VC Encore broken pieces

So I inherited a VC encore 2550 upon the purchase of my new home and needless to say I am learning as I go, but I must say this site has taught me ALOT!! So thank you for that (More than the pervious owner who did not know how to operate the stove correctly, luckly I found you guys and girls).

On to my problem. Upon cleaning the stove to use for my very first time I found these little broken chucks and was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction. Stove operates fine (minus the cat which is no longer ceramic rather just a pile of dust :| ) just wondering.

Oh and here is what was left of my cat

That looks like pieces of stove cement. This may or may not be a problem. The last encore I cleaned had some pieces of slag cement behind the fireback. It was excess that squeezed out during assembly. Where did you find it?

Is the "hood" intact? If yes, than i think Webby is correct

One was in the back left corner in between the wall and the fireback the others were towards the front of the stove mixed with the ash from the previous owner... so not too certain. I just ordered the cat and door gaskets, hopefully a full rebuild isnt necessary

On a side note when I do replace the cat should i replace that foam looking stuff behinde the fireback?

Only if it's broken. One thing often overlooked is the 2ndary air probe, which should be inspected and likely replaced with the catalyst. Good luck, and happy heating!

The foam looking stuff is the refractory box. It's incredibly delicate, available only from VD, and costs about a $300 so handle it with extreme care. The cat usually is partially supported by the refractory box, and if the box is too damaged the cat will not stay in play. Rebuilding one of these stoves if the refractory box is gone can easily cost $700.

That is a GREAT thing to know. I guess its a good thing I didnt take off the fireback last night before knowing this. Thanks!!

Ditto what slindo said, handle that refractory box with extreme care!! That said, if it is bad, there are a few threads here on Hearth.com about making your own replacement box. And if you search my name, you'll find a thread I started about some inexpensive refractory board that I bought on eBay to replace my stove baffle--that same material (or the next grade up in terms of temperature) could easily be used to make a refractory box. The piece I bought was $50 shipped and I'm pretty sure it would be big enough to repair or replace the refractory box in your stove....

FWIW, we liked our Defiant-Encore, but, when we realized that we were looking at a complete rebuild in the next year or two that would cost $700-$800+ dollars (with me doing the work!!) we decided to make the move to another, lower maintenance stove.....

NP