Vermont Castings 1977 Vigilant Rebuild Manual

[neverstop]

I have a 1977 Vigilant that I'm debating replacing with a newer stove. I wanted to look into what it might cost in terms of replacement parts to fix it to "like new" condition. Does anyone have a rebuild manual for this stove? Or a How-to on taking it apart?

I believe it has the 2-piece fireback already. I think it might just need to have the old cement removed and have everything resealed, so that's why I'm looking for a guide on how to take it apart.

Thanks in advance!

 

[D. Hermit]

Not much for guides on taking these things apart. Its much more of just figuring it out.
Woodsmanpartsplus.com has exploded diagrams, thats prolly the most help you will get as far as a “guide”.
what you will have to do is just start breaking it down, keep track of all nuts and bolts, and if they are rusty and snap, at least keep the piece so you know what thread to tap it back too. And just replace most of the hardware, if you get a thread checker on amazon that makes it easy, it should all be threaded the same.
As far as cement goes, keep track as you go what channels get cement, some are obvious, others not.
And lastly, take pictures. Tons and tons of pictures. Of every step. So you know how to get it back together.
And have fun with it, its basically a giant puzzle and you will learn a ton about how your stove works.

 

[Blazzinghot]

This is the closest I could find it is a diagram for the same year as yours.

http://www.wind-drifter.com/stove/VCVigilantAssemblyDiagram.jpg

I took apart of Taiwan clone somewhat similar to yours at least the way it comes apart is very much the same. The biggest problem you will have as already stated is rusted threads. And yes you might need a tap and die set. You could get started taking the stove apart and then break a bolt inside the threads are you able to fix it? Oh yes you can soak the threads with your best rust remover and heat it with a torch but sometimes they still break off.

On my stove I first took off all the doors and then put short 4x4's with other lumber under the stove to raise it high enough to remove the legs. After the legs are removed you will have access to the four corner bolts that hold the stove together but before you remove those bolts put a strap around the stove and tighten to hold the stove from falling apart. Those bolts may not come off easy they are threaded into the top lid. Once you lift the lid off you can see down inside and figure out the rest as stated by the Deranged Hermit. The only hard part which I can't stress enough is getting the bolts out. The rest is self explanatory if you take time to study how it comes apart. Yes takes lots of pictures it will give you some peace of mind.

 

[neverstop]

I appreciate the suggestions and advice. Based on first glance this seems like a longer "project" that may not end successfully. The smartest move seems to be to keep the stove as a hobby project to try and bring it back to life.

 

[begreen]

There is a guide for this rebuild. Contact the local VC dealers and ask if they can send you a pdf copy of the guide. If you get it, please post it here. In the meantime, the one for the Defiant is not too different. It will give you an idea of how to tackle the project. Link here:

1977 Vigilant rebuild advice please!

I have a 1977 with a two piece fireback that stopped working last winter. We would build up the fire, open the secondary air, close the door, it would be at temp, but as soon as we closed the damper the fire would start to die. Upon inspection, I found that there was a gap between the bottom...

www.hearth.com

 

[neverstop]

There is a guide for this rebuild. Contact the local VC dealers and ask if they can send you a pdf copy of the guide. If you get it, please post it here. In the meantime, the one for the Defiant is not too different. It will give you an idea of how to tackle the project. Link here:

1977 Vigilant rebuild advice please!

I have a 1977 with a two piece fireback that stopped working last winter. We would build up the fire, open the secondary air, close the door, it would be at temp, but as soon as we closed the damper the fire would start to die. Upon inspection, I found that there was a gap between the bottom...

www.hearth.com

Attached is the rebuild guide that I received from Vermont Castings. Hopefully this helps someone out at some point in the future.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for posting. Made this thread a sticky.