Vulcan Orion - restored and reinstalled

[pma1123]

This used to be the woodstove I had in my house prior to installing my PE T5; A Vulcan Orion, with temperature controlled combustion intake and circulating blower. I fully intended to reinstall the ole' smoke dragon again someday, as it allowed for an 8" to combustible walls clearance, ember protection only hearth, and was fairly idiotproof to run.

My intended spot for the install was in my Chicken coop. This fine piece of construction was previously heated by a Vogelzang boxwood BX26 which I opted to use a (much safer) kerosene heater instead. I'll omit the vogelzang pictures, as we have a way of turning simple topics into 10 page threads, and this is one of those instances. But the important part is that I already had the ceiling support, class A double wall chimney (2 x 3' sections), roof flashing, and stovepipe adapter already installed and meeting clearances.

Since removing the old Vulcan from the house, I completely removed all intake/blower components, tossed the cracked firebricks, blew out mass quantities of accumulated ash, re-welded a portion of the brick baffle framework, scuffed/sanded the outside, gave the cast brass door a re-buff and new rope gasket, and a healthy coat of Stove Bright Metallic Black. The blower and air intake were cleaned, oiled, and repainted also.

Back to the Chicken coop...err....shuffleboard parlor.
Its roughly 25' long x 10' wide, and is on a poured foundation with plank board flooring, rough pine inside walls with visqueen plastic as a vapor barrier. Throw in a few cheap windows, and some old French doors, and you have a heat loss condition that easily warrants an oversized woodstove.

Since this stove requires ember protection only, I set about making the hearth pad. I used 2 sheets thick of 1/4" durock next gen laying on the wood floor, then laid a piece of 0.050" stainless steel over the top, and found some trim at Menards to cover the edges. Overall hearth size is 5' x 4' and allows the stove to be installed while exceeding clearance to the combustible wall by 50% and generous room in front of the loading door. The connector pipe was done in supervent double wall and took a little finagling of the stove position to get things lined up so the connector parts assembled nicely.

Yesterday I started the first fire and continued to feed it to let the paint cure out all day with the door/window open. The short chimney seems to be drafting AOK even considering the mid 30F temps we had. In the evening hours I went back out for a few rounds of shuffleboard and refreshing beverages while warming up by the woodstove. No problem keeping the place overly comfortable.

Overall I'm thrilled with the finished product and look forward to using the Chicken coop more in the cold weather.
Here are some pictures...

 

[FishKiller]

that's beautiful. I especially like those angles on the stove pipe, they just seem to flow with the stove. I'm sure there will be some bashing for installing an old smoke dragon, but it looks good. congrats.

 

[GENECOP]

She is a beauty...

 

[Fsappo]

freaking far out. That is awesome. Can you take some closer up pics of the stove?

 

[kennyp2339]

I love that warm feeling the wood gives to that room, It just inspired me with what my basement is going to look like this spring.

 

[pma1123]

Glad others could appreciate the install!
Looking at different installs on Hearth never gets old for me. I've learned a fair amount and seen things done different ways around here which ultimately lead me to the durock + SS hearth idea. I'm not sure who to credit, but somebody was playing with sheet steel in their install which started this path for me.

I'm glad to hear you're looking to do the same rough pine board treatment at home Kenny! One thing you can't appreciate from looking at the pictures, is the great smell of the room. I'm sure a whole basement finished this way would be a form of aromatherapy for us wood-hoarders.

This stove is a smoke dragon from the 80's, but it really will only get used on the occasional weekend or if I feel the need to run a second woodstove out of boredom. I'd be surprised if this thing sees a face cord per year. Whats coming out the chimney during most of the burn is clear, only during initial fire and reloads is there smoke. The way the air control works, if the limit/control switch probe isn't seeing 220F inside the jacket of the stove body, the air intake is open. Your fire is usually at its peak burn when you hear the air intake (servo?) close down. This same limit/control switch also turns on the blower at a preset 100F. The system is low-tech, but I haven't seen other vintage stoves with anything like it. Certainly those of us who have gotten distracted and left the air control open too long can appreciate an automatic system like this. Its only flaw is that the intake is either open, or restricted. It doesn't adjust based on anything besides air temperature outside the firebox, so its not maximizing your wood load.


I attached a couple bigger shots of the stove. It gives a little better feel for what the metallic black paint really looks like.

 

[Squeaky_6]

Well Done....After refurbing my first wood stove, I know how much time it takes and patience. Especially when all your friends are saying just throw it out! at least mine were....Nice work!

 

[fbelec]

beautiful. i was expecting chickens but if one got in there he would be chased out quick. you did very nice job. no problem with smoke dragons here

 

[Fsappo]

Very very nice. Refurbing old stoves is something I love and miss dearly. In fact, I'm going to ask my new boss if it is something he wants to let us get into.