Ash Build up in My Vermont Coal Stove??

 
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SteveZee
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Post by SteveZee » Sat. Sep. 24, 2011 8:09 am

Yes nice video's VigIIPB. I don't know how I missed them up to now? I thought I'd seen every coal youtube video ever posted! The other half gets quite a laugh out of my typical caveman firebringer mentality :roll: . The slicer could easily be made with a cheap machete it looks like and your voice leads me to believe you are close to or grew up near Baltimore. I lived down in Columbia, Maryland for a bit and that was the dominant accent.

 
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VigIIPeaBurner
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Post by VigIIPeaBurner » Sat. Sep. 24, 2011 10:46 am

SteveZee wrote:Yes nice video's VigIIPB. I don't know how I missed them up to now? I thought I'd seen every coal youtube video ever posted! The other half gets quite a laugh out of my typical caveman firebringer mentality :roll: . The slicer could easily be made with a cheap machete it looks like and your voice leads me to believe you are close to or grew up near Baltimore. I lived down in Columbia, Maryland for a bit and that was the dominant accent.
Thanks for the video comments. You missed them on youtube because they're exclusive to coalpail.com.

Baltimore, nope. Grew up in NW NJ, still here and spent half a decade in South Jersey. Travele some when ever I can and my wife says whenever I start talking with people I pick up the local accent really quick. Your assessment of my accent might not be too far off ... I have a lot of friends in VA and visit often for the past 40 years. Baltimore is in the geographical middle, right? :lol: :)

 
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SteveZee
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Post by SteveZee » Sat. Sep. 24, 2011 12:52 pm

Ha,ha yep. I get the same elbow in the ribs from the other half when chatting with people from different locals! She's always laughing about how I pick up the accent. We should have been actors! :lol:

 
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MURDOC1
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Post by MURDOC1 » Fri. Apr. 27, 2012 5:37 pm

Hey Vig, nice video's!!! I am considering removing my Mag Stoker from the upstairs hearth and installing a 2310 in its place, possibly this summer... The videos are very helpful in giving an actual view of the daily process required...

Thank You...

 
duramax
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Post by duramax » Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 5:25 pm

Ok question here for the vigil people. Who is using the side air vent? Is this to bring in air to make sure most of the gases are burned up? Cleaned mine out yesterday and it is rocking at 700*


 
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michaelanthony
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Post by michaelanthony » Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 6:08 pm

[quote="duramax"]Ok question here for the vigil people. Who is using the side air vent? Is this to bring in air to make sure most of the gases are burned up? Cleaned mine out yesterday and it is rocking at 700*[/quote]

Hi and welcome duramax, I have heard that the side air vent may be needed for burning bituminous and or more over fire air for burning wood. If you find the side vent helpful and beneficial by all means use it, keeping track of stove temp, flue temp, and time between loading, and the amount of coal used may help you decide if the vent is pro or con. Cleaning out the Vigilant 2310 is quick and easy and so rewarding. The stove has it's own personality like many others and if you don't mind the hand firing method it will keep you plenty warm. I recently vacuumed mine out and not long afterwards it too was cruising at 700* and loving it. Stay warm!
Mike.

 
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VigIIPeaBurner
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Post by VigIIPeaBurner » Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 6:32 pm

About that little 'frying pan' cover on the left side...
Last edited by VigIIPeaBurner on Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
kaboom
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Post by kaboom » Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 6:46 pm

duramax wrote:Ok question here for the vigil people. Who is using the side air vent? Is this to bring in air to make sure most of the gases are burned up? Cleaned mine out yesterday and it is rocking at 700*
What I understand from my dealer, who called VC at my request, that it is a minimum air control.
The stove was originally marketed as a wood/coal stove. The minimum air control was used when you are burning wood, so when the thermostatic air control closes the fire won't go out. Because of a change in wood stove regulations the Vigilant 2 became a coal only stove, with no change in the design. VC said to just run with the side vent closed as it no longer serves a purpose. (They say not to burn wood, coal only.)
I don't think this control provides any over fire air, as it is interconnected with the thermostatic air control passage.

Stay warm, Bill

 
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dlj
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Post by dlj » Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 9:39 pm

I'd say you have to figure out for yourself if that little side vent is better open or closed. On my Resolute, it ran much better with it open than closed, noticeably so... VigIIpeaburner probably knows more about burning coal in these stoves than any dealer you'll run into...

dj

p.s. and by the way, on my Resolute, it was claimed to be the air feed to help in the burning of flue gases. It was specifically called a secondary air input and was claimed to increase the efficiency of the stove burning by added preheated air into the post combustion chamber to facilitate the exhaust gas volatiles to burn. They have a long blurb on it in my original manual for the stove.

 
duramax
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Post by duramax » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 6:23 pm

well thanks for the info. I will play with it to see. Worked to long today and lost the fire.If it's another leak I will leave it closed. But I do need to play with it .


 
Bethlehem Coal
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Post by Bethlehem Coal » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 1:20 pm

Hello all,
I recently purchased a Vermont Castings Vigilant 1 with the hopper kit. got my stove set up. Got my coal all set. Spent two full weeks messing around with it trying to get and keep the coal lit. Got very frustrated. I was about to Kick the old girl to the curb when I starting researching what I was doing wrong.
I found you guys and more specifically Rewinder. I started making all the adjustments to my stove. Seal the L Bracket on bottom right he says, Add some rope on the door just under the edge of the grate to seal everything up he says. Close the damper he says......
Expecting the same result, I started a fire. Here it is a week later and the same fire is burning. Once a day I add coal and stoke the grates. A full hopper burns almost 24 hours.
All I can say is thank you Paul and everyone else for making a believer out of me. I can only hope to pay it forward to some newbie like me interested in burning coal in a great little work horse.

I do have a question... Right before I was about to divorce the Hopper Kit Vigilant 1,
I purchased a used Vermont Castings newer old model Vigilant 1 I think you call a Multi Fuel (no hopper & no ash pan door). Is there any difference between the two?

 
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michaelanthony
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Post by michaelanthony » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 1:32 pm

Welcome Bethlehem Coal, Search for our friend Rich W...he has the multi fuel you describe, he should have some insight for you.

Mike.

Vigilant II Is Just Humming Along!!! this is a recommended thread for all Vigilant owners.

 
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coal berner
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Post by coal berner » Fri. Mar. 20, 2020 7:41 pm

You burn time n temps will be different from one another do
to several factors one different coal that your using two your draft three size of heating area you can have two of the same stove n both will burn differently.

 
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Rich W.
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Post by Rich W. » Sat. Mar. 21, 2020 1:56 pm

As Mike mentioned, I have a 1400, aka multifuel in my living room, and a 2310 in my shop. Although the chimneys are very different, the load and coal burning technique are the same. The 1400 is rear vent and the 2310 vents out the top. I don’t think this difference is significant.

The biggest difference is the ash pan. The 1400 has a pan behind the two doors; the 2310 has its own ash door. Why does this matter? Because flossing the grates has to be from the top with the 1400. The pan would have to be out to floss below the grates.

The 2310 has a larger capacity...best guess about 20% more.

The 1400 has a significantly larger ash lip, which is helpful in my living room. It also has a shorter profile which, along with short legs, allows me (barely) to have it in my fireplace.

My de-ashing technique does not rely on the shaker...it does too little. Rather, I use a 30” by 1/4” rod to lift the pile, floss and riddle beneath it, and let the pile settle before reloading. A side benefit is that the glass does not ash up like it did when using the shaker.

I hope this helps. Let me know if there are other specific questions.

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