vermont castings defiant encore stove issue

I have had this stove in my house for 5 years and about a year ago the lever that switches from regular vent to catalyst vent stopped working. It is stuck in the non-catalyst position. I don't want to force it and break something, but it will just not move. I have opened up the back cover and cheked the catylyst and cleaned it out. Any ideas how to free this mechanism?

Need to know a little more, like the model number. Likely it's a 2140 or 2190 which have these annoying little tabs that often fail. Just a first guess, but a good one.

Wait- back cover? So it's a 2140. If you remove the pipe and look in through the flue collar, and close the damper by hand, you'll see the rod that makes the damper move. It SHOULD be held down by a steel clip, but I bet the clip is bent, warped, or not there at all. Have a look. U may need to remove the flue collar to get this to happen.

I know this will upset some...and John...this discussion has been an ongoing discussion, and if you haven't been chimed in on this...One more point for the non cats. And don't get me wrong...I like the idea of cats. If that makes sense!

You will either need to remove the lower & upper fireback and damper assembly or the back casting of the stove in order to gain access to the damper controls. Removing the lower & upper fireback and damper assembly is easier to accomplish than removing the back casting. But, you will need to replace the gaskets before you resemble the stove.

EDIT: Also, this is not a Pre-EPA stove. If possible, it should be moved to the main Hearth forum for more visibility as there are several Encore owners that are members here.

This is incorrect information. Owners of the Lopi Leyden have also had issues with the damper control. The Leyden is a non-cat stove. This is more of an issue with downdraft styled stoves.

Rear cat stove, could also be an 0028, D3 has you on the right track. Post photos and we can help more

This is not incorrect info...everyone knows that more moving parts means more breakdown parts.

Which has nothing to do with a cat stove as the non-cat stove example I just provided has as many moving parts as a cat stove.

C'mon...now your telling me...there's as many parts for a non cat vs a cat???

On some stoves with by-pass (lots of Lopi's) and/or downdraft, there can be.

Having a hard time with this one...so your saying there's as many moving parts on a cat as a non cat???

Yes. On down draft stoves particularly. Lopis and Harman stoves come to mind.

Again. The only additional moving part on a VC cat stove that doesn't exist on, say, a Jotul, is the damper flap which is a solid piece of cast iron that is connected to a rod. This set up exists on non-cat down draft stoves as well.

How many "moving" parts do you think is on a Cat stove? ?

To put this in perspective, I just got rid of a 35 year old, Pre-EPA Vigilant that had just as many moving parts as a cat stove.

This doesn't mean you should like cat stoves. For some, it just isn't their cup of tea. But, moving parts should not be the reason you do not like a cat stove.

Now, if you want to complain about a VC stove you can complain about the amount of maintenance they require (which is high when compared to other stoves), the abundance of gaskets that are used (which is a lot when compared to other stove), their poor use of materials in both the cat and non-cat stoves (The old cat assemblies, the everburn materials, and the materials used in the Resolute), their expensive choice in catalysts, their previously poor parts support, but,moving parts is not the issue.

All that being said, I've got my VC stoves running like champs and I look forward to finding a used 2-in-1 Defiant and Encore several years from now from someone that couldn't figure them out.

Where's the "WTF" button when you need it?

Seriously. Encore wins awards for like most over engineered anything on the planet. It has more moving parts than the space shuttle.

I think it needs more gaskets...

I think Jon has left the building