VC Intrepid II newbie needs help.Both technical and advice based on pictures.

[irover]

the stove should only occasionally be run with the damper open. Risk of creosote buildup if the cat is not used. also the stove will not be at all efficient and will not put out any serious heat if the cat is not engaged and working. you will see if you fix the cat the stove will put out so much heat you probably won´t be able to be in the same room, as you say it is already putting out sufficient heat. it feels like 4 times more heat with the cat engaged!

I have rebuilt 2 of these stoves and they are serious little heaters but need to be properly maintained, it is like a Ferrari, easy to break but when it works its just fantastic!

And Joa , i also live in Sweden. Your cat seem pretty worn out but the refractory unit l ok, be careful with that and treat it like an egg! seriously, it is very expensive and if you need to vacuum out the ashes from the bottom if it, attach a smaller flexible hose to the vac cleaner and stick that hose down carefully and reduce the suction. do not use the nozzle it will destroy it. Also your secondary probe seem a bit short, you should try to get a new one, because if the copper rod is burnt off, the secondary burn will be too hot because the heat is not transmitted to the bi-metal spring and the air supply is therefore not closed. this can lead to broken cat and refractory unit, the two most expensive parts to replace, around 400 bucks in US, or if you order from the Swedish VC dealer Camina, don´t even think about it...

 

[joa_bj]

When we moved in a few years ago it was already installed by the previous owner.
I have all along thought it was not very good (never had any experiences before with heating systems what so ever) so for that reason I have not showed much interest in it.
Then I found a couple of forums and I understood this is supposed to be a really good stove.
So I have just started to understand how it works (well, at least parts of it), but information is not easy to find here in Sweden and I have not been able to find a dealer that can help me either.
I found the manual by the help of a forum member and just started "taking it apart" focusing on the catalytic part which I suspect has never been changed. The stove was probably installed 12 years ago.

So now I have a few questions.

1. Does the catalytic block look ok? To me it looks a bit contaminated, no cracks, something that looks strange out on the outer rows of the honeycomb.
If not ok, what is the problem with it?

2. There is a small thermostat sticking out in the chamber where the. How does that work? Can ut be damaged. Attaching a picture for that one as well.

3. General look of the area. Any comments for how everything else looks?
I think the refractory chamber looks good. Do damages at least.

4. Gasket in the area. It looks really flat and my assumption is that it's not completely air tight.
What do you think?

I think that is all for now. Any help is much appreciated as I can't find much helpful here in Sweden as it seems.

//Joa

 

[Todd]

Not real familiar with your stove but if the catalyst is 12+ years old it's more than likely needs replacement unless the stove was only fired occasionally. If the stove still comes up to temp and there is little or no smoke out the chimney it still has life. They usually last 12,000-14,000 hours of continuous use or about 3-5 years. Most VC's require rebuilds and replacement parts eventually. Use the search engine here you will find all kinds of info for VC Intrepid stoves. It may help you to down load a manual of the stove from the Vermont Castings site.

 

[joa_bj]

I maybe should add that I do not use it very often. I have another stove inside apart from my main heating system.
Maybe I average about 30 times/year. I have noidea how often the previous owner used it though.

//Joa

 

[begreen]

We've seen worse here, the stove may be lightly used. Giving it a bump to percolate it to the top. The cat looks like it might just need a gentle blow out and maybe a soak in a pickling solution to bring it back. Do a search on Intrepid rebuild. There are some other posts here that should be helpful.

Here's a couple:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/11401/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/1432/

 

[joa_bj]

Thanks for the replies so far. The old forum threads and the manual has been useful altough it has not given me spot on answers.
I'll try and clean the catalytic block and use what I've learned to see how it's working.

What I have not understood is how the thermostat sticking out in the catalytic chamber is working. What does it regulate and how and how does it look (see picure). It looks quite burnt to me....

 

[Todd]

I don't see the thermostat your talking about, but basically it regulates the amount of air going into the stove so when you set your burn it will keep that even temp output going so you don't have to keep tweaking the air setting. I think it's a very nice wood stove feature that every stove should have.

 

[elmoleaf]

1. Does the catalytic block look ok? To me it looks a bit contaminated, no cracks, something that looks strange out on the outer rows of the honeycomb.
If not ok, what is the problem with it?
Physical condition looks ok...obviously if extensively cracked or crumbling, it should be replaced. The weird stuff along the edge is probably gasketing between the combustor and it's metal casing. Don't worry about it. To clean the combustor, you can soak it in warmed diluted (50/50) vinegar & distilled water solution for 30 minutes, followed by rinse with distilled water. Heat the cat in oven or toaster oven to dry thoroughly before using. DO NOT use anything abrasive to clean the cat....no brushes etc (they can remove the metals that make the cat work). The only way to learn if the cat is still good is to operate the stove correctly, and check for little to no smoke visible from the chimney during proper operation with damper closed.

2. There is a small thermostat sticking out in the chamber where the. How does that work? Can ut be damaged. Attaching a picture for that one as well.
That thermostatic probe is essentially a big copper rod....if it's eroded away to a short stub, replace it. Otherwise it can function if bent or even heavily pitted. The thermostatic probe connects to a bimetallic coil on the back of the stove. That coil has a small wire rod to a metal shutter that controls secondary combustion air. As the cat begins working and raising the temp in the combustion chamber, the metal shutter lowers and reduces secondary air entering the combustion chamber. Sometimes the wire rod can become disconnected from the metal shutter. When the stove is cold, the little metal shutter should be in the up or open position (Note that this item is NOT the primary combustion air flapper that's visible on the outside of the stove).

3. General look of the area. Any comments for how everything else looks?
Nothing looks unusual. Be very careful with the refractory chamber. It's very fragile and expensive to replace. Even a strong vacuum cleaner can suck a piece off or create a hole. Your stove is a later version than mine....my cat access is by removing a plate from the rear of the stove. Just remember if you need to remove the chamber, to first remove the secondary air probe. Otherwise you'll break the chamber into pieces.

4. Gasket in the area. It looks really flat and my assumption is that it's not completely air tight.
I'm pretty sure that gasket is a flat gasket when first installed. It's not super critical that be completely airtight. Obviously the stove works best though if all flue gases go through the hood and pass through the combuster, rather than having any leak past and bypass secondary combustion.

Other items to check:
1. Get a strong light and careful inspect inside the firebox. You should not see daylight anywhere. Look along all the corners where the plates come together, and also look upwards at the underside of the top. Note any areas of odd color or soot buildup that may signal air leaking into the firebox. Also check outside at all the plate joints. If you have an enamel finish, extensive chipping along a seam can be a sign of local overheating from an air leak. Use furnace cement to seal any questionable seams. If the stove has been moved or tilted, it's likely there'll be air leaks at the joints between plates.

2. If you have glass in the doors, check the glass gaskets. Sometimes the glass clamps or gaskets can become loose and allow air leaks. Snug but don't overtighten screws that hold the glass.

3. Make sure griddle top and door gaskets are in good shape (not frayed, falling out or missing).

There are a couple other forum members who use this stove. Probably in November when heating season gets going, they'll return to the forum. Try bumping the thread to the top then to get more responses.

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/40619/

I just installed a newfound Intrepid2 and am learing much about it pretty quickly. Check the thread above.

I cant offer much about if the cat is ok or not, but your refractory assembly (the white-ish thing the cat sits in, made of soft white material) is in much better shape than mine is, and mine seems to be working great even if it is a bit beat up. I did call the people I got it from they said they put in a new cat block a few yrs ago.

As I read if yours is as old as you think, it might need replaced if it isn't working when you close the damper and start the cat burning.

I found a good place online to buy parts for this stove, I got a new gasket kit, they delivered it quickly and its a good kit with more than enough extra ropes to do the whole stove. I see they do sell the cat blocks too, as well as the refractory assembly;

http://www.blackswanhome.com/product/refractory-assembly-various-models1
(Yours looks fine to me)

and
http://www.blackswanhome.com/product/catalytic-combustor-various-models

and a gasket kit, I bought this one, it regasketed my whole stove with rope to spare.
http://www.blackswanhome.com/product/black-swan-gasket-kit-for-vigilant-resolute-defiant-intrepid


It says they dont ship internationally, but you can always have it remailed by someone in the states to Sweden for ya or find another supplier that will do international shipping.

The thermostat in the back according to my manual is factory set, and opens up to feed the cat more air when it ignites. I'm sure it can be broken if you mess with it.

I've been burning mine at night here, cooking on it and it's a great little stove. (baked cornbread and biscuits on it last night) It puts out more than enough heat for me without using the catalytic converter, I just leave the damper open and choke the air intake back to slow it down. I probably wont use the cat much at all.

Keep that in mind too, you dont have to use the cat, you can just leave the damper open and bypass it. As they tell me, you'll use more wood but so far from using mine in the last few week I'm impressed at how little wood it uses even with the cat bypassed and the damper opened.

The stove is 100% usable even if your cat is useless. Just leave the damper open.
I'm sure somewhere online, you can buy a new cat and have it shipped to you.

and you are right, that rope gasket looks like it needs replaced. Easy job, pull it off, scrape the groove clean and re cement a new rope in.

Also I found mines firebox joints inside needed cleaned and recaulked to stop some air leaks. That too is pretty easy.