Montpelier vermont castings insert

[Fire in RI]

Have a question about the air control lever on the left side. there is a groved out piece on that side which looks like the handle or lever would fit into. My handle is stopped by that groved out piece which is making me think that I cannot open the air control as far as it should be. I have seen other pictures on this forum that look like the handle is further over to the left than mine.

 

[fmer55]

same groove here........when to the left such as yours i am cranking

 

[fmer55]

whats an envi block? also, take a look at the 3 airholes on the bottom front brick. they clog real fast with ash. I used a mirror to see them, this prevents a hot fire

Envi block is a compressed wood block, there are others on the market, they have only a 6percent moisture content as opposed to 15-20 percent for "seasoned wood"......i highly recommend them if you are not burning two yr old wood which i ran out of.......was never able to get an overnight burn with a full fire box....would get 6 hrs tops....with the envis i can squak out 8 hrs....dont get me wrong with wood i always had coals to fire up in the am but witht he envis i lose 2-3 degrees by morning as opposed to 6-8 i used to lose with wood......AND NO, I DO NOT HAVE AN AFFILIATION WITHT THE COMPANY...HAHA....i just absolutley love my stove now that i am burning quality wood

 

[fmer55]

I leave the damper open, to the far left, for the time it takes to get a good burn, I only go to the mid point after I get it going, but this takes awhile, again the hotter the fire, the less glass darkening. but the manual states to close damper to the right after you get the fire going, so that makes the glass darken.

problem with the manual is they test in perfect conditions with ideal drafts and ideal wood.....you have to figure out what works for you, the manual can not tell you how good your wood or draft is........

 

[Fire in RI]

I found Enviro Logs in the Home Depot. They are made of wax cardboard particles. According to my dealer, shouldnt be used in an insert, the wax could clog the air tubes. The same goes for the Duraflame Stax logs, they are made of petroleum wax.

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

To the folks with darkening glass on the hinge-side:

Be observant of how you load your wood. I noticed I would get the same thing - the hinge-side would darken worse whenever I have such a problem. Then I noticed that I seem to have a natural tendency to load it lobsided - so there would be less air flow from the front to back of the stove along the hinge-side. To put it another way, I always seem have a bigger gap between the wood and the sidewall of the stove on the latch side, and less gap on the hinge-side.

I've tried centering the wood and it seems that the hinge-side burns better. Not sure though. You guys try it and see if you get the same results.

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Phil,

After reading your post I removed the metal plate underneath the cement plate just to see what was there. After replacing it I noticed it was kind of finicky about the tightening order of the screws.

You might try loosening the screws then tightening them one turn - then the next screw, one turn - next screw, one turn - and so on. I think what I ended up doing was, alternate tightening the two front screws, then tighten the last screw. Of course, all screws have to be started before you really tighten anything. If that metal plate is high on one end the air will take the path of least resistance and ignore the area where the plate is tightened the most.

 

[fmer55]

I found Enviro Logs in the Home Depot. They are made of wax cardboard particles. According to my dealer, shouldnt be used in an insert, the wax could clog the air tubes. The same goes for the Duraflame Stax logs, they are made of petroleum wax.

wrong logs.......google them.....they are envi.....or envi 8 are the smalled ones.....they are made form 100 percent hardwoods leftovers from flooring, and also have been tested and have 0 glue unlike someother wood blocks

 

[pcouton]

Very good suggestion to re-tighten those screws in sequence. I'll try as soon as the current cold snap is over.

And we too blackened that window when I followed the suggestions in the manual. The only way to keep it relatively clean is to burn hot, flue completely open for at least 30 minutes, with good wood.

Phil

 

[fmer55]

wanted to post a pic of the stove after three weeks of no glass cleaning.....not sure how good you can see but this is a direct result of burning the envi blocks, i just love them, and swear am not in any way shape or form involved witht he company

 

[KaptJaq]

This is my second season with a VC Montpelier insert. It is located in the center of the main floor. There is about 750 sq ft of open floor plan on one side and about 700 sq ft of divided into 4 rooms on the other. When I burn "good" wood and the outside conditions are not extreme the stove keeps the house comfortable. If the highs for the day are less than 20 degrees or there is a strong north wind it needs a little help from our Godin coal stove downstairs.

With dry wood the window stays pretty clear, a little gray ash that wipes off with a damp cloth. It is very sensitive to poor quality wood, much less heat and the window browns over quickly. Most of what I am burning was standing dead wood (red oak) that was cut and split during the late spring.

The only problem I've had is the fan, it sometimes gets a little noisy. I've managed to tweak it a little and eliminated the vibration noise but one of the bearings has gotten a little loud. During my weekly cleanup, when I remove the ash and clean the viewing window, I put a little oil on the bearings, a tiny drop of 3 in 1 30 weight. That keeps them quiet for a while. If I do it each week I'm fine. Does anybody know if these bearing are supposed to be oiled, I see nothing in the manual. If so, what is the proper way to oil them? I cannot find a lubricant reservoir.

Thanx for any help...

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Envi blocks? Doesn't NY have trees?

I suppose if I lived in a concrete jungle I'd think the envi-blocks were a brilliant idea. But getting the fuel is 3/4s of the appeal of getting a wood burner - and I didn't have going to the store in mind.

That said, it is good to know that Envi-blocks work so well. There may come a day when I'll need 'em.

 

[fmer55]

aaarrrrrrggghhhhhhhhh.....captain jack has spoken.......fact of the matter is wood is stacked and seasoning, is but a mere fix to get me through the end of the year as i gather cut and stack, and the wife will tend tot eh fire with bricks but woun't touch "buggy, dirty wood".....only me second year burning capt jack, still catching up

 

[Greensburg]

Hello,

I am new to a Vermont Casting Montpelier insert and I have found these posts to be extremely helpful. I have had my insert in about a week now and I have been very happy with the amount of heat I get from the unit. I am having trouble keeping the glass from getting dirty on the hinge side of the unit. I will try some of the suggestions above tonight (ie. different wood; air leakage around the hinges, etc..) and I hope to have better luck. I have found that cleaning the glass is very easy with a sharp razor blade.. Glass looks perfect when finished, but am I doing damage? Please let me know your thoughts on this method. Also, is there a good cleaning solution that can clean the glass without using a blade?

 

[fmer55]

i too, wonder if i am doing damge when i used to clean the glass. i always used plain old windex and it did the trick, but never heard of anyone using windex and still wonder if there is somehting wrong with using it. does it break down the gaskets, etc, but i never had such a buildup that a razor was necessary, but i do not think there is any damgae being done.....good luck witht he monte

 

[jocam]

Cleaning the glass is easy. Just take a sheet of newspaper, crumple and dip in water then in some of the ash in your insert. Then rub the glass . It will make it smeary looking. Then take a second dry piece of newspaper, crumple and wipe it clean. It works like magic. No razor blades or Windex is required.

 

[fmer55]

have always been afraid of dipping a paper towel in my ash, i prefer two-ply

 

[wkpoor]

I have a couple observations. 1st Montpelier is the same place the Elm is made. There must be a conection somehow.
2nd why are people who buy expensive name brand stoves having glass get dirty issues and the glass on the cheapest china built stoves on the market stays perfectly clear at all times. Shouldn't it be the other way around.

 

[rover47]

This is the second season for the Montpelier. Last year with wood that was "susposed" to be seasoned would foul up the glass real easy. This year with the same wood but seasoned another year and you get clean glass! All I get is a light fogging and some build up after three or four days burning. What I found the best to clean the glass is some water and this sponge that is susposed to be used to remove pet hair from furniture. It has just a fine grain to it just enough to clean the glass and then wipe with a newspaper or paper towel.
My blower is not noisy at all. It does seem to be quieter once the stove is good and hot. The thing I do need to check is dog hair getting on the screens on the blower. Dogs and cats are sacked out in front all the time. I'm going to try and figure out some kind of filter to put on the bottom doors that swing out.
We love to let it burn doen to just coals and cook hot dogs in the stove ;-)

 

[renure]

I dont't know but we use the same wood from the same pile in both our Jotul and our VC but the VC is the only one with this problem. The Jotul's glass hasn't been cleaned all season and this wood is good. I also think the VC is harder to start from a cold start. The Jotul starts right up. The VC needs more coddling.

 

[newdog]

I just had the VC Montpelier installed last Tuesday into a 50+ year old fireplace. I purchased the Montpelier because of the flush installation (small living room). Chose the Georgian surround because of the size of the fireplace. My impressions so far: Great little wood stove (insert)! I finally used it full bore after 5 break in fires. During the break in period the fan came on after about 20 minutes each time. There was a little bit of vibration noise because of the way the fan housing is attached to the stove. To stop the vibration I wedged a small steel clip between the housing and stove and presto it was incredibly quiet. I heat with oil and keep the heat on 65F all winter. Within an hour the house temperature was up to 73F. Three pieces of wood burned for about 5 hours. I put another piece in when I went to bed and the insert was still warm in the a.m. My house is only about 1000 sq feet and I expect to be able to reduce my oil bill substantially next winter (tired of being cold all winter). I was torn between this stove and the Morso 5660na and went with this one because I really liked the look of it. I have not heated with a stove since I lived in my old house almost 20 years ago and was amazed by the improved technology.

 

[DanCorcoran]

My owner's manual specifically says not to use a razor blade or other sharp object to clean the "glass" (it isn't), as it will scratch over time. Wet paper towels dipped in ash work just fine for me.

 

[SolarBrian]

Looking forward to joining the Montpelier crew. I'm been thinking about buying this insert for almost 2 years now. Finally decided to pull the trigger last month. I was scheduled to have it installed on December 6th, but 2 inches of rain + a couple inches of snow on the ground the night before derailed that plan. The installer tried to get the lift (for liner install) across the lawn but ended up leaving some nice tire trenches before giving up.

So now I'm waiting for the 20th and hoping the weather cooperates and freezes the ground. I'll post some pics as soon as the insert is roaring.

 

[SolarBrian]

Does anyone have a photo of the Monty with the 3" extension kit (extends the entier insert 3 inches out from the fireplace)?

I'm frustrated with my store/installer. They just now realized that I don't have enough clearance to the mantel trim to install the Montpelier. Nevermind that its been measured twice (once by me and once by them) with that dimension, or that they already came out to install it, but because of the 2" of rain the night before, they gave up on the install that day...

Anyway, I noticed the 3" extension kit reduces the mantel/trim clearance from 47.5" to 36.5". Looks like we have enough hearth to use this extender. I'm just concerned about the looks. A photo would be great to set my mind as ease.

Or should I give up and look at another insert. Even with modifying the trim I'm not sure I can get to 47.5" clearance. Are there other inserts that require less clearance (perhaps via heat shield)?

 

[SolarBrian]

So the Monty was finally installed and we had the first break in fire this afternoon. I couldn't find photos of the extension kit we needed anyway prior to the install, but I was pleasantly surprised. The 3" extension kit looks great!

Before:
(broken image removed)

After / Break-in fire 1:
(broken image removed)

Montpelier 3" extension kit:
(broken image removed)