2023/24 VC owners thread general discussion

[Woodsplitter67]

Heres what my stove looked like this morning.. This stove was loaded last night at 7pm for the overnight burn. I loaded it up really good. 2 of the splits were really heavy like 18lbs a pice not including the others that were put in. The wood was oak and super dense coming from a croch area. At 7.45 this morning this was what was in my stove.. thats 12.75 hours of burn.. I was happy with this

 

[arnermd]

So I did my 42 day stove and chimney inspection today. The ice on the roof thawed and temps got up to 35f outside.
Chimney system looks fine see photos. I'm not even going to sweep it. View attachment 323366View attachment 323365
The cap however..... good grief. All gummed up with tar and creosote. This is after 42 days of solid burning and the catalyst engaged all the time. I scrubbed the heck out of it with acid last time and again today.
View attachment 323363View attachment 323364

Pipe looks super clean to me..... even for the hot section. The cap not so much.... but as woodsplitter said the cold sections are where you see it because that's where you get the condensation. I always see the heaviest buildup by far in the top 6" of my liner, where it is coldest.

I wonder if a bigger, more open cap would reduce some of that buildup.... give the moisture more time to dissipate into the air before condensing on the cap? or maybe it would make it worse as the cap would be colder.... Not sure. I would defer to an expert.

FYI.... there will always be some moisture in the exhaust, even if you had 0% MC wood. Moisture is just a byproduct of combustion, nothing you can do about it. However burning higher MC wood increases the moisture content in the exhaust (obviously) so it is a question of degree....

 

[arnermd]

Heres what my stove looked like this morning.. This stove was loaded last night at 7pm for the overnight burn. I loaded it up really good. 2 of the splits were really heavy like 18lbs a pice not including the others that were put in. The wood was oak and super dense coming from a croch area. At 7.45 this morning this was what was in my stove.. thats 12.75 hours of burn.. I was happy with this

View attachment 323412

Air setting? What was STT and Cat temp? I think any of us would be pretty happy with that....

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Air setting? What was STT and Cat temp? I think any of us would be pretty happy with that....

So air was cut back 100%right away cat temperature was already at 1100.. it took a little bit but by 8.45pm the cat was at 1437 and holding steady.. it sat there and sat there.. I finally wet to bed.. when I woke up the living room was 67 and the cat temperature was 392.. I waited a while and did my reload.. I dont really look at stove temp.. I look at house and cat, stovepipe..

 

[Eman85]

So air was cut back 100%right away cat temperature was already at 1100.. it took a little bit but by 8.45pm the cat was at 1437 and holding steady.. it sat there and sat there.. I finally wet to bed.. when I woke up the living room was 67 and the cat temperature was 392.. I waited a while and did my reload.. I dont really look at stove temp.. I look at house and cat, stovepipe..

My last night's burn was similar. It was cold yesterday high in the 20's and prediction for last night was for zero or below. We went out for supper so when we cam home I did an early reload, I wanted some temp while we sat around. At my reload time of 10PM my cat was around 1000 so I packed the load and closed the air. It behaved well and maxxed out just shy of 1400. This morning cat was about 400 when I opened the air to burn the coals down. House was warm as the thermostat is in the stove room and I had it set high enough that it would kick the heat on, STT was in the 300's outside temp was 4. 21 days since I lit the fire and it still going strong. My couple of time where the cat got past 1400 I was late at turning the air down. I wish there was a little more room to play between heat in the room and overheating the cat. I like it when the load does it's thing and the cat drops then I can open the air, heat the room and the cat rises very controllably.

 

[NewGuy132]

Spent last week at deer camp in Texas. It was my first time down there and my friend is on the lease. To my surprise there was a wood stove there. It actually got really cold there last week (lows in the teens highs in the low 30's) for a few days. I stepped up to be the guy running the stove. It was a Hearthstone. I'm not sure of the model, but I think that they are all the same, just different sizes. That thing ran like a top. It had obviously never been run properly (the building was built in April). After a bit we started getting the smell of it burning off all of the crap because it had never been run that hot. We ran it for probably 36 hours on 1 light, then we didn't need it.

I got home on Friday and started the VC up on Sunday and while it ran well, they absolutely run differently. It also could have been the fact that my stove is tiny compared to the Hearthstone at the camp so once it was up and going it would run longer and more constant.

 

[GrumpyDad]

This past weekend was cold. No degrees plus a brisk wind. Almost 2' of snow. I was too lazy to replenish the deck face cord rack, or the inside racks, so I just dragged bundles as needed to keep the stove running and had it running fairly low.
To my surprise, I was still able to keep our stove room at 71 and neighboring room at 67-68. The wood seemed to last forever. My wife loves running the fireplace but doesnt like to do the labor to get the wood. I demonstrated for her a couple of weeks ago the amount of wood that the fireplace chewed through vs the wood stove.
Over on an inside pile was 48 pieces of wood. They were tossing in 2 pieces basically every half hour from breakfast to bedtime.
Over on pile next to the fireplace pile was the wood stove pile of what I put in the stove in the same amount of time. The stove was being loaded up in the morning at the same time as the fireplace was started. So while not cold, it was down to mostly big chunks of the cherry red coals and the STT was at around 450. The wood stove pile was 11 pieces. 6 for the morning reload (it may have been 7). And the rest were loaded in after dinner which was still going when I packed the stove up at bedtime which was around 12:30a. Now the wood stove pieces were about 20% bigger than the fireplace pieces in general. That said, the wood stove actually heated the room it was purchased for, and helped the rooms adjacent. In fact I swear when that fireplace is going, that room is colder than if it wasnt running and I just had the wood stove running. Im sure there's some science to consider there but, my wife was unphased by her strong will to see a fire in the fireplace. Thankfully the fireplace is a once maybe twice a week thing.

 

[arnermd]

This past weekend was cold. No degrees plus a brisk wind. Almost 2' of snow. I was too lazy to replenish the deck face cord rack, or the inside racks, so I just dragged bundles as needed to keep the stove running and had it running fairly low.
To my surprise, I was still able to keep our stove room at 71 and neighboring room at 67-68. The wood seemed to last forever. My wife loves running the fireplace but doesnt like to do the labor to get the wood. I demonstrated for her a couple of weeks ago the amount of wood that the fireplace chewed through vs the wood stove.
Over on an inside pile was 48 pieces of wood. They were tossing in 2 pieces basically every half hour from breakfast to bedtime.
Over on pile next to the fireplace pile was the wood stove pile of what I put in the stove in the same amount of time. The stove was being loaded up in the morning at the same time as the fireplace was started. So while not cold, it was down to mostly big chunks of the cherry red coals and the STT was at around 450. The wood stove pile was 11 pieces. 6 for the morning reload (it may have been 7). And the rest were loaded in after dinner which was still going when I packed the stove up at bedtime which was around 12:30a. Now the wood stove pieces were about 20% bigger than the fireplace pieces in general. That said, the wood stove actually heated the room it was purchased for, and helped the rooms adjacent. In fact I swear when that fireplace is going, that room is colder than if it wasnt running and I just had the wood stove running. Im sure there's some science to consider there but, my wife was unphased by her strong will to see a fire in the fireplace. Thankfully the fireplace is a once maybe twice a week thing.

I think it is entirely possible the fireplace makes the house colder. There is so much air running up the chimney it has to come from somewhere, unless you bring in outside air to the fireplace. The air coming in leaks in at the edges of the house and those areas will be colder. I think the fireplace only warms what is directly in front of it via radiation. Wood stove is way better.....

A few pieces of wood once a week is a small price to pay to keep the wife happy...... consider it an investment in your future.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I think it is entirely possible the fireplace makes the house colder. There is so much air running up the chimney it has to come from somewhere, unless you bring in outside air to the fireplace. The air coming in leaks in at the edges of the house and those areas will be colder. I think the fireplace only warms what is directly in front of it via radiation. Wood stove is way better.....

A few pieces of wood once a week is a small price to pay to keep the wife happy...... consider it an investment in your future.

yea the 12" flue of the fireplace is probably causing more problems than good. If it were really really cold (like -30) that fireplace flue would be shut, the stove would be roaring and I'd have two pedestal fans pushing cold air toward the stove room.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

so.. iv been burning cherry with the warmth weather

 

[JohnDaileyNH]

I'm burning cherry pellets

 

[sargeott]

I love the smell of cherry

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I'm burning cherry pellets

View attachment 323885

I dont have a pellet smoker.. but I do have a large offset stick burner.. Oak is mostly what I do.. I do add cherry and hickory here and there.. smoking is the shiznit..

Looks good @JohnDaileyNH .. what temperature did you pull it at

I did this the other week this was like 8lbs of burnt ends.. we ate this for days

 

[JohnDaileyNH]

Did it at 250 till it got to 160 internal then wrapped it in foil and kept it at 250 until internal was 205.

Pellets are so easy. Its almost not fair to call it cooking. I love burnt ends. This will be my lunch for the week

 

[sargeott]

Well folks, after spending a few nights in our new place. We are making runs back and forth from the cabin, I am down to my last few fires ever with this VC Duantless.
The new place has a Intertek Monia pellet stove. Load pellets, set the temp and walk the heck away!! It has an eco mode, programable timers and just sips on pellets.
After we get fully moved I will be selling this VC. I hope whoever buys it from me has good luck with it.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

sory to see u go

 

[sargeott]

sory to see u go

I will still lurk and watch all of your Shenanagins. Yall have passed along some great infomation. This place is one of the last great forums left on the Interwebs.

 

[NewGuy132]

Did a mid season sweep/checkup the other day. I haven't been burning too much this year, but I got about a cup and a half of garbage out of the chimney. That is by far the least I have ever gotten. I took a look at my cat after it got up to 1850 the other day. It looked good as new. I think that I am finally getting this stove figured out. Also it helps that the wood I'm burning has been stacked for 2 years at this point.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Did a mid season sweep/checkup the other day. I haven't been burning too much this year, but I got about a cup and a half of garbage out of the chimney. That is by far the least I have ever gotten. I took a look at my cat after it got up to 1850 the other day. It looked good as new. I think that I am finally getting this stove figured out. Also it helps that the wood I'm burning has been stacked for 2 years at this point.

Thats good news about the stovepipe.. I may be burning a record low amount of wood this year.. I might not even burn 3 cords to heat my home for the season.. Im not surenif its just me and how Im running the stove or its just been warm..

 

[sargeott]

Thats good news about the stovepipe.. I may be burning a record low amount of wood this year.. I might not even burn 3 cords to heat my home for the season.. Im not surenif its just me and how Im running the stove or its just been warm..

Its been warm. Usually by this time I have killed 4 cords compaired to last year.
Then again, I was very unfamiliar with my VC at this point, so that could have been a factor. I am burning more frequently, just not as hot as last year. 3 Cords down now.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Its been warm. Usually by this time I have killed 4 cords compaired to last year.
Then again, I was very unfamiliar with my VC at this point, so that could have been a factor. I am burning more frequently, just not as hot as last year. 3 Cords down now.

im not even at 2 cords yet

 

[JohnDaileyNH]

im not even at 2 cords yet

I've put about 3 thru probably. Been pretty mild outside of 1 week really

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Not matter how little I burn it doesn't matter.. I really dont have any heating expenses.. My wood is free and my homes super warm..

I dont know if its just Im better at burning or its just a little warmer.. or a combination

 

[sargeott]

Not matter how little I burn it doesn't matter.. I really dont have any heating expenses.. My wood is free and my homes super warm..

I dont know if its just Im better at burning or its just a little warmer.. or a combination

Plus you just refreshed your stove with new gaskets etc. so that could be a helping factor.

 

[arnermd]

Metal cat showing signs of distress..... been about 1.25 seasons. About the samelife I get out of my cremics.