2020/21 VC Owners thread

[RandyBoBandy]

Looks like the forecast craped out on me.. they were calling for 5 to 8 inches.. They are saying the rain snow line moved up farther north.. Looks like I moved 6 machines and got 8 plow trucks for nothing.. Another snow disappointment..

This is my last year plowing. I’m tired of being a slave to the forecast for not a whole lot of return. I would much rather spend some quality time at my cabin during the winter.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

This is my last year plowing. I’m tired of being a slave to the forecast for not a whole lot of return. I would much rather spend some quality time at my cabin during the winter.

Its worth it to me as I'm on a larger scale and when it snows its worth it.. I dont like storms like this.. its iffy, I may work. I just wish it was like 25 out.. light wind and get a quick 6 inches, and be done in 10 hours

 

[Reckless]

Anyone else got a wood inspector? Every bin I bring in gets a sniff

 

[Diabel]

She is checking the moisture content.

 

[trispad]

Hello All,

Wondering if anybody has a proven method for testing a bimetal thermostat in a Vermont castings model 1975 (2n1) that does not require stove teardown. In my stove getting to the thermostat requires removing the top and internal air passage castings (I have heard older models had a simple cap to expose the bimetal). I tried removing the thermostat handle and heating the shaft with a propane torch, no movement from the air inlet damper. Not sure that method would be effective as the bimetal is a huge fin, not sure I can pump enough heat into the shaft to heat the bimetal coil.

I would prefer to heat the coil directly, but I can't get to it without a partial teardown.....

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

A day late and a dollar short... did you ever find a solution? Did you try heating from the inside? Not sure if you can remove the right air manifold without removing a lot of other stuff. If it is helpful attached is the service manual, it says Encore, but also includes the Defiant.

 

[frased]

Chimney fire last night.

I thought something was "off" when I had everything aired down and still saw a small flame. Should have taken the warning signs more seriously.

Had 3 pieces of oak like normal. CAT alarm went off after a while. Opened cat air to cool it. Went upstairs for a minute and fire shot up chimney. I could hear the rumble. Ran back down.

Came downstairs and fire was raging! Chimney fire had begun and smoke was billowing out pipe. Time for immediate action. Had to open a window, and remove 3 flaming pieces 1 at a time. Chuck out the window into the snow. Chimney fire slowly stopped and chimney temp came down.

I just checked the cooled stove and all seems to be operating normal. Checked gaskets and no apparent leaks. Did new door and griddle gaskets last year.

I'm starting to wonder if I didn't close the ash pan door 100% perfectly. Hmmmmm. One thing about this 2550 if you have 1 small tiny air penetration anywhere it seems to have a mind of its own.

Attached pic of coals in bottom of stove. The entire bottom of my stove coal bed was RED RED hot. I've never seen the coal bed so RED.

Sorta nervous about my next burn now.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Clean your chimney... I just did mine last week after burning on low alot. It was pretty clean but still doesn't hurt to run the brush down the pipe where there's a break in the weather... I got the soot eatter I do a cleaning like mid season and end of the year.. was like 125 bucks.. Most issues are either a maintenance or user related..

here's a pick of my stove last night

BTW... sorry to hear.. that pretty much sucks...

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Chimney fire last night.

I thought something was "off" when I had everything aired down and still saw a small flame. Should have taken the warning
Had 3 pieces of oak like normal. CAT alarm went off after a while. Opened cat air to cool it. Went upstairs for a minute and fire shot up chimney. I could hear the rumble. Ran back down.

Came downstairs and fire was raging! Chimney fire had begun and smoke was billowing out pipe. Time for immediate action. Had to open a window, and remove 3 flaming pieces 1 at a time. Chuck out the window into the snow. Chimney fire slowly stopped and chimney temp came down.

I just checked the cooled stove and all seems to be operating normal. Checked gaskets and no apparent leaks. Did new door and griddle gaskets last year.

I'm starting to wonder if I didn't close the ash pan door 100% perfectly. Hmmmmm. One thing about this 2550 if you have 1 small tiny air penetration anywhere it seems to have a mind of its own.

Attached pic of coals in bottom of stove. The entire bottom of my stove coal bed was RED RED hot. I've never seen the coal bed so RED.

Sorta nervous about my next burn now.

View attachment 269694

Do you leave an ash bed in the firebox? There are (2) epa holes just behind the front legs that feed air into the ash pan.

 

[frased]

Do you leave an ash bed in the firebox? There are (2) epa holes just behind the front legs that feed air into the ash pan.

not really I emptied stove about 24-36 hrs before the event. Do I need to empty daily during steady burns?

I’ve just never seen my coal bed so blazing red

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I leave a solid 2” sometimes 3” layer of ash in the stove at all times. This helps keeps any air leaks from the ashpan door or the epa holes from having much influence on the burn.

 

[Diabel]

I leave a solid 2” sometimes 3” layer of ash in the stove at all times. This helps keeps any air leaks from the ashpan door or the epa holes from having much influence on the burn.

^^^^
what he said!

 

[frased]

^^^^
what he said!

I leave a solid 2” sometimes 3” layer of ash in the stove at all times. This helps keeps any air leaks from the ashpan door or the epa holes from having much influence on the burn.

And here I am thinking I was doing good by “cleaning out” the stove completely every few days.
So what I’m hearing is empty the ash pan like normal. Scoop out extreme extra ash. But leave the ash bed that forms around sides/back/ and front epa areas?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Usually I just empty the ashpan every few days and just stir things up to get the ash to fall down into the empty pan. I don’t even worry about shoveling anything out. However, my ashpan door has a bad spot in the gasket and I have had zero time to do any gasket work so I’ve left the pan completely full and have been shoveling out ash when it gets to deep.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

So to answer your question, yes. Leave a bed of ash in the stove. Let us know how that works for you.

 

[Reckless]

So to answer your question, yes. Leave a bed of ash in the stove. Let us know how that works for you.

I only empty my pan when the ash reaches the door and only then do I dump the tray but I leave the bed of ash to fall through on its own. If you left the pan open and it was fairly empty it would have created the roar and gotten hot enough to ignite anything in it’s way. Mine becomes a blast furnace pretty quick when I open the ash door to help a fire get going. Glad you caught it pretty quick, do you have a liner? You might want to check it for damage.

 

[frased]

I have an 8" insulated selkirk stainless chimney. But my first few feet (where the chimney fire was flaming) was in the initial non insulated double wall pipe coming off the stove. Luckily it wasn't going long before I was on top of it. My pipe thermometer was half way into the RED. But not buried. Although it didn't need to be it was growling/smoking/rumbling at me!

Thanks for the tips all. I literally was emptying and fully cleaning out all ash in my stove after a few days. I have noticed in the past when the ash has really built up in the stove its very calm and easier to maintain.

Same here if I open my ash door during a fire for empty it rages!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I have an 8" insulated selkirk stainless chimney. But my first few feet (where the chimney fire was flaming) was in the initial non insulated double wall pipe coming off the stove. Luckily it wasn't going long before I was on top of it. My pipe thermometer was half way into the RED. But not buried. Although it didn't need to be it was growling/smoking/rumbling at me!

Thanks for the tips all. I literally was emptying and fully cleaning out all ash in my stove after a few days. I have noticed in the past when the ash has really built up in the stove its very calm and easier to maintain.

Same here if I open my ash door during a fire for empty it rages!

I also have an 8in double wall pipe and the same single wall adapter.. The 8in will draft hard when the pipe gets warm. I leave ash in the bottom also after a clean out. My stack isn't very tall like 15ft total. Im burning pretty clean but still clean 2xs a year to be on the safe side in case of user error. Glad you made out ok..

 

[frased]

I also have an 8in double wall pipe and the same single wall adapter.. The 8in will draft hard when the pipe gets warm. I leave ash in the bottom also after a clean out. My stack isn't very tall like 15ft total. Im burning pretty clean but still clean 2xs a year to be on the safe side in case of user error. Glad you made out ok..

We have a 56 degree day coming Xmas day in MA. Going to jump up on the roof and clean the chimney while I have the opportunity.

 

[Jimmy C]

I leave a solid 2” sometimes 3” layer of ash in the stove at all times. This helps keeps any air leaks from the ashpan door or the epa holes from having much influence on the burn.

This is an interesting idea. Ive noticed my burns are less likely to become volatile with a thick ash layer. Also it will insulates the coals for a long time. But what about when your starting a new fire? Or need to get more air for a full load?

 

[Jimmy C]

Chimney fire last night.

I thought something was "off" when I had everything aired down and still saw a small flame. Should have taken the warning signs more seriously.

Had 3 pieces of oak like normal. CAT alarm went off after a while. Opened cat air to cool it. Went upstairs for a minute and fire shot up chimney. I could hear the rumble. Ran back down.

Came downstairs and fire was raging! Chimney fire had begun and smoke was billowing out pipe. Time for immediate action. Had to open a window, and remove 3 flaming pieces 1 at a time. Chuck out the window into the snow. Chimney fire slowly stopped and chimney temp came down.

I just checked the cooled stove and all seems to be operating normal. Checked gaskets and no apparent leaks. Did new door and griddle gaskets last year.

I'm starting to wonder if I didn't close the ash pan door 100% perfectly. Hmmmmm. One thing about this 2550 if you have 1 small tiny air penetration anywhere it seems to have a mind of its own.

Attached pic of coals in bottom of stove. The entire bottom of my stove coal bed was RED RED hot. I've never seen the coal bed so RED.

Sorta nervous about my next burn now.

View attachment 269694

What temps did your CAT hit?

 

[Woodsplitter67]

This is an interesting idea. Ive noticed my burns are less likely to become volatile with a thick ash layer. Also it will insulates the coals for a long time. But what about when your starting a new fire? Or need to get more air for a full load?

When starting a new fire I normally rake some of the ash into the pan. One of 2 things normally happen.. If its not really cold I rake the ash and start a new fire. The other is its cold and just keep the fire going for days and let the ash build up. If I rake the ash I leave about .5 inch of ash. This keep the heat up in the box and and keeps the stove temp up. I find that if I completely clean the ash out it takes longer to get the stove up to temp and get the cat to light off.

 

[Jimmy C]

When starting a new fire I normally rake some of the ash into the pan. One of 2 things normally happen.. If its not really cold I rake the ash and start a new fire. The other is its cold and just keep the fire going for days and let the ash build up. If I rake the ash I leave about .5 inch of ash. This keep the heat up in the box and and keeps the stove temp up. I find that if I completely clean the ash out it takes longer to get the stove up to temp and get the cat to light off.

I always figured I was helping the CAT light off by raking ash and getting more air in. If I am starting a new fire in a cold stove, I rake pretty much all the ash to isolate unburned fuel. If I still have enough coals to fill it full (usually after 8 hours or less) I kind of just push the coals in the back towards the throat hood. It seems to help cat take back off, but I don't want to break them up. So I all the coals in the front go to the back and the front gets raked down to the grate.

I'm usually having to start a fire from a cold stove every few days or so when I just didn't get to the stove in over 10 hours for whatever reason. This is when I would rake out all of the ash to start a fire from scratch and isolate unburned coals. Times when I have a thick, consistent bed of ash, is when I have been burning for like a week or more without having to rebuild a fire.

 

[frased]

What temps did your CAT hit?

My alarm is set to 1800... and it’s only hit that 2-3 times in the past 2 seasons.

Cat usually is at proper temps.

 

[frased]

When starting a new fire I normally rake some of the ash into the pan. One of 2 things normally happen.. If its not really cold I rake the ash and start a new fire. The other is its cold and just keep the fire going for days and let the ash build up. If I rake the ash I leave about .5 inch of ash. This keep the heat up in the box and and keeps the stove temp up. I find that if I completely clean the ash out it takes longer to get the stove up to temp and get the cat to light off.

Quick question starting a from cold stove... a fresh new fire do you empty the pan completely? Trying to picture the 5 inches in bottom of stove.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

This is an interesting idea. Ive noticed my burns are less likely to become volatile with a thick ash layer. Also it will insulates the coals for a long time. But what about when your starting a new fire? Or need to get more air for a full load?

I have been able to kindle a fire back to life with a coal buried in the ash 27 hours after my last reload. I’m am by no means calling this a 27 hour burn. I’m just supporting the insulation factor of ash. If I do have to start a new fire from scratch I use the top down method with my largest pieces on the bottom and progressively getting smaller as I load the firebox. I always start new fires and reloads with the primary air fully open. No need for anymore air than that.