I have owned and operated this stove for 5 years and have never really been thrilled about it. As OP described, the fire was "lazy" and would essentially go out once the door was shut. I have been basically running it with the door cracked to built up temp, then shut the door when it's hot enough to slowly smolder and burn out. I saw this video last year and finally decided to try it out myself. The results are AMAZING! It's like a brand new stove now. Honestly, it's burning so hot and efficient, I basically need to re-learn how to operate the stove with WAY less wood. I took out nearly 20 pounds of excessive cement and replaced it with half a tube of furnace cement. I can honestly say, the way this stove comes from the factory is NOT AT ALL how it is meant to function. Thank you SO much for this video. I never would have thought to try this but after fighting with the stove for years, I decided to buckle down, tear down, and rebuild the stove. It was a solid full day effort, but the results are AMAZING.
Have the same stove, and wondered why it has been the hardest stove I've ever used to start a fire. Hate to put the labor into it, but I think it has the same problem. Thanks for this video.
I knew there was something wrong with my aspen. Got tired of fighting a losing battle and scrubbing out creosote buildup so thick it was like black pop corn except thick chunks of it. So I put my old Birmingham no 20 back and put the aspen in storage till I could do some research on it. All the descriptions here reflect exactly what mine was doing as well. I paid good money for this and expected superior performance. Now maybe I can do a tear down and rebuild. This video explains a lot. Like many here thinking it's a shame that this company fell so far down from the quality that they were known for. Thank for this knowledge. I hope I can manage it.
Oooookay.... Thank you! Family members have been fighting with this stove and came to the conclusion that it must be some kind of "efficiency" thing where rather than actual flames you just got the fire going then closed the door. The fire would appear to go out but the coals would slowly eat the wood. Now years later I took it apart for another issue and found some blocked air intakes. Your video makes me wonder if I should check the rest of it for similar issues! So many complaints about this stove but how many are caused by human error?! This video is great for seeing this stove's potential!
I have the same stove. The owner of the store where I bought mine in Laconia, told me that Vermont Castings was sold about 15 years ago and he felt the quality went down. It was subsequently bought by a different company who also makes stoves, and the quality returned. I've had good luck with mine just using the rear damper. I plan to get the outside air attachment for it, so I'm not using air for combustion from inside the cabin.
I have had the same stove for about 15 years at our remote cabin. The cabin is framed sealed well with proper vapor barrier and it worked crappy until I added the fresh air intake.
There is a document from Vermont Castings titled "ASPEN 1920 Tear Down & Rebuild" that you can get emailed to you. I called VC's Customer Service and talked with an EXTREMELY helpful lady named Julie who did the research and got a copy to me. It is a very detailed document with many pictures that has gotten me through the tear down and cleanup process. Today I start the rebuild......
I’m trying to rebuild mine, I called Vermont Casting and ask for those instructions that you mentioned and had no clue what I was asking, would you mind sharing through a link?
Thanks for the information. I have two of these. One of them is the same model that I’ve had for close to 20 years. I have had some problems with not getting proper airflow. The building is pretty tight so I added a fresh air intake and it worked better for a couple of years then I started having the same problem with airflow. I started vacuuming it out in the summer and I have found some of this cement shucking in the air passages. I was wondering what the heck are rocks doing here, the cabin is 8’ off t he ground. Now that I see all the air channels from your disassembly I see I might have to also do a complete tear down.
Great job. I need to reseal my old Resolute stove and was wondering if you made a video of your disassemble and reassemble with tips and what products you used. Stove gasket and cement.
Well, that settles it for me. I was thinking about getting the Aspen c3 even though I don't like the idea of an "automatic" damper. Seeing this tells me that even if the auto feature works correctly I might be faced with lousy workmanship. And from an American company. What a shame. Sickening, actually.
Thanks for making the video, I have had this stove brand new since 2005, always worked well for me although this is the first year now where smoke is leaking through the back vertical seams so I am thinking about taking it apart to fix. Did you have any issues removing the screws if so what was your method? Thanks
Whats up!! Exciting to see your stove roaring, I have a similar project going. Mine doesn't have tubes, its a Vermont casting Acclaim, but I have it disassembled and cleaned up. Now I'm looking for a video or advice on reassembly and using the furnace cement and gasket kits. Did you have experience reassembling stoves before this? How thick does the cement need to be in the joint/seams?
No I don't have experience reassembling stoves, I used a stove cement and I probably was a little gun shy on it and didn't use quite enough so it's not as tight as I would like however I can use the exhaust damper I installed and it it controlled well that way.
Hi. My top refactor brick is broken. Is it difficult to replace it? I see bolts at the top. I’m wondering if I them out and just side in the new brick or do I need to take more apart to get it out. I don’t want a huge job but the service wait it very long. I’m thinking of making my own brick also. Thanks
Very helpful video! Ours has spring loaded air flow control behind it. Assuming a built in dampner? My husband was wondering if he took it off and fabricated one we can control? Do you think that would help? At times we get smoke rolling into the house and not drafting up the chimney. I am sure we will need to tear ours apart and clean the junk as you did, too.
The rear damper is thermostatically controlled, and works....a little bit. Once the stove is hot it will close completely. I installed a damper on the exhaust to better control the stove, which works pretty well in conjunction with the rear damper.
@@r1powersports755 can you tell me the supplies you used to assemble the stove? Vermont website does not offer any tips or help. Is there a particular cement adhesive you can recommend? Thank you!
How does that stove even leave the factory? This model would be perfect for our house but it's currently unavailable right now and there's no published timeline for its return to market. Now that I've seen this I'm having second thoughts about VC.
--I'm in the middle of doing just this now, re-cementing it all back together now. Do you have any recommendations for doing so? Should the legs be on first / any weird stuff with the 2x air channels on either side / any order of operations for getting it together (assembly order: base / front and back / air channels / sides / top?) I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to cement the air channels snugly.-- Scratch that, with enough fighting I think I worked it out. = )
Also, I should thank you for giving me to confidence to rip into this project. I'm not sure I would have, unless I had seen this. Cheers my dudes! **clink**
@@r1powersports755 I have one of these stoves and am experiencing the same problems. After you fixed it are you happy with its performance? Does it run too hot? I don’t think there is any way to dampen it down if it is running hot.
@@fredtheunicorn4241 After I rebuilt it I can tell the built in damper on the back of the stove has little if any effect so went from being too air tight to not tight enough. However I installed a damper on the exhaust and it works well to dampen the stove down and no it does not get too hot I can control it pretty well with the exhaust damper. I do like the stove a lot I used it to heat my off grid cabin where it gets very cold and works like a charm.
@@r1powersports755 Thanks for the reply and the video. I have complained about the fact that my stove just smoulders to the dealer your video is helpful in establishing that I’m not just imaging things.
That's pretty gruesome. Luckily, my problem is with the baffle, broken by people throwing large pieces of wood up.. My question, can the baffle and superwool blanket be replaced by removing the stainless steel pieces that retain the firebrick on the sides? Thank you.
My baffle cracked up within a month of using my c3. The company wants about $200 for a new baffle. I said, "No way, Jose!" I cut a piece of sheet steel from an old road sign and put it in place of the baffle. Stove works great for over two years now. Cost of steel: $2.
I have it installed and it works great! As with any stove there is a bit of a learning curve but once we got that hang of it's the perfect stove for our small small space.
Obviously, this is what the assembly line calls a "friday" job. Quality control had better figure a way of detecting such shoddiness. Maybe a simple test of vacuum hose and feel for flow with your hands not involving combustion? BTW its called a wind tunnel. Thank you...
Where does the cement go on the inside? I can't find any info anywhere that shows exactly where to cement on the inside. There are a lot of seams on the inside but not all should be cemented...What seams exactly do I cement? Can you help>
I really just cemented where the bottom pieces meet as well as the places where the air channels are. I didn't record that part because I am by no means an expert but it worked well nonetheless .
I don't know what VC warranty is but if it is still under warranty I would assume it's covered because if it is the same issue it's defiantly a manufacture defect. Good luck
Bought an Encore model, had almost a year. Vermont Casting is NOT the quality it used to be since the company was bought out. Literally falling apart. 100% NO support if you try to contact the company, not even an email contact. Insulation, glass on door fall off as they are poorly attached. The bypass lever on the right side does not work properly. Almost all the nuts, bolts, screws were loose when I received it. Buyer beware, they are just throwing theses stoves together as fast and cheap and expensive as possible.
Your supposed to have fire bricks covering the bottom and side and the back of the sove!!! especially the bottom front so the ash won't fall in the air vents !!! and why are they using cement glue and not welds?
I have owned and operated this stove for 5 years and have never really been thrilled about it. As OP described, the fire was "lazy" and would essentially go out once the door was shut. I have been basically running it with the door cracked to built up temp, then shut the door when it's hot enough to slowly smolder and burn out. I saw this video last year and finally decided to try it out myself. The results are AMAZING! It's like a brand new stove now. Honestly, it's burning so hot and efficient, I basically need to re-learn how to operate the stove with WAY less wood. I took out nearly 20 pounds of excessive cement and replaced it with half a tube of furnace cement. I can honestly say, the way this stove comes from the factory is NOT AT ALL how it is meant to function.
Thank you SO much for this video. I never would have thought to try this but after fighting with the stove for years, I decided to buckle down, tear down, and rebuild the stove. It was a solid full day effort, but the results are AMAZING.
A tear-down video would be very useful for those who have this stove. VC does not seem to have put the info out.
Have the same stove, and wondered why it has been the hardest stove I've ever used to start a fire. Hate to put the labor into it, but I think it has the same problem. Thanks for this video.
I knew there was something wrong with my aspen. Got tired of fighting a losing battle and scrubbing out creosote buildup so thick it was like black pop corn except thick chunks of it. So I put my old Birmingham no 20 back and put the aspen in storage till I could do some research on it. All the descriptions here reflect exactly what mine was doing as well. I paid good money for this
and expected superior performance. Now maybe I can do a tear down and rebuild. This video explains a lot. Like many here thinking it's a shame that this company fell so far down from the quality that they were known for.
Thank for this knowledge. I hope I can manage it.
Oooookay.... Thank you! Family members have been fighting with this stove and came to the conclusion that it must be some kind of "efficiency" thing where rather than actual flames you just got the fire going then closed the door. The fire would appear to go out but the coals would slowly eat the wood. Now years later I took it apart for another issue and found some blocked air intakes. Your video makes me wonder if I should check the rest of it for similar issues! So many complaints about this stove but how many are caused by human error?! This video is great for seeing this stove's potential!
Found this video and followed your lead. Finally got my parents aspen to run right. Thank you
I have the same stove. The owner of the store where I bought mine in Laconia, told me that Vermont Castings was sold about 15 years ago and he felt the quality went down. It was subsequently bought by a different company who also makes stoves, and the quality returned. I've had good luck with mine just using the rear damper. I plan to get the outside air attachment for it, so I'm not using air for combustion from inside the cabin.
I have had the same stove for about 15 years at our remote cabin. The cabin is framed sealed well with proper vapor barrier and it worked crappy until I added the fresh air intake.
If your house is well sealed, you will have to open a window a crack nearest the stove, to give the stove air to burn.
There is a document from Vermont Castings titled "ASPEN 1920 Tear Down & Rebuild" that you can get emailed to you. I called VC's Customer Service and talked with an EXTREMELY helpful lady named Julie who did the research and got a copy to me. It is a very detailed document with many pictures that has gotten me through the tear down and cleanup process. Today I start the rebuild......
I’m trying to rebuild mine, I called Vermont Casting and ask for those instructions that you mentioned and had no clue what I was asking, would you mind sharing through a link?
@markcarlos3047, would you be able to share the document / pdf?
Any tips on applying the new seal/cement??
And what product did you use?
Thanks for the information. I have two of these. One of them is the same model that I’ve had for close to 20 years. I have had some problems with not getting proper airflow. The building is pretty tight so I added a fresh air intake and it worked better for a couple of years then I started having the same problem with airflow. I started vacuuming it out in the summer and I have found some of this cement shucking in the air passages. I was wondering what the heck are rocks doing here, the cabin is 8’ off t he ground. Now that I see all the air channels from your disassembly I see I might have to also do a complete tear down.
wow.. I hope it didnt come out of the factory like that... crazy.. thx for sharing man. you could be saving someone a lot of heartache.
Good job buddy.
Great job. I need to reseal my old Resolute stove and was wondering if you made a video of your disassemble and reassemble with tips and what products you used. Stove gasket and cement.
No I didn't I know I should have it's a bit of a puzzle to take apart and put back together.
Cool you figured it out. Maybe a newbie sadly assembled it in the factory.
Nice find.
I am doing the same project after inheriting the stove from a family member.
Well, that settles it for me. I was thinking about getting the Aspen c3 even though I don't like the idea of an "automatic" damper. Seeing this tells me that even if the auto feature works correctly I might be faced with lousy workmanship. And from an American company. What a shame. Sickening, actually.
Thanks for making the video, I have had this stove brand new since 2005, always worked well for me although this is the first year now where smoke is leaking through the back vertical seams so I am thinking about taking it apart to fix. Did you have any issues removing the screws if so what was your method? Thanks
Whats up!! Exciting to see your stove roaring, I have a similar project going. Mine doesn't have tubes, its a Vermont casting Acclaim, but I have it disassembled and cleaned up. Now I'm looking for a video or advice on reassembly and using the furnace cement and gasket kits. Did you have experience reassembling stoves before this? How thick does the cement need to be in the joint/seams?
No I don't have experience reassembling stoves, I used a stove cement and I probably was a little gun shy on it and didn't use quite enough so it's not as tight as I would like however I can use the exhaust damper I installed and it it controlled well that way.
Have you had the front “flap” by the door come down? I’m having trouble getting ours back up. Thx!
Hi. My top refactor brick is broken. Is it difficult to replace it? I see bolts at the top. I’m wondering if I them out and just side in the new brick or do I need to take more apart to get it out. I don’t want a huge job but the service wait it very long. I’m thinking of making my own brick also. Thanks
Very helpful video! Ours has spring loaded air flow control behind it. Assuming a built in dampner? My husband was wondering if he took it off and fabricated one we can control? Do you think that would help? At times we get smoke rolling into the house and not drafting up the chimney. I am sure we will need to tear ours apart and clean the junk as you did, too.
The rear damper is thermostatically controlled, and works....a little bit. Once the stove is hot it will close completely. I installed a damper on the exhaust to better control the stove, which works pretty well in conjunction with the rear damper.
@@r1powersports755 can you tell me the supplies you used to assemble the stove?
Vermont website does not offer any tips or help. Is there a particular cement adhesive you can recommend?
Thank you!
How does that stove even leave the factory? This model would be perfect for our house but it's currently unavailable right now and there's no published timeline for its return to market. Now that I've seen this I'm having second thoughts about VC.
--I'm in the middle of doing just this now, re-cementing it all back together now. Do you have any recommendations for doing so? Should the legs be on first / any weird stuff with the 2x air channels on either side / any order of operations for getting it together (assembly order: base / front and back / air channels / sides / top?) I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to cement the air channels snugly.-- Scratch that, with enough fighting I think I worked it out. = )
Also, I should thank you for giving me to confidence to rip into this project. I'm not sure I would have, unless I had seen this. Cheers my dudes! **clink**
Is this the Aspen C3 or the older model?
Is that the C3 version or 1920?
I have this very same stove in my cabin. Thanks for the advice! How hard is it to take apart and put back together?
Not very hard just a large puzzle. Recommend taking apart the front and rear end first. Good luck!
R1 Powersports ok. Thank you sir!
@@r1powersports755 I have one of these stoves and am experiencing the same problems. After you fixed it are you happy with its performance? Does it run too hot? I don’t think there is any way to dampen it down if it is running hot.
@@fredtheunicorn4241 After I rebuilt it I can tell the built in damper on the back of the stove has little if any effect so went from being too air tight to not tight enough. However I installed a damper on the exhaust and it works well to dampen the stove down and no it does not get too hot I can control it pretty well with the exhaust damper. I do like the stove a lot I used it to heat my off grid cabin where it gets very cold and works like a charm.
@@r1powersports755 Thanks for the reply and the video. I have complained about the fact that my stove just smoulders to the dealer your video is helpful in establishing that I’m not just imaging things.
That's pretty gruesome. Luckily, my problem is with the baffle, broken by people throwing large pieces of wood up.. My question, can the baffle and superwool blanket be replaced by removing the stainless steel pieces that retain the firebrick on the sides? Thank you.
My baffle cracked up within a month of using my c3. The company wants about $200 for a new baffle. I said, "No way, Jose!" I cut a piece of sheet steel from an old road sign and put it in place of the baffle. Stove works great for over two years now. Cost of steel: $2.
Great video! How is it working now after some use? Looking at getting one myself
I have it installed and it works great! As with any stove there is a bit of a learning curve but once we got that hang of it's the perfect stove for our small small space.
Did all this excess cement get added at the factory or do you think the previous owners messed it up?
Obviously, this is what the assembly line calls a "friday" job. Quality control had better figure a way of detecting such shoddiness. Maybe a simple test of vacuum hose and feel for flow with your hands not involving combustion? BTW its called a wind tunnel. Thank you...
If the previous customers had re-assembled it, then where are their modifications?
Where does the cement go on the inside? I can't find any info anywhere that shows exactly where to cement on the inside. There are a lot of seams on the inside but not all should be cemented...What seams exactly do I cement? Can you help>
I really just cemented where the bottom pieces meet as well as the places where the air channels are. I didn't record that part because I am by no means an expert but it worked well nonetheless .
@@r1powersports755 Thanks for getting back with me...much appreciated!
it would have been SO helpful if you had shown us how you reassembled the stove...
I just bought one C3 aspen, and it won’t stay going, do you think it would be covered under warranty? Looking for some guidance
I don't know what VC warranty is but if it is still under warranty I would assume it's covered because if it is the same issue it's defiantly a manufacture defect. Good luck
Vermont Castings make nice stoves but too over pricey! And some quality problems.
Bought an Encore model, had almost a year. Vermont Casting is NOT the quality it used to be since the company was bought out. Literally falling apart. 100% NO support if you try to contact the company, not even an email contact. Insulation, glass on door fall off as they are poorly attached. The bypass lever on the right side does not work properly. Almost all the nuts, bolts, screws were loose when I received it. Buyer beware, they are just throwing theses stoves together as fast and cheap and expensive as possible.
Which brand would you recommend?
At first it looked like you "fixed" it by beating the shit out of it and presumably just buying another brand...lol
Your supposed to have fire bricks covering the bottom and side and the back of the sove!!! especially the bottom front so the ash won't fall in the air vents !!! and why are they using cement glue and not welds?
That is some shitty workmanship right there! Vermont Castings can do better!
I had this stove several years ago.A total P.O.S. Don't buy one. It struggles with air starvation.