Encore 2550 Blues....Newbie Help.

[mking7]

Okay, I posted a few weeks ago that I was going through the stove and making sure I was in good working order. This week I have fired up the stove for the first time this year (after replacing door gaskets and fixing ashpan to close fully and having a sweep inspect/clean the pipe).

I feel like I may still have a gasket issue but wanted to ask you guys what you think. Last night I started my fire and got the stove top up to 650ish and cut in the cat. I won't say I saw any 'dancing flames' so to speak but it did seem to slow the fire down a bit. But only a bit. I cut the air down to low (as low as possible) and it still gained in temp. Got over 750. I didn't know what to do other than open the doors and put the fire screen on as I had seen this cool the fire down in the past. I did that and waited till it got to 550 or so and closed it back up. Previously I had checked (by feel only, I can't get behind the stove) that the air control lever was moving the flap behind the stove and it was.

I'm not burning a full stove either, just a few pieces of wood (3-4 max) at a time. So they pieces aren't packed in the stove, more just placed in from the top. Should I be packing it tighter maybe? Wood is mostly oak and c/s/s since last fall (and went through the drought/heat wave this summer).

Should I shut it down before it gets that hot? Is there any way to troubleshoot the gaskets other than just looking? They seem to be okay. I did pull the cat out to look at it but not sure how to tell if it's good or not. We inherited this stove when we bought the house last year but I'm going to assume the stove was put in when the house was built in 2001 and further assume this is the original combustor but I really don't know. How do you know if your combustor is bad? The manual said to replace after 2-6 years and to go outside and observe smoke exiting the chimney. But since I have nothing to compare it to I'm not sure I'd know what I was looking at/for. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. I'd like to feel comfortable going to bed with the stove burning. Last night I stayed up till midnight when it finally started running cooler. Thanks guys.

Here's my cat if it helps at all.

 

[BrowningBAR]

The cat looks fine and in good shape. You can tell a cat is beginning to go when warping and crumbling of the honeycomb becomes noticeable. Yours does not show any signs of this.

The high temps seem a bit weird considering the amount of wood you are using and where your air controls are at (based on the available info at this time)

When you engage the cat, the flames will slow. After a while they will slow further and the flames take on a slow motion 'watery' effect, if that makes any sense to you.

You are engaging the cat a little later than I do as I usually engage between 500-600.

 

[Diabel]

There are so many variables in the proper operation of this stove. leaky gaskets, sticky thermostat coil.....etc. It would be nice if you could see the back of the stove while in operation to see the thermo. coil doing its thing. In my stove the flames will not disappear right away when I shut the primary air, after about three, four min. they will. A friend has a 2550 & his unit when primary air shut all the way, the flames disappear at once! Is my stove leaky?? Not sure. I still get steady 8 hrs burn out of it. My buddy's 2550 also gets 8 hrs from his...

 

[Gark]

To remove the cat, you saw the refractory box it sits in - is the box whole and not missing any sides or top and does the cat fit well into it? In our 2550 when the damper closed, the flames slow WAY down. Does your damper look to be closing all the way shut and is not warped?

 

[wood-engineer]

Two Cat thermometers on the back of the stove really helps out - one at the inlet & one at the outlet of the cat. One the 2550, there is a pre-drilled hole for the outlet temp on the back of your stove. You can drill a 3/16" hole about 4 inches above the outlet (just above the stove nameplate) & put in a cat inlet thermometer.

Have the cat temp difference is a great troubleshooting tool, you can tell when your cat is lit off and when it is functioning properly. A new cat will run about 400F delta (outlet - inlet) & degrades quickly (a few weeks) to about 200 F for a normal fire. Some of the more common problems are a poorly sealed fireback, leaking bypass (needs adjusting or new gasket), or refractory that is broken. if the smoke can bypass - it will, causing smoke emissions and difficulty keeping the cat lit off.

Also, on my 2550, I struggle with air leakage up from the ash pan. Not sure if it is the ash pan door or leaks in the bottom plate. I generally let ash build up in the bottom of my stove. After a few days it forms a crust and seals off the bottom of the stove. The stove is then much easier to control. My neighbor has the same stove, he actually put a 1/2 thick metal plate on the bottom of the stove to seal his off.

The stove is temperamental, but runs awesome when in proper running condition. I'll set the primary control at 6 o'clock & the temperature will lock in at 500F at the inlet, 700F at the outlet and stay as steady as a rock. Bump the primary to 7 o'clock & she will kick up 100F. It's a thing of beauty. But, when something's wrong I just pull my hair out! i've had this stove for 7 years, I really like it but I'm trying to talk the wife into a Blaze King for next year.

Good luck.

 

[Konrad]

I burned a 2550 for 3 years.

I've buried the griddle lid thermometer needle before; that was a little scary. 650-750 griddle temp is where I normally ran my Encore, that's the cruising speed.

Start on full air, close cat at 500 F griddle temp, run at full air with the cat closed until the fire is well established and then choke the air to zero.

Stack temp about 8" above the stove ran at about 200 F.

 

[Gark]

After re-reading the OP, it sounds like there is still a leak into the firebox. With primary closed (as much as it can) the flames and temp should have dropped - whether the cat was engaged or not. Especially with just 4 sticks of oak. Try the dollar bill test on all door gaskets. The ashpan doors are known to be leaky (or ashpan cavity). A stick of incense may reveal leaks if held near seals during a burn. Ash door gasket and griddle gaskets OK?
Wood-engineer .. do you know about the EPA holes just behind the front legs?

 

[wood-engineer]

I've seen those mentioned in a few threads - (2) 3/16" holes, but I haven't been able to locate them. Do you recommend plugging them?

 

[Diabel]

A good bed of ash will keep them plugged. These holes apparently
help to burn down the coals. I had them plugged at one point to experiment
and the only change was a difficulty getting the fire going from cold start. No coal
build up issues.

 

[defiant3]

Tap the glass panes. Do they rattle at all? Most likely source of leakage is glass, I find. THey were using some wierd fibery stuff instead of regular rope gasketing for a while. Also, the fact that the 2ndary air gate moves isn't relevant. The probe has to be intact or else it won't tell the gate to close. Remove the probe and inspect it. It should be a full 2" long.

Bleeder holes are located on a 2550 just inside the ash pan door one on the L one on the R going vertically, 5/16" dia(I think) Plug 'em w/a piece of gasketing and see if it helps.

Encores are very draft sensitive, and yours just might be on the strong side! A good old fashioned stovepipe damper may just do the trick!

Happy heating!

 

[mking7]

To remove the cat, you saw the refractory box it sits in - is the box whole and not missing any sides or top and does the cat fit well into it? In our 2550 when the damper closed, the flames slow WAY down. Does your damper look to be closing all the way shut and is not warped?

The reafactory box seemed normal, not falling apart and everything fit correctly as far as I could tell.

Damper is closing completely.

 

[mking7]

Two Cat thermometers on the back of the stove really helps out - one at the inlet & one at the outlet of the cat. One the 2550, there is a pre-drilled hole for the outlet temp on the back of your stove. You can drill a 3/16" hole about 4 inches above the outlet (just above the stove nameplate) & put in a cat inlet thermometer.

Have the cat temp difference is a great troubleshooting tool, you can tell when your cat is lit off and when it is functioning properly. A new cat will run about 400F delta (outlet - inlet) & degrades quickly (a few weeks) to about 200 F for a normal fire. Some of the more common problems are a poorly sealed fireback, leaking bypass (needs adjusting or new gasket), or refractory that is broken. if the smoke can bypass - it will, causing smoke emissions and difficulty keeping the cat lit off.

Also, on my 2550, I struggle with air leakage up from the ash pan. Not sure if it is the ash pan door or leaks in the bottom plate. I generally let ash build up in the bottom of my stove. After a few days it forms a crust and seals off the bottom of the stove. The stove is then much easier to control. My neighbor has the same stove, he actually put a 1/2 thick metal plate on the bottom of the stove to seal his off.

The stove is temperamental, but runs awesome when in proper running condition. I'll set the primary control at 6 o'clock & the temperature will lock in at 500F at the inlet, 700F at the outlet and stay as steady as a rock. Bump the primary to 7 o'clock & she will kick up 100F. It's a thing of beauty. But, when something's wrong I just pull my hair out! i've had this stove for 7 years, I really like it but I'm trying to talk the wife into a Blaze King for next year.

Good luck.

I'm going to pull the fireback out tonight and check it. I had it out to pull the cat but just kind of leaned it forward. The gasket could be an issue, I'll check tonight.

Just fyi, I burned again last night. I engaged the cat at about 510 stovetop and cut the air all the way down. Burned steady (with just one split on the coals) but when I reloaded it with 3 splits, even with the air closed down completely, the temperatures rose to 750ish. I think I have to have a leak, now I just need to find it. We were going to buy a new stove (we don't care for the white porcelain finish) and I decided I wanted to burn this one for a year so I could better know what I want in a stove. I'm almost wishing I had just bought one.

 

[mking7]

Tap the glass panes. Do they rattle at all? Most likely source of leakage is glass, I find. THey were using some wierd fibery stuff instead of regular rope gasketing for a while. Also, the fact that the 2ndary air gate moves isn't relevant. The probe has to be intact or else it won't tell the gate to close. Remove the probe and inspect it. It should be a full 2" long.

Bleeder holes are located on a 2550 just inside the ash pan door one on the L one on the R going vertically, 5/16" dia(I think) Plug 'em w/a piece of gasketing and see if it helps.

Encores are very draft sensitive, and yours just might be on the strong side! A good old fashioned stovepipe damper may just do the trick!

Happy heating!

Okay, not sure where this probe is but I'll dig through the manual and figure it out. Thanks.

 

[capnjohn]

I have a recalcitrant Encore. The stove constantly over-fires and the only way we can control it is to only load one or two logs at a time. We even installed a damper in the intake line. We have never gotten an eight-hour burn out of it. But we are constantly fearful of burning the house down. We have been fighting this stove for three years and our patience has given out.

I have been using wood burning stoves for 40 years, so I like to think I have some experience with them. this one has beaten me. Repeated attempts to involve the factory yields unsatisfactory results: They do not want to deal with the customer; that is the job of the local dealer, so your response to problems is handled only by the local dealer. How knowledgeable are they, really?

I have heard every excuse from the wood is to dry to the chimney is too tall or short. Every month I do the dollar bill test on the doors. I'm sick of it. These stoves are just too finicky for the average user or the user who just does not want to have to take the time to putz with it. This is the first wood stove I have ever owned that requires constant attention and still will not preform.

After three years, we are sick of it. We plan to go back to a Jotul. The old Easter Island guy looking stove was a gem! We used to layer newspaper in between the logs and get a full weekend burn! If we tried that with the Encore--there would be no house to come back to.

Vermont Casting went down the drain a few years back when they changed owners. for my money, try the Jotul. I will let you know how it goes.

John Cleveland
southern Indiana (Under duress)

 

[defiant3]

Bet your doors don't line up right and/or the ash pan door assy. doesn't allow IT to close right. Or you just got one made at 4:30 on a Friday before a long weekend. Sorry, wish the dealer was more willing or able to step up.

Jotuls are awesome! Only thing is they don't have a model that corresponds exactly to the 2550, so you gotta go a tad larger or smaller. Usually not a big deal.

By the way, V.C.'s demise began long before the most recent change in ownership IMHO.

 

[capnjohn]

Ah, the obvious answer is not always the right one. I adjust the doors monthly by placing a dollar bill in the door "jams" and adjusting for resistance. Even the "NFI Certified Woodburning Specialist" verified it was proper per manufacturer recommendations.

Remember, we have had "factory trained technicians" look at it and give up.

Thanks anyways.

JOhn