Vigilant Joy

[Sturla Snorrison]

I bought a Vermont Castings Vigilant this weekend. This morning was the first time since we built the house that on a November morning the far end of the house was above 60 degrees and the whole house in general didn't have a chill that takes two cups of coffee to burn off. Even my wife was impressed and couldn't believe the house could be so warm in the morning. I am not sure of the year of production on this model but I believe it to be in the 82-84 range. It has solid doors, no windows.

I love this stove. It has a minimum of moving parts and there is not a whole lot besides basic hardware that can break on you. I stopped at a stove shop on my way home from the purchase, bought an oval to 6-inch adapter pipe and had it set up and burning within about 20 minutes of getting it onto my hearth. With a stove top thermometer it has been fairly easy to keep this thing cooking. And it blasts heat. THis thing is a beast. We have a story and a half 24x36 cabin and we have never been so warm throughout the entire house with just our stove running. Granted, the rooms closest to the stove are sit-around-in-your-underwear-warm. We were using a ridiculously inadequate Aspen 1920 (guess what- the top cracked TWICE! Can you believe it? Saving the third for when I sell it), but this Vigilant just cranks out bewildering amounts of heat. I am so glad I only flirted briefly with the purchase of a Defiant. It is a true top loader and can take some big chunks of wood. Supposedly 18" so sixteen fits no problem, and the fire box can hold a pretty big armload of wood. I'll say again, I love this stove. It works just like I remember a good wood stove working when I was a boy.

This stove seemed to be in great shape. I expect to do complete re-gaskets, after this season, although it seems pretty air tight now. Air tight to the point that if the auto thermostat closes all the way, it's tough to keep it running above 500. That was the only significant thing wrong with this stove that I could find. The auto thermostat expander ring assembly is shot and needs to be replaced. The screw that holds it is rusted/seized pretty good, but I am hoping a few firings and WD-40 applications will loosen it up. I grabbed a new one of those too, on my way home. Other than that no cracks, warps, holes. Damper opens and closes smoothly, hardware is in good shape and looks original. It has the two-piece fireback, so I am guessing it was either a replacement fireback or the stove was made when the started producing two-piece fireback models. Everything is in good shape either way. The guy I bought it from also threw in this cool little cast iron shelf with a dragon motif that I think was made for a different stove model, because I can't quite figure out how it would attach. I think at $400 I got a pretty good deal on this stove. It does need som stove black/touch up work, although the discoloration on the door does not look as bad in person as it does in the attached photo. That is really the only major cosmetic issue with this stove. It is not in "mint" condition but I would put it into the "very good" to "fine" range. I love this stove.

1. Pre-85 Vigilant is a great wood stove- a beast that blasts heat- factory spec 50k btus

2. Easily heats a 1300 sq foot poorly insulated cabin in Northeastern VT

3. Not many parts to go wrong on this stove, seems very reliable.

4. Even my wife was impressed

4. Even my wife was impressed.

 

[Jags]

Warm house and wife is a great thing. Are you simply stubbed into the chimney or is there a liner in there?

 

[Sturla Snorrison]

There is a metal liner in the thimble between the brick and the stove pipe. The chimney & hearth were built by professional masons- three generations of the same mason family built that chimney. It was built for a woodstove, for two on the same flue actually, which I have run for 14 years with no problems. I think having the chimney on the interior is a huge help. There is almost nothing to clean out when I have it cleaned.

 

[Jags]

That is all good news.

(altered my post. Concatenating two different posts in my mind.)

 

[Sturla Snorrison]

As far as I can recall the metal piece only extends as far as the flue liner, which is those standard ceramic/cement tan/orange tubes they stack inside the brick casing. The chimney itself is fully lined with those.

 

[Jags]

As long as the stove is functioning properly and you keep on top of the chimney maintenance it sounds like you got a good thing going on.

 

[begreen]

The light grey paint indicates the stove has gotten too hot and overfired. This could be due to air leak(s) from seams or gaskets that need replacing.

 

[Kenster]

We have a Vig from the same era. New when it was installed into the new house in 1985. We have two heat pumps that we have not turned on in the last three years and rarely before that. Our home is 4000 ft.² and this one woodstove heats it very comfortably. A suggestion for you: when you get the fire going good and everything is just like you like it point a small fan at the stove. That will blow the heat off the stove and circulate it throughout your house. That will distribute it more evenly.
If you don't have it already, download the manual and really get to know your stove. And read every possible thread you can find here on this forum.

 

[Sturla Snorrison]

Yeah, I thought that might be the cause of the discoloration, but it hasn't happened under my watch, I haven't let the surface temp get over 650, mostly I have kept it around 500-550. Also for whatever reason, the digital camera with flash picked up way more than you can see with the naked eye. Obviously its there though, no denying it, and you have me thinking about looking into replacing the doors. At any rate, despite the discoloration issue, this seems like a really solid stove. The firebox was in good shape, felt solid and not brittle at all, no cracks bends or warps I could find. I do wonder though, I notice wood/coals can easily pile up by the doors using the top load. Maybe that could explain it?.

Thanks everybody for giving me some things to think about.

 

[Kenster]

Takes a lot more than coals up against the door to do that. You're always going to have hot coals touching the fire box and doors. 700/750 degrees won't hurt the thing. It takes a lot more than that to over fire.

By the way, instead of painting the stove, get it good and hot and wipe it down with Crisco, just like you were seasoning a cast-iron skillet. Easy and looks great. It may take two or three applications.

 

[Sturla Snorrison]

Looking at the photo though, it does kind of look things are emanating from the door gaskets

 

[Kenster]

That could be the case but it would be from a roaring fire inside with a major air leak at the doors. It would not be caused by just coals up against the door.

 

[Jags]

No need to replace the doors, just make sure the gaskets are in good shape (or replace). Lots of people think these (or any) stove is indestructible and simply let them rip out of control. That alone could cause the discoloration.

 

[homebrewz]

The warming shelves attach to either side. There should be mounting holes on each side of the stove, under the top near the corners.

The thermometer should be placed right in the center of the griddle for the most accurate reading.