Vigilant II Is Just Humming Along!!!

Thanks for the advice, I probably am trying to get to much ash out. The blockage did free up later last night.

Blockage by unburnt coal can be pretty much eliminated by evenly clearing of ash.

I use an old Franco Belge poker from above. Once inserted through the grate it can be partially withdrawn and turned sideways to clear on either side with the offset portion. I do this at eight spots across the bed. Very little shaking needed.

franco b wrote: ↑

Thu. Dec. 21, 2017 10:40 am

Blockage by unburnt coal can be pretty much eliminated by evenly clearing of ash.

I use an old Franco Belge poker from above. Once inserted through the grate it can be partially withdrawn and turned sideways to clear on either side with the offset portion. I do this at eight spots across the bed. Very little shaking needed.

I will make one of those tools because the angle on the end matches closely the angle on the VC tool they provided. when you insert it into the firebox, do you do so from above the grill or through one of the openings in the front grill?

I'll still use the VC tool for clearing the grill and fettle. I have the technique down to cause very little ash spillage.

franco b wrote: ↑

Thu. Dec. 21, 2017 10:40 am

Blockage by unburnt coal can be pretty much eliminated by evenly clearing of ash.

I use an old Franco Belge poker from above. Once inserted through the grate it can be partially withdrawn and turned sideways to clear on either side with the offset portion. I do this at eight spots across the bed. Very little shaking needed.

I shake 8-10 strokes then slice gently from underneath the grates. I've got to be careful not to drop too many orange coals- just agitate enough to clear the grates of ash.

Our outside temps warmed up significantly a few days ago, so I let the fire die off so that I could give it another once-over. I'd already replaced window & door gaskets, and the ash door gasket. This time I got in good with the shop vac by using my grate probe to dislodge plenty of crud around the front-most passages behind & to the side of the door frames.

My real surprise came after pulling one of the clean out panels. It was completely caked by ash on both sides- - including lumps of unburnt coal! I swear the previous owners were cave-people. It was unbelievable how much crud came out of both sides. I'm guessing it hadn't been cleaned in years- if ever. The back access panel was fairly clean, but the sides were frightening. Spent the better part of an hour with the shop vac, flashlight, and the grate slicer. It was easy to clean- the panels slide out and reinstall without much fuss- and I've had the most even burning in the days since. Burn time has also increased noticeably.

What a lesson.

I use the poker through the bottom opening of the front grill.

franco b wrote: ↑

Thu. Dec. 21, 2017 8:43 pm

I use the poker through the bottom opening of the front grill.

Yup, what he said! Under the grill and on top of the fettle.

Anyone use those corrugated bands to increase surface area on the pipe? . . . with noticeable results?

drums4money wrote: ↑

Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 2:08 pm

Anyone use those corrugated bands to increase surface area on the pipe? . . . with noticeable results?

I used a similar product many yrs ago on the stack for a vented kerosene heater & then on wood stove stack later.

With my current coal stove, the temp at the thimble rarely gets up to 130* ,so it would be a worthless gesture for me to install those now.

My stove is 460°f on the griddle right now. The top of the pipe is 190°f right where it exits the the stove and 130 on the bottom. Internal temp. 325°f. I don't think those rings would do much good. Maybe they'd work on a wood stove though. I love the way these stoves keep the heat where it belongs.

franco b wrote: ↑

Thu. Dec. 21, 2017 8:43 pm

I use the poker through the bottom opening of the front grill.

Geno...
You are right about trying to get too much ash out. I find that if I just clear the ash at the bottom of the fuel bed, it opens the air flow to complete the burning of everything above it. This yields fine ash, and very little unburned coal. If I try to clear ash above the base of the fire, it collapses the pile, closes off air flow, and causes much slower recovery times. It can also lead to excessive ash on the sides, which Mike solves with custom firebricks. Your mileage may vary...

Yes, less vigorous ashing has helped. -13°f here this morning and the company van took 40 miles to get the engine up to temp with the heat on low. I saw a pocket of cold air that was -18. They gave me a passenger van with lots of vents in the back. I'm going out to put duct tape on all those rear vents. Maybe some cardboard on the grill.

It appears likely that I'll feed at least 100 lbs today. Already at 40# (edit) and I haven't fully shaken it down yet. Draft is pulling strong and heat washing off the stove. I'm at the same air feed I've been at the past few weeks but the temperature of the stove is about 60*lower. I keep a mag thermometer on the side shelf by the dome and that along with my stack temp is lower so the Vig is dumping all the heat it can into this house.
edit- goosed up the air a smidgen and now holding in the high 600s*.

I too have noticed lower stove top temps when other factors including thermostat setting are constant. This cold weather creates a new dynamic!

Thawing burgers!

Hi guys!!! Sitting right now in sunny Tupelo Mississippi. My wife and I decided that the cold was hurting our old bones too much so we moved. I DO MISS my Vig 2310. I tell people about it and they look at me like I am completely crazy. The big thing here is AC not heat and of course nobody burns coal except a farrier...

I sold my Vig to a couple that planned on putting it in their vacation home on top of a mountain in Kentucky and burning soft coal and wood. We are in an apartment complex but plan on getting a place of our own in a couple of years so I just might be getting another stove. I miss that constant steady heat on the cold mornings. Yes it does get cool if not really cold in NE Mississippi.

I'll be stopping in from time to time to catch up.

Rev. Larry