2018/19 VC Owners Thread

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Do you know anyone with a backhoe or mini excavator? Get the stove just outside the basement stove and strap and lift it out with hydraulics. I would be engineering some macgyver chit to avoid going up the stairs with a 400 lb boat anchor.

What I learned getting the one down informed me on how to get the other one up. It involves building a 6' sled with carpet stapled to the bottom, ratchet straps, and the come-along hand winch. No problem, and no hurry.

 

[Dobish]

 

[RandyBoBandy]

View attachment 233043

Looks like winter We got about 1/2” last Thursday which quickly melted. It’s been cold enough to be burning 24/7 for a couple of weeks now.

 

[Diabel]

Dipping below freezing here starting tomorrow and snow. Still burning hemlock. I have a hard time doing an overnight burn with it. I get 6-7 hrs of good heat out of it, and I like my beauty sleep. No big deal relighting it the next day. NG is picking up the slack every morning regardless.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Dipping below freezing here starting tomorrow and snow. Still burning hemlock. I have a hard time doing an overnight burn with it. I get 6-7 hrs of good heat out of it, and I like my beauty sleep. No big deal relighting it the next day. NG is picking up the slack every morning regardless.

Haven’t you gone to the dark side with your BK princess? You should be getting much longer than 7 hours out of her. I’m averaging 12 hour Burns on oak with a little cherry and elm mixed in.

 

[Diabel]

Haven’t you gone to the dark side with your BK princess? You should be getting much longer than 7 hours out of her. I’m averaging 12 hour Burns on oak with a little cherry and elm mixed in.

I built a house on a lake about 1h from the city. The Princess is sitting there. The VC is still working hard in the city house.
I will write a review on the Princess soon.

 

[bholler]

We got the Resolute moved last weekend with no damage to the stoves, very minor cosmetic damage to the house, and some significant (but repairable) damage to the relationships.

If anyone ever needs to move a stove down stairs, ask me, I aquired some valuable wisdom that I am unlikely to ever need myself again. In short, get a come-along, heavy-duty hand truck, some ratcheting tie down straps, build a "sled" out of 2x6's, and take the legs off (at least on the Resolute).

Now, I just need to get the old one back up the stairs.

Or use a stove cart with a power stair climber.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Or use a stove cart with a power stair climber.

Damn, I forgot I had that set up tucked away in the back of the barn!

 

[bholler]

Damn, I forgot I had that set up tucked away in the back of the barn!

I thought everyone did

 

[Dobish]

Looks like winter We got about 1/2” last Thursday which quickly melted. It’s been cold enough to be burning 24/7 for a couple of weeks now.

Today was 25, tomorrow back up to 50...

 

[BrowningBAR]

I need a new cat and refractory box and also need to regasket the damper plate.

I want to curse at the damn thing just thinking about that. I think my body is now 20% stove cement due to my work on VC stoves.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I want to curse at the damn thing just thinking about that. I think my body is now 20% stove cement due to my work on VC stoves.

So far I ended up replacing the cat, changing out the flue collar to a 6” round and chimney to a 6” excel. I’m going to limo the refractory box along for this winter. It is showing signs of age but no holes. I also re gasketed the lower fire back. If I can get through the winter without having to remove the cat for any reason I should be ok.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Today was 25, tomorrow back up to 50...

Woke up this morning to a solid 2” of snow. Looks nice outside but it is definitely going to make the job site sloppy.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I thought everyone did

They should!

Mine is right back with the commercial rotary chimney cleaner, and full set of scaffolding that I have to clean my liner once a year.

While I'm joking, now that I think about it, all these things would be money better spent than much of the money I do spend.

Big part of the reason I heat with wood is to save money, but I really do find myself wanting to spend lots of money on it.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

New member to the forum. Have an encore 2550 that came with the house we purchased from the mother-in-law. It was bought new in about 1996 when the house was built. In the process of replacing the refractory assembly and catalyst plus gaskets on internal parts and doors. Have been reading about using a thermometer to monitor the burn temps at the catalyst. It seems a lot of folks use them but there isn't much information out there on exactly how one goes about installing one properly. Would anyone be willing to share their experiences? Thanks.

Here is the picture of the clip I was speaking of. It just holds the probe cable in place so it doesn’t move around. I diconnected the secondary rod this morning to see how things run this way. I did a reload last night and the cat was off to nuclear melt down. I took a look with my flashlight and the shutter was taking it’s sweet time shutting. If I get a chance to let the stove cool down I will pull the secondary probe and see if there is a bunch of crude built up. Maybe put some anti seize on the washers and bolt for the coil...idk. Or better yet replace the damn stove. J/k.... for now that is.

 

[Diabel]

View attachment 233116 I diconnected the secondary rod this morning to see how things run this way. I did a reload last night and the cat was off to nuclear melt down.

I taped the flapper with aluminum tape about 2 years ago and never looked back. I will still have an occasional spike to 1700 but seldom. In the BK thread some guys peg the cats at 1800 regularly

 

[SCBeekeeper]

Thanks for the info. I've attached a photo to this thread. Is the little silver button at the top of the photo the knockout for the thermometer probe? Is the probe supposed to be located between the stove firebox and the cat or below it in the refractory box?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

View attachment 233116

New member to the forum. Have an encore 2550 that came with the house we purchased from the mother-in-law. It was bought new in about 1996 when the house was built. In the process of replacing the refractory assembly and catalyst plus gaskets on internal parts and doors. Have been reading about using a thermometer to monitor the burn temps at the catalyst. It seems a lot of folks use them but there isn't much information out there on exactly how one goes about installing one properly. Would anyone be willing to share their experiences? Thanks.

Here is the picture of the clip I was speaking of. It just holds the probe cable in place so it doesn’t move around. I diconnected the secondary rod this morning to see if this would help keep the cat on a leash.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I taped the flapper with aluminum tape about 2 years ago and never looked back. I will still have an occasional spike to 1700 but seldom. In the BK thread some guys peg the cats at 1800 regularly

Yikes. That seems a little toasty.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Thanks for the info. I've attached a photo to this thread. Is the little silver button at the top of the photo the knockout for the thermometer probe? Is the probe supposed to be located between the stove firebox and the cat or below it in the refractory box?

View attachment 233122

Yes the button is your access. Pop that off and use a drill bit that is the same diameter as your probe and by hand, drill a hole through the refractory box. This will put the probe in the refractory box just under the cat. So don’t use use an obnoxiously long drill bit and accidentally go through the front of the refractory box as well.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Thanks for the info. I've attached a photo to this thread. Is the little silver button at the top of the photo the knockout for the thermometer probe? Is the probe supposed to be located between the stove firebox and the cat or below it in the refractory box?
Is your stove hot or cold in this picture?
View attachment 233122

 

[Dobish]

This was from a while back on my 2040. Now its an AT100 Hole location is the same though.

 

[CueBaller]

Hey, all... new member here!

My wife and I recently bought a place in the country, which just so happened to come with this beauty. The plaque on the back says it's a Defiant Encore, and the date manufactured code is 3282, so I'm guessing that's around November of 1992? The copyright date on the paperwork is 1990.

Had a guy out last Friday to inspect/clean it, so I've been trying to get the hang of it for the past few days (this is my first experience with wood heat), and I think I finally got it.

It's 26 degrees outside, and nice and comfy in here... wall thermometer on the opposite end of the room shows 70 degrees, and the house thermostat (through the kitchen and around the corner in the hall) shows 67.

I think I'm gonna like this stove!

 

[Diabel]

Welcome to the forum Cueballer!

This place is a wealth of useful information.

Btw very nice set up

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Hey, all... new member here!

My wife and I recently bought a place in the country, which just so happened to come with this beauty. The plaque on the back says it's a Defiant Encore, and the date manufactured code is 3282, so I'm guessing that's around November of 1992? The copyright date on the paperwork is 1990.

Had a guy out last Friday to inspect/clean it, so I've been trying to get the hang of it for the past few days (this is my first experience with wood heat), and I think I finally got it.

It's 26 degrees outside, and nice and comfy in here... wall thermometer on the opposite end of the room shows 70 degrees, and the house thermostat (through the kitchen and around the corner in the hall) shows 67.

I think I'm gonna like this stove!

Welcome and congratulations on your country home and the beginnings of being a wood burner. Did the house come with a good supply of seasoned firewood? If not this is something you need to get moving on. I hope you like tinkering because that is what you will be doing to keep the VC burning properly. Can you verify model number? It will be on the tag on the back of the stove. 2550? I see you have a stove top and flue thermometer which is good but you are going to want a cat probe thermometer as well. You can probably get away with the standard cat probe that Vermont castings puts on their stoves seeing as how you have a 360 degree setup and will be easy for you to look behind the stove. These encores really need 3 thermos to keep them from going nuclear on you. The better your burning habits the longer the life of the stove because these Vermont’s are expensive to repair. On a lighter note your stove and hearth look great. Maybe move your flue thermometer up to 18” above the stove top and feel free to ask any questions. Happy burning.