Vigilant Damper Stuck!

Hi...came across this site when searching for help for my Intrepid (Vermont Castings). We haven't used this stove for about 4 years. Got her cleaned up good, chimney cleaned out and fired her up. I noticed the damper handle was a bit stiff. But after using the stove for a few days, it was fine. Unfortunately, yesterday it froze. We had not had a blazing hot fire in it, either. Is this something we can fix ourselves? Has anyone else had this problem? My husband rubbed off any creosote around the damper but no luck. With the price of propane for our boiler, we retirees have reverted back to wood. (Just paid $650 to fill the tank) Thanks in advance for your help!

I forgot to mention it became stuck in the closed position.

Encourager said:

Hi...came across this site when searching for help for my Intrepid (Vermont Castings). We haven't used this stove for about 4 years. Got her cleaned up good, chimney cleaned out and fired her up. I noticed the damper handle was a bit stiff. But after using the stove for a few days, it was fine. Unfortunately, yesterday it froze. We had not had a blazing hot fire in it, either. Is this something we can fix ourselves? Has anyone else had this problem? My husband rubbed off any creosote around the damper but no luck. With the price of propane for our boiler, we retirees have reverted back to wood. (Just paid $650 to fill the tank) Thanks in advance for your help!

Click to expand...

Is this a Catalytic or non-Catalytic Intrepid. Because the damper on the Cat Intrepid is pretty loosey-goosey. If mine ever got stuck it would mean that something was quite warped or the damper handle needed some serious tightening.

It has a catalytic converter. But that has nothing to do with the damper handle, right? :long:
And the handle won't budge. We called the place we bought it from 12 years ago. The tech said to squirt it with WD40... :roll: My husband said thank you and hung up. Then rolled his eyes. He said that was pretty flammable stuff and how could we get it all wiped up!

We are stuck; don't know what to do. The Vermont Casting site was no help. Any suggestions???????????????????????

BTW, we also have a 30 year old Vermont Casting's Defiant. Now THAT is a workhorse! Heats a two-story 1700 sq ft passive solar home. It has an attitude at times but is very reliable. The smaller Intrepid is in an addition to the house that is 800 sq ft.

Mine just froze in the closed position. I tried to wiggle the damper handle to get it to move and it started to slip on the shaft. 20 minutes later I checked it and found the damper had freed itself. I'll have to tighten that handle tomorrow after the stove cools off, but the damper itself seems to be working fine now.

So everything is pretty small on an Intrepid, but remove the pipe and you'll be able to see the damper rod in there and the little ramp that it rides onto. With a hammer and a piece of wood, even a largish screwdriver, try to bang the damper rod down and away from the ramp. It may sound odd, but once you're in there, you'll see it's really a simple arrangement. The real question is why it froze! Couldn't say, but it may reveal itself when you see it. Those damper rampa or clips they may call them, do have a nasty habit of breaking, or the damper housing itself may have warped enough to become a problem, or it may just be possessed by an evil demon. Then you need to chant over a talisman; need a different forum there.

Happy Heating