2017/2018 VC owners thread

[Reckless]

This is what you want to see about half way through an overnight. Ended up turning the air down a little more but at 7am this morning about 300 on the cat and enough coals to get me going again. Stay warm brothers.

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[RandyBoBandy]

This is what you want to see about half way through an overnight. Ended up turning the air down a little more but at 7am this morning about 300 on the cat and enough coals to get me going again. Stay warm brothers.

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Awesome

 

[Diabel]

I thought you snuck into my house overnight to take that vid.

This is exactly what I get about 4hrs into the burn, using ask and silver maple.

Once I get into sugar maple and BL/HL then the burn extends couple of hrs and the flame (5hrs into the burn) is nice blue colour.

 

[Basisforbart]

I have been creeping and reading for the last few days trying to figure out my issues but thought I would just post and see what wisdom you guys can provide. Had a VC 2040 installed in November, over 25 foot stack double wall with great draw, wood moisture content 15-20%. I have yet to do an all night burn because I can't keep my griddle temps down, I have a magnetic therm and an IR. My griddle temps usually run from 500-700 but have seen up to 750 on the magnetic therm, while the IR reads from 450-550F in the same locations. I am getting these temps with the CAT engaged and running around 900-1100F and the air control all the way down. I did a dollar test this morning and found that many areas on the front doors I can just pull the bill out with very little resistance and at the griddle. If I add 2-3 splits around 3-4" I can only get about an hour and a half burn with the air control all the way down. I am assuming due to the bill test that I have a gasket issue which is causing air into the firebox and keeping my stove way to hot. Please help me figure out how to love this stove, thanks.

 

[Reckless]

My griddle temps usually run from 500-700 but have seen up to 750 on the magnetic therm, while the IR reads from 450-550F in the same locations. I am getting these temps with the CAT engaged and running around 900-1100F and the air control all the way down.

This.... Have you tried a different magnetic therm? Buy a second if you don't own one already as you need all the help you can. Put the current one on the stack and new one in the GT. I cannot imagine a world where you are 900-1000 CT and 750 GT but my stove is different. For mine to be that hot the CT would be 1400+ and the stack would be 4-500+ range with really active flames all going directly up and not towards the cat. Good luck hope it's just a faulty MT.

Easier yet toss your MT in the oven next time your cooking something in the 400-450 range and see what it reads.

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[Dobish]

I have been creeping and reading for the last few days trying to figure out my issues but thought I would just post and see what wisdom you guys can provide. Had a VC 2040 installed in November, over 25 foot stack double wall with great draw, wood moisture content 15-20%. I have yet to do an all night burn because I can't keep my griddle temps down, I have a magnetic therm and an IR. My griddle temps usually run from 500-700 but have seen up to 750 on the magnetic therm, while the IR reads from 450-550F in the same locations. I am getting these temps with the CAT engaged and running around 900-1100F and the air control all the way down. I did a dollar test this morning and found that many areas on the front doors I can just pull the bill out with very little resistance and at the griddle. If I add 2-3 splits around 3-4" I can only get about an hour and a half burn with the air control all the way down. I am assuming due to the bill test that I have a gasket issue which is causing air into the firebox and keeping my stove way to hot. Please help me figure out how to love this stove, thanks.

Did you adjust the tension on the door handle? Gaskets might have compressed a bit.

 

[Basisforbart]

Did you adjust the tension on the door handle? Gaskets might have compressed a bit.

Dob, I have not tried to adjust the tension, I will break out the owners manual and hope that it tells me how to do that.

Reckless, I will grab a new magnet therm today and try out your method.

Another thing I have going on is that when I adjust the air control I can hear it clicking, almost like the wire has tightened up, I am guessing this isn't supposed to happen after about a dozen uses?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I have been creeping and reading for the last few days trying to figure out my issues but thought I would just post and see what wisdom you guys can provide. Had a VC 2040 installed in November, over 25 foot stack double wall with great draw, wood moisture content 15-20%. I have yet to do an all night burn because I can't keep my griddle temps down, I have a magnetic therm and an IR. My griddle temps usually run from 500-700 but have seen up to 750 on the magnetic therm, while the IR reads from 450-550F in the same locations. I am getting these temps with the CAT engaged and running around 900-1100F and the air control all the way down. I did a dollar test this morning and found that many areas on the front doors I can just pull the bill out with very little resistance and at the griddle. If I add 2-3 splits around 3-4" I can only get about an hour and a half burn with the air control all the way down. I am assuming due to the bill test that I have a gasket issue which is causing air into the firebox and keeping my stove way to hot. Please help me figure out how to love this stove, thanks.

Try and tighten up your door latch a little bit. If you door gaskets are still not passing the dollar bill test call your installed or dealer and make them fix it. With turning the primary all the way down you shouldn't be hitting 700 GT.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Dob, I have not tried to adjust the tension, I will break out the owners manual and hope that it tells me how to do that.

Reckless, I will grab a new magnet therm today and try out your method.

Another thing I have going on is that when I adjust the air control I can hear it clicking, almost like the wire has tightened up, I am guessing this isn't supposed to happen after about a dozen uses?

Can you go into more detail about the "clicking"? Is it something you feel or hear? Sometimes my air control is real easy to move and sometimes it is stiff. I think this has to do with the side side panels expanding and contracting

 

[Basisforbart]

Can you go into more detail about the "clicking"? Is it something you feel or hear? Sometimes my air control is real easy to move and sometimes it is stiff. I think this has to do with the side side panels expanding and contracting

Randy, I assume that the wire moving the air control is a spun wire and the clicking sounds like some of the wire is getting caught and then released, almost like a guitar string if you take a pick down the side of it. I have tested a floor model and it is much looser than mine with no clicking. It feels like the wire tightened up due to heat but hasn't loosed when cooled. The air control seems to still work and I can hear the flap open and close when I move it fast enough.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

The cable should, in theory, get looser as it heats up. The bimetallic coil should expand when it gets hotter to self adjust the primary flapper. Both my stoves primary controls make noises when cold and on fire ups. Must have something to do with everything expanding at different rates.

 

[Diabel]

Basis,

When you shut the primary air completely do you loose all the flame in the firebox?

Btw the magnetic thermos are grossly inaccurate!

I seldom look at it, when I feel the stove top is really hot I stick the IR gun to it.

The cat temp and the flue temp (interior) is what I go by.

 

[Reckless]

I may be off here but if basis had a leak he would have problems controlling his cat temps, not his GT.....


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[Basisforbart]

Basis,

When you shut the primary air completely do you loose all the flame in the firebox?

Btw the magnetic thermos are grossly inaccurate!

I seldom look at it, when I feel the stove top is really hot I stick the IR gun to it.

The cat temp and the flue temp (interior) is what I go by.

Most of the time when I close the primary (outside temps 30 and above) I do loose the flame and adjust accordingly. The past couple nights (outside temps under 20F) I still have flame, not a full box of flame usually just in one area but not a lazy flame.

I figured the magnetic thermos were inaccurate but it seems to be accurate for the inside box temp but since I am new to this stove wasn't sure. My IR of the GT is usually less than 600F so I will go by that. I do plan on doing the AT100 and probe for the stack soon so I can get better control of this stove.

 

[Dobish]

I had my alarm go off at 1600 last night...

 

[Diabel]

I may be off here but if basis had a leak he would have problems controlling his cat temps, not his GT.....


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You are correct. When I installed my new leaky wiremesh griddle gasket, both CT and griddle went crazy.

 

[chance04]

My Co worker just bought a home with a VC 2080 insert. During this cold snap he has been burning some of my seasoned wood and some of those blocks from the TSC . Yesterday he sends me a text saying he is never using this stove again, that the catalyst shield and catalyst simply fell into the fire and we're sitting in a ashes as the fire burned out. Anyone have any experience with this insert have any advise? I haven't been over to his place to check it out but I'm thinking he will be insert shopping before long.

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[Reckless]

My Co worker just bought a home with a VC 2080 insert. During this cold snap he has been burning some of my seasoned wood and some of those blocks from the TSC . Yesterday he sends me a text saying he is never using this stove again, that the catalyst shield and catalyst simply fell into the fire and we're sitting in a ashes as the fire burned out. Anyone have any experience with this insert have any advise? I haven't been over to his place to check it out but I'm thinking he will be insert shopping before long.

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Not sure how... I've never seen this stove but looking at the manual it looks allot like most of our setups. Maybe he forgot to install the wedges??
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1...nterwarm-Small-Insert-2080.html?page=9#manual


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[chance04]

Not sure how... I've never seen this size but looking at the manual it looks allot like most of our setups. Maybe he forgot to install the wedges??
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1...nterwarm-Small-Insert-2080.html?page=9#manual


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He hasn't done anything but take a gander up the flue and bum dry wood off of me to try and keep warm. He has only lived there about a month

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[Reckless]

He hasn't done anything but take a gander up the flue and bum dry wood off of me to try and keep warm. He has only lived there about a month

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Thus you here asking and not him lol. I would let him be until he figures it out. Don't set yourself up to be cleaning his chimney every year [emoji23][emoji23]


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[chance04]

Thus you here asking and not him lol. I would let him be until he figures it out. Don't set yourself up to be cleaning his chimney every year [emoji23][emoji23]


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I'm gonna be at his place come this week at some point so either put it back together or rip the whole mess out and change out inserts. Lol I'm just looking to see what I will be getting into

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[RandyBoBandy]

Like reckless said. Look for the wedges.

 

[jharkin]

Sorry guys, things have been so busy this fall/winter (work/family) Ive been away.

Sounds oh too familiar. Try reloading a little hotter (cat temp 6-700), get the cat up to temp quick and start shutting it down sooner (1050 1/4-1/3 shut). Also 1/2-3/4 full pulled to the front away from the throat. Even with all this I still worry about this thing trying to commit suicide lol. YMMV but this is what works for me with this unpredictable heat generator. How closed can you get your primary with out back puffing or your cat getting overwhelmed? I can only close mine 2/3-3/4 and even then the fames sometimes disappear. My 2ndary is still blocked and ash pan full which is the same as blocking both EPA (only one is truly blocked at this point) next stop is cementing the griddle, I really think no matter how well you gasket that thing it still let's air in....

It's strange that I can run this thing all day without thinking about it and control the output for the most part but whenever I go to load for the overnight I end up messing with it a bunch and way over think it and it ends up not doing what I want anyway..... Sounds like life lol


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So I figured things out. I had done your mod last year to change the timing and remove the pin that holds the secondary open, but then I was having lightoff problems. So I ended up putting a paperclip in the opening to keep it from fully closing.

THAT is what was causing my overfires. I pulled the paperclip again and now its controllable. Turn the main down and the cat temp reduces again (haleluja). Highest Ive seen now is 1500, and that was in zero temps on huge loads.

Unfortunately the light off problems are back. Start a big load without a good coal base and it takes forever to light off and will stall sometimes. Decided I'd rather live with that than the thermonuclear runaway.

I want to say @jharkin had a steel cat. He has been quiet this year so hopefully he can chime in and share his thoughts. If you read through his rebuild thread I think he talks about his steel cat some.

I had a Condar Steel cat. gave me a lot of problems and eventually I swapped it back to the ceramic. Condar tech support told me some stoves just dont play well with steel and the 2550 is one of those.

In other threads they have discussed that there are different types of steel (diesel foil? and another type I forget which). So other brands of steel may work better.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I just discovered my defiant has a steel cat when I went to inspect it. It's a cabin burner so it doesn't get used much. What I have noticed with it is that light off is more like a roller coaster. Slow climb to 900* then it takes off like a rocket. Close air by 1/3. Cat temps fall, sometimes below 800*. Then another climb up into the 1300-1400's. Close air again. Drops to about 1000 then climbs again. I will be putting in a ceramic cat before next burn season.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Sorry guys, things have been so busy this fall/winter (work/family) Ive been away.



So I figured things out. I had done your mod last year to change the timing and remove the pin that holds the secondary open, but then I was having lightoff problems. So I ended up putting a paperclip in the opening to keep it from fully closing.

THAT is what was causing my overfires. I pulled the paperclip again and now its controllable. Turn the main down and the cat temp reduces again (haleluja). Highest Ive seen now is 1500, and that was in zero temps on huge loads.

Unfortunately the light off problems are back. Start a big load without a good coal base and it takes forever to light off and will stall sometimes. Decided I'd rather live with that than the thermonuclear runaway.





I had a Condar Steel cat. gave me a lot of problems and eventually I swapped it back to the ceramic. Condar tech support told me some stoves just dont play well with steel and the 2550 is one of those.

In other threads they have discussed that there are different types of steel (diesel foil? and another type I forget which). So other brands of steel may work better.

What timing do you have your secondary at? I set my at 1:30-2:00 to keep it open longer to help with a good light off. I also put a small magnet on the back just below the secondary opening to keep the flapper from going past fully closed. If the flapper hangs to low it will create an opening in the upper right corner letting air in again sending the cat into a nuclear runaway.