what happened to the hole? Old vs. new DUTCHWEST Cast Iron wood stoves

[bigwhitman]

My decades old DUTCHWEST Cast Iron wood stove (extra large capacity) had a blower vent on the right, front outside wall of the stove to circulate air around the firebox. My new DUTCHWEST Cast Iron (extra large capacity) is identical in every way except the blower vent hole is visible, but it was intentionally sealed shut during the cast of the iron.
VC's parts list show right hand DUTCHWEST Cast Iron wood stove walls for stoves manufactured before 9/97 (part #7001218, RIGHT SIDE (BEFORE 9/97 SLOT FOR OUTSIDE AIR).

1. Can I drill-out the filled cast iron hole on my new stove and essentially make it into my old stove's air circulation system? To do this I'd like some assurance that VC simply filled the hole and did not change the interior dramatically so I'd be drilling into the fire box, effectively wrecking my stove.

2. Why did VC eliminate the air circulation system in 9/97 anyway?

3. Could I purchase part #7001218, disassemble my current stove and reassemble it with the new side wall?

The last time I contacted VC's customer service it was impossible to talk with anyone who was born before 1997, let alone find anyone speaking English who was working with VC in 1997 - any help from any Old DutchWest pro's is gratefully appreciated

 

[bigwhitman]

Here's the stove's diagram

 

[Tech Dude]

The fan used to have two optional mounts - right side and rear. The right side was used mostly for insert applications. As the stove evolved through the nineties, the insert use became redundant, and the right side fan mount was eliminated. Only the rear fan option now exists. The old side will not work anyway as the rear outside air channel has been removed. I find the support at Vermont very knowledgeable and English appears to be spoken quite well.

 

[bigwhitman]

Thanks tech dude, your information has me half way through this, but there are a few things I don't understand before I can put this to rest.

My old Dutchwest used a hair dryer sized fan to force air around the outside of the firebox and without the fan there'd be no hot air coming out the front vents. Vermont Casting's tech support told me the same amount of heat will come from the front vent of my new Dutchwest as a result of simple convection and thus a fan is unnecessary. I just can't buy that and nobody at VC tech support could offer me another word otherwise. Maybe I called after hours and VC had outsourced their tech support to a daylight timezone, but no one had knowledge of prior models, forced air blowers and the like and I was left with zero answers. The dealer where I bought the stove also offered no information and recommended I contact VC (yea).

A good part of the heat from my stove system comes by pointing a 20"x20" box fan at my stove to increase convection (top picture). Through a 1" gap it is possible to gain access to the area around the firebox (middle picture) and I experimented with 1" fireproof electric conduit and dropped a line into the cavity to force air around the firebox. The guage of the conduit was too small to move a decent volume of air and I abandoned it.

I'd like to get a decent air flow around the firebox to increase convection and tidy-up a bit by removing my 20" box fan from my living room. I was unaware my old DW Stove had a rear vent. I don't believe my new DW has one either, but if I could get a good sized (2") hole in the outside casting, then I could rig-up a blower to force air around the fire box. Any ideas? I feel like a great heat source was left off, and while I might be wrong, I'd like to improve the airflow and hope more good details ca help me, or put this idea to rest as simply wrecking a good stove

 

[Tech Dude]

Don't sweat it. There is a knock-out on your Xlarge DW in the centre of the outer back behind the old cast fireplace cover. The fan kit (0009973) comes with two cast plate that screw into the bottom covering the air entry into the convection and forcing the blower air out the top. You may have trouble installing the plates as your stove is mounted without legs. You have restricted the flow of convection by mounting the stove right on the floor in the old DW 288CCL fireplace cover. You will have fun putting the covers on as you have no room underneath without lifting the stove. Make sure you buy the snap disc to thermostatically operate your blower and also the receptacle mounted rheostat as once it is installed you will have no access. Do not seal the cast surround to the fireplace as you will need a gap there to provide air for the blower.

 

[bigwhitman]

Eureka Tech Dude where have you been hiding? You gave the detailed, direct answers I've been searching for, like a pro - many thanks.

The reinstall w/o legs was beyond my control as the original homeowner made construction changes to handle the largest insert possible and my chimney guy said it would be 1000's to redo the fireplace firebox, or I could slip in an identical one. VC did not change the outside stove design much and the old fireplace cover fits like a glove around my DW to hide the ugliness the prior home owner made of the fireplace firebox. There are two 4"x4" holes on the fireplace cover and they should work to supply enough air.

From the diagram I believe I see the air intakes you're talking about; one on the right & one on the left on the bottom. I now understand why my installation ruins the convection design of the stove. Thanks to your excellent help, maybe my next job should be to elevate my DW (as much as possible) to see what convection occurs when my air intakes can breath.

If I had come across your information in my owners manual, from my dealer, or VC's tech support I wouldn't have embarrassed myself with my conduit/blower experiment; thankfully I have no pictures to share of that.

And last, as the tech due with all of my answers, can you tell me if I will be able to use the fan kit (#0009973) with my unit resting on the ground, or does the blower need clearance under the stove?

Thanks big-much for your assistance so far.

 

[Tech Dude]

The blower may be mounted with fan motor up or down. With the motor up, you should have no trouble. If you do purchase the blower, then those two convection supply openings will be blocked off so don't worry. If you can, disconnect and tilt it up on side at a time and install the covers. I don't like the stove flat on the hearth. If there is no air space under the stove, simply put a hex head bolt into each leg bolt hole to lift the stove about 1" off the hearth or shim with brick slices. Your installation should be able to take that. Don't forget to order the rheostat to plug the blower into at the receptacle and the on/off thermostat if you like automatic blower operation.

 

[bigwhitman]

Thanks Tech Dude - perfect. You've got all my answers, like a pro who works with DW and knows their product; which makes me scratch my head as to why none of my other inquiries got the same results. Your simple as pie answers are exactly what I was looking for and the kind of information I though would be inside an owners manual. Nonetheless, you are the man and your knowledge and help s very appreciated. Especially the bolt elevation trick, it's splendid. We'll be at 09º F tonight and below 32º F this next week so when I cool down my stove I'll try the bolt trick first (to elevate my stove off the health for convection - then when I get the fan and thermostat I'll be able to finish this project off entirely. Again, many many thinks for your spot-on help and when I've have more details on this project to report, I'll be back with pics and comments - thanks again.

 

[Tech Dude]

You're wlecome. Hope it works out for you and my advise proves to be helpful.