Help! -loading 2011 VC Encore 2n1

[Zouave75]

Hi! I am new to the forum. So, we just purchased a new home and I wanted to have a stove. At our old house, we had a Regency Classic I2400 medium insert. Worked well, but house was not well insulated (built in the 1940's).

For the new house, I wanted a stove, not an insert. Decided on VC Encore 2 in 1. I am having a severe learning curve on it. With the old Regency, I could stuff it full and choke it down, no problem. It would burn away around 500 - 600. With the VC, I gingerly loaded it initially and it went up to only about 400. So, I put more in it and it raced up to +-725. This was with the damper on, cat in and fully choked on the air control. This freaked me out a bit.

Background is that I have never had a cat stove before. I was apprehensive about getting it, but with the option to run without it, I decided to go with it. So, I am looking for some advice as to how to load it. I see some people talking about the damper 'getting in the way of that last log' and I cannot even fathom putting in that much wood after my first incident. Please let me know if I am just being overly cautious and this is a normal temp.

Regarding the air control, it has a 'funny' feel to it, i.e. like there is a spring on the other side of the cast iron that is 'scraping' against the cast iron when I turn it. It does, however, seem to work, albeit slightly. I was used to the Regency air control. When I would choke it all the way down, the flames would visibly diminish and seem to dance a few inches above the wood, not on the wood. Do I have an issue with my air control? Am I being overly cautious?

I really want to give this stove a chance, but it is different than what I have used in the past.

Thanks for any help!
Erik

 

[begreen]

I don't have this stove, bumping for response.

I would contact the dealer if you think there is anything amiss with the air control. It should not be binding at all, but it is not a direct damper like the Regency. It controls a thermostatic spring which might explain the noise. 725 is hot, but not too hot. I'm guessing what happened is that you put fresh wood on a full hot coal bed and it outgassed rapidly causing the cat to burn in high gear? Did it settle down in 15-20 minutes after lowering the air control setting.

 

[Zouave75]

Begreen, I will contact my shop regarding the air control. I wish I knew what it looked like on the inside. I don't think that it is broken necessarily, but it just feels 'odd' in my non professional opinion. One time it even got rather stuck in the mid position. I had to pull it open and back several times before it freed up.

That particular fire, I had started with bricks. It got up to around 400 with about 4 bricks. I put a few pieces on it, now that I think about it, they may have been very, very dry. There is a small stash that the previous owner left here. They rarely used the open fireplace. In the last few days, I have been a bit more daring putting more wood on it and it has been behaving. This is my wood that I brought from the previous house. Probably 9-12 months seasoned.

I am just curious if people can load these up full to the top and then shut damper and air control and not have the temp spike above 725. I know now after some research on this site that that temp is not specifically dangerous, but this is just all new to me with the cat stove. I do not want to put in a full load and then have my temp gauge melt above 800.

-E

 

[begreen]

That is an important clue. Compressed brick have a lot of energy in them. And very dry wood can take off very quickly. I would try learning the stove without the bricks until you are familiar with its operation under varying circumstances. Mix less dry wood or bigger splits in with the very dry wood. Or just use that for starting fires.

Also, visit the dealer and try out the air control on some floor models to see if they feel the same.