DutchWest 2181 (Small) User manual

SERVICE MANUAL
For the
Vermont Castings
Please place picture here.
1990 - 1993 D
CONVECTION
UTCHWEST
HEATERS
ODELS:
ll)
arge)
M
2181 (Sma
2183 (Large)
2184 (Extra L

HISTORY OF CHANGES
1990 – 1993 DUTCHWEST CONVECTION HEATERS
Models 2181 (Small), 2183 (Large), and 2184 (Extra Large)
In 1990, Vermont Castings changed the Dutchwest Convection Heaters to improve the
appearance, performance and serviceability of the stoves. The changes include:
•A horizontal brass bar in a convection outlet slot where the top and front meet. This
replaces the earlier two separate screened openings.
•Convection air inlets on the bottom of the stove. These become invisible to the user, and
replace earlier screened openings on the stove front.
•A modified damper linkage using a ductile-iron ‘crank-shaft’ passing through an adjustable
‘stirrup’ lifter.
•A ceramic fiber insulator around the combustor.
•A larger cook top. It is no longer a separate polished part but part of the stove top. A rope
gasket is used on the under side of the stove top for quick and easy access to the combustor
and damper.
•A heavier catalyst baffle. It is now heavier, and round, and made of ductile-iron, and has a
Sequoia-style round air distributor between it and the catalyst.
•Coal grate sides and front are now optional and the fire screen is optional.
•Latches are helical on un-threaded steel stems.
•An ‘air balance plate’ at the right end of the firebox. This brings room air into the firebox, to
balance the effect of the primary air inlet on the side-load door.
•An air diffuser plate on the inside of the side-load door. This slows the flow of the air into
the firebox.
•A round flue collar on the small and large units. The extra-large uses the Encore 8” oval
flue collar.
•Heat-reflective coating on the glass panels. This helps them stay clearer. For the extra-
large, there are left and right panels. Glass became standard equipment in 1992.
•Dropped the earlier steel gasket caps for the rocker grates, and substituted a single a cast-
iron panel to form the seal on the left side.
In 1992, Vermont Castings changed the inner tops to include a separate ‘web’ piece between the
damper and the catalyst. Since the web is separate from the main inner top, it can ‘float’ in
response to the high temperatures in that area.
Instructions for installing the new two piece inner top are found in the Repair Procedures Section.

REPAIR PROCEDURES
1990 – 1993 DUTCHWEST CONVECTION HEATERS
Models 2181 (Small), 2183 (Large), and 2184 (Extra Large)
INSTALLING THE TWO PIECE INNER TOP
Tools Required: Phillips and flat screwdrivers, socket wrench with 7/16” socket/open-end wrench,
rubber mallet, and 3 tubes of stove cement, caulking gun, putty knife, rags, hammer, cold chisel,
and wooden block.
1. Remove the top (one bolt in each corner). Since there is a gasketed seam between inner and
outer tops, you won’t need to break a cement seal here.
2. Remove the refractory insulator and combustor.
3. Remove the anchor bolt holding the #29 damper adjuster to the #28 damper. There is a hex
nut on the anchor bolt on the under side of the damper.
4. Rotate #35 damper crank counter-clockwise (as you face left side of the stove) until it
separates from the #36 damper operating rod. Lift the damper and operating crank off along
with adjuster.
5. Lift the front doors (including ash door) and brass bar #60 off the stove front.
6. Remove 2 hex nuts from the studs joining the stove front to the stove sides, above the inner
top.
7. Use a hammer and a wooden block to tap outward on the stove front from inside the firebox.
Once the cement seal is broken, lift the front off and set it aside. If you have left the ash door
on the stove front, do not set the front down vertically--pressure on the ash door can break it or
the stove front.
8. Remove the hex nut and washer from the stud above the right rear corner of the inner top
(joining the right side and the outer back). From inside, tap outward against the right side to
break its cement seal. Pull the right outward and forward at the same time until it clears the
inner back and then lift it off.
9. Tap around the left and rear edges of the inner top to separate it from the inner back and the
left side, and lift it out.
10. Use hammer and cold chisel to clean old cement out of the joints of all parts to be re-used.

11. Work in reverse order to re-assemble. Replacement inner tops include a separate ‘web’ piece
between the catalyst chamber and the damper opening. This web can move separately in
response to the high temperatures in that area.
The web is loosely bolted into place at each end and has Interam gasket to seal its ends. On
installation, the Interam gasket can look too small for the gap it seals. However, this Interam
will expand greatly under heat, and seal the gaps.
It’s worthwhile to do a ‘dry fit’ to ensure that parts fit together well before you cement anything.
Put a heavy bead of stove cement in each joint groove before putting the mating piece of iron
into it. When installing the inner top, be sure to align the inner top with the bypass operating
rod’s hole in the left side so that the bypass gate operates freely without causing the operating
rod to be forced to one side of the hole in the stove’s left side. Adjust the bypass gate so it
closes with only a little pressure.
12. Transfer the original baffle, channel cap, and air distributor from the original inner top to the
new one.
13. When the inner top is in place and the right side is attached and supports the inner top, use
hex bolts and steel tabs to attach the damper to the inner top. After you have positioned the
damper crank, damper operating rod, and adjuster--anchor the adjuster to the damper with a
hex bolt and nut below the damper.
14. Re-attach the stove front, after cementing its seams where it joins the stove sides and the
inner top and the inner bottom. Add the doors.
15. Install the catalytic combustor and insulator. Be sure there is Interam gasket around the
combustor.
16. Re-install the brass bar across the top/front opening.
17. Check the gasketing on the under side of the stove top to ensure a good seal here. Replace
the top. The bolts should be snug but not overly tight; over-tightening can warp the top,
possibly causing leakage.
18. Direct the customer to re-‘cure’ the stove, to acclimate the new inner top to the pressures of
expansion and contraction. Curing is a series of five small fires, with each fire hotter and
longer than the previous one.

INSTALLING THE SHAKER CENTRE GRATE
The shaker centre grate is easy to install in your stove. It should take about ten minutes to replace
it.
Start by removing the grate back and the side half-wall (called ‘air balance plate’ on some models).
Each panel has two bolts holding it in place.
Lift the rear edge of the grate frame (called ‘grate’ in some instructions) and prop it up out of the
way. Now you can lift out the centre grate through the front door and the centre opening of the
frame. There is no hardware holding the centre grate; it sits on ‘saddles’ on the stove’s inner
bottom. Replace the shaker centre grate, putting the edge with the longer teeth toward the front of
the stove. The longer teeth point downward. These prevent coal embers from falling into the pan,
unless you intentionally rock the rockers more than 60 degrees. When you lower the grate frame
back into position, be sure the rockers are level, so that they will rotate properly when everything is
back in place. Then bolt the grate back and the side half wall onto the back and side of the firebox,
and you’re done. Be sure to build your next fire slowly, so that the new iron will ‘cure’ properly.

ADJUSTING THE DAMPER
Using a 7/16 socket wrench, preferably with a socket extension:
1. Remove the top.
2. Open the damper.
3. Carefully remove the refractory cover.
4. Loosen the adjusting bolt’s lock nut.
5. Loosen the anchor bolt’s lock nut, located on the underside of the damper and accessible
inside the stove through the front door.
6. Loosen the anchor bolt a turn or two.
7. Tighten the adjusting bolt.
8. Test the damper mechanism. If further adjusting is necessary, continue to tighten the adjusting
bolt until the damper closes snugly.
9. When final adjustment has been made, tighten the adjusting bolt lock nut.
10. Tighten the anchor bolt. Tighten the anchor bolt lock nut.

DISASSEMBLY and ASSEMBLY
1990 – 1993 DUTCHWEST CONVECTION HEATERS
Models 2181 (Small), 2183 (Large), and 2184 (Extra Large)
DISASSEMBLY
Clear a space for storing parts as you take the stove apart.
You will need pliers, a 7/16” socket wrench or open end wrench, a 5/32” Allen wrench and a
Phillips head screwdriver to remove nuts and bolts and screws. You will need a dead blow
hammer to dislodge parts which have been cemented together. A conventional, steel hammer and
block of wood may be used in place of the dead blow hammer. Use the block of wood to protect
the metal parts from direct blows of the steel hammer.
These directions will tell you what screws or nuts should be removed during the disassembly of
your stove. Some hex head screws in the top and sides are for the installation of optional
accessories. Do not remove these screws unless directed to do so in the instructions for
installation of the accessories.
**NOTE: Wear gloves and protective eye wear.
Instructions are given as you face the stove.
You may wish to pull out, empty and clean the ash pan, and use it to hold hardware you remove
from the stove.
1. Lift the Probe Thermometer from the Top.
2. Lift the Front Doors from the Stove.
3. Lift the Load Door from the Stove.
4. Remove the Top.
Use a 7/16” wrench to remove the four hex head cap screws that hold the top plate to the body
of the stove. The four screws pass upward through the slotted tabs at the top of each side and
into the underside of the top plate. Lift the top from the stove.

**NOTE: To protect the refractory package and the catalytic combustor from damage as you
work on the stove, remove these parts from the inner top. It may be necessary to rock the
catalyst gently to free it from the top.
5. Remove the Hearth.
Use a 5/32” Allen wrench to remove the two set screws which hold the hearth in place, and
remove the hearth.
6. Remove the Ash Door.
Pull the ash door hinge pins put, and remove the ash door.
7. Remove the Flue Collar.
While holding the nuts that are inside the flue collar with pliers, remove the two Phillips head
screws that hold the flue collar in place, and remove the flue collar.
8. Remove the Front.
Threaded studs are screwed into the back of the front plate. The studs pass through slotted
tabs in the side plates. Nuts screwed onto these studs hold the front to the sides of the stove.
Remove the two nuts and washers, being careful to hold the front in place as you remove the
last nut. Lift the front from the stove.

**NOTE: Stoves are constantly being improved. You may notice some small differences
between the stove you are working on and these instructions. These instructions will serve as
a guide for disassembling and assembling your stove.
9. Remove the Balance Air Plate.
Remove the two hex head cap screws that hold the balance air plate to the inside of the right
side plate, and remove the air plate.
10.Remove the Grate Back.
Remove the two cap screws and washers that hold the grate back to the inner back, and
remove the grate back.
Remove the balanced air plate and the grate back

**NOTE: The next step is to remove the back. Before removing the back, brace the two sides
to prevent them from falling over when the back is removed. A pipe clamp adjusted to hold the
two sides together works well.*
11.Remove the Back.
Remove the nuts and washers on the two studs that hold the back to the sides, and remove
the back.
Remove the nuts and washers and remove the back.
On some older heaters, two additional screws, passing through tabs at the lower corners of the
back and into the bottom, helped secure the back. A long extension for a 7/16” socket is needed to
reach these screws.
**NOTE: Before continuing with the disassembly, brace the left side so that when the right
side, inner top and inner back are removed, the left side will remain upright.
12.Lift the Right Side from the Bottom.
13.Lift the Grate Frame from the Inner Bottom.
Lift the grate frame from the inner bottom. Remove the rocker and fixed grates.