Encore 2550 primary air not closing completely

[JimmyJamz]

Been running this stove for 5 years, all by trial and error, had never seen a stove before that. It has been a love/hate relationship thus far. Some sleepless nights on the couch waking up every 5 minutes fearing runaway temps.

First things first, my wood is all seasoned oak I cut and split myself, seasoned 2-3 years, so I know wood is good.

Some background, 2 seasons ago I replaced the cat, don’t think everything went back together perfectly though. It was a huge pain in the a$$, probably due to some warped parts, mainly the fireback. We didn’t get too cold here last winter, so I only used it for a day at a time here and there to take the chill off, no extended use and never attempted any overnight burns.

This year we had some cold, and I couldn’t get any slow steady burns out of her. The main problem I have is the temps running away too quickly, can’t load it up for fear of overfiring. I replaced all the gaskets, dollar bill tests successful, same issues, gets really hot with just a couple of 4-5” splits. Upon further investigation I noticed the primary air in the back does not close completely, there is a very noticeable gap when it’s shut off, but I can manually pull on the visible piece of cable and pull it flush/closed. I thought I had read that it is not supposed to close completely, but I can’t find that anywhere now. So my main question is, should it close completely, like flush? I do notice a tightness when using the primary air lever, the right air plate is pinching it a little I think. So, assuming it is supposed to close completely flush, is there an easy way to adjust the air cable and achieve a flush shut down of the primary air? I do not want to start breaking this thing down again if not necessary, and I can’t find the exact videos/thread I’m looking for to help.

I’m not a very “handy” guy, so any assistance/advice would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: not that I would ever do it, and not that any of you ever would, but do any of you know a guy that plugged an epa hole, or two, and how that went for them? Help with longer burns?

Thank you in advance.
JA

 

[brenndatomu]

not that I would ever do it, and not that any of you ever would, but do any of you know a guy that plugged an epa hole, or two, and how that went for them? Help with longer burns?

Ha! There's plenty of us here that have plugged holes to gain control of the stove!
You could also just put a damper on the stovepipe...that works too.

 

[kborndale]

Put some magnets over the holes and see if it helps.

 

[JimmyJamz]

Thanks Bren and kborn, there was def a little sarcasm in my original post. Just to confirm, the primary air damper should shut completely, totally flush letting in no air, is that correct?

 

[Megunticook]

I own a 2550. How tall is your chimney? What size is the flue?

When I rebuilt the stove last fall I took extra care to make sure the primary air inlet cover closes all the way. It's not "airtight" but there's no visible gap now. You could try adjusting the cable length by loosening the Allen bolt that secures the cable to the flap and pulling on the wire a bit. Don't go overboard because you want enough tension to still be able to open that flap all the way.

I haven't messed with my EPA holes but have considered it. Having some magnets is a good idea.

You mentioned burning Oak, I've been burning almost exclusively red oak lately and it's easy to overdo it if you're not careful. I never stuff the firebox full and I close the damper and turn down the air pretty quickly after a hot reload.

Another factor is wood size--be careful putting a bunch of smaller pieces in the firebox, especially on a bed of coals, a larger chunk or two are more manageable in terms of temperature.

 

[JimmyJamz]

I own a 2550. How tall is your chimney? What size is the flue?

When I rebuilt the stove last fall I took extra care to make sure the primary air inlet cover closes all the way. It's not "airtight" but there's no visible gap now. You could try adjusting the cable length by loosening the Allen bolt that secures the cable to the flap and pulling on the wire a bit. Don't go overboard because you want enough tension to still be able to open that flap all the way.

I haven't messed with my EPA holes but have considered it. Having some magnets is a good idea.

You mentioned burning Oak, I've been burning almost exclusively red oak lately and it's easy to overdo it if you're not careful. I never stuff the firebox full and I close the damper and turn down the air pretty quickly after a hot reload.

Another factor is wood size--be careful putting a bunch of smaller pieces in the firebox, especially on a bed of coals, a larger chunk or two are more manageable in terms of temperature.

Megunticook.
Thanks for the response. It's a 6" flue, about 18'-20'. Was at the house when we bought it 5 years ago, does that sound about right?

 

[skb31]

I have two of the secondary air holes plugged on my 2040 cat-c with 1/2 inch, #10 hex head socket bolts. This was best for me to be able to safely remove them.

I also had a key damper installed just in case. My stove was leaky after the install. Whether from the factory or delivery, I had to replace some gaskets and my chimney guy went through the stove after my first season to tighten some things up. I have good draft as I have a long chimney run through the interior of my house.