# To VC Vigilant owners



## ssbn642blue (Feb 12, 2011)

How high do you let the stove top get to before you damper down?  Normally I wait till about 650 deg.


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## remkel (Feb 12, 2011)

ssbn642blue said:
			
		

> How high do you let the stove top get to before you damper down?  Normally I wait till about 650 deg.



Right on the money for me. Depending on the wood, I have been known to go to 700. When the wife forgets the stove, Lord only knows how high it has gone.


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## BrowningBAR (Feb 12, 2011)

ssbn642blue said:
			
		

> How high do you let the stove top get to before you damper down?  Normally I wait till about 650 deg.




With good wood I switch to horizontal mode between 500Â°-650Â° and then I start closing down the air as needed.


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## begreen (Feb 12, 2011)

How often are you having to clean the chimney?


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## BrowningBAR (Feb 12, 2011)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> How often are you having to clean the chimney?



Me? Once a year. I check on it periodically, though.


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## ssbn642blue (Feb 12, 2011)

I would like to publicly thank Remkel for sending me the rebuild sheets for the VC Vigilant.  To any other owners, ( with his permission ) I can also be a resource for this info.  Just PM me and I would be happy to send them to you.


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## ssbn642blue (Feb 12, 2011)

> Right on the money for me. Depending on the wood, I have been known to go to 700. When the wife forgets the stove, Lord only knows how high it has gone.





Now thats funny.... I think.


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## begreen (Feb 12, 2011)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

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That's what I thought. I am wondering if your stove is being pushed a little harder than Remkel's or BK's? Seems to be working well if it is. Or maybe their wood is less seasoned?


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## BrowningBAR (Feb 13, 2011)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> BrowningBAR said:
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If anything BK pushes his further. My temps usually run between 500-650 and I will let it ease back down until 300-350 before I reload. I know BK likes to keep his at about 750 and he reloads at a higher temp. But his is a basement install and mine is about 15 feet from me. His pipe temps also seem a lot higher than mine. In horizontal mode my surface pipe temps are usually under 300Â° even when I am at 600Â°. I was concerned for a while, but the last cleaning I did showed very little creosote build up (for this stove, at least). Just some chunks sticking to the pipe screen.


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## remkel (Feb 13, 2011)

ssbn642blue said:
			
		

> I would like to publicly thank Remkel for sending me the rebuild sheets for the VC Vigilant.  To any other owners, ( with his permission ) I can also be a resource for this info.  Just PM me and I would be happy to send them to you.



Battenkiller supplied it to me- I say send it to the masses!


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## begreen (Feb 13, 2011)

PM and send them to the webmaster to post in the wiki section with the other docs for this vintage VC.


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## remkel (Feb 13, 2011)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

> BeGreen said:
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Yeah, I agree BK pushes his a lot harder than I do- just have not been able to bring myself to that extreme. Mine is a basement install also, usually run between 550 and 600, flue temps around 280-320 exterior temp (single wall pipe).

My wood could use some better seasoning, I find myself cleaning about once a year. Another challenge for me is I have an offset in my flue, and I only have clay pipe liner. I am considering purchasing a new stove (will miss the old girl) and installing a ss liner at that time.

It is a bit intimidating as I have only run a Defiant and the Vigilant, both manufactured the same year (my father's Defiant and my Pepere's Vigilant). Love the old VC stoves- they are workhorses, but may have to make some changes.


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## Kenster (Feb 19, 2011)

I don't have an exact regimen.   650 to 700.  Has been higher.   I may let it get that hot in vertical mode with the front door open a wee bit.  Then close the door to make sure it stabilizes.    Then I'll switch to horizontal for a while, then close the primary (thermostat) air to half or so.   I rarely close the primary all the way unless the stove top temp stays too hot for too long... except when I set it for bed time.   If I have a really good established fire going I may close the primary all the way for overnight burn and leave the secondary about halfway open.  

I do close both air intakes all the way if we are leaving the house.


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## Battenkiller (Feb 20, 2011)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> I am wondering if your stove is being pushed a little harder than Remkel's or BK's? Seems to be working well if it is. *Or maybe their wood is less seasoned?*



Yeah, right.  :roll: 

Anyway, I've found that it's not the top temp that's important, it's the back temp.  That can take quite a while to get up above 400Âº.  Once that block that the thermostat stem is threaded into gets up around 400Âº (have to use the IR), when you close the bypass the secondary just erupts into life.  Flue temps will stabilize at 500-600Âº with the air open all the way, and at about 400Âº with the air closed almost all the way.  Stove will cruise at 650-700Âº for two hours with a half load of good, dense wood.  I ignore the stove temp when reloading, flue temps below 250Âº are the signal for me to add more wood.  I can see 500Âº+ stove top temps for a very long time with a good coal bed, but if I let the flue temps drop too far, that means the back is getting too cool (since all the gases have to go past that area while in downdraft mode).  I like to reload at higher flue temps primarily because I've found that the secondary kicks off very rapidly after reloads if the back chamber doesn't get a chance to cool too far.


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