New DS XV14 Ready for Winter

Post by **franco b** » Thu. Oct. 14, 2021 8:41 am

charlesosborne2002 wrote: ↑
Sun. Oct. 03, 2021 4:27 pm
All I have had is the Vigilant 2 and slicing did not seem bad after years with a wood stove that had no good way to remove ashes, so I thought it was an improvement. I have seen other stoves online that use the slicer in videos--Stubbies, Glenview classic. So if it works fine without it, why do some stoves need it? Do those like mine have finer grates to lose less coal unburned (but need the slicer)? Is that the reason for it? It would indeed be nice to skip the knifing and just shake externally, but the Vigilant crank is not effective by itself. Maybe the Vigilant has finer grates to allow rice coal as well as nut, therefore tending to clog unless sliced? I do get coal dust all over the house, which no doubt is partly from top-load (which I still prefer). Even with the updraft open and a hot draft, and the visible flamepath up the flue, I am sure I am getting some dust out just because of the raging heat that rises out the top. But I read long ago that no matter what you do, even anthracite coal will put out some dust, so "clean" is a relative term. Maybe a hopper is the most smokeless as you can just pour coal onto unlit coal without opening the firebox itself.

Slice from above using an offset poker through the front grate. Use nut coal for less unburned coal falling through and better breathing. For each insertion the poker can be twisted a bit to clear three segments. No coal dust caused by removing the bottom plate to gain access to slice from below. A few shakes to finish, maybe two back and forth.

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Post by **Lightning** » Sun. Oct. 17, 2021 10:00 am

waytomany?s wrote: ↑
Sun. Oct. 03, 2021 3:52 pm
Maybe I should ask in what way is it better?

I used to use a mix of nut and stove size in my Clayton. The stove size alone was great for the extreme few days of harsh cold since it would have no trouble getting as hot as I needed it to.. it could "breath" easier. The nut size alone was great for more mild days when I didn't need a lot of heat. The mix of both gave me a little of both worlds. I found it to be the best for the majority of the winter.

What's more is that the mix would keep a "healthier" fire. Idling stove size down to comfortable heat output levels during mild weather would cause dead spots in the firebed. This is due to the bigger paths between the rocks, giving priority to selected areas of the firebed. The mix of the two would allow better combustion air distribution throughout the firebed, keeping it healthier.

During shoulder months I would actually "blanket" the top of the fuel bed with a thick layer of fines. This would maintain the fuel bed's health while only producing minimal heat output. I would often only service the fire every 48 hours during times like this.

Ossa · Post by **Ossa** » Wed. Nov. 03, 2021 8:59 am

Jim86_Ohio wrote: ↑
Wed. Oct. 13, 2021 11:36 pm
I burnt about 1.5 tons in my DS Anthramax last year. Burnt great! I'd advise keeping the airwash/secondary open all the way after reloading for a few minutes to avoid puffbacks (if you didn't fully go through all the coal in the hopper and are just topping it off you probably don't have to be as careful). Once you see the blue flames you can put it back to half way. Otherwise, II found when going less than that I'd get fly ash deposit on the glass and started to get some etching unfortunately. I've been pretty happy so far! I just have a MPD- given the bimetallic damper for the air intake I'm not sure how much the baro will help, but I'm sure it won't hurt either. Kept 3500+ sq ft new home heated through the bulk of the winter with minimal propane usage.

On a separate note, anyone have any tricks to get etching out of stove glass?

Sorry Jim, I didn't see your reply. I wish I had. I've never experienced a puff-back with the Efel. On my first fire (I'll make a separate post on that) I did with the new DS. Holy Crap! I had the wash open a bit, but not a lot. It was like an explosion. The dog and I both came out of our chairs! I thought the glass was going to explode out the front of the stove. Now I'll keep the wash open more until I know the gasses on top are burned off! Thanks for the advice.

Hoytman · Post by **Hoytman** » Wed. Nov. 03, 2021 10:22 am

Jim86_Ohio wrote: ↑
Wed. Oct. 13, 2021 11:36 pm
I burnt about 1.5 tons in my DS Anthramax last year. Burnt great! I'd advise keeping the airwash/secondary open all the way after reloading for a few minutes to avoid puffbacks (if you didn't fully go through all the coal in the hopper and are just topping it off you probably don't have to be as careful). Once you see the blue flames you can put it back to half way. Otherwise, II found when going less than that I'd get fly ash deposit on the glass and started to get some etching unfortunately. I've been pretty happy so far! I just have a MPD- given the bimetallic damper for the air intake I'm not sure how much the baro will help, but I'm sure it won't hurt either. Kept 3500+ sq ft new home heated through the bulk of the winter with minimal propane usage.

On a separate note, anyone have any tricks to get etching out of stove glass?

Replace the glass. After you replace it, then every time you open the doors wipe the ash off the glass with a dry paper towel...every time. About once a week I clean the glass with Rutland glass cleaner (stove going decent and letting doors open to cool off some. Ideally, it would be nice to have an extra door and just swap them out so they are fully room temp when you clean them), white bottle found at Tractor Supply, and so far it seems to be keeping the glass nice and clean...just like new, two years and counting. We'll see in the long run how it holds up.