I inherited a Vermont Casting woodstove for my cabin, the damper is stuck as in it got wet and now it won't move. Besides trying to work the rust free and if I can't do ya'll know if using an in pipe damper would be doable?

You really don't need a damper in the flue. Turning down the combustion air accomplishes the same thing.

I don't know,...but before you give up on it, soak it with this stuff a few times.

http://www.kanolabs.com/

I turn that down how?

Do you have the door and the lid? The door should have a combustion air adjustible intake.

what Bristoe says~!

The doors are solid..as is the lid.

That looks like an older Resolute model. Call Vermont Castings and ask them for advice. If you have the front door and top lid then it may be worth bothering with. See what they say.

You don't need that damper on the back to work nor the air intake control.

Put a damper in the chimney above the stove and don't over load it.

http://vermontcastings.com/family/Stoves/Non-Catalytic/Resolute-Acclaim/

I have the smaller Intrepid stove, my damper handle is only for directing flue gas through the catalytic combuster, I never use it, it stays open. My air intake is simply a little flap over a hole in the casting on the back of the stove, right side as you look at it. It is operated by a little lever up top attatched to a chain. If you don't have these parts it would be fairly easy to fabricate them. Nice stove!

I'd see if you could get a wire cup brush for an angle grinder and clean it up and paint it with stove paint. It'll look, and work, like new.

You might need new gasket material on your doors.

Looks like you have a Vigilant. In addition to a damper it should have a thermostat. Both are very important for a safe and efficient operation. I would not fire it without them working.

Vigilant

I have all the parts to it. It's a Vigilant model and it has the little flapper on the back. I'll clean it up and replace the gaskets as they are shot. I also have all the stove pipe to go with it. It will need to be able to damp down to hold a fire, this is my source of winter heat.

I should add...regardless of dampers and air control devices in wood stoves I always install a damper in the pipe for extra security.

light a fire in it and see if you can burn off the rust.

roundoak pegged it. Vigilant. Remove the inner backplate, free up the damper baffle, make sure the intake thermostat works and go to using it......The co. recommends NO pipe dampers be used. Check the bottom. They often burn out. Sometimes new stove cement is needed to seal cracks....

elf, another thing to check is for cracks in the back fireplate. Oftentimes they'll bend against the damper, and hamper operation..

I had that very stove in a house I used to live in on the Yukon River and believe me, you would be better off installing an in-pipe damper in it. As it came from the factory, the draft control was ill-fitted and would not shut off the air sufficiently and sheetmetal had to be used to take up the slop. Otherwise it would runaway. It also didn't hold fire very well as a result. An in-pipe damper would have mitigated those issues.

Oh it'll damper down. My little Intrepid will hold a burn with pecan or oak for five hours, with coals enough to relight for another hour or two. That larger stove should add another hour or two to that at least. Burn what you have but try to keep some birch for your last loading and I'll bet it'll burn all night.

Annie, I had a Vigilant. It's a great stove. The flap in the back is the thermostat. Mine would get to the point it would flap when the temperature in the room got to the right place. I'd have to keep adjusting it back and forth to keep the flapping noise down. I left my damper open all the time.

I had a stove with a "thermostat" and had more creosote than anyone would want. I now have a Pacific Energy with no damper in the pipe and it has burned very clean for 12 years. I only have one air inlet control. Built in 1977 that stove may other problems.

Qtip
Soli Deo Gloria!

I had one in an earlier house with this same stove.. I'd never do it again.. All it can do is add potential problems.. But it would depend on the stove I guess.. I don't have a damper on this one and I've been running it every cold day since 1980..

Thanks for the input Mickey. I'm still working on the thingy ma bob that the handle on the side controls to see if I can get it to wiggle free. I might start a fire in it outside ( where it sits until the inside space is ready for it) and see what happens.. Who knows but I did get a couple hundred bucks worth of insulated stove pipe with it that's in very good shape so at least I'm one step ahead.