IS it possible to retrofit/upgrade ENCORE 1450 non cat??

[VC Since79]

My son acquired an Encore 1450 non cat with my encouragement because of my own GOOD experience with a Defiant I ordered directly from the factory in Randolph Vt. in 1979 before Vermont Castings had any dealers to buy from. He also has had nothing but a good experience with his Vigilant .
So-o we never thought to do any HOMEWORK before purchasing it.

What a nightmare learning experience this has been ever since.
Upon cleaning it before installing it a sizable hole appeared in the FOUNTAIN ASSY right below the flue opening.. In doing our homework AFTER THE FACT we discovered that this Fountain assy is actually the secondary burn chamber and is made of a ceramic fibre board material that apparently gets brittle and disintegrates after a few years of use.

In reading many posts about this issue it seems as though Clarks Ace Hardware was looking for participants to upgrade this non cat stove to a 2 in 1 (whatever the 2 in 1 is we are not sure). This was 2 or 3 years ago in his posts to this site.
We are very interested in any information about this issue.Did anyone successfully convert or upgrade a 1450 encore non cat?
What was the outcome or what issues were discovered in the process?

I read in one post that a non sanctioned upgrade was possible according to someone at the PREVIOUS ownership of this company .

Also I have learned that as of July 31 2013 the Vermont Castings Co.is now owned ENTIRELY by its employees and my understanding is that their current mission is to go back to their roots of customer service and quality.

Good luck to them all and MAYBE there will be some solutions to earlier problems.
Also thanks to the creators of this site and to the people who add to everyones knowledge base.
Thanks,
John

 

[begreen]

The original VC stoves are not related to the modern units except in looks. I would give the folks at VC a call. If his stove was made after 2008 it may be warrantied. Your dilemma is not uncommon. They have upgraded the strength of the replacement refractory. I don't know about converting it.

 

[Charles1981]

Definitely call VC. I think converting the stove to a 2in1 is a long shot, but you could speak with VC about it.

At the least you could have a discussion about ordering a new refractory. Maybe they are making the old refractories with the new material? (possibly?).

Regardless a new refractory is going to be expensive from what I skimmed from other threads I have read (3-400$ but this is really model and year dependant), and it may become worthwhile at that point to consider purchasing a new stove (frequently the suggestion is to look into a Englander NC30 (which are probably on sale now or soon at your local big box store). But i would investigate the current VC further before pulling the trigger on a new re-fractory or a new stove.