2nd winter with VC Vigilant

[MontanaLife]

Hi all. Well I'm coming to the end of my 2nd winter with my VC Vigilant. I like the little stove, but I just don't seem able to keep my house warm enough . We burn fir and larch and pine. It's what's available, and it's well seasoned.
My house is 1154 sq feet, with a great room and 1 bedroom upstairs. Ceilings are 22 ft high. We do use a ceiling fan. Newer house, built in 2017. Gambrell type roof. NW Montana. Used 5 cords so far this year; have to chop it fairly small to keep the fire going hot. We burn it with all the drafts open almost 24/7.
I'm debating getting a larger stove. My daughter gas an old Blaze King King 40 that heats 2k sq ft. I'm thinking of getting one.
Am I doing something wrong? Should I get the Blaze King?

 

[begreen]

The Vigilant is a strong heater. Please clarify one thing -

We burn it with all the drafts open almost 24/7.

Is the stove being run with the bypass open or closed. If open, the stove will produce a lot less heat. Instead, a lot of the heat is heading up the flue. This is important to know first. Also, how well seasoned is the firewood? If it is fully seasoned, then it should not have to be split small. What temperature is the Vigilant burning at?

BK stoves are great, however, in this circumstance, if a Blaze King stove has to be run wide open, it will not perform better than a conventional secondary tube stove. The secondary stove will have a higher top end because it is not thermostatically regulated. I would opt for something that takes large splits and puts out more BTUs.

Is the Vigilant on a 6" or 8" flue system?

 

[MontanaLife]

I leave the bypass open most of the time. It seems like the fire dies when I shut it down.
The firewood is cut standing dead fir or larch, stored in my large shop. The VC has a thermometer about 8" up the pipe and to get it to 400+ we have to leave it opened up. I believe it's 8" pipe.

 

[begreen]

This sounds like damp wood or a clogged stove. Standing dead does not ensure dry wood. With a tall, straight up flue, that stove should be glowing red the way the operation is being described. It should burn really well with that length flue and the bypass closed. Something is not right. Is there a screen on the on the chimney cap? If there is, that should be checked for plugging. Is the thermostat working correctly?

Is the stove pipe single wall? That too can be part of the problem. Single-wall stove pipe will lose a ton of heat over 22'. Enough of a loss to cause serious creosote accumulation at the top of the flue system. When was it last cleaned?

 

[begreen]

Also, has the stove ever been cleaned? If not, the secondary combustion passage behind the fireback may be clogged with ash that needs to be cleaned out.

 

[MontanaLife]

This sounds like damp wood or a clogged stove. Standing dead does not ensure dry wood. With a tall, straight up flue, that stove should be glowing red the way the operation is being described. It should burn really well with that length flue and the bypass closed. Something is not right. Is there a screen on the on the chimney cap? If there is, that should be checked for plugging. Is the thermostat working correctly?

Is the stove pipe single wall? That too can be part of the problem. Single-wall stove pipe will lose a ton of heat over 22'. Enough of a loss to cause serious creosote accumulation at the top of the flue system. When was it last cleaned?

Not clogged. Not damp wood. I only close the bypass at night. The thermostat seems to work properly. The stove pipe is triple wall I believe, also believe that us what's required by law here. Cleaned last year after burning season.

 

[MontanaLife]

Also, has the stove ever been cleaned? If not, the secondary combustion passage behind the fireback may be clogged with ash that needs to be cleaned out.

Yes it's been cleaned, both when it was refurbished and when I bought it.

 

[begreen]

That's good. If properly rebuilt, it should be heating strongly with the baffle closed. Make sure the little side port door (secondary cover) is open. FWIW, My brother ran his Vigilant at about 650-700º on cold winter nights. At that temperature it was strongly radiant.

 

[MontanaLife]

That's good. If properly rebuilt, it should be heating strongly with the baffle closed. Make sure the little side port door (secondary cover) is open. FWIW, My brother ran his Vigilant at about 650-700º on cold winter nights. At that temperature it was strongly radiant.

Maybe because the gaskets are in bad shape?

 

[begreen]

Usually leaky gaskets cause the stove to burn too hot. If the stove was rebuilt, the gaskets should have been replaced.

 

[stovelark]

I'm with BG, sounds like damp wood. Don't understand why folks associate fallen wood with being dry. Still needs C/S/S and drying.
Is this the flexburn (neverburn) version of VC? The passages in back of secondary chamber do need to be cleaned out each year, not a premium design, wetter wood would of course make it hard to heat properly. STT? Heard 400+ on flue pipe, but if bypass is open, thats not high temp at all. Fire would die down initially when bypass is closed, then gradually build back up if stove is running ok. I'd point at the wood as the real issue. But I'm always for someone getting a new stove, ha so you'll love the BK too. Gotta have good dry wood though or its a waste of money... Stay warm.

 

[kborndale]

You say your wood is dry, how do you determine that?