VC Encore 2550 - Rebuild Question

Hi Everyone,

I've been lucky to read the Hearth.com forums and find a lot of information to help me rebuild a used Vermont Castings Encore 2550. But, there is one question I haven't been able to find and I was hoping someone might know the answer to it.

The background:

The stove was bought used and was overheated by the previous owner. The lower and upper firebacks were both warped and I bought new replacements for them. The lower fireback has instructions for removing and regasketing it, but I haven't been able to find anything for the upper/damper assembly. When taking out the upper fireback/damper assembly, I also didn't find any cement or rope gasket between the assembly and the stove which would have been helpful. It was just crumbly and full of creosote.

The question:

I haven't been able to find any service manuals online that list or show what should be there. Would anyone know if it's advisable to just add a liberal bead of gasket cement or if it should have a properly sized rope gasket?

Thank you very much!

~Adam

Diabel said:

I just checked my in pieces 2550 and it looks like the damper assembly only has a groove for gaskets on its vertical sides (about 3" on each side). I don't think you need to put gaskets on the horizontal sides. I would however put some cement there.

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I wondered about those vertical grooves being for a rope gasket because it has the same rounded shape as the grooves on lower fireback and inner side walls. I'll have some leftover rope gasket after finishing the lower fireback, so maybe I'll put some on those vertical grooves, install it, and then check it for gaps. If it looks tight, I'll take it out and spread some cement on the horizontal sides and consider it finished.

Jack, I checked the Black Swan site and unfortunately didn't find anything specific to the upper fireback, but it's a great site. Thanks for the tip!

Here is what I ended up doing for it. I ran the gasket in the grooves at the top and sides, let the cement harden, and then installed the whole thing. This has to be taken out if the refractory ever has to be replaced, so I thought at least if I "might" have to take it apart that this will be easier than chipping gobs of cement. Also, it was a bear to wrestle into place and I can only imagine how much cement I would have been wearing at the end. It seems to have sealed everywhere it's supposed to, but I can't be sure until I fire the stove up. I still have to install a wall thimble before that happens though. Thanks everyone for your help and advice!