Defiant Encore with Bad Refractory

[counts86]

I just bought a defiant encore on craigslist and everything looked good in the photos but after bringing it home I noticed that the top of the refractor assembly is basically gone. The cheapest part I can find is 230 which seems outrageous.

So I have a few questions:

1) Will it operate in non-cat mode with a busted refractor?

2) How hard is it to replace the refractor?

 

[homebrewz]

Which model Defiant Encore do you have? There were a few models, including the 0028, 2190, and 2550. I'm not sure of the difference between the models, but my experiences are with a 0028. How does the rest of the stove look?

The going rate for the refractory package is about $200. I agree that's its a lot, especially for some refractory board held together with refractory cement and sheet rock screws. Some members have made their own and detailed their experiences. The catalyst is also about $200, so if both need replacing, it can get expensive. However, if it's done correctly and the rest of the stove is in good shape, you can have a good functioning stove.

I replaced mine by taking the back off, but you can also access it from the front by taking the upper and lower firebacks off too. If the bolts come apart easily, it's not hard to do. I would recommend replacing it if you plan to run the stove as a heat source, rather then once in a while for some ambiance. Running the stove in bypass will produce about 1/3 to 1/2 of the heat, not to mention it will burn less cleanly.

 

[counts86]

Homebrewz, thanks for the reply.

I looked last night and found out it is a VC Defiant Encore 2550 serial number 23180. Not sure how to read that for manufacture date though.

The stove is in good shape outside of the refractory assembly. It's a mess.

The cat has some ash in it from removing the pipe but it looks intact otherwise. I found a refractory assembly for 160 and may just go that route out of laziness.

 

[sean b]

I have an Encore 1450 with 'issues' as well. Don't know if Vermont Castings will help you or not but if you download the manual for your stove, you might find that the refractory parts are supposedly lifetime guaranteed. I'm in the process of trying to file a warranty claim for my stove but haven't heard anything back from the dealer yet. At the least, it wouldn't cost you anything to locate your closest VC dealer and try to get the parts under warranty.

 

[counts86]

I have an Encore 1450 with 'issues' as well. Don't know if Vermont Castings will help you or not but if you download the manual for your stove, you might find that the refractory parts are supposedly lifetime guaranteed. I'm in the process of trying to file a warranty claim for my stove but haven't heard anything back from the dealer yet. At the least, it wouldn't cost you anything to locate your closest VC dealer and try to get the parts under warranty.

That would be awesome if they did that. The seem to fail quite frequently so I'd be surprised but I did just fire an email off to a dealer.

 

[sean b]

I don't know if the warranty is restricted to only the original owner since there would have only been one warranty card that could have been mailed in and that would be in someone else's name... but again, it can't hurt to try. I put a bunch of photos on a flash drive to document the issues and gave that to the dealer as well. I'm not terribly hopeful and truth be told, there's a bright side to being done with a relationship to VC if they don't honor the warranty.

I've left a few dealers speechless when they tell me they frequently sell the refractory part and then I question why a part with a lifetime warranty isn't replaced at no cost. Had another dealer tell me I must have been dropping logs on the part. I had to educate him that there is no way to physically touch the part unless the stove is disassembled.

 

[mellow]

Everytime VC has changed hands the warranty was not transferred, so unless your stove is new within a year or two I wouldn't expect any warranty help from VC.