Vermont resolute acclaim mid 90'S

[Jack Fate]

Hi all new here , you seem to be a well mannered lot . I'm not new to wood burning . Question I have is I have the stove listed along with 2 others. The Resolut has a bad habit of puffing smoke thru top of door gasket or the bottom air adjustment & blows ash out .this is when it's running at a good temp 500-700 with a good coal base & the bottom air adj. is cut back burning ash. Ash is dry , stove has been rebuilt all new gaskets some twice& all recemented . I'm an industrial maint man so I do my own work.Dont have this issue with oak. But I have a lot of ash .
I've adj. the door tight . Running out of ideas . Thinking replacement cause this stove has way too many parts.
Any ideas???
Any resulut acclaim owners????

Cheers

 

[BrowningBAR]

How is the stove installed? Chimney with 6" liner or class A?

 

[Jack Fate]

How is the stove installed? Chimney with 6" liner or class A?

Chimney is in center of 2 story 6x8 ? Inch teramic tile lined concrete chimney block with brick outer , flue pipe 6" double wall straight up after 90 from back 30" up 90 then 18" into chimney

 

[BrowningBAR]

Chimney is in center of 2 story 6x8 ? Inch teramic tile lined concrete chimney block with brick outer , flue pipe 6" double wall straight up after 90 from back 30" up 90 then 18" into chimney

So, your chimney does not have a 6" liner and has two 90 degree bends before it hit the chimney? This is probably causing a weak draft and creating the back puffing.

 

[dougand3]

I'd agree with BAR. I have a 1990 Acclaim with old gaskets. Straight up interior chimney setup: 6" diameter. 6' of black pipe and 9 ft of Class A thru attic and out roof. It drafts like a vacuum cleaner. No backpuff issues (unless I don't open bypass first).

 

[Jack Fate]

Sorry I was a bit off the first 90 is actually part of the stove so 90 other 90 . House & chimney 1978

 

[BrowningBAR]

Same answer: Draft.

Line the chimney and use 45s as oppose to 90s.

 

[Jack Fate]

Funny thing my other stove has 3- 90's [Fisher Granpa Bear] I know apples & oranges

So how do you like that Englander (must be a lot you bought one ; )

Maintenance wise that is ?

 

[BrowningBAR]

Funny thing my other stove has 3- 90's [Fisher Granpa Bear] I know apples & oranges

So how do you like that Englander (must be a lot you bought one ; )

Maintenance wise that is ?

As you acknowledged, you can not compare a VC stove to a Fisher. VC stoves have a far greater tendency to back puff when draft isn't optimal. Get a 6" liner in the chimney and some 45s and I bet the VC stops back puffing.

Maintenance on the Englander compared to a VC stove? Night and day. I might need to replace a baffle board at some point in it's life span, but that's it.

The VC stoves work great for me. 6-10 hours of heat from the Encore and 9-14 hours for the Defiant. Both would offer better heat if I didn't live in a wind tunnel.

The 30 is as advertised; big steel stove. Decent efficiency for a non-cat. Square firebox is very flexible. Small loads work well. Big loads packed tightly work well. No complaints.

The 30 gives me 9-12 hours of heat. For the price, it is tough to beat. If the VC stove were a little less costly to maintain, I would have gotten another used Defiant as oppose to the 30 as the Defiant would have consistently given me 10-14+ hours of heat in that area of the house (I had the Defiant in the fireplace last year that the 30 is currently in).

I just could not justify, or risk, the maintenance cost of running a third VC stove in the home. Also, the 30 looks pretty good in the large fireplace.

 

[Oldhippie]

Hi all new here , you seem to be a well mannered lot . I'm not new to wood burning . Question I have is I have the stove listed along with 2 others. The Resolut has a bad habit of puffing smoke thru top of door gasket or the bottom air adjustment & blows ash out .this is when it's running at a good temp 500-700 with a good coal base & the bottom air adj. is cut back burning ash. Ash is dry , stove has been rebuilt all new gaskets some twice& all recemented . I'm an industrial maint man so I do my own work.Dont have this issue with oak. But I have a lot of ash .
I've adj. the door tight . Running out of ideas . Thinking replacement cause this stove has way too many parts.
Any ideas???
Any resulut acclaim owners????

Cheers

Okay, so I assume you are engaging the "combustor" when burning.

I replaced my combustor the beginning of the season. it is kind-of like a cat but a slightly different material. It is located behind the rear firewall. The airflow is to the back bottom of the stove then up through the combustor chamber and then out the exhaust manifold. That chamber gets clogged with ash and other burn debris overtime and as the combustor deteriorates it gets clogged with ash. Hence poor air flow and hence, puffing.

The only way into that combustor chamber is to take out that rear firewall. Cost for a new combustor and I expect your's needs it is about $200.

 

[firefighterjake]

Well mannered . . . yes.

Well adjusted . . . not so much.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Jack Fate]

Okay, so I assume you are engaging the "combustor" when burning.

I replaced my combustor the beginning of the season. it is kind-of like a cat but a slightly different material. It is located behind the rear firewall. The airflow is to the back bottom of the stove then up through the combustor chamber and then out the exhaust manifold. That chamber gets clogged with ash and other burn debris overtime and as the combustor deteriorates it gets clogged with ash. Hence poor air flow and hence, puffing.

The only way into that combustor chamber is to take out that rear firewall. Cost for a new combustor and I expect your's needs it is about $200.

Yeah ,replaced that white fiber diffuser box a couple years back $140 & keep it cleaned out a lot, man that thing is fragile, so it that's ok . This last summer I did a total rebuild . Man this thing has too many parts . If I am still alive next year its going to go ! Looking for a medium size stove that's not too $$$ .Gonna work on the Fisher (install baffle) & rebrick for $50 and never have to work on it again ; )

Cheers all
Thanks for your replies
I like this place

 

[Oldhippie]

Yeah ,replaced that white fiber diffuser box a couple years back $140 & keep it cleaned out a lot, man that thing is fragile, so it that's ok . This last summer I did a total rebuild . Man this thing has too many parts . If I am still alive next year its going to go ! Looking for a medium size stove that's not too $$$ .Gonna work on the Fisher (install baffle) & rebrick for $50 and never have to work on it again ; )

Cheers all
Thanks for your replies
I like this place

Okay, well, I dunno then but it was worth mentioning. You know your way around this stove pretty well then, and yes it does have too many moving parts.

No one ever got fired for buying Englander.. and they are very reasonable money. A lot depends on how pretty you need it to be.

 

[begreen]

The Resolute Acclaim is a maintenance intensive stove. You have lots of choices for replacement with stoves that you will not have to fiddle with for years.

 

[defiant3]

The effect you're descibing is common among stoves that are very "tight" (just rebuilt or new for example) and wood that's really dry, I'm guessing yours is? Anyway, the fix is to open the draft control a tiny amount more and so te firebox gets a steady air supply. It's hard to describe, but they tell me that gasses produced from primary combustion burn when they have the right amount of O2. Too much, no burn. Too little, also no brn. So it's like the firebox just builds up gasses and O2 until the whole thing goes off (the puffing) then the process starts over again. So if the mix is right , you're good. Crack the air feed a wee bit and see if that helps.

 

[defiant3]

I fix these for a living, and frankl;y Acclaims are a staple of my income. They are expensive to take care of if they have to work for a living, like 2.5 cords per year or better. BUT, you have to sacrifice a feature to get a replacement, and many people just go on with them cause they gotta have the top load or whatever. I don't know, I probably wouldn't own one. I spend all day fixin other people's stuff, I don't wanna come home and fix my own...

 

[Oldhippie]

I fix these for a living, and frankl;y Acclaims are a staple of my income. They are expensive to take care of if they have to work for a living, like 2.5 cords per year or better. BUT, you have to sacrifice a feature to get a replacement, and many people just go on with them cause they gotta have the top load or whatever. I don't know, I probably wouldn't own one. I spend all day fixin other people's stuff, I don't wanna come home and fix my own...

I do love the top feed. My biggest complaint about many of the potential replacements is they lack top, or even side feeds. (Englander, BK, etc)

They are also pretty. But, so are many others these days. Back in the mid/late seventies these were THE stoves.

I also love Vermont. Are they still made in Vermont? Or has it turned into just a name? At one time I believe the foundry was in Bethel VT which I have ridden through on my motorcycle many times.

 

[Jack Fate]

I fix these for a living, and frankl;y Acclaims are a staple of my income. They are expensive to take care of if they have to work for a living, like 2.5 cords per year or better. BUT, you have to sacrifice a feature to get a replacement, and many people just go on with them cause they gotta have the top load or whatever. I don't know, I probably wouldn't own one. I spend all day fixin other people's stuff, I don't wanna come home and fix my own...

Amen to that! I got too much stuff & I'm the only person in the world authorized work on my stuff ; )

I fix these for a living, and frankl;y Acclaims are a staple of my income. They are expensive to take care of if they have to work for a living, like 2.5 cords per year or better. BUT, you have to sacrifice a feature to get a replacement, and many people just go on with them cause they gotta have the top load or whatever. I don't know, I probably wouldn't own one. I spend all day fixin other people's stuff, I don't wanna come home and fix my own...

 

[Jack Fate]

The effect you're descibing is common among stoves that are very "tight" (just rebuilt or new for example) and wood that's really dry, I'm guessing yours is? Anyway, the fix is to open the draft control a tiny amount more and so te firebox gets a steady air supply. It's hard to describe, but they tell me that gasses produced from primary combustion burn when they have the right amount of O2. Too much, no burn. Too little, also no brn. So it's like the firebox just builds up gasses and O2 until the whole thing goes off (the puffing) then the process starts over again. So if the mix is right , you're good. Crack the air feed a wee bit and see if that helps.

Yes I figured what your saying a couple years back when burning some very dry river birch . You described it very well . Trouble is if I give it that little extra air it then runs too hot 700+ read from griddle top. I'm trying to get a nice stable burn overnight. I will miss the top load
Notice people alway speak of dry wood but don't hardly hear mention of too dry wood.

Thanks for conferming my thoughts of the last few years

 

[Trilifter7]

I have this problem occasionally with mine as well. It is exactly what defiant3 described. I normally just open my bypass for a few minutes when it happens and let the gasses release and burn off then close it back up. Normally takes care of it the first time but you might have to do it more depending on how dry or wet your wood is. I've had it happen with either really dry wood or somewhat wet wood. Both can cause a gas off. You can also open the air control a little but it takes a little longer to burn it off that way, or at least I've found it does.

 

[Jack Fate]

I do love the top feed. My biggest complaint about many of the potential replacements is they lack top, or even side feeds. (Englander, BK, etc)

They are also pretty. But, so are many others these days. Back in the mid/late seventies these were THE stoves.

I also love Vermont. Are they still made in Vermont? Or has it turned into just a name? At one time I believe the foundry was in Bethel VT which I have ridden through on my motorcycle many times.

VC are some of the prettiest stove & I love the top load . It's a great day stove very efficient . Just don't like to leave it to long

 

[Jack Fate]

Same answer: Draft.

Line the chimney and use 45s as oppose to 90s.

Ok you got me convinced to try 2/45's but not the liner as of yet. This chimney runs really clean . Do you happen to know what liner goes for?

 

[Jack Fate]

I have this problem occasionally with mine as well. It is exactly what defiant3 described. I normally just open my bypass for a few minutes when it happens and let the gasses release and burn off then close it back up. Normally takes care of it the first time but you might have to do it more depending on how dry or wet your wood is. I've had it happen with either really dry wood or somewhat wet wood. Both can cause a gas off. You can also open the air control a little but it takes a little longer to burn it off that way, or at least I've found it does.

Yes I've done that & it works . And I do that about 3am when I smell smoke (upstairs ) stove is downstairs . I haven't been able to train my Border Collie to do this for me as of yet. ; )

Man if these guys only had opposable thumbs!

Cheers

 

[Trilifter7]

Yes I've done that & it works . And I do that about 3am when I smell smoke (upstairs ) stove is downstairs . I haven't been able to train my Border Collie to do this for me as of yet. ; )

Man if these guys only had opposable thumbs!

Cheers

Haha, I see your problem now. I've heard of dogs doing some crazy stuff...

 

[Trilifter7]

I do love the top feed. My biggest complaint about many of the potential replacements is they lack top, or even side feeds. (Englander, BK, etc)

They are also pretty. But, so are many others these days. Back in the mid/late seventies these were THE stoves.

I also love Vermont. Are they still made in Vermont? Or has it turned into just a name? At one time I believe the foundry was in Bethel VT which I have ridden through on my motorcycle many times.

They are being made in the original plant in Randolph again. Since they released the 2-in1 design in 2010 they opened there Vermont plant again