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Vigilant II

Posted: Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 8:34 pm
by Raven
Hi everyone! I purchased a house last year with a hurt Vigilant II (which we didn't realize was a coal stove). I quite liked it, but hubby thought it was way too small for a 'wood' stove, and wasn't ever going to heat the house. We heat solely on wood, so it's an important thing for us. After the move, I wanted to give it a try...it had been apparently been burning wood and was a complete mess. It needed resealing and a good cleaning. Still wondering why it had grates and means of slicing :lol: , we set our first wood fire :o . It quickly burned through every load of hardwood within 3 hours and has been the biggest nightmare to use, chimney fire after chimney fire, cleaning pipes and becoming fearful of using it, we decided it had to go!
Until my father walked in and said "that's a nice little coal stove" DUHHH :!: :idea:
So, the research began!
This is our second season with it and our first one actually using it as intended. What a difference!
So now here are my questions...
How hot is too hot for this stove? I'm getting myself a temp gage for the griddle, can anyone suggest a good one? Pipe temps are inaccurate with coal, right?
I've mastered starting it (anthracite), but have not mastered what to do after the first 12 hours...shaking seems pointless as the ash continues to clog the bottom grates. Ideas?
We live on a knoll and have a really strong draft almost all of the time, but understand that the back thermostat is the main heat regulator? It is at 1/4 now, with blue flame and a lava red bottom, I feel like I'm cooking my stove to death... or maybe not used to how much heat it puts forth!? I tried the pipe thermometer on the griddle and it shot right to 850+, should I be concerned?
Anyway, sorry for the ramblings! And thanks for any advice!

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 9:10 pm
by michaelanthony
Welcome Raven! You came to the right place, glad dad saw the light. Here is a great thread, you may want to skip around as it is quite long.
Vigilant II Is Just Humming Along!!!
Here is one I just started, it's about moving the stove and putting back together with a new kind of bricks on the 2 sides instead of the little triangle bricks that usually break and accumulate ash.

Vigilant ll assembly
...also seek out "VigillPeaburner" and watch his videos that are listed in his signature ;)
Glad to have ya!

Mike.

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 9:32 pm
by Rich W.
Raven...I think 850* is too hot! The manual suggests 400* to 600* on the griddle. In this cold weather I tend to cruise at 400* to 500*, yielding an easy12 hour burn. Mike’s advice is right on...great thread he’s sending you to. This forum got me from the wood stoves to the black rocks, and I’ll never look back!

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Thu. Dec. 28, 2017 1:45 pm
by michaelanthony
We want pictures Raven! whenever you can...... or asap! :lol:

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Thu. Dec. 28, 2017 8:19 pm
by Raven
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Thanks so much for the warm welcome! Today we made a trip to VC dealer to get some more stuff for the stove. New fire brick (sorry MichaelAnthony, I didn't see the post in time), shaker handle was missing, fallaway handle, temp gage, new front grille... it was warped...obviously too hot. I so hope I haven't damaged the stove with my ignorance! I did see on one of the pages (Vigilant II is just humming along!) someone was talking about the cement seams coming apart. I took a few photos tonight, as hubby has the stove stripped down...it wasn't burning right and figured it had to be filthy in the air ports. Sure enough....about three ash pans worth has been gathered. I don't think it's ever been cleaned properly, and almost certain it's never actually burnt coal before? He's reassembling now, but it still needs a bit more work. It's incredibly cold here in NY....
Thanks for the replies! Huge learning curve here, but besides the initial frustration, it's been an interesting new topic. Really loving coal!
Sorry if the pics are super crumby...I'll get some when it's out back together... poor thing is dirty. I saw a new Vigilant today of the same yearns mine... it's been sitting around all these years. I had half a mind to buy it lol

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Thu. Dec. 28, 2017 8:30 pm
by Rich W.
Raven,
That’s what happened to me! I liked my first one so much that when I found a new leftover in Maine I grabbed it for my shop. Made a nice winter weekend out of it...bed and breakfast, coastal drive, etc. They’re not making them anymore, and the leftovers are discounted! A perfect storm of spending! Both of my Vigilants replaced woodstoves.

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Thu. Dec. 28, 2017 9:07 pm
by michaelanthony
Thanks for the update Raven, good on you Mr. Raven! when you fire up, go along the seams with a bbq lighter or wooden matches and see if the flame dives in anywhere. If so a little furnace cement will cure it. The V.C. 2310 is a well built stove, my only leak, (need a new gasket), was along the sides of the flue pipe collar, again furnace cement ;)

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 7:18 am
by Raven
Thanks for the tips michaelanthony! Ill be sure to check out the seams with your method! We had to fire it back up last night...this house is just NOT warm, especially with the frigid temps we are having right now. We removed the back restrictor plate, also. Between the cleaning and restrictor plate removal, I have a completely different running stove on my hands. It looks good (to me), it's 7am now, from start up last night around 11pm-8hrs so far, it's going strong. But not getting any real heat out of it like we were before cleaning?? Though, not entirely comfortable to stand in front of for long lol. It looks exactly how I left it last night though lol. I have a temp gage on the griddle now, it says it's a little cool, about 450°, tried moving back temp control a TINY bit- to about 1/4 open or less, it took off to 600° Easily :o . Is it just too damn cold outside??? Lol

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 7:26 am
by Rich W.
Looks like it could be loaded higher. Deeper fire = more fuel = more heat and a longer burn. Looks like a good fire though!

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 7:56 am
by oliver power
Hi Raven,

Where in NY? Please fill out profile.

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 6:54 pm
by Raven
Oliver, upstate NY 30 miles south of Albany- Greene county.

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 7:01 pm
by michaelanthony
Rich W. wrote:
Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 7:26 am
Looks like it could be loaded higher. Deeper fire = more fuel = more heat and a longer burn. Looks like a good fire though!
+1 .....good burn :yes:

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 7:39 pm
by Raven
Rich W. wrote:
Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 7:26 am
Looks like it could be loaded higher. Deeper fire = more fuel = more heat and a longer burn. Looks like a good fire though!
This was where it was upon waking up, but did realize I didn't give it a good full stacked load- thanks for the advice!

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 10:02 pm
by michaelanthony
Hi Raven, I will be getting a ton of pea coal in the next week for my Vigilant, it loves it and seems to burn the best in my stove for both heat output and time between loading.

Re: Vigilant II

Posted: Sat. Dec. 30, 2017 12:02 am
by oliver power
Raven wrote:
Fri. Dec. 29, 2017 6:54 pm
Oliver, upstate NY 30 miles south of Albany- Greene county.
You are quite a ways east of me.