Vigilant II Is Just Humming Along!!!

Tapping may be metal stretching and shrinking from heating/cooling. Only runaway fires should cause premature wear/damage.

I see where some Vig owners are running at 6oo plus. That's why I asked about higher temps.

The tapping is the shutter bouncing off the opening, and I suspect it's affected by variance in the draft as it seems to be more of an issue when the wind is blowing. I tried changing the secondary opening, but other than cooling stack temp it had no affect of the shutter "shuddering."

[quote="Rich W."]I see where some Vig owners are running at 6oo plus. That's why I asked about higher temps.

The tapping is the shutter bouncing off the opening, and I suspect it's affected by variance in the draft as it seems to be more of an issue when the wind is blowing. I tried changing the secondary opening, but other than cooling stack temp it had no affect of the shutter "shuddering."[/quote]

Hi Rich, I just finished a January cleaning and soon my vig will be 700* plus- 10 tonight, fill that baby up and open the air inlet a little, enough to stop the fluttering but enough to runner her to temp!

The tapping was complained about back in the 1980s and is common. Mine does not tap but I can see it trembling when the heat of the stove has reached the point of almost closing the flap. Draft pulls it closed but then does not have enough strength to keep it closed against the pull of the bi-metal coil and so taps. I think this is why Hitzer installed a magnet to close the flap when it reaches that point of equilibrium. If it annoys, you could try very slightly bending in one lower corner of the flap.

Nice idea, Franco. Thank you!
MichaelAnthony...how long a burn to you get at 700*?

franco b wrote:The tapping was complained about back in the 1980s and is common. Mine does not tap but I can see it trembling when the heat of the stove has reached the point of almost closing the flap. Draft pulls it closed but then does not have enough strength to keep it closed against the pull of the bi-metal coil and so taps. I think this is why Hitzer installed a magnet to close the flap when it reaches that point of equilibrium. If it annoys, you could try very slightly bending in one lower corner of the flap.

The people that did my install did tweet the flap. Even so, my wife says she hears the tap when I'm running it on the cooler end near temps Rich W stated. I can't hear anything but ringing but that's my problem

Running at 650-700, my burn times easily reach 14 hours, even now in this cold spell. It depends on coal quality too.

[quote="Rich W."]Nice idea, Franco. Thank you!
MichaelAnthony...how long a burn to you get at 700*?[/quote]

I have no trouble running 12 hrs or more at 700*, as Vigilpb stated coal quality makes a difference. I just did a thorough January cleaning and boy what a difference. I guesstimate I have burned close to a ton and my stove needed a vacuum. I did this yesterday at 2:00 p.m. and I still have a beautiful blue flame and plenty of heat, she's running at 550* and I haven't done a thing to her since 4:00 p.m.

Tomorrow is supposed to get above freezing, so I am skipping my 7 pm tending, and will see how long the stove will burn on this morning's load. At 13 hours I am still at 500+*, and hopeful that I can vac tomorrow at some point, and get up and running again for tomorrow night. BTW, if I did not vac, what happens if the ash continues to build up behind the clean out hatches? I cannot picture the exhaust flow and how it might be affected. Is it eventually restricted?

Oh, and the shutter...I decided not to bend the flap because I still want it to be able to close completely in order to cool the fire (think spring!). So...I decided to try something I had been considering that was reinforced with earlier comments. I thought a little weight on the shutter would dampen its motion, but it concerned me that the bi metallic spring might not be able to handle the weight. I decided to add a small flat magnet to the bottom of the shutter, but that did not help much. So I added another. Wow! First quiet night in a long time! The shutter occasionally closes completely, and the magnet holds it closed, but I have confirmed that the thermostat will pull it open when it needs to. Here's a photo of the magnets at the bottom of the shutter. The vertical rod, BTW, is the mitten warmer.
The rear heat shield is to the left.

If you can imagine 2 inches of ash inside the bottom of the exhaust path along the sides and possible the back, that is a lot of stove not getting heat transfer and also shortening the path of the exhaust= less efficiency!

michaelanthony wrote:If you can imagine 2 inches of ash inside the bottom of the exhaust path along the sides and possible the back, that is a lot of stove not getting heat transfer and also shortening the path of the exhaust= less efficiency!

MA, now that you have the sides cleared of fly ash, with your IR thermometer measure the bottom of the side in the middle. Keep the IR "gun" the same distance from the stove each time. Record that temp and the reading taken on the center of the griddle. Take several more measurements on the side along the same vertical line until you get close to the top and right them down too. As the weeks pass, compare newer measurements at the same points on the side to the set of "clean" measurements you recorded. You can gauge the effect of the ash accumulating inside the chamber by the cooler temperatures.

Rich W., I don't think you could burn enough coal in one season to fill the heat exchange chambers but that would depend on how much fly ash your coal gives up and your shake down process. The stove would progressively give off less heat and eventually the draft would be affected. None of this is likely IMHO. I've not cleaned mine for the entire season an in the spring I'd estimate about six inches had built up in the side chambers. It pays to do it every ton or two in better heat transfer.

Yesterday I did a thorough cleaning of the inside of the stove, the tee, and as much vertical pipe as I could reach with the extended vac hose. The space under the ash pan was quite full, and that's what motivated the cleaning. I was pleasantly surprised by how little ask was in the side chambers...not even measureable. The damper, flue collar and tee were coated, but not significantly loaded. Even the cleanout on the tee, which I can reach through the flue, had minimal material to remove. So, after burning about a ton, I think I can go a couple of tons before cleaning. It took awhile to get the fire back to where it was when I shut down, but it was worth it to see the inside halfway through my first coal season (reformed wood burner). I will, however, have to scoop ash out from under the ash pan when it builds up that much, but I can do that without a shutdown. My model seems to let ash miss the pan!

[quote="VigIIPeaBurner"]
MA, now that you have the sides cleared of fly ash, with your IR thermometer measure the bottom of the side in the middle. Keep the IR "gun" the same distance from the stove each time. Record that temp and the reading taken on the center of the griddle. Take several more measurements on the side along the same vertical line until you get close to the top and right them down too. As the weeks pass, compare newer measurements at the same points on the side to the set of "clean" measurements you recorded. You can gauge the effect of the ash accumulating inside the chamber by the cooler temperatures.[/quote]

Thanks for the format Dave, it has taken me three years to understand the importance of recording all the various changes that take place during the burning season, it makes quick work identifying a problem and keeps the efficiency constant. I also realize some folks shoot from the hip as I do and that's ok too but I enjoy the technical aspect as well.
Mike.

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late reply. I did get most of the issues worked out that I had a few weeks ago with being new to coal burning. Its been burning really good lately.

I do have a question tho that I have been noticing a lot lately with my Vig II. I can hear air being pulled into the stove. I noticed that it is being pulled from under my right glass panel. Is this normal? On windy nights like tonight it is really bad. When I put the new gaskets on back in the beginning of Jan I noticed that the gaskets did not go around the bottom where the glass sits. Is that correct or should I redo the gaskets around the glass windows? If you need any pics let me know and I will try and get them tomorrow.

franco b wrote:Welcome to the forum.
Just make sure your stove has the gasket on the fettle or on the doors to seal the fire box from the ash pit.

On the fettle is this something I should do or needs to be done on the Vig II?

thanks

Yes, no gasket material is installed along the bottom edge of both windows. Are you sure the sound of rushing air is from the bottom of the glass and not the doors' seams?

The gasket below the fettle isn't necessary for proper operation of the model 2310. The older units with the hopper system benefit from this mod, IIRC.

VigIIPeaBurner wrote:Yes, no gasket material is installed along the bottom edge of both windows. Are you sure the sound of rushing air is from the bottom of the glass and not the doors' seams?

Yah, I found that it was coming from the glass when I get down in front of the stove the noise is coming from the right window. I put my gloves on and just barely put my hand over the opening to the bottom of the right glass window and the noise goes away. When I take my hand away the noise returns. I took a short video last night with my phone of the noise. I'm not quite sure how to attach it tho.