Vermont Castings Aspen C3 2022

[wjohn]

That looks like the perfect size. I remember measuring the bottoms of dutch ovens at Cabelas to find the biggest one that would fit inside the ring.

 

[Y35]

Thanks so much for this review! I'm about to pull the trigger on a new Aspen and I've been doing as much review-searching as possible. I understand the potential drawbacks/difficulties that some people express with this stove, but its the one I keep coming back to as ideal for our new place. Thanks and the pictures are lovely!

 

[30WCF]

Thanks so much for this review! I'm about to pull the trigger on a new Aspen and I've been doing as much review-searching as possible. I understand the potential drawbacks/difficulties that some people express with this stove, but its the one I keep coming back to as ideal for our new place. Thanks and the pictures are lovely!

Thanks.
I can defiantly get long burn times if you are only looking at the ability to relight off of coals with minimal effort.
If you are defining long burn time to useable heat, 4-5 hrs is about all I’ve been getting with the wood I have this year when it’s cold cold. On mild days I can get 6-7 hrs pretty easy.

 

[30WCF]

12:15AM feeding
35F outside
Flue and STT both about 450 by the time I made it back from the kitchen for some chicken nuggets.
House 70F

 

[30WCF]

All I can report back is I woke up at 8:15 somehow.
32 outside.
Auber was 100F and the LP heat was on. Raked the coals around and have it going again. So, 8 hrs on those two splits was too long.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

All I can report back is I woke up at 8:15 somehow.
32 outside.
Auber was 100F and the LP heat was on. Raked the coals around and have it going again. So, 8 hrs on those two splits was too long.

this is a good report and review.. keep it up, it looks good.. you should be proud..

 

[30WCF]

Fed it about 8:30, hoping to top it off once more before bed.
35 outside
70 inside
9:30 P
369 on the Auber (24” above the collar since the key damper section was added)
410 on the IR and ReoTemp

 

[30WCF]

Ended up not feeding it again last night, so, 8:30p - 4:15a, it got down to 150 flue temp and a small amount of coals.
67F inside
35F outside
Had it rolling again before the coffee was even done.

 

[30WCF]

I told you I’d get some pine cut for next year. Just took me a minute. 😁

 

[wjohn]

All I can report back is I woke up at 8:15 somehow.
32 outside.
Auber was 100F and the LP heat was on. Raked the coals around and have it going again. So, 8 hrs on those two splits was too long.

Definitely sounds like you have room for improvement with sealing and insulating the house!

 

[30WCF]

Last night it cooled off enough again for a fire. It’s been warm here. But we even had a bit of winter mix this morning.




Two or three splits at a time did a good job at knocking off the chill.

Tonight, just as cool out.
Two splits went off like nobody’s business. Dry hickory and it got toasty.
I shut the flue damper when it got around 630 on the Auber. STT was about 800-850. It cruised there for a while then started to crawl back down.
You can see behind the IR gun, the needle on the ReoTemp isn’t even reading on the numbers anymore. It maxes out at 750.





It’s just weird that some days I can stuff it full and cruise right along as planned, then every once in a while it starts to get a little western on two splits.
Who knows, maybe if I hadn’t shut the flue damper it would have gassed off faster and been over, maybe the shape of the splits and the fact that I didn’t rake the coals left more airflow from underneath…
I’m gonna check the door gaskets when it cools down.

 

[30WCF]

Definitely sounds like you have room for improvement with sealing and insulating the house!

Yep. There is no insulation in the exterior walls, and the house moves a lot between summer and winter.

 

[30WCF]

Door seals checked out ok. I expected them to be fine. Just checking.

 

[Y35]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere but do you have an exterior air supply installed (through the floor or wall)? I’m thinking you don’t, and I’m contemplating if I should install one when I put the stove in. Curious how you decided not to if that’s the case.

Love the updates!

 

[30WCF]

I do not.
My house is 75 years old stud frame wood sided house with no insulation. It has plenty of leaks. The front door is 5’ from the stove, and in the summer the door is tight. In the winter, you can see daylight. Not a straight shot outside, but it’s loose enough that light can illuminate the reveal between the door panel and the jamb.

 

[30WCF]

I would try it without it first. If having a window in the stove room open makes a positive change in performance, you can then add one. If having an open window lets you run too hot, then you’ll be happy you didn’t cut a hole in the floor.

 

[30WCF]

I think winter has left me high and dry here in NC. I had a couple fires last week, just because I wanted to and it was a little cool out, but, it’s done for. Strawberries growing on the porch, apples growing, and been cooking with fresh herbs from the garden. In fact, I’ve been cutting the herbs back enough that I have excess drying.

Potato soup with fresh rosemary and thyme.
Thyme to clean the stove and pipe one last thyme.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

yeah.. kinda sucks.. im hoping for a couple more fires.. haven't burned in a week

 

[30WCF]

yeah.. kinda sucks.. im hoping for a couple more fires.. haven't burned in a week

Yep. Time to move on to the bee hives and probably gonna turn the wood stack upside down for the summer and put the wood I just cut in the back. I’ll keep some of the pine on top to dry out and try next year.
I have some big clunker logs in the shed that need to be re-split since they were sized for my old stove and are too big for the Aspen.

 

[30WCF]

Finally got that pine and Bradford Pear off the ground. Filled almost three full rows based off how I had cherry picked the wood pile last year.

 

[Y35]

ahhh, sweltering here and how I long for the day when we can fire up our new stove! Any recommendations on first firing? Someone recommended that we start the first fire in the stove before its installed to allow the off-gassing to happen outside, which makes sense, but is that necessary? We are having it installed (along with the entire house being built), so not sure that's a practical option.

 

[begreen]

Follow the manual's guidance.

"The cast plates expand and contract with changes in temperature. When you first begin using your Aspen C3, minimize thermal stress by allowing the plates to adjust gradually during three or four initial break-in fires"

The first fire should be just kindling and not get the stove much over 200º. There won't be a lot of paint smell then. The next fire can be a little larger, maybe 2" pieces of wood and a stove top under 400º. By the third or fourth fire the stove can be taken up to paint baking temp of 500º on the stove top. Do that fire on a cool day and open up the stove room windows. Put a fan in one window blowing the fumes out.

 

[30WCF]

Yep. Follow the manual, but mine wasn’t that bad. Sure, you can smell it, but it isn’t that big a deal to me. Each time you reach a new high temp, you may smell some warm paint smell, even a year later. It’s just the way it is. It didn’t run me out. Like begreen says, use a fan in a window if it’s too strong for you.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I can remember when I did mine. I did mine in the fall, early in the morning while it was cool out. Sometime in early October. I closed all of the doors that I clould in the house. Opends up as many windowsnas I could and followed the manual on my break in fires. Really.. its not as bad as its made out to be. it didn't take long to eventually clise the windows and enjoy the fire.

 

[30WCF]

Saw a pile of wood out by the road. Stoped and asked about it. They said they were getting ready to put a sign out that said FREE WOOD.

Oak blew down and they cut it at +\- 17’’