Problems With Vermont Vigilant II

I am trying to hlep my brother-in-law with his new stove. He is attempting to burn chestnut and is unable to keep the stove lit for more than a few hours. It is almost as if he is unable to keep enough draft and it is choking out when you close the ash pan. It takes a long time to get it burning well even with the draft all the way and the ash pan kept wide open. Once it is burning well, and the draft kept wide open, the stove will go out. The same results with his chestnut and the pea coal that burns well in my Harman. Please let me know if there is additonal information I can add. I don't know much about other types of coal stoves but I have never had this happen to me. What could be wrong that we can start to trouble shoot?

BrettK wrote:I am trying to hlep my brother-in-law with his new stove. He is attempting to burn chestnut and is unable to keep the stove lit for more than a few hours. It is almost as if he is unable to keep enough draft and it is choking out when you close the ash pan. It takes a long time to get it burning well even with the draft all the way and the ash pan kept wide open. Once it is burning well, and the draft kept wide open, the stove will go out. The same results with his chestnut and the pea coal that burns well in my Harman. Please let me know if there is additonal information I can add. I don't know much about other types of coal stoves but I have never had this happen to me. What could be wrong that we can start to trouble shoot?

welcome to the forum bud! does he choke the fire down too far! how tall is his chimney? has he set his draft with a manometer? does he have a barometric damper? im not very farmiliar with vermonts but many have then on the forum. paint us a better picture of draft settings, size of chimney, height of chimney, ect. pictures are great too!

Perhaps it's not full enough. A common newbie mistake is to not have the coal deep enough.

The Vigilant has a air choker that get's installed if you're birning bituminous. Maybe that plate is installed and limiting the air? Only thing is....I'm not exactly sure where that plate goes. I think behind the thermostatic air inlet, but not sure.

Under the grate there are three little tin doors. They should be removed now & then & ash cleaned out. Perhaps there is ash plugging the passages?

Hmm. My borther in-law removed those three metal plates to increase air flow. He assumed that is what they were for. I advised him to put them back. I was thinking they were allowing air to exit below the coal instead of creating a draft up through the coal to make it burn hotter.

For sure, those three plates have to be in the stove. If not, most all of the air will by pass the fire! I hope he looked at them as they came out....they only go in one way & I find it easier to make Zucchini disappear than to get those plates back in.