2017/2018 VC owners thread

[Ladd]

Update re: attempt to get incorrect refractory assembly replaced with correct model

The business I purchased the rebuild kit from has (according to them) sent two emails and called twice, with their calls going to voice mail and no response from their distributor each time.

Can anyone offer a contact name and phone number for the Vermont Castings distributor who handles Connecticut? Or, better yet, a name and contact number at Vermont Castings to whom I can call or send a certified letter?

 

[Dobish]

try this number:
P: 802.234.2360

 

[Ladd]

Thanks for the number. Whose number is it?

 

[Dobish]

Thanks for the number. Whose number is it?

A service tech from VC

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Good luck

 

[azeeb]

Subscribing to this thread. I bought a new house this summer that has a relatively new model VC Defiant 2n1 in the finished basement. I've finally started using it the last 3-4 days here in Michigan. Still trying to get the operation nailed down, but it seems to be working well. I've been reading the owners threads from the past few years, trying to learn. Looking forward to participating this year.

 

[Dobish]

Subscribing to this thread. I bought a new house this summer that has a relatively new model VC Defiant 2n1 in the finished basement. I've finally started using it the last 3-4 days here in Michigan. Still trying to get the operation nailed down, but it seems to be working well. I've been reading the owners threads from the past few years, trying to learn. Looking forward to participating this year.

Welcome.... It's a great stove.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Subscribing to this thread. I bought a new house this summer that has a relatively new model VC Defiant 2n1 in the finished basement. I've finally started using it the last 3-4 days here in Michigan. Still trying to get the operation nailed down, but it seems to be working well. I've been reading the owners threads from the past few years, trying to learn. Looking forward to participating this year.

Welcome. There's lots of information in the last few years of this VC owners threads.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Subscribing to this thread. I bought a new house this summer that has a relatively new model VC Defiant 2n1 in the finished basement. I've finally started using it the last 3-4 days here in Michigan. Still trying to get the operation nailed down, but it seems to be working well. I've been reading the owners threads from the past few years, trying to learn. Looking forward to participating this year.

Welcome. . Is yours the 2040

 

[azeeb]

Welcome. There's lots of information in the last few years of this VC owners threads.

Thanks. I rented a house on Hamburg lake for a year back in 2011. I think that's in your neck of the woods. It's a nice area. I live in Midland now.

Welcome. . Is yours the 2040

It says 1975 on the back heat shield. Is the 2040 the Encore? Mine is the larger Defiant, but pretty much the same design I think. Mine has a 16NOV10 manufacturing date on it, I believe that was the first year of the newest design.

 

[azeeb]

I would like to order a digital cat probe. I see the condar and the auber mentioned. Is one better than the other? Any different options?

 

[Dobish]

Thanks. I rented a house on Hamburg lake for a year back in 2011. I think that's in your neck of the woods. It's a nice area. I live in Midland now.

It says 1975 on the back heat shield. Is the 2040 the Encore? Mine is the larger Defiant, but pretty much the same design I think. Mine has a 16NOV10 manufacturing date on it, I believe that was the first year of the newest design.

the 2040 is the encore.

A lot of of people go with teh Auber AT100 for their digital cat probe.

i made a little flowchart http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/...urning-wood-in-your-stove-a-flowchart.157888/ which some folks have found helpful. there is also a thread about the 2040 somewhere, which might have some good stuff in it.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Hamburg is real close. It's not a bad area. I would prefer to live upnorth or even the U.P, however, the money I make working in Ann Arbor is hard to say no to.

I would definitely go with the auber. I have had both and the condar is an over priced paper weight.

 

[azeeb]

the 2040 is the encore.

A lot of of people go with teh Auber AT100 for their digital cat probe.

i made a little flowchart http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/...urning-wood-in-your-stove-a-flowchart.157888/ which some folks have found helpful. there is also a thread about the 2040 somewhere, which might have some good stuff in it.

Thanks. I bookmarked your flowchart.

Hamburg is real close. It's not a bad area. I would prefer to live upnorth or even the U.P, however, the money I make working in Ann Arbor is hard to say no to.

I would definitely go with the auber. I have had both and the condar is an over priced paper weight.

I know what you mean. I grew up on a dairy farm north of Lansing. I lived in downtown Ann Arbor when I was in college, and couldn't wait to get out. Then I moved to Vermont for 8 years. We moved back to Michigan, and my wife had to be back in the Ann Arbor area for a year. I couldn't handle the idea of living in the city again. That's when we lived in Hamburg. The whole Whitmore Lake / Pinckney / Dexter area is about as close to an up north feel as you can get living near Ann Arbor.

What do you not like about the condar probe? The only reason I haven't just bought the Auber is because I don't have an electrical outlet right next to the stove. The closest is about 10 feet away, and there isn't a clean way to run a cord with the way my hearth is setup. There is a built in brick wood box in the way. A battery operated probe would be easier.

 

[azeeb]

I haven't decided if I like this stove or not. Right now I'm having issues getting the secondary to light. It's pretty hit or miss. It will light and run for a while, and then it seems to go out later and I have back puffing problems. I've never used a stove with a cat before. I'm wondering if the cat needs replacing.

 

[Dobish]

I haven't decided if I like this stove or not. Right now I'm having issues getting the secondary to light. It's pretty hit or miss. It will light and run for a while, and then it seems to go out later and I have back puffing problems. I've never used a stove with a cat before. I'm wondering if the cat needs replacing.

you should pull the cat and take a look at it. I have noticed that especially with poor draft (early season) i used to get a lot of back puffing. Also, I have noticed that this stove is really sensitive to moist wood. make sure your wood is very dry, or get it a little hotter than you would think before engaging the cat. The first year, I had a lot of issues due to sub-optimal wood and trying to cut the air too fast.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

The condar thermo doesn't read until 300 degrees. Then it only moves in increments of 50 degrees. It eats batteries like crazy. The display will only stay lit for a short period of time. So you have to constantly get up and push the button if you want to know what's going on. Very expensive for what it is as well.

The AT100 has realtime temp display. Increments of 1 degree. The display is always on. Has two alarms you can set. Keeps track of highest temp recorded. It's $40. The probe will be extra however but still totals to less than the condar. I did use the condar probe that I already had because it's only 4" long which works with my rear heat shield on the stove.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

How tall is your stack? The shoulder seasons are tricky to run this stove in. Especially if this is your first year using a Vermont. Try smaller splits and run the griddle top up to 500 before engaging the cat. And shut your primary air down slower and in smaller increments. Once the temps dip into the 20's she will burn a lot better. I have a short stack but can still cruise the cat around 1400 without a problem.

 

[azeeb]

The flue exits horizontally out the back of the stove, and then goes up into about 25 feet of 8" class A. The last 3 feet are above the roof, the rest is interior to the house. I think you might be right about the temperature, hopefully it will work better when it gets cold. I'm burning ash that the previous owner left (about 6-7 cords).

I'm still suspicious of the cat, though. It will be running fine for a couple hours, and then the cat will go out with plenty of wood still in the stove and the air setting about 1/2 open. That's when it starts to back puff. Maybe it will be easier to tell whats going on when I get a temp probe.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

The flue exits horizontally out the back of the stove, and then goes up into about 25 feet of 8" class A. The last 3 feet are above the roof, the rest is interior to the house. I think you might be right about the temperature, hopefully it will work better when it gets cold. I'm burning ash that the previous owner left (about 6-7 cords).

I'm still suspicious of the cat, though. It will be running fine for a couple hours, and then the cat will go out with plenty of wood still in the stove and the air setting about 1/2 open. That's when it starts to back puff. Maybe it will be easier to tell whats going on when I get a temp probe.

Go to Home Depot or lowes and get yourself a moisture meter. Split a piece of wood that is at room temp and check the moisture content of a freshly exposed side of the wood. Pull the cat out and clean it real good. I know some people have had issues with steal cats. I'm not sure what's in your stove. I have a ceramic one in my encore and it works real good. What makes you think your cat is stalling?

 

[azeeb]

The cat looks like a ceramic one. It's not clogged, and the element doesn't appear cracked or broken, but the housing is a little warped. The paint on the flu coming out the back of the stove is discolored and looks like it got way too hot at some point. This makes me suspicious that previous owners burned up the cat. I don't know what a burned up cat looks like, though. If it's not broken or crumbling is it still good? Or can the coating on the ceramic get burned off with the honeycomb structure still intact?

I think the cat is stalling because I can no longer see any glow behind the access panel that sits in front of the cat, and the stove temp starts dropping. I also see much more smoke coming out the chimney. This is when smoke starts building up in the firebox and back puffing occurs. I'm not sure if a poor draft is causing it to go out, or if the cat stalls and that causes the poor draft. It seems to work fine when I can obviously see the cat glowing in the back of the stove.

I will get a moisture meter and check my wood.

 

[Dobish]

The cat looks like a ceramic one. It's not clogged, and the element doesn't appear cracked or broken, but the housing is a little warped. The paint on the flu coming out the back of the stove is discolored and looks like it got way too hot at some point. This makes me suspicious that previous owners burned up the cat. I don't know what a burned up cat looks like, though. If it's not broken or crumbling is it still good? Or can the coating on the ceramic get burned off with the honeycomb structure still intact?

I think the cat is stalling because I can no longer see any glow behind the access panel that sits in front of the cat, and the stove temp starts dropping. I also see much more smoke coming out the chimney. This is when smoke starts building up in the firebox and back puffing occurs. I'm not sure if a poor draft is causing it to go out, or if the cat stalls and that causes the poor draft. It seems to work fine when I can obviously see the cat glowing in the back of the stove.

I will get a moisture meter and check my wood.

Cat should be fine if it isn't cracked. Even a cracked cat will light off. I am guessing it is just poor draft, and not getting enough air. You could try a few things:
- remove the cat completely. You will still get secondary burns when you hit the correct temps. That is one of the nice features of the 2n1. it is easy to remove the cat, especially if you are burning sub-optimal wood.
- give it more air.
- make it really cold outside to get better draft. i have noticed that when it is cold out, I can tell from the sound when the cat is roaring. when it is more mild, i have to go look at the thermometer.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

How long is the horizontal section of stove pipe before it goes up the chimney? Have you cleaned and or inspected the chimney? Have you inspected all of your gaskets?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Try and clean all the ash out of the firebox between loads. There are EPA holes in the stove that help feed air to the fire. In these mild temps this may help.

 

[Diabel]

The condar thermo doesn't read until 300 degrees. Then it only moves in increments of 50 degrees. It eats batteries like crazy. The display will only stay lit for a short period of time. So you have to constantly get up and push the button if you want to know what's going on. Very expensive for what it is as well.

The AT100 has realtime temp display. Increments of 1 degree. The display is always on. Has two alarms you can set. Keeps track of highest temp recorded. It's $40. The probe will be extra however but still totals to less than the condar. I did use the condar probe that I already had because it's only 4" long which works with my rear heat shield on the stove.

Exactly, what he said!!