2015/2016 VC Owners thread

[jharkin]

The good news: My AT100 arrived today
The bad news: Temps near or over 50 every day thought the next week and a half means I cant test it any time soon.

 

[Excavator]

Sure you can but might swet alot

 

[Diabel]

It sure ain't in the 50s in the evenings and at night!
Fire her up!!

 

[jharkin]

True... we shall see. We are off to the cape today and then tomorrow its going to be 60 (ugh!). maybe later in the week.

The other thing is my wood supply is still weak from last winter and NG is so cheap it barely makes sense to burn wood in this mild weather.

 

[Diabel]

In this case for sure. Save the wood for the cold weather. It will come

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Only being able to turn the air control down to half is a sign your wood is quite wet, for sure. If I left my stove at half open it would go into nuclear meltdown.

Try to mix in dry if you can (pallet scraps etc) and then you just gotta do what you gotta do. If keeping the air wide open is keeping the temps up and the stack clean thats better than choking it down and letting it smoke.

I too can only turn primary down about 1/2. I have a really short stack at the moment. The cap is still above my ridge line.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Hey guys, What kind of burn times are you getting above 1000* ? just curious what the average is that everyone is experiencing

 

[Reckless]

Hey guys, What kind of burn times are you getting above 1000* ? just curious what the average is that everyone is experiencing

How big of a load? What kind of wood? How big of splits? I usually get 3hrs on half load of med sized red oak of over 1000 on the cat. I work from home and like to keep the loads short (4hrs) and hot (500+ GT).

 

[Charles1981]

Not quiet sure based on temperature... But we jam the stove full with each load typically. Hardwood. We have taken the andirons out and you can fit an a good deal more wood in with them out but the glass does dirty a little more easily this way. With the andirons out and a good load of maple/cherry there is a good bed of coals to reload on after 8-9 hours with our Encore. You can reload every 10-11 hours but you have to get a few small pieces in there and be bad bad encore owners and leave the ash pan cracked (but we always set a timer for about 4-6 minutes).

 

[jharkin]

Even on a full load I dont think Ive seen the cat stay active over 1,000F for more than 5 hours or so. But those big loads give you a lot of coals that can stretch the heat out for a few more hours after the cat slows down.

 

[jharkin]

Now look at this forecast... these are the highs though middle next week:

54 - 45 -45 - 57- 57 -58 - 61- 58 -49 - 48 - 46

There are only 2 days between now and Sunday the overnight low goes below 38.

The temp SHOULD be more like high 40 with a low of 20 this time of year.


No burning for a while, gas is on........

 

[Dobish]

So yesterday afternoon we lit up the stove, and I threw in some pallet wood, as well as some of the stuff that was really dry (3" dia rounds). I was able to get the air control way down, and it was wonderful! Our basement was a little warm (77º), but the heat also managed to sneak upstairs and keep it around 70º. I can't believe that we lived all last winter sitting in down sleeping bags with booties to watch TV!

 

[RandyBoBandy]

How big of a load? What kind of wood? How big of splits? I usually get 3hrs on half load of med sized red oak of over 1000 on the cat. I work from home and like to keep the loads short (4hrs) and hot (500+ GT).

I have been burning mixed loads. Oak, ash, cherry, and some box elder. I usually start off with the cherry and elder in small kindling sized stuff than add two or three splits (3") of oak and ash than fit as many large splits as I can on top. I've been getting roughly 3 hours above 1000 on the cat. Usually by my third load of the day I just jam as many large splits as I can in there. The other day I was able to go 16 hours between loads and still start a fire on some nice coals.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Even on a full load I dont think Ive seen the cat stay active over 100F for more than 5 hours or so. But those big loads give you a lot of coals that can stretch the heat out for a few more hours after the cat slows down.

I will start to shut down the air around 900-1000 on the cat than I can get an average of three hours before the cat starts to fall. Once the cat drops to about 300-400 and the GT is reading the same I will reload. This is usually between 4-6 hours depending on load size. If it's the 3rd load of the day it's all large splits and I can still be producing good heat 8-10 hours into the burn.

 

[jharkin]

AT100 questions guys...


Ok, Ive been so busy I advent hooked it up. Hoping to do so this weekend. Using the Condar probe, how do I configure it in the settings? Is the Condar a k type?
Any other tips.

question 2 - If you disconnect power does it remember all the settings?

 

[Diabel]

I just ordered mine. I pretty sure the Condar probe is K type.

 

[Diabel]

As for the settings. You will know after the first disconnect.

 

[Excavator]

Yes K type. It even reads when stove is cold. Shows about room temp. This thing is accurate too.
Your settings will remain even after you power off. I have been using the AT100 for a while now on my old encore and find that I engage the cat around 400 griddle temp and when digital meter hits 1000 i close primary air half way down and watch it stabelize. I cruise along at 900 for most part. If I close air down all the way at once above 1100 degrees I will see a spike in temps and hit 1500 or more.I run my high alarm at 1300 but will bring that down to 1100

 

[Reckless]

AT100 questions guys...


Ok, Ive been so busy I advent hooked it up. Hoping to do so this weekend. Using the Condar probe, how do I configure it in the settings? Is the Condar a k type?
Any other tips.

question 2 - If you disconnect power does it remember all the settings?

Red wire is neg and hooks up far left, white is pos and sits middle, I think. I just cut off the white connector and crimped on the supplied. Setting the alarms to do what u want is tricky until you get the hang of it.

 

[Excavator]

Red wire is neg and hooks up far left, white is pos and sits middle, I think. I just cut off the white connector and crimped on the supplied. Setting the alarms to do what u want is tricky until you get the hang of it.

Correct red wire on left, white wire in middle using Condar probe. I too just cut off stock connectors and crimped on new ones
I was not getting a temp reading first few trys then I found out I did not push one connector in far enough

 

[Reckless]

Correct red wire on left, white wire in middle using Condar probe. I too just cut off stock connectors and crimped on new ones
I was not getting a temp reading first few trys then I found out I did not push one connector in far enough

Mine was set for the incorrect probe type and not 4/y looking symbol

 

[Herdvet]

Hello, Folks,

Don't mean to hijack the thread, just to introduce myself: Longtime fan/user of VC stoves, beginning with a Vigilant purchased at the Randolph, VT foundry in 1981 (Believe it or not, they lowered it into the trunk of my Volvo sedan for a return trip to Yarmouth, ME, (admittedly, the steering was a bit squirrelly) where it kept our house warm and cozy for five winters.

Later (much later) another Vigilant acquired with a home in central Maine did due diligence for several years until superseded by a non-catalytic Encore which, far as I know, is still serving my ex well.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when our new Encore Flexburn arrived to warm the c.1840 farmhouse here in southern Maine. Just now working on the second (small, non-catalytic) burn - following several unseasonably warm days - and so far very impressed, as I hoped to be.

Couple of comments:

Though l've acquired some useful advice here and elsewhere, it's a shame that VC, which used to be an exemplar for customer service (read the online manual for the original stoves, if you doubt that) is now not only providing poorly written manuals (anyone find the installation diagrams for the catalytic probe remotely useful?) but both unavailable as a corporate entity and absent good dealer support - I've spoken to several, most less well informed than I, none of them happy to be VC reps.

I'm very interested in the ongoing discussion of second-party catalytic thermometers. While I was (finally) able to figure out how to install the included one - and unhappy to discover that the liner through which the probe pokes is that same soft material that protected(?) my last Encore - my stove is installed half-way into a fireplace (horizontal pipe into a t-joint connected to a chimney liner) making the thermometer virtually impossible to read without a mirror. Seems I may be in the market for one of those AT 100s some of you are happy with.

Anyway, happy burning to you all. The actual winter appears to be finally bearing down on us, as for most of you, no doubt. Stay toasty!

 

[Diabel]

Welcome to the forum and happy burning!

 

[Excavator]

Herdvet
great intro, welcome!
I really like the AT100. works great. That said I still use my dial probe at my T connector at liner to monitor the temps there before cat is engaged. My draft is very strong and I can get a cherry red pipe above the T even with griddle temps at 400. I run the primary air at 3/4 or less for that reason and engage the cat at 400 griddle temp of little below. Once cat engaged I run primary air full open and mt AT100 lets me know when cat temp hits 950 where I set it to set beeping alarm. That is where I turn down primary air half way. Then I can cruise around 1000. The AT100 is great for getting my attention if I forget to turn down primary with cat engaged.

 

[Reckless]

Herdvet
great intro, welcome!
I really like the AT100. works great. That said I still use my dial probe at my T connector at liner to monitor the temps there before cat is engaged. My draft is very strong and I can get a cherry red pipe above the T even with griddle temps at 400. I run the primary air at 3/4 or less for that reason and engage the cat at 400 griddle temp of little below. Once cat engaged I run primary air full open and mt AT100 lets me know when cat temp hits 950 where I set it to set beeping alarm. That is where I turn down primary air half way. Then I can cruise around 1000. The AT100 is great for getting my attention if I forget to turn down primary with

If close the air half way before reaching 1050-1100 I usually stall the cat and smolder. If I run the cat under 1200 I see smoke from the stack. Do you see smoke at 1000 CT?