Intrepid, older (1302?) non catalytic, no control over temp anymore

Juniper · Nov 8, 2015

hello. i have been using an older model Vt.Castings Intrepid for about 6-8 years. Last owner said they didn't use it much. There have been no issues until last winter, when this problem started where I can damper the thermostat ALL the way down and the temperature still shoots up to 700 degrees even w/air inlet completely closed.
This stove used to be a dream - i could set thermostat lever and it would remain at a set temp. all day long while i was away at work. now i have no control over the temp. and it scares me a little.

Just had all the gaskets replaced, windows, doors, chimney cleaned.
Not sure what could be wrong. Do i need a new thermostat?
What is meant by a "rebuild" and is that what i need?
Thanks

begreen · Nov 8, 2015

The first thing to check is that the flapper valve that ties to the thermostat is closing when the control is moved to the no heat position. Work the control back and forth while watching the flapper to confirm it is working correctly and not sticking.

Juniper · Nov 8, 2015

Thank you I looked at that and it closes completely and moves properly, no sticking... sorry i should've mentioned that in original post!

begreen · Nov 8, 2015

Does this stove have a catalytic combustor?

Has the door gasket been checked? It needs to seal well. Close the door on a dollar bill and slowly pull the bill out. It should come out with some tension on it. If none, the gasket could need replacing. Next check the bypass operation to make sure it's closing completely and properly. Examine for warpage. If all is ok there start looking for cracks or seam leakage. Besides a close visual examination in good light you can also examine in the dark with a bright light on the inside of the stove shining at seams, etc. Have an assistant shine the light while you inspect the corresponding location from outside the stove.

Juniper · Nov 8, 2015

begreen said:
Does this stove have a catalytic combustor?

Has the door gasket been checked? It needs to seal well. Close the door on a dollar bill and slowly pull the bill out. It should come out with some tension on it. If none, the gasket could need replacing. Next check the bypass operation to make sure it's closing completely and properly. Examine for warpage. If all is ok there start looking for cracks or seam leakage. Besides a close visual examination in good light you can also examine in the dark with a bright light on the inside of the stove shining at seams, etc. Have an assistant shine the light while you inspect the corresponding location from outside the stove.

No catalytic combustor, it's the first Intrepid model. It has a secondary smoke burning chamber that i don't always utilize. Just hired a guy to re-gasket all door and window gasgets. and cleaned the bypass thingy, no warpage, no cracks found on inspections.
Not sure what you mean about seam leakage, but i don't see any light on seams either. But, seams look like they might need re-cementing? I will get you a pic of it...
Thought this would all be fixed w/re-gasketing and now the cold is upon us and i have no back up heat. emailed the stove repair guy again at Friends of the Sun in Brattleboro VT.

elmoleaf · Nov 9, 2015

I suspect it is in need of a rebuild....that means disconnecting the tie rods and pulling the stove apart into the approx. 6 major individual castings that make it up. Over time, the cement between these castings will fail and begin to fall out...you can't necessarily see daylight between the castings because of how the pieces are designed to mate together. When apart, all the old stove cement gets cleaned out and the stove reassembled using new stove cement.This is at the fixed joints between castings, not the ones with fiberglass gaskets at operable parts.
If the stove was ever tilted or lifted by being pulled up with a hand in the door opening, this may've caused the seam cement to crack. That's what happened to me. As as result, I rebuilt in 2005, and because of one area that didn't get pulled tight enough together is begin to fail, I'll need to rebuild again next summer.

Juniper · Nov 9, 2015

elmoleaf said:
I suspect it is in need of a rebuild....that means disconnecting the tie rods and pulling the stove apart into the approx. 6 major individual castings that make it up. Over time, the cement between these castings will fail and begin to fall out...you can't necessarily see daylight between the castings because of how the pieces are designed to mate together. When apart, all the old stove cement gets cleaned out and the stove reassembled using new stove cement.This is at the fixed joints between castings, not the ones with fiberglass gaskets at operable parts.
If the stove was ever tilted or lifted by being pulled up with a hand in the door opening, this may've caused the seam cement to crack. That's what happened to me. As as result, I rebuilt in 2005, and because of one area that didn't get pulled tight enough together is begin to fail, I'll need to rebuild again next summer.

UGH. i have the sneaking suspicion that you are right. I can't see any light thru anywhere but on the OUTSIDE of the stove, at what i think are the seams, it looks like little bits of maybe cement have fallen out? This sucks as i will have to go thru winter w/ a totally unsafe stove i cannot damper down because i doubt i can get it rebuilt in time for winter now with no backup heat. Aaargh. I'll get a picture of it...

begreen · Nov 9, 2015

For someone that knows what they're doing this doesn't take too long. Seeing you are in VC country you might be able to pay someone to do the rebuild. Perhaps a VC employee looking to do a weekend side job?

fbelec · Nov 10, 2015

and for your and anybody that lives in the same house safety don't run that stove if you can't control it. it's a possible house fire waiting to happen. or at least warping or cracking the stove so it would cost even more money to fix.

Juniper · Nov 10, 2015

yeah problem is i have no backup heat.
if i run it w/the secondary chamber thingy engaged i can run it on lower temp it just creates more creosote.
i'll keep looking for someone who can fix it, talking to The Friends of the Sun who are supposed woodstove experts and they want to know where the thermostat is located "on top of stove or on pipe" duh, NEITHER it's part of the stove! ugh....

The other odd thing is that it doesn't consistently do this, only sometimes. doesn't matter if ash pan full or empty.
Tried holding a match to all seams and gaskets last night w/damper wide open, flame didn't budge so...?
I need to have someone who knows what they are doing come look at it.

begreen · Nov 11, 2015

Given it's age have you considered just replacing it? Cost of rebuild would be close to buying an Englander 17VL new.

Old puffer · Jan 28, 2016

Juniper, did you get this taken care of? We just rebuilt our 1302 this past weekend. Apart from the high temps, we also had a visible smoke leak when the damper was thrown. The stove was cast in 1985. Cement on the inside corners was grey, cracked and missing in some places. The major leak was right above the doors. You could see bits of cement in the seam. Elmoleaf was spot on with his comment. This is a rebuild. If you know how to replace a gasket (pull, remove old cement, recement and replace gasket) you can do a 1302. It's not a complicated stove.

defiant3 · Jan 29, 2016

Don't know where you are in VT., but this guy may help:

[email protected]

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Intrepid, older (1302?) non catalytic, no control over temp anymore

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