a few more questions I’d like to look for the probe but the way the stovepipe is set up it’s very hard for to pull it and look inside. I think I would have to deconstruct the whole stack. Would like to inspect the workings around the back as well but I would have to pull it out of the alcove.

 

[EbS-P]

was filled up pretty good with ash so I

Dry wood makes less ash in my experience. The hotter it burns the more complete the combustion. You should easily be able to get the cook ring to 800F. If you not your draft is bad and or your wood not wet.

Measuring flue gas temps is the best way to run a stove.

Other things to check is the that the ceramic blanket above the baffle is in the correct position.

I skimmed the post to this point apologies if repeated anything.

 

[bigealta]

I thought i read here somewhere that someone with a VC stove (not sure which one) had their autodraft lever and/or draft flap either stuck or jammed when they got it new. They were having burn problems with it. Not sure how they fixed it but i'm pretty sure they did.?

 

[bigealta]

AI gave these suggestions

A stuck or poor draft in a Vermont Castings Aspen C3 is usually caused by cold chimneys, excessive ash blockage in the primary air channel, or cold-start backdrafts. Immediate fixes include cleaning the air intake under the front door guard, warming the flue with a torch or burning paper, and using seasoned wood.
Common Causes and Solutions:

• Ash/Creosote Blockage: The primary air channel under the firebox can clog with ash, blocking airflow. Clean this area regularly by removing the front guard plate and vacuuming, as even minor ash buildup can cause smoldering.
• Cold Chimney (Backdraft): If the flue is cold, air will not rise. Preheat the chimney by holding a lit piece of newspaper inside the firebox near the flue collar before lighting the main fire.
• Air-Tight House Issues: Modern, tight homes lack air for combustion. Try cracking a window or installing a direct outside air kit.
• Baffle/Blanket Misalignment: On the C3 model, the insulating "wool blanket" (baffle) may shift and block the chimney exit, preventing smoke from escaping.
• Factory Cement Blockage: In some cases, excess furnace cement used during manufacturing can choke off air passages.
• Chimney Setup: Ensure the chimney cap is not clogged with creosote or ice. If possible, reduce bends in the stovepipe to improve airflow.

Operational Tips:

• "Top-Down" Burn: Use the top-down / upside-down fire technique (paper/kindling on top) to heat the flue quickly and establish draft.
• Check Fuel: Ensure the wood is completely dry and seasoned.
• Door Technique: Before opening the door, crack it slowly to let the stove adapt to the pressure change, minimizing smoke blowback.

 

[30WCF]

Mine coals up very heavy with hardwoods when it’s cold cold. On normal days I can run it hot and burn it down clean. When it’s as cold as it’s been here, and will be this week, burning lots of pine is the only way to keep it from over coaling like he shows. I used to have the same issue when it gets into the 20s or lower. Got to have that pine and plenty of it with this auto damper set up in these very cold temps.

 

[30WCF]

Good morning. Yesterday I drove the stove too hard with the hickory and didn’t mix in the pine soon enough. I had the same pile of coals you had yesterday. I started burning pine to burn the coals down, and just let the last evening load go all night and woke up this morning to a pile of ash that I dug a few embers from. No need to shovel anything out, just a small layer of clean ash with a couple handfuls of coals pulled to the front.
Today will be considerably warmer. I think the high temp yesterday was about 18 throughout the daytime hours, but it’s about 30 out now, and supposed to be 34 this afternoon. I tossed in a load of gum for the morning warm up, but I suspect without needing to push the stove so hard today coals won’t be an issue at all. After the heat boost, and this crumbles up I’ll probably burn one split at a time over the coal bed and cruise through the day. If I do encounter any coaling, a split or two of pine should get me right again.

Hard to see here, but there are three splits and a piece of kindling shoved in the middle. The coals I pulled to the front are about a good inch below the bar in the front that is the primary air source.

 

[30WCF]

Not trying to take over here, just show you how I run my stove. Hope it’s helpful.

About 6:00AM I loaded with gum. (Above)

At 10:00AM I knocked the coals around and gave them a bit of air before loading it up with a couple pine splits.

 

[30WCF]

Pine loaded up, I gave it a few minutes of air to get it going good, then I closed the door. The thermostat around the corner in the hall is 68*F a 30 minutes in.