Vermont Castings Aspen 3 issue

[AndyKatz]

Greetings,

We have a two-year old Aspen 3. Not along ago I realized the refractory board had basically shattered into several large pieces, still at the top, however. So I replaced it & the superwool. They are placed, as far as I can tell, correctly, but now the stove's draft is awful. E.g, we used to be able to open the door to give the fire more ventilation, but now it pours out smoke. We did just have the steel chimney cleaned & the wood is very well seasoned. I'm not certain what to make of this. It appears that I've smothered the firebox in some way, but I'm not sure what steps to take to remedy this.

TIA
Andy

 

[begreen]

Make sure that the insulation blanket is not bunched up toward the rear of the stove. If so, it might be blocking the flue exit. Was the replacement the same thickness as the original?

 

[AndyKatz]

I believe it was, though it was hard to tell for sure because the old one came out in pieces. I do think you have good point about the wool potentially bunching toward the rear. After the stove cools tonight I'll check it out.

Thanks,

 

[30WCF]

You can pull the stove pipe and look in the collar.

I think the edges of the wool are tucked into the lip with the edge of the refractory to hold it down when drafting. It may look like it’s laying down when cool but get lifted some when drafting.

I’m making a few guesses as I’ve never had mine that far apart. But there are a few threads on here about blankets getting sucked up against the stove pipe.

 

[begreen]

Good observation. I wonder if putting a section of 1/2" rebar to weight down the blanket would help.

 

[30WCF]

Make sure the blanket has the notch cut out for the “cook plate” area, and the temp probe is on top of the new blanket and not under it.

F

Thread 'Aspen C3 Baffle Replacement'

Nov 14, 2021

Hi, Everybody,
My girlfriend bought the new Aspen C3 last summer,. By December she had broken the baffle and chopped up the refractory blanket. I immediately searched for replacements, but everything was sold out. I figured this must be a common problem. I spoke with her chimney sweep who told me what a big project replacement is.
He advised me not to attempt to install the new refractory blanket.
I decided to not attempt the blanket unless we had some untoward results. The stove had worked fine the previous season without most of it.
On each side holding in the firebricks are what the...

• fbill b
• Replies: 58
• Forum: Vermont Castings

There is another good thread on this that I’m not able to find right now.