We recently moved into our new house. The house is a cape from the late 60's. The house came with electric heat and an insert wood stove in the living room. We decided to get a stove and put it in the the basement where there is an existing fireplace.
I found a rebuilt VC Vigilant on craigslist for $375. The deal worked out out great and the seller even helped with the transport and moving on the stove.
Our local stove installer came out, lined our masonry chimney and connected to the Vigilant. He said the stove was in great condition. Installation was smooth and we got the town's blessing and we started burning.
I grew up with a Vigilant in our basement and I remember it being a really hot stove. I have been burning in my Vigilant for a week now and I just don't feel the heat that I remember as a kid. The griddle temperature averages between 400-450 degrees. We have a flue thermometer and that reads 600-900 degrees.
It's been cold out and I have been trying to warm the house unsuccessfully. I run the stove until it gets up to temperature and turn the secondary burn. The temps usually run 400 griddle temp and 600-800 in the flue.
The other night I was getting frustrated with the lack of heat and opened on the flue and got the stove roaring. Next thing I knew the flue gas temperature was around 1200 degrees and the stove pipe leaving the Vigilant was glowing a faint red. I had a focused panic, shut down the primary air flap, secondary air vent and put the stove back into secondary burn. The redness subsided within 30-60 seconds and the flue gas temperature decreased to a safe temperature. I also noticed the lower front and side of the Vigilant was slightly red too. I waited a few minutes and everything cooled down and burned normally again and it was all was well in the morning.
My questions are....did I damage anything by getting the pipe and stove that hot for that short amount of time? Does my stove seem to be running correctly or am I expecting too much out of an old stove? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I found a rebuilt VC Vigilant on craigslist for $375. The deal worked out out great and the seller even helped with the transport and moving on the stove.
Our local stove installer came out, lined our masonry chimney and connected to the Vigilant. He said the stove was in great condition. Installation was smooth and we got the town's blessing and we started burning.
I grew up with a Vigilant in our basement and I remember it being a really hot stove. I have been burning in my Vigilant for a week now and I just don't feel the heat that I remember as a kid. The griddle temperature averages between 400-450 degrees. We have a flue thermometer and that reads 600-900 degrees.
It's been cold out and I have been trying to warm the house unsuccessfully. I run the stove until it gets up to temperature and turn the secondary burn. The temps usually run 400 griddle temp and 600-800 in the flue.
The other night I was getting frustrated with the lack of heat and opened on the flue and got the stove roaring. Next thing I knew the flue gas temperature was around 1200 degrees and the stove pipe leaving the Vigilant was glowing a faint red. I had a focused panic, shut down the primary air flap, secondary air vent and put the stove back into secondary burn. The redness subsided within 30-60 seconds and the flue gas temperature decreased to a safe temperature. I also noticed the lower front and side of the Vigilant was slightly red too. I waited a few minutes and everything cooled down and burned normally again and it was all was well in the morning.
My questions are....did I damage anything by getting the pipe and stove that hot for that short amount of time? Does my stove seem to be running correctly or am I expecting too much out of an old stove? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
