Vermont Casting Intrepid II refactory chamber replacement

[lugnut51]

In trying to replace the refractory chamber in my Vermont Casting Intrepid II model 1990 I can't figure out how to remove the "Rear air tube." The book says it's held in place by two phillips screws. I think I have to remove it because the new chamber catches on the fins on the lower fireback.

 

[Malcolm]

I know this was a year ago, but your question interests me because I am just wondering whether to replace my refractory chamber in exactly the same stove. Was it a very difficult/complicated job??

You didn't seem to get much help from the forum!

 

[green papa]

Here I am in Nov. 2014 with exactly the same question on the exact same stove . I can't find the 2 phillips screws the manual is talking about to remove the rear air tube in order to install the (rather expensive) replacement refractory chamber. Nowhere can I find a contact phone number for Majestic or Vermont Castings Group, and the email they provide for questions on the VC website no longer works. Does anybody know how the air tube can be removed...or how to contact this secretive company?

 

[defiant3]

So the rear air tube is only cemented into place, noscrews. Once you've removed the L&R air tubes by gently but firmly tapping and prying upwards, you may then tap aand pry the rear air tube free. No need to be quite so gentle with this guy. Behind it you'll find the lower fireback which indeed is screwed into place,though only 1 Phillips head screw, not 2. At the other end, you'll find a funny little tab like thingy, with a corresponding bolt on the outside of the stove. Hope this helps!

 

[green papa]

Thank you very much! When you say the L & R airtubes, are you referring to the left and right inserts directly in front of the rear airtube that the grate sits on? Or will I have to first remove the L & R air manifolds that are attached to the front of the stove in order to get access to everything else?

 

[green papa]

So, my chimney cleaner (who also relined my chimney and installed the Intrepid in 2011) and I both came up with the same solution for installing the new refractory chamber. It didn't seem to make sense to bust apart all the internal cement joints to remove the lower fireback. So we carefully routed out 2 grooves in the refractory chamber with a Dremel tool so the chamber would slide down over the protruding tabs in the lower fireback. I also replaced all the door, griddle, and window gaskets and the catalytic block. So far, since I did that in November, the stove has operated flawlessly. It is very easy to control the temperature now, and I'm using much less wood per burn. If anyone else out there has tried this, let me know so we can compare performance.