# Vermont Castings-Vigilant



## dustytools (Jul 6, 2008)

I called about about woodstove that a guy had on Craigslist today. This older couple recently bought a house that had this stove in it when they bought it, he said that he had no desire to burn wood so he installed a new heat pump and is selling the stove to try and recoup some of the cost of the new heatpump. He said the stove is in excellent condition but he cant tell me if it a coal or wood burner. My question is if it is in fact a coal stove can I still burn wood in it. I hate to drive 1.5 hrs to look at it if its not gonna be something that I can use. The only info that he has is that it is a Vermont Castings Vigilant and he cant see well enough to make out any of the numbers on the tag. Thanks.


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## Nailsbeats (Jul 6, 2008)

I have the VC Vigilant. Nice stove. Mine burns wood and used about 7.5 cord to soley heat my house all last winter. My house is around 1200 square feet and it has no problem with it. 

Here are some pics. I built the diamond plate aluminum box for firewood. It holds a couple wheelbarrows full, the rest is right outside the door in the shed. The kindling is 1" pine boards I split up. FIL gets them off pallets at work.

The stove is in our kitchen. Last year I had a couple weeks off and cooked Rabbit stew and Grouse soup on it. I'd go out and make a loop around the 20, then throw the game in the cast iron pan. Works good for cooking or warming things up.

These are expensive stoves and top of the line. I don't know the price for sure because mine was given to me by my uncle from Texas, he retired at 60 as a captain for Southwest Airlines (mandatory retirement). He said he didn't use it enough. Stove is a 1977 model I think and in mint condition.


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## dustytools (Jul 6, 2008)

Your stove fits his verbal description to a Tee. He is only asking $200 for it, im just wondering if I drive there and find it to be worth the money and it is a coal stove can I still use wood in it? Thanks for posting the pics.


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## Ductape (Jul 7, 2008)

I think........ THINK, you won't want it if its set up for coal. My previous stove was a V C Resolute. My maunal showed the insert kit for burning coal with all the part numbers to convert it to burn either. Assuming the stoves would be similar, if the stove you are interested is set up for coal, you could physically burn wood in it but you will only fit a few sticks of wood in it that are 10 or 12 inches long. The coal inserts greatly reduce the inside volume of the firebox, and create a much larger air gap between the actual firebox and the exterior walls of the stove. Again.... this was on my Resolute, so your mileage may vary...... but is supect the Vigilant would be the same.



P.S. though their older stoves could be set up to burn either...... the parts to convert them are no longer available to my knowledge. It would be unrealistic to think you would be able to get the inserts to convert it to wood if in fact its currently a coal burner.


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## Zodiac45 (Jul 7, 2008)

Dusty,

See if they guy can hook you up with the phone number for the previous owner. Then you'll know which way it's set up. They had a coal conversion kit but where mostly a wood burner. They are darned good stove for $200 if it's a wood burner. I don't own one but my firewooding partner and neighbor has one and it will drive you out of the house when cranking. Top/side loading ability is cool too.


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## Hugenpoet (Jul 7, 2008)

Ask the owner if he can fit three or four decent sized pieces of 16" long wood in the stove. If he can, its set up for wood.


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## dustytools (Jul 11, 2008)

I went to look at the stove today and it is identical to the one that Nailsbeats posted the picture of except this one has solid doors instead of glass. It is in excellent condition with the exception of a small amount of surface rust on the lower portion of the stove. Any ideas on how to remove the surface rust and shine it up a bit. BTW, I paid her $200 and brought it home with me.


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## dustytools (Jul 12, 2008)

I got her cleaned up last night, some fine steel wool and a lot of elbow grease and it looks real good. I wiped it down with a little cooking spray and rubbed it off real good just to give it a little shine. I even managed to find and download the users guide and instructions from the Vermont Castings website. Here are some pics. View attachment 74333


View attachment 74334


View attachment 74335


View attachment 74336
Sorry about the crappy pics, there seems to be a rash of red in everything Ive taken here lately.


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## Four Paws (Jul 13, 2008)

Looks like a great buy for $200 - but I bet it gobbles up the wood. That will just give you an excuse to buy a couple more saws and go cut more often.


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## ericjeeper (Jul 13, 2008)

*Good deal*

A friend of mine has a VC Defiant. She can tell right away when her ash pan door gasket gets out of whack.. It will begin to consume a lot more wood.
That defiant in my opinion is a very tough stove to beat. I am sure the one Terry bought will do a great job in heating his home.
Did you use stove black? Or stove paint? The stove black goes on like shoe polish and once dried you can buff it to a pretty high gloss.


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## dustytools (Jul 13, 2008)

I havent used any paint or polish yet. I was at TSC yesterday and they havent stocked any stove polish or gaskets yet.


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## Haywire Haywood (Jul 13, 2008)

ericjeeper said:


> stove black



That's what I was going to suggest. We used that on a kitchen stove that had some kind of solid burners when I was in Germany. Worked good. That cooking oil will burn off the first time you fire it up and smoke all the bugs (and people) out of your house... LOL

nice score,
Ian


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## dustytools (Jul 13, 2008)

Haywire Haywood said:


> That's what I was going to suggest. We used that on a kitchen stove that had some kind of solid burners when I was in Germany. Worked good. That cooking oil will burn off the first time you fire it up and smoke all the bugs (and people) out of your house... LOL
> 
> nice score,
> Ian



LOL. I just wiped a little cooking spray on it then buffed it off, hopefully it wont smoke us out too bad.


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## Wood Doctor (Jul 16, 2008)

Nice stove. I'll never forget the first good woodstove I ever bought, a Vermont Castings Defiant. I even rigged up a steak grill on her from an old and somewhat worthless imported "Franklin" stove that I gave away.

That stove burned long logs as hot as a $2 pistol.


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## Chris Crouse (Oct 1, 2009)

Ok, I am bringing this thread back to ask a question to other Vigilant owners. Do you use the "thermostat controlled" air intake door as intended or just prop it open?

On my stove, the bimetallic spring is detached from the control lever and therefore I have always just propped the door open with various sizes of things depending on how much air I want to feed. I think that automatic control of the air intake door is a neat idea but does it actually work?

Any suggestions on reattaching the srping to the lever? I have tried soldering, but it does not hold well and melts once things get hot. I have thought about trying J-B Weld, but it is only rated to 500°F. I think brazing may be the only option. How the heck is the spring attached to the lever to begin with?

Thanks!


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## mga (Oct 1, 2009)

dustytools said:


> Your stove fits his verbal description to a Tee. He is only asking $200 for it, im just wondering if I drive there and find it to be worth the money and it is a coal stove can I still use wood in it? Thanks for posting the pics.



i just sold one for an old lady for $250. almost the exact same stove as pictured above. the guy drove like 60 miles to get it and didn't even flinch at the price.


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2009)

*door parts*

my roomate has teh exact same stove wiht the glass doors does anyone have any idea where you can get new parts to fix the glass from falling in gaskets retainers etc or just some solid door replacemnts i would really appreciat any help
Pete


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## Ductape (Dec 23, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> my roomate has teh exact same stove wiht the glass doors does anyone have any idea where you can get new parts to fix the glass from falling in gaskets retainers etc or just some solid door replacemnts i would really appreciat any help
> Pete




When i needed parts for my VC Resolute, Woodmans had everything i needed in stock.

http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2009)

*thanks*

ductape thank you very much i will give them a call does you or does anyone know the model number of the stove pictured in naisbeat's message?


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## havenodog (Dec 23, 2009)

Chris
I have a Vigilant sitting in the garage. Bought it from a guy for 35 bucks. Havent used it but once to burn the new paint but mine had the bimetal spring mounting hole in the back all crusted up. Tried to tap it and it was a useless endeavor, so I just bent the flimsy door on the back up enough to expose about a half inch or so of the bottom of the opening. Seemed to work well. Still not sure about the damper though. I know after they're hot your supposed to close those things and let the smoke and hot gasses weave around and back. I totally redid mine but really have no use for it. Try propping the door open about a half inch or so. You might find it's all you need. Hope this helps.


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## Ductape (Dec 23, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> ductape thank you very much i will give them a call does you or does anyone know the model number of the stove pictured in naisbeat's message?




Its a Vermont Castings Vigilant.


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## City Slicker (Dec 23, 2009)

*?*

I have a 1986 vigilant and use the thermastat controlled door in back. Have it set and have not touched it in years. Just around the corner from it is a hole with a sliding tear shaped door that I leave all the way open. I would not recommend using the draft reduction door just inside of the top lid - it causes the stove to smoke too much and interfears with proper draft in my opion. Mine has the solid steel doors in front which I only use when cleaning out ashes once in a while. I use the top lid to load stove and clean out ashes. Good luck!


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## dustytools (Dec 23, 2009)

Im going to replace the gaskets in the top lid and front doors on mine soon and was curious if anyone knows what size gasket rope to use. It seems like I recall someone saying 5/8" at one time but it looks like 5/8" would bind the top lid. Thanks, Terry.


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## havenodog (Dec 23, 2009)

Dustytools
I got my gasket kit online from a Vermont Castings supplier. I forget the name of the website but if you do a search you'll find it. They were real great and the kit came in a couple three days. There are still plenty of new parts available for them even though they have been out of production for some time. The gasket kit has all the gaskets for the doors and the glass. Even the top plate. Good success Greg


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## PlankSpanker (Dec 23, 2009)

I feel uniquely qualified to respond here since I've been burning wood in a Vermont Castings Vigilant for the past 23 years. As with any stove,there are a lot of little tips and tricks to make it work well for you. These stoves can hold a lot of wood and if allowed to burn "open" with seasoned wood, they can get extremely hot, so clearances and a good pipe and flue are very important. For starting a fire (if no coals present), roll up 3 individual pages of your local newspaper. No colored or glossy pages ever! Throw some nice dry kindling on top followed by 3 logs (my Dad always said you need 3 logs to make a fire). Situate the first log so that one end is elevated by leaning against an inside wall of the stove. This will allow air to get under the logs and feed the fire. With damper open (handle on side horizontal) and top closed, light the fire through the front doors. Hopefully you have good draft. Leave front doors wide open until the logs are burning. Once you have a fire, close the front doors and open the intake vent(s) on the back and side. Now you can open the top and dump 8 or 9 sticks of wood in to fill the stove. Close top after filling and let draft create a nice hot burn. Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes depending on wood dryness. At this point you want to "shut down" the stove for a nice safe controlled burn. Close the damper and close both intakes and go to bed. Hopefully by morning there will still be a nice bed of coals that you can throw some logs on. Open the damper and open the top. Throw a few sticks in. I will sometimes prop the top open by laying a poker underneath the lid so that it draws air in through the top. Sounds weird but works great. I don't mess with the spring controlled intake door on the rear other than propping it wide open or shutting it completely down depending on what I need. My wife likes the ambiance of leaving the front doors open, but you will burn wood way too fast and most of your heat will go up the chimney this way. You will learn to love this stove but be forewarned, it will gobble up 5-7 cords of wood per season in a cold climate such as here in Minnesota. You've got a great stove at a very nice price. Take care of it and it will keep you warm and happy. Later,
Geoff


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## wkpoor (Dec 23, 2009)

I gotta rep ya on that purchase. What a great stove at a steal of a deal!


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## brbarnhouse (Jan 3, 2012)

*Vigilant*

I know this thread is old but I was just cruisin AS and came across it I just got a Vigilant stove my grandparents bought it new in 1981 and burned 3 fires in it total this is my first wood stove so I have no reference but my stepson has burned wood exclusively for a few years now and helped me install it and he was impressed with this stove my question to anyone that uses on is when I get it hot 450 or so on my flue thermometer I close the damper for the longburn and the temp drops off to 200-225 with the key hole door open and the rear damper open is this normal?


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## Encore (Jan 3, 2012)

When my stove is running full tilt, it's not even that hot, but I have triple wall insulated flue. It kinda depends on what kind of flue you have


I find it easier to monitor the fire from the griddle temp though, not the flue temp.


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## brbarnhouse (Jan 3, 2012)

Encore said:


> When my stove is running full tilt, it's not even that hot, but I have triple wall insulated flue. It kinda depends on what kind of flue you have
> 
> 
> I find it easier to monitor the fire from the griddle temp though, not the flue temp.



yeah mine is black stove pipe my griddle temp seems to stay around 450 but I'm just not getting the results I expected maybe I expect too much


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## cheeves (Jan 3, 2012)

dustytools said:


> Your stove fits his verbal description to a Tee. He is only asking $200 for it, im just wondering if I drive there and find it to be worth the money and it is a coal stove can I still use wood in it? Thanks for posting the pics.



Yes!


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## Chris-PA (Jan 3, 2012)

brbarnhouse said:


> yeah mine is black stove pipe my griddle temp seems to stay around 450 but I'm just not getting the results I expected maybe I expect too much


You want your flue temperature to drop - as long as the stove temp isn't dropping too much as well. The intent is to reduce the heat going up the chimney and have it transfer into the room instead. I believe with that era of stove technology the damper just makes the smoke travel a longer path within the stove so as to extract more heat from it.


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