Resolute Acclaim Rebuild

[ebarrieau]

Hi all!

First off I wanted to say thank you to all who add to this community, this is my first post, but I have been reading the forums since I bought my new house that has a wood stove (two months or so) and have learned quite a bit about wood burning and about my stove. Now on to my question and plan.

I have a Resolute Acclaim 0041 manufactured in January 1992. I know of all of the problems related to this stove, but I didn't buy it and unfortunately I don't have the money to replace it before this heating season. Before my ownership this stove was rebuilt with the kit that turns the interior into a Resolute Acclaim 2490 with the fire brick kits, etc. Based on the bolt pattern on the support plates for the arch bricks (socket head bolts instead of countersink bolts) this rebuild was done before 2013 when the design changed.

I have already replaced the refractory combustion package, and am replacing all of the firebricks and gaskets since they are all broken clean in half. I will update this thread with pictures as I go.

My question to the group is, what joints inside the unit need to be sealed with cement? The joints around the edges where the plates meet obviously need cement (the cracked remnants of the old cement were removed when I cleaned out the unit), but what about between the pit plate and the bottom? This part had broken cement all around the edges, so I feel that I should put cement there when I put it back, but if this is sealed off completely I am unsure how the air will actually make it from the primary source into the stove. If anyone has insight on this I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[woodstovelover]

I have this exact stove 1992, 0041 Resolute Acclaim. I've been using it for 27 years straight with no issues. I guess its a function of me never over firing the stove. Everything is original on the stove except for gaskets. I was curious how your rebuild turned out? Does your stove have the shaker grates with the removable handle?

 

[woodstovelover]

Actually its a 1991 not 1992

 

[ebarrieau]

Hey woodstovelover!

Its been a couple months since the rebuild and I am very happy with this so far. I ended up completely disassembling the internals, wire brushed everything, inspected everything for cracks, reassembled with tons of stove cement and all new gaskets.

I do not have the shaker grates, but I did replace the refractory package which was absolutely destroyed, the grates (which had warped), all the fire brick (which were all crumbling) and all of the gaskets which were not in great shape either. The previous owners did not do this stove any favors. I will dig up some pictures of the before and the during, I did not get great pictures of the after because I was ready to start burning and it has had a fire in it most of the time since.

I had read a previous post of someone on here making a lever to block the secondary air inlet in the back for emergency air shutdown, I think I will do this too next summer because when I have the stove loaded up full and have a good draft going (this goes into a 12"x12" flue) I have trouble controlling the fire with the primary air shut all the way down, but blocking the secondary air inlet does give me control back. I have stayed away from that issue by splitting my logs smaller and reloading more often.

I definitely feel more confident running this stove after having the thing apart and truly understanding how it works.

 

[woodstovelover]

Thanks for the update!

 

[DBC125]

Hi, I have been reading your posts with interest, and have an 0041 that may have been modified, as it has a pan instead of the shaker grate. I have been running this stove with very little maintenance for 16 years, after purchasing it used and replacing some parts, like the warped internal damper, firebrick, gaskets, knobs, etc. I wanted to thank ebarrieau for the photos you posted, as the top one may have solved my new issue. I have been wondering about a reduction in draft, and I know it is not the chimney, as I have another woodstove in the basement that drafts perfectly. I believe the air valve assembly, below the grates and pan, may have clogged with ash and is not allowing air to pull through. Your photo shows this valve assembly from the top. BTW, I have read other VC posts on other websites that completely disparage this stove, and I don't understand it. Mine has been terrific...also, I did not know about the rear air openings. to control draft, I just added a damper to my flu pipe.

 

[ebarrieau]

Hi, I have been reading your posts with interest, and have an 0041 that may have been modified, as it has a pan instead of the shaker grate. I have been running this stove with very little maintenance for 16 years, after purchasing it used and replacing some parts, like the warped internal damper, firebrick, gaskets, knobs, etc. I wanted to thank ebarrieau for the photos you posted, as the top one may have solved my new issue. I have been wondering about a reduction in draft, and I know it is not the chimney, as I have another woodstove in the basement that drafts perfectly. I believe the air valve assembly, below the grates and pan, may have clogged with ash and is not allowing air to pull through. Your photo shows this valve assembly from the top. BTW, I have read other VC posts on other websites that completely disparage this stove, and I don't understand it. Mine has been terrific...also, I did not know about the rear air openings. to control draft, I just added a damper to my flu pipe.

Hey DBC125,

Sorry I never responded. The air path on this stove is a little weird because it is a downdraft stove. So it comes in the bottom through that valve assembly, then up the front side columns on either side of the door, then it sprays down the front face of the door. This air wash helps to keep the glass clean, but also means when the bypass damper is closed the air comes in above the fire and burns down through the coal bed and out the back. There is a secondary air inlet on the back (no damper for this inlet) you can see the holes in the combustion package that let that air in and there is a corresponding hole on the metal. If you're still having air issues (and its definitely not the external damper in the flue being partly closed) I would trace the air path. Maybe, like you said, the valve under the pit plate is clogged or maybe one of the two air channels or the narrow opening above the door are clogged.

As for the negative comments about the stove, some of them are merited. This stove has tremendous heating capacity, i can get my whole 1600 sf house to 80F easily - however doing so takes a lot of my attention. You have a get a huge coal bed to make this stove work properly and i find that i have to really babysit it to stop it from over firing. Great stove, but it can get away from you too easily and i think many people are used to just loading up a stove to the brim and choking down the air and you just can't do that with this stove. It has some common failure modes, partly related to how easy it is to over fire, and when stuff does start to break its expensive to fix.

Hope you get your sir problem sorted!

 

[YALABETIT]

Hey woodstovelover!

Its been a couple months since the rebuild and I am very happy with this so far. I ended up completely disassembling the internals, wire brushed everything, inspected everything for cracks, reassembled with tons of stove cement and all new gaskets.

I do not have the shaker grates, but I did replace the refractory package which was absolutely destroyed, the grates (which had warped), all the fire brick (which were all crumbling) and all of the gaskets which were not in great shape either. The previous owners did not do this stove any favors. I will dig up some pictures of the before and the during, I did not get great pictures of the after because I was ready to start burning and it has had a fire in it most of the time since.

I had read a previous post of someone on here making a lever to block the secondary air inlet in the back for emergency air shutdown, I think I will do this too next summer because when I have the stove loaded up full and have a good draft going (this goes into a 12"x12" flue) I have trouble controlling the fire with the primary air shut all the way down, but blocking the secondary air inlet does give me control back. I have stayed away from that issue by splitting my logs smaller and reloading more often.

I definitely feel more confident running this stove after having the thing apart and truly understanding how it works.

Do you think it’s safe to operate a Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim model 2490 woodstove if parts of the lower chamber refractory package have become dislodged (see photo)? Mine is set inside my fireplace making it difficult to access the back of the stove without help. I was hoping to just use the stove for the rest of the winter in “fireplace mode” with a screen, or just avoid closing the damper at all. I’m just not sure if I can do this safely.

 

[defiant3]

Most would be reluctant to ok using any stove which doesn't function as intended, so there's that. In fireplace mode with just the screen however it shouldn't matter WHAT the comb. package looks like, but of course then you just have a fireplace.

Just fyi, you won't need to access the back of the stove to replace the comb. pkg., and it may not be terribly difficult if screws/ bolts don't break.