At 1050 on the cat there is no smoke comming out the chimney. Smoke starts at and below 900. The Intrepid takes a steel cat now. The steel cat they advertise as activating around 450. My draft I would say is average, maybe a little below average. By design I don't know the purpose of the secondary air intake save to make sure there is some draft maintained even if the primary is closed all the way? However the primary flap has a hole in the middle of it the size of a nickel so I thought that served that purpose? I'm not inclined to close off the secondary completely but maybe leave an 1/8 or 3/16" gap. We'll see how that goes maybe in a few weeks. Appreciate your response and thoughts.
2019/20 VC Owners thread
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Reckless
Feeling the Heat
Gotcha steel vs ceramic is a totally different beast and your numbers sound to be correct. Heard very conflicting statements about steel so I hope it works out for you. Keep messing with until you get a combo that works for you and then forget everything you learned cause these stoves have a wicked curve ball.
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Reckless, I hear ya. Did you find by cutting off the secondary, the primary control was more responsive when changing settings? I'm still somewhat clueless on the secondary flow routing in this stove other than somehow it gets to the combuster and out through the cat but seems does not mix with the air going into the firebox or does it? Anyways as has been said each install is different so there is a provision to adjust primary and secondary air flow fairly easily to accomidate this. I'm thinking about half the season to get it dialed in.
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
Fired up the Encore after getting home from work. Going to get a blast of cold tonight
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i did my first overnight burns this week.. stove has been running a little more and more each week..ill have it running most of the week
Reckless
Feeling the Heat
Secondary blocked gave me total control. I was finding that even when closed it was letting enough air in to allow the cat to start to climb into the danger zone. In my encore the secondary leads straight to the lower fireback and up the groves between the lower fireback and refractory to the cat opening just behind the throat hood thus mixing with the smoke before getting combusted, It gives the cat fresh O2 for a cleaner burn.
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Reckless
Feeling the Heat
A side note I also have the “EPA” air holes by the legs sealed as well, but again I have really good draft with a 25’ interior chimney. You could always try this first before messing with the secondary. Simple magnets or a small piece stove gasket will do the trick.
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Durantefarm
Member
no grate needed! i have been putting 3 decent sized logs on bottom going left to right balled up paper and some cardboard the built up with smaller sized wood and small stuff on top . get good draft going with newspaper stuffed loosely by flue. when u here the sound of the draft going up light paper and i crack door till wood catches . vent all the way open and once the blower kicks on i adjust vent to what is comfortable .
Yeah it wasn't difficult. A couple of small splits of dry pine and cedar piled on a half of a Super Cedar cake and it got going pretty quick. No different than my Intrepid 2 really.
Now I just need to find an ash shovel that can fit in there for cleaning. The one I used for the fireplace is pretty useless for the insert.
Reckless, the Intrepid from what I can see has no other air holes other than the secondary flap opening. I've cut down the secondary airflow which seems to have helped significantly. On a negative note the steel cat that was supplied as the cat option seems to plug with ash frequently. So much so that every day one should inspect and clean the cat for maximum airflow. So my question to anyone else that has the flexburn with the ceramic cat, how is it performing? Thinking about pulling the trigger on a ceramic to see the difference.
Reckless
Feeling the Heat
I have crazy draft and do not get ash into the combustion area to that extent. I never empty my ash pan and only take some ash out once it reaches the doors. I clean behind the lower fireback every other year or so. My cat is getting a little crumbly so I did not even inspect it this year (probably the last year for it). I stack my wood towards the front of the stove and leave the throat wide open. Might be an issue with the steel cat but never heard anyone mention it
@jharkin you ever have clogging issues with the steel cat? Let’s see if the deserter even visits here anymore [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]
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I consider my draft average or slightly below average. I will say this, when I have a healthy bed of coals and close the damper to activate the combustor, there is a rushing sound through it until the draft settles down. I think this is when some ash migrates into the combuster. I usually set the primary about half way when I close the bypass damper. I might need to cut it down some more when I close it? The steel cat has way smaller passage ways and I've heard of significant amounts of ash closing off cells. But I've heard also that with the steels thin edges it cuts the ash into smaller pieces so it can pass through easier.
I posted a few weeks ago. I have been using my VC Defiant at my vacation home as my sole heat source when there. It has worked great. Just a few things I was wondering if anyone can opine on. My glass doors...they are black. And not just with some ashes like Ash Wednesday Ashes. But crusted on creosote. How do I get this off? I tried the water+ash trick, I tried soapy water and elbow grease. Can I take a razor blade to it and scrape? Has anyone used any of the Rutland Creosote remover that you burn that's supposed to loosen any potential creosote in the chimney? I'm burning all hardwood, however it's only been seasoned about 6-12 months. I typically get the fire started with 1 or 2 pieces of fatwood and newspaper with a smaller log or two and then just add hardwood split logs after that.
Secondly, there is a visible gap between my chimney pipe and flue collar and you can hear a whistling noise when the stove is running with the damper open. Does this gap need to be closed? I read somewhere that creosote could form down low if there are gaps in the flue collar. I've attached a video. Hopefully it went through. Thanks in advance.
Secondly, there is a visible gap between my chimney pipe and flue collar and you can hear a whistling noise when the stove is running with the damper open. Does this gap need to be closed? I read somewhere that creosote could form down low if there are gaps in the flue collar. I've attached a video. Hopefully it went through. Thanks in advance.
Your wood is too wet. Burn some pallet scraps, 2x4, etc. And get a hot fire. If you aren't burning dry enough wood you are just creating a terrible mess. A really hot fire will get rid of the stuff on your doors. Keep an eye on your cat temp and make sure it is lighting off. You are probably better off burning hot and not engaging your cat until the wood dries out.
Soft Maple is about the only wood that will dry in that short a time, but there may be others. Stack single-row splits, top-covered only, where the wind can easily blow through.
That's a big gap. You might get some flat gasket at the farm store or stove dealer, and plug most of that. Yes, you want to keep flue gasses as hot as possible. Better be checking your flue every few weeks and see if you need to brush, when your wood is that wet. The last thing you want is a chimney fire!
Yep, open the door and see how much moisture is bubbling out the ends of your splits, and burn the load in good before closing the bypass.
As far as cleaning glass, I've never been a fan of scraping glass with a metal blade. I use a scouring pad that's safe for use on ceramic stove tops, then misting with vinegar water to loosen up the creo. But I think some stove glass has some type of coating...not sure if that is very durable. I wouldn't worry too much about that, though..I don't really know what that coating is supposed to do?
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
as a stove owner i believe that mostly any stove that the air is cut down .. the glass will be dirty.. that being said. when my glass is tinted in the morning a hot fire will get the majority if not all the glass clean. sometimes i use the rutland glass cleaner to get it off if my fire wasnt hot enough or i didn't burn it hot the previous morning..
As Dobish@ said, a hot fire will take care of the black stuff on your glass. Your wood to me seems not seasoned enough. You need wood that is at least seasoned for two years, the longer seasoned the better.
What's the firebox size? Is it a downdraft stove with a refractory assembly for secondary combustion or a more conventional design?
It's a Vermont Castings Defiant...it has a cat and secondary chamber.
Thanks for the tips. To answer some questions/comments.
Getting 2 year old wood near me is a near impossibility unless I cut it myself. Problem is, I only started cutting a year ago, so I can't make the time go any faster. Most dealers' wood is even less seasoned as mine....I know they cut and split it as recently as the summer. And yes, getting a hot, hot fire does reduce some of the black on the glass, but once I close the damper to let the EPA cat do its thing, it comes back. I do not get much hissing or water coming out of the logs...I've watched for that and mostly see none. I had some in September do that, but haven't seen it since. I tend to burn ash, maple, and hickory. I've been letting the oak sit as long as possible. The logs I'm splitting are from fallen, dead trees, or trees that were felled for a building site 18 months ago.
I have a bunch of stacks going so by next season, I should have wood that is seasoned 12-18 months and longer as time goes on. My stacks are spaced and in the sun/wind on pallets, under a lean-to.
I tend to burn a hot fire (650-700 degrees per the stovetop thermometer) and really get it going. I start small, add logs, and once they get to 550 or so, i tend to load the box up with wood. I give it another 15 minutes and make sure it's burning nicely from the bottom up, and once it's at 650-700 i close the damper and let it run overnight. During the day, I tend to it more so the temperature doesn't really drop much below 550 with the damper closed. If it does, I open it back up, let it get hot, add wood, and close it again.
I read something here about the opening in the flue collar that I will seal up could cause some creosote down low. So maybe that's not helping me either on top of less than ideally seasoned wood. When the damper is closed I hardly see smoke coming from the chimney.
Thanks for the tips. To answer some questions/comments.
Getting 2 year old wood near me is a near impossibility unless I cut it myself. Problem is, I only started cutting a year ago, so I can't make the time go any faster. Most dealers' wood is even less seasoned as mine....I know they cut and split it as recently as the summer. And yes, getting a hot, hot fire does reduce some of the black on the glass, but once I close the damper to let the EPA cat do its thing, it comes back. I do not get much hissing or water coming out of the logs...I've watched for that and mostly see none. I had some in September do that, but haven't seen it since. I tend to burn ash, maple, and hickory. I've been letting the oak sit as long as possible. The logs I'm splitting are from fallen, dead trees, or trees that were felled for a building site 18 months ago.
I have a bunch of stacks going so by next season, I should have wood that is seasoned 12-18 months and longer as time goes on. My stacks are spaced and in the sun/wind on pallets, under a lean-to.
I tend to burn a hot fire (650-700 degrees per the stovetop thermometer) and really get it going. I start small, add logs, and once they get to 550 or so, i tend to load the box up with wood. I give it another 15 minutes and make sure it's burning nicely from the bottom up, and once it's at 650-700 i close the damper and let it run overnight. During the day, I tend to it more so the temperature doesn't really drop much below 550 with the damper closed. If it does, I open it back up, let it get hot, add wood, and close it again.
I read something here about the opening in the flue collar that I will seal up could cause some creosote down low. So maybe that's not helping me either on top of less than ideally seasoned wood. When the damper is closed I hardly see smoke coming from the chimney.
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