2020 Vermont Castings Aspen C3

Yeup. That's the way mine is too. Even when the wood is super dry, I'll have to leave the door cracked till the fire gets going. But once going with a good bed of coals, the Aspen C3 is very efficient. I bet we use less than two canvas carrier loads of wood a day, or one Gorilla Cart a week.

 

Hello VC A3 owners and others! New here so hope it is cooler than the other ClubBlogs lol. I am curious about how it is working for y'all now? I have the same problem as do many and though on the "Other" forum sites you will be called a idiot and that it is your problem of starting fires correctly. Not true. Been burning wood in Northern Mn for decades. This stove is a nightmare. Mine you must keep door cracked all day and takes all day to reach a Pipe tem in the correct burn range. Definitely will not over fire lol. I believe that the flue control is in need of adjusting perhaps? Maybe the draft. I have read about people tearing them down and find gloppy sloppy stove cement gunking up the air flow. Beyond my pay grade to do that and Vermont casting has THE WORST customer service and their supposed Distributors will just tell you it is a chimney issue or a Wood Moisture issue or something else that they will charge you 2 grand for. I burn dead down live Oak that is drier than a dinosaur bone or Pinon if we want to perfume the neighborhood with Juniper kindling that burns like jet fuel.
We finally bought a North Woods Fabrication Woodsman XL and I lined it with firebrick. THIS is a amazing stove but a bit small. Simple 1/8" welded steel with simple front draft and to be used with a pipe damper. For some reason this stone kicks butt! Easily have coals in morning. We installed it in a Kiva fireplace with a huge amount of mass and we run it 24/7 and this 5'x5' mass stays at 85% all day and then cooks down to about 75 by morning. They may have a bigger stove in the works! check them out. I will keep my VC A3 and hopefully figure it out someday otherwise it would be a good boat mooring but since I now live in the mtns of SW New Mexico don't need a boat!

 

Welcome aboard. I think you'll find this group to be very accepting and informative.
I had an older VC and loved it, but did not go that route when I replaced my stove. There were too many concerns I had based on the customer service reports.

If you're talking about the Aspen C3, what I've read from some owners and saw a video or two about (don't quote me directly on this because I couldn't pinpoint the videos at this time) were essentially when the stoves were manufactured, they were "over cemented" meaning that the air intake channels were clogged with dried cement and it choked off the fire. What some owners resorted to was taking the stove apart and chiseling the air intake channels clean. Sounds like a major pain in the neck, but personally, I'd do it if it meant taking the stove from essentially unusable to properly working.
Good luck, and if you search out any confirming information on that please let us know what you decide to do.
Great to have you here Stephan !

 

This would not help as the problem with these VC A3s is that there is NOT enough draft so choking it down more is redundant. Let me add my VC A3 is a Nightmare and the distributor is looking into repairing mine or replacing.
ANY help with how this little monster can be adjusted would be a godsend for me!

 

Hey there! thanks for the response! Yes I had read that also regarding over cementing! Hey I noticed you list a Ryobi 18V campsaw. Cutting at high altitude and having a old Husqvarna saw that I could never get to idle and having all ryobi battery tools I just for the heck of it bought a new 14" Ryobi 40V chainsaw and put a 18" bar on it and have now been using for 3 years and cut bone hard oak. Takes 2 charged batteries to fill my 6 ft tundra box to the top which is enuf cutting for this 68 yr old. I was AMAZED I have neigbors with more respectable 40 V saws like milwaukee/Eco etc etc and mine cuts circles around them as they throw chains all thetime while I just keep cutting. LOVE it. Never going back to to gas and noise again! I expect it will wear out soon so I bought another in case I get it jammed but it keeps cutting!

 

I am wraassling with A distributer and VC and they are both doing all they can to blame my issue on me, chimney grade, my fire building prowess and chimneyheight and pipe type. Did you use single wall in the interior until ceiling and roof double wall?

 

Is there a possibilty that the damper is out of adjustment or damaged? The other really weird thing about the VC A3 is that inside the chimney collar there is a what appears to be a spun glass (?) insulation blanket which to me seems dumb to say the least as with a straight pipe any creosote will fall right into it nd start a clogging up of a draft area. So with that observation it seems the VC Aspen C3 would require a elbow with clean out T at some point correct?

 

A T clean out would be very nice if the vent pipe goes into the rear of the stove.How would a T clean out work with the vent pipe going straight down into the stove ? I also wonder would an outside air vent pipe into the stove provide you with more air to make up for the lack of air into the stove ?

 

Stephan yes a damper is usually just 2 metal rods and that is highly possible

welcome to the FHC

 

This Stove has a 4 inch Cold outside air feed that is pretty much mandatory

 

I am thinking about drilling some holes lol

 

Stephan Found the video: