VC Resolute problem(s)

[daldrich]

Having problems keeping my VC Resolute burning hot in the operating zone. Start off w/ the damper open and bring it up to ~500 degrees then put the damper in the down pointing direction, open the secondary air port 1/2 way then watch the temp drop to the 200's.

I *think* draft is ok since I can get it up to 500 w/o any problems with damper in open position. Over the summer I took off the firebacks and re-cemented the baffles and replaced all the gaskets. Have an newly installed(Dec-2007) insulated ss chimney liner.

Local VC dealer mentioned that my wood may be too wet, but doubt it. Either way will buy a few bags of bio-bricks tomorrow and eliminate that possibility.

One observation; the temp of the flue pipe is higher than the stove. Maybe that's just because it takes less time to heat up the ss pipe than the stove but I wonder if I need to add a damper plate just to inhibit the air flow a bit and give the heat a chance to heat the stove before going up the chimney.

Any suggestions?

-d

 

[Gunner]

Elk is the inhouse VC expert...I'm sure he'll catch this one.

 

[mikedengineer]

Having problems keeping my VC Resolute burning hot in the operating zone. Start off w/ the damper open and bring it up to ~500 degrees then put the damper in the down pointing direction, open the secondary air port 1/2 way then watch the temp drop to the 200's.

I *think* draft is ok since I can get it up to 500 w/o any problems with damper in open position. Over the summer I took off the firebacks and re-cemented the baffles and replaced all the gaskets. Have an newly installed(Dec-2007) insulated ss chimney liner.

Local VC dealer mentioned that my wood may be too wet, but doubt it. Either way will buy a few bags of bio-bricks tomorrow and eliminate that possibility.

One observation; the temp of the flue pipe is higher than the stove. Maybe that's just because it takes less time to heat up the ss pipe than the stove but I wonder if I need to add a damper plate just to inhibit the air flow a bit and give the heat a chance to heat the stove before going up the chimney.

Any suggestions?

-d

Out curiousity what is the position of the air flap in the back? Wide open, shut? How long has it been at 500 degrees? Is this the pipe temp or stove top temp? Is there alot of coals? I ask these questions because I have the same model & I don't have this problem. Could something be blocking the passages in that center baffle? Because that is the only spot that could be blocked since it gets nice and hot when the damper is in the up position.

When I run mine in that down position the pipe is usually 200 degrees while the stove top is 300-500 degrees. I have a fair amount of coals when I damp it down.

Oh, if you wood isn't sizzling then it's not wet. Even if you put some piece of wet wood in, which happens to me on rare occations, that stove still eats them up.

-Mike

 

[elkimmeg]

the new models have a ceramic package on the bottom with a series of holes when the fly ash and normal ash block these holes you get the symptons as you described.
Those holes are needed to draw the smoke down threw the hot bed of coals into the secondary combustion chamber to burn a secondary fire this occures only when dampered down.
If these passages and holes arte plugged dampering down is use less no secondary burning is occuring and you get a smoldering fire also what is happening is blockage of the secondary air to that chamber It is not being drawn in For the resolute acclaim to work right IOt has to be cleaned and more extensive than empting the ash pan.

Recently we have had a lot of under preforming stoves My question to all owners when is the last time you totally cleaned it.
The bottom floor can lift out and the 2 side and rear refactory pannels can come out one needs to remove them to get is clean and shop vac out. It will run like a brand new stove after cleaning. Mine I did it at the end of the season and at mid season Once you get a good bed of coals over 550 degrees surface griddle top even better 650 damper it down and watch hours of 500 plus heat It can be done This also assumes your chomney is clean and clear of restrictions you have good draft any spark arestor caps are cresote clear and you ar burning dry wood

 

[daldrich]

Out curiousity what is the position of the air flap in the back? Wide open, shut? How long has it been at 500 degrees? Is this the pipe temp or stove top temp? Is there alot of coals? I ask these questions because I have the same model & I don't have this problem. Could something be blocking the passages in that center baffle? Because that is the only spot that could be blocked since it gets nice and hot when the damper is in the up position.

When I run mine in that down position the pipe is usually 200 degrees while the stove top is 300-500 degrees. I have a fair amount of coals when I damp it down.

Oh, if you wood isn't sizzling then it's not wet. Even if you put some piece of wet wood in, which happens to me on rare occations, that stove still eats them up.

-Mike[/quote]

This is with the rear air flap wide open. I don't leave the stove at 500 for long; I usually just wait until it hits 500 degrees then close the damper to the vertical position then watch the temp drop.

BTW, this is a Resolute III, not a Resolute Acclaim. I normally measure temp from the griddle. The flue is ss so difficult to get a accurate reading since the thermometer doesn't stick to it.

-d

 

[elkimmeg]

Out curiousity what is the position of the air flap in the back? Wide open, shut? How long has it been at 500 degrees? Is this the pipe temp or stove top temp? Is there alot of coals? I ask these questions because I have the same model & I don't have this problem. Could something be blocking the passages in that center baffle? Because that is the only spot that could be blocked since it gets nice and hot when the damper is in the up position.

When I run mine in that down position the pipe is usually 200 degrees while the stove top is 300-500 degrees. I have a fair amount of coals when I damp it down.

Oh, if you wood isn't sizzling then it's not wet. Even if you put some piece of wet wood in, which happens to me on rare occations, that stove still eats them up.

-Mike

This is with the rear air flap wide open. I don't leave the stove at 500 for long; I usually just wait until it hits 500 degrees then close the damper to the vertical position then watch the temp drop.

BTW, this is a Resolute III, not a Resolute Acclaim. I normally measure temp from the griddle. The flue is ss so difficult to get a accurate reading since the thermometer doesn't stick to it.

-d[/quote]

sorry I am not a familliar with the older resolute 111 but I feel if you have not totally cleaned it out in a while all stoves suffer from fly ash blockage. I have to go back and look at the pre 1988 manuals to answer your questions

 

[mikedengineer]

Out ss="spellchecked_word">curiousity</SPAN> what is the position of the air flap in the back? Wide open, shut? How long has it been at 500 degrees? Is this the pipe temp or stove top temp? Is there ss="spellchecked_word">alot</SPAN> of coals? I ask these questions because I have the same model & I don't have this problem. Could something be blocking the passages in that center baffle? Because that is the only spot that could be blocked since it gets nice and hot when the damper is in the up position.

When I run mine in that down position the pipe is usually 200 degrees while the stove top is 300-500 degrees. I have a fair amount of coals when I damp it down.

Oh, if you wood isn't sizzling then it's not wet. Even if you put some piece of wet wood in, which happens to me on rare ss="spellchecked_word">occations</SPAN>, that stove still eats them up.

-Mike

This is with the rear air flap wide open. I don't leave the stove at 500 for long; I usually just wait until it hits 500 degrees then close the damper to the vertical position then watch the temp drop.

BTW, this is a Resolute III, not a Resolute Acclaim. I normally measure temp from the griddle. The flue is ss so difficult to get a accurate reading since the thermometer doesn't stick to it.

-d[/quote]


If you wouldn't mind, tell me the all the steps and the times for each step that leads up to shutting the damper. Also are the pieces super huge that are going in there? What kind of wood?

Try this. Start a fire with 4 pieces about the sizes of 4x4's. Let this burn down to all coals. This may take an hour. Then throw in 2 more pieces the same size or preferably larger. Let this burn for 10-15 minutes and make sure the stove top is at 400 minimum. Then shut the damper and make sure the flap is open with at least 1/2-1 inch of gap. If this does not keep your stove at 350-450 for a while then something is definitely wrong. Either your wood is not really wood or there is blockage somewhere in the stove. The key here is to have a good coal bed.

-Mike

 

[daldrich]

Try this. Start a fire with 4 pieces about the sizes of 4x4's. Let this burn down to all coals. This may take an hour. Then throw in 2 more pieces the same size or preferably larger. Let this burn for 10-15 minutes and make sure the stove top is at 400 minimum. Then shut the damper and make sure the flap is open with at least 1/2-1 inch of gap. If this does not keep your stove at 350-450 for a while then something is definitely wrong. Either your wood is not really wood or there is blockage somewhere in the stove. The key here is to have a good coal bed.

-Mike

I let the stove die out last night and switched back to *groan* the furnace. Going to clean out the stove entirely this morning and try again. Might even pull off the sides and see if there's any fly ash blockage, but not going to remove the rear fireback; too much hassle.

-d

 

[mikedengineer]

Try this. Start a fire with 4 pieces about the sizes of 4x4's. Let this burn down to all coals. This may take an hour. Then throw in 2 more pieces the same size or preferably larger. Let this burn for 10-15 minutes and make sure the stove top is at 400 minimum. Then shut the damper and make sure the flap is open with at least 1/2-1 inch of gap. If this does not keep your stove at 350-450 for a while then something is definitely wrong. Either your wood is not really wood or there is blockage somewhere in the stove. The key here is to have a good coal bed.

-Mike

I let the stove die out last night and switched back to *groan* the furnace. Going to clean out the stove entirely this morning and try again. Might even pull off the sides and see if there's any fly ash blockage, but not going to remove the rear fireback; too much hassle.

-d

D,

While your in there if you don't see any problems on the sides take the damper out and look down in it to see if anything fell in that area. Or just take the pipe off. Because something could have fallen in there and blocked it up.

Just a thought.

-Mike

 

[daldrich]

D,

While your in there if you don't see any problems on the sides take the damper out and look down in it to see if anything fell in that area. Or just take the pipe off. Because something could have fallen in there and blocked it up.

Just a thought.

-Mike[/quote]

I may try that tomorrow. Fired up the stove today after cleaning out the left/right inserts. Fireback is cemented in so didn't want to mess w/ that.

Seems a bit better, but still something is not right. What bugs me to no end is that it runs ok w/ the damper in the horizontal position. When I switch over to downdraft(or whatever you want to call it) you can stand there and watch the temp drop.

I'm about ready to swich back to my Intrepid.

-d

 

[mikedengineer]

That sucks!!

Then there is definatly something going on in that rear piece. Don't give up. Try taking the damper piece off and looking in there. At least then you don't have to mess with the rear piece.... for now.

-Mike

 

[Sandor]

When the women's older Resolute Acclaim (single front door) quits burning well when the damper is closed, its time to clean.

I remove the steel/iron panel in the back of the stove, secured by two metal wedges. The two air channels on the sides are usually full of ash. Vacuum it out, and viola, it works again.

Takes about 15 minutes.

Also, last year I noticed the "space age" combustor material was disinigrating. Stuck my fingers in there and removed some crumbled chunks.

For as old as this stove is, it rocks. Needs a rebuild though. Keep finding chunks of stove cement on the hearth.

 

[seaken]

Clarification - The Resolute is NOT like the Resolute Acclaim. It is more like a Vigilant.

Try closing that secondary air control. You may cooling the smoke too much.

My guess is that you don't have a good coal bed. If are building three of four inch coal bed, then your wood may be "punky". BTU content is very poor with punky wood.

In addition to checking the stove for blockages, check the pipe and chimney also. Suspect negative draft also.