Vermont Castings Vigilant multi fuel 1400 inquiry.
I have a Vigilant Stove that I bought in 1986-87. Came with the viewing screen, shaker grates and ash pan. I burned wood and coal for years with it but haven't used it much over the last 7-8 years. My question is, did the Vigilant II with the swing out ash pan work any better than my stove ? If so how. I've been burning wood but like to go back to coal.
Last edited by tmegg on Mon. Dec. 26, 2022 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vigilant II 2310
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tmegg, I replaced a wood stove with the Vigilant 2 four years ago, and this year I have burned some wood, some coal. I am pretty sure the Vig2 has the same heat output as the old ones with coal--same body, etc. With wood, the old one may have been more efficient if it has reburn air tubes to burn smoke.tmegg wrote: ↑Mon. Dec. 26, 2022 11:17 amI have a Vigilant Stove that I bought in 1986-87. Came with the viewing screen, shaker grates and ash pan. I burned wood and coal for years with it but haven't used it much over the last 7-8 years. My question is, did the Vigilant II with the swing out ash pan work any better than my stove ? If so how. I've been burning wood but like to go back to coal.
I do have central heat with natural gas, but it is never as cozy as the Vigilant 2, and wood is a lot more work than gas--coal, still more work but not nearly as much so.
We rarely get polar storms like this, but we do get them--the previous 3 winters were fairly mild. I found that when it got below 10 this week (we went to 0), with high winds (up to 50mph), I could have used two Vig 2's in my drafty country house, even though it is only 1000 sq ft (mostly open design). One solution would be to put a kitchen stove in that burns both gas on the sidecar, and wood or coal in the firebox. It could heat the house in fall and spring, and give extra heat during severe winter weather, and cook with gas in summer. Those sidecar ranges are grand (and priced accordingly). I do enjoy cooking on the Vig2 top, and that was fun when I had relatives visit recently.
Strangely, I like the house cold in summer and very warm in winter.
- michaelanthony
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I'll try to answer based on my experience with the Vigll. The Vigilant ll is a kick ass 40-45k btu, cast iron heater/stove with a great view! I think the Vigll has a deeper coal bed than the multi fuel ... I could be wrong. I burned both pea and 'nut size coal with it, i think pea size is best. I didn't need to tend as often with pea and I could dial it down real low on a warmer day. As a matter of fact I went away for 2 1/2 days, loaded the stove and returned to a dormant fire that came back with a simple movement of the air inlet flapper. The indirect path of the gases extracts as much heat as possible and burns everything down to powder and a few popcorn kernels. feel free to pm me or just keep posting your trials and tribulationstmegg wrote: ↑Mon. Dec. 26, 2022 11:17 amI have a Vigilant Stove that I bought in 1986-87. Came with the viewing screen, shaker grates and ash pan. I burned wood and coal for years with it but haven't used it much over the last 7-8 years. My question is, did the Vigilant II with the swing out ash pan work any better than my stove ? If so how. I've been burning wood but like to go back to coal.
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I am also a Vigilant II owner. Have a resolute wood only burner too. I burn wood in the Vig II when it is not too cold and when the temps start to drop I switch to coal. Today the temps are hovering around 40 so I burn a mix of coal and wood. Issue with straight wood is the grates are too wide and the coals fall into the ash pan but the good thing is when burning a mix all the bits of coal burn and I have less clinkers. Normally I switch to all coal in the evening so I get a good all night burn. I have a farmhouse about 2500 sq feet and the front walls are solid brick with plaster inside and stucco outside. Not much insulation and no where to put it so the heat output of the Vig II is welcome. Also have a stovetop fan and a fan in the ceiling to circulate warm air upstairs.
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- Rich W.
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- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vermont Castings Vigilant Multi-Fuel (coal for me); Vermont Castings Vigilant 2310 in the shop
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- Other Heating: System 2000 Oil Burner; VC Resolute Woodstove (sold) Jotul 8 Woodstove (sold)
I have a 1400 (multifuel) in my living room and a 2310 (Vig II) in my shop. I get different results because of the different settings, but my sense is that they hold a similar amount of coal. I don’t burn wood in either one, and I’m a huge fan of both. Performance is equivalent based on my purely subjective analysis. Let me know if internal measurements of each or other information would help you.
Thanks guys. My guess is that the Multi-Fuel 1400 does a better job of burning wood and the Vig II does a better job of burning coal. The price of coal has gone through the roof and is harder to get so I'm sticking to burning wood in my Vig I multi fuel. I can live with it's inefficiencies.
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I believe you are correct...and I think the ash pan in the Vig II is under the stove rather than in the stove...but I could be wrong.michaelanthony wrote: ↑Mon. Dec. 26, 2022 6:29 pmI think the Vigll has a deeper coal bed than the multi fuel ... I could be wrong.
- Rich W.
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- Posts: 335
- Joined: Tue. Nov. 26, 2013 10:29 pm
- Location: Newport County, Rhode Island
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vermont Castings Vigilant Multi-Fuel (coal for me); Vermont Castings Vigilant 2310 in the shop
- Coal Size/Type: Nut
- Other Heating: System 2000 Oil Burner; VC Resolute Woodstove (sold) Jotul 8 Woodstove (sold)
You are correct, and here are the interior dimensions of the two models:
2310
19” wide between the bricks
12” high from grate to top of bricks
10” to back bricks
1400
Same except 10” high from grate to top of bricks
Worth noting is that the 2310 grates are somewhat “U” shaped, meaning the extra 2” does not carry all the way from front to back; only in the middle half. The 1400 grated are horizontally flat.