VC Montpelier - impressed during this brutal cold

[SculptureOfSound]

VC tends to get a bad rap around here and I'm sure it's mostly justified, but I have to say the Montpelier is proving to be an impressive insert. It's my first year with it and I wasn't sure how it would do once it got real cold.

I have it installed in an exterior fireplace (blockoff plate but no insulation in firebox) at the far end of our long 1550sf ranch and it kept up admirably in this cold. At 0f outside I had the stove room up to 79, far end of the house was about 70.

It has dipped to -10f now and stove room is 75 far rooms are about 64. That is without running it super hard and with 3/4 loads of pine spaced about 4 hours apart (partial reloads on quite a few coals).

One thing I do that makes a huge difference is I run a 200cfm fan on top of one of our bookshelves (about a foot from the ceiling) in the stove room blowing heat towards the bedroom hall. I found this works better than blowing cold air the other way (not 100% sure why but multiple tests have confirmed this).

 

[bholler]

The montpelier is a very good stove without a doubt

 

[Woody Stover]

I think their downdraft stoves have the rep..your stove is a basic tube stove, right?

 

[SculptureOfSound]

yep just a tube stove. a few things make it different than most inserts though, it's a full cast iron body, it has insulation on the sides of it both behind the refractory panels and behind the cast side behind that. it also only runs the fan air over two channels on either side of the top but not over the middle or flue outlet. at first i thought that was a weird choice as surely less heat is extracted but now i think it's actually a good choice as it keeps the top hot enough for secondary action much more easily even with the air low and the fan on full blast

Here's a pic of the top with the sheet metal shell removed

 

[SculptureOfSound]

Still can't believe I got this thing for only $200. All it needed was a new coat of paint and a set of andirons, which I really should order soon. Found them for $27.

This thing has been the best deal I've ever scored.

 

[bholler]

Still can't believe I got this thing for only $200. All it needed was a new coat of paint and a set of andirons, which I really should order soon. Found them for $27.

This thing has been the best deal I've ever scored.

Yeah that is one hell of a deal. Everyone here knows I am not a fan of Vermont castings but this one is good stove. You did really well

 

[Woody Stover]

yep just a tube stove. a few things make it different than most inserts though, it's a full cast iron body, it has insulation on the sides of it both behind the refractory panels and behind the cast side behind that. it also only runs the fan air over two channels on either side of the top but not over the middle or flue outlet. at first i thought that was a weird choice as surely less heat is extracted but now i think it's actually a good choice as it keeps the top hot enough for secondary action much more easily even with the air low and the fan on full blast

Here's a pic of the top with the sheet metal shell removed

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout, more pics of the innards of these stoves!
The cat Buck 91 ran blower air over the entire top, then envision a raised channel that took exhaust from the cat back to the flue exit, with air blowing over that channel as well. When it's up to speed, you can't hold your hand in front of the blower outlet over that channel for more that a couple seconds.
I bet when your center top gets hot from the secondary burn, it transmits heat over to the sides just fine, to be picked up by the blower.

Still can't believe I got this thing for only $200.

You hit, to say the least! As long as you can determine that the stove is in good shape and hasn't been over-fired, you are good to go. What happened to the andirons?

 

[missedbass]

You made out well on that stove. I've had mine for 10 years now and its been great!

 

[SculptureOfSound]

That Buck 91 design seems great and suited for maximal heat transfer.

I think you're right about the heat transfer on this from the center to the sides but do wonder if I couldn't get more heat off the top. Also, would be nice to cool the top center with the fan in an overfire situation.

Though there is another design element that ties into the top configuration. On the bottom/inner portion of the top, just above the baffle is a U-shaped casting, this piece takes the brunt of the flames that arise from the center of the firebox and forces some if the air to the sides. there's only maybe a half inch clearance between it and the baffle, so most of the air is re-directed to the sides. It seems this piece gets very hot, often 150-200 hotter than the areas around it...not sure how that affects performance but it doesn't seem negative.

I'll have to get a pic of it the next time I have the baffle out.

 

[SculptureOfSound]

Ok I found some pics that show it a little bit, more visible in the first pic. It's the lip right above the baffle...it's not part of the flue outlet it's maybe 4-6 inches in front of it, as can be seen in the pic in the next post prior to my first cleaning (excess creosote was due to me experimenting blocking off some inlet air and burning too low!).

These also show the primary air holes, which reside under the airwash baffle, with the air both fully open and fully closed

 

[SculptureOfSound]

And here is the shot of it in relation to the flue outlet. It's right at the top/upper left of the pic... front part of the lip is cut off but this is the only pic I could find of it. Was a pic I took prior to cleaning.

Baffle has been removed, only rear air tube left in place.

 

[SculptureOfSound]

You hit, to say the least! As long as you can determine that the stove is in good shape and hasn't been over-fired, you are good to go. What happened to the andirons?

It doesn't appear to have been overfired. Tubes in good shape, baffle in good shape, even the door gasket didn't need replacing!

No idea what happened to the andirons. The guy I bought it from really didn't know anything about it (namely, what it was worth!). He said a client of his had him hold it and they were going to contact him to install it when they were ready - not sure the whole story there. Anyway, two years go by and they never got ahold of him. He tried calling and emailing and advised he'd be selling the unit in 90 days if no response, as he didn't want to hold it any longer. They never got back to him.

I got a hold of him almost immediately after he listed it for sale and picked it up the same day. It was the exact insert I'd been looking for!

 

[SculptureOfSound]

You made out well on that stove. I've had mine for 10 years now and its been great!

Good to hear from a long time owner! Have you had any issues or anything that required maintenance?

My refractory panels have hairline cracks which I hear is very common. Hoping they stay as hairlines for a long time, I know these panels can get expensive.

 

[SculptureOfSound]

Ok would love your thoughts on this burn (see attached video)... It's behaving differently than before. I've only got wispy, almost all blue secondaries...the wood is burning slow and the insert just kept heating up. STT is about 700-725, glass is at 700.

In the video below you can see the lip thing I was talking about actually glow red (it gets brighter a few times in the vid, almost like coals getting air ) although no other part of the stove is that hot....that piece seems designed to get extra hot as it is right above the front tube center and takes almost all direct flame from the secondaries.

I'm not really worried (should I be?) As stove top didn't get too hot, but am just so perplexed at how much heat I'm getting from such wispy secondaries.

Note I have air 100% shut. It's a load of pine, three small round branch pieces about 3 or 4 inches in diameter each, 18-20 inches long and then an ugly piece which was about 2 inches high, 6 inches wide and 12 inches long, so not much wood by any means. Maybe half of what I could fit in total.

Edit: more notes. It's -4f here right now. Draft never seemed too strong. I loaded on a good bed of coals and let the load take off for about 5 mins and then shut air down 95%. Secondaries were really wispy and blue, faster than in the vid but honestly I thought I might have to reopen the air as it didn't seem like it would take off, there was only one small area of primary flame. I took a 15 min shower and came back to what you see in the vid.

Also note, now 20 mins later, more primary flame less secondaries and things are cooling down a touch.

 

[SculptureOfSound]

If you look closely you can also see the edge of the baffle glowing red right above the air holes. Crazy!

Tubes were not glowing. I don't think this could be considered an overfire with stove top only at 700ish...right?

 

[weatherguy]

My friend has the Montpelier, it's a good stove.

 

[missedbass]

Good to hear from a long time owner! Have you had any issues or anything that required maintenance?

My refractory panels have hairline cracks which I hear is very common. Hoping they stay as hairlines for a long time, I know these panels can get expensive.

The only maintenance I've done is a yearly cleaning of the flue and inside the stove. The refractory panels have hairline cracks but I'm told that's normal. My manual says the panels have a lifetime warranty however the new insert manuals state a 2 year warranty. There is a noise issue if I run the blower on high but I usually run it on low so it's not an issue. I see the air holes in your picture, do you run the stove without the air wash baffle?

 

[SculptureOfSound]

Good to hear missedbass! My fan is a bit loud on high too but pretty quiet in most other positions.

And no, not running without the airwash baffle. The only thing I'm missing is the andirons. Those were just some internals pics for Woody

 

[Woody Stover]

That Buck 91 design seems great and suited for maximal heat transfer.
I think you're right about the heat transfer on this from the center to the sides but do wonder if I couldn't get more heat off the top. Also, would be nice to cool the top center with the fan in an overfire situation.
Though there is another design element that ties into the top configuration. On the bottom/inner portion of the top, just above the baffle is a U-shaped casting, this piece takes the brunt of the flames that arise from the center of the firebox and forces some if the air to the sides. there's only maybe a half inch clearance between it and the baffle, so most of the air is re-directed to the sides. It seems this piece gets very hot, often 150-200 hotter than the areas around it...not sure how that affects performance but it doesn't seem negative.
I'll have to get a pic of it the next time I have the baffle out.

Good pics and vid! Stove appears to be in good shape.
I wonder if that lip is supposed to buffer the center of the top from the brunt of the secondary flames, and direct it to the sides, as you said.
The Buck 91 also has the sides of the box jacketed and the blower air includes those areas, although the circulation there may not be as speedy as it is up the back and over the top of the box..

 

[bholler]

Many stoves have a similar deflector above the baffle. It just acts to give more retention time leading to better heat transfer. Quads and regency both have them

 

[SculptureOfSound]

Interesting and good to know bholler. The design principle makes sense. Do they do this on the steel stoves too or just the cast?

Is it ok for this deflector to glow red? Not sure how I'd really be able to avoid it

 

[bholler]

Interesting and good to know bholler. The design principle makes sense. Do they do this on the steel stoves too or just the cast?

Is it ok for this deflector to glow red? Not sure how I'd really be able to avoid it

Quads and regencies are both steel stoves so yes. I know I have seen them in others as well.

 

[SculptureOfSound]

Don't know why I was thinking they each had some cast models. TBH I'm pretty ignorant of the stove world but still remember most all the specs and dimensions of the 10 or so I was heavily considering and rough details of like 20 others lol

 

[therealdbeau]

@SculptureOfSound Thanks for posting up these pictures. I have the brother to your stove the Merrimack. They seem to share a lot of similarities so it is nice to see some internals.

Does the Montpelier have an air jet in the bottom of the firebox?

 

[SculptureOfSound]

It does. If you look at that first top down pic of the insert you can see the front lip covered by about a 4 inch piece of refractory. Under that is a metal plate same shape and size. Removing that plate exposes the air channel for the doghouse air. It comes in via a hole on either side of the front of the unit then goes into this air channel and comes out one of the three holes under the refractory - one is dead center and the other two are about an inch from either side.