My new VC Encore 2-in-1 is setup and heating my home!!

[emt1581]

I'm not sure if it's a natural/typical reaction but my dog Frank (GSD) has been laying in front of the thing for hours. He seriously won't lay near my wife and I tonight. I guess I have to get him a rug to lay on.

Anyway, my stove was delivered and installed today. I did the "break in" fires, and since then I've had it fired up. I LOVE iT I'm going to give it until at least tomorrow morning to check the second floor directly above the stove and see if it heated the rooms decently.

Typically I have all sort of questions but this thing is pretty self explanatory.

I did want to say that to those who spouted off about the secondary combustion stoves taking mountains of patience...yeah, not hardly! I could have started this thing with flint/steel if need be! The thing started right up and has been going ever since.

Another score today was the discount rack at Lowes. I got a fireplace set (brush, shovel, poker and screen) and a wood rack for $9.50 OTD...marked down from around $60. All I need now is a thermometer for the cook top and a rug for in front of the hearth...for Frank.

I might snap a pic but I'll need help posting it plus my cheap phone cam. sucks.

Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

-Emt1581

 

[BrowningBAR]

How large of a house are you heating with the Encore?

 

[emt1581]

How large of a house are you heating with the Encore?

Without the finished basement it's right around 2,000sq.ft.

-Emt1581

 

[BrowningBAR]

How large of a house are you heating with the Encore?

Without the finished basement it's right around 2,000sq.ft.

-Emt1581

How's it doing heating the house? It's about 15° in our area right now.

 

[emt1581]

How large of a house are you heating with the Encore?

Without the finished basement it's right around 2,000sq.ft.

-Emt1581

How's it doing heating the house? It's about 15° in our area right now.

Overnight I turned the airflow down and it kept the first floor toasty warm. I didn't go upstairs but my wife told me the upstairs is pretty chilly all around so I'm praying this permeates through the ceiling/floor and heats at least the two rooms directly above the stove.

I'm guessing it just takes a day or two. I only had it burning for around 12hrs. so far.

-Emt1581

 

[summit]

we've been running one on the showroom floor for a couple months now.. it really works well! Post some pics!

 

[redhat]

Good to hear the stove is working out so well for you, please keep us updated with your progress. Based on all the positive reports I've been reading about the 2N1 I think VC has a real winner here. My 2550 Encore may be facing an early retirement if I keep reading more posts like this....

 

[emt1581]

Just a little update...

I'm not sure if my wife was mistaken or what but I went upstairs and the ENTIRE upstairs, not just the rooms above the stove...was VERY warm. The hallway was unbearably hot so I'm not sure how to fix that issue. But I am quite pleased thus far.

Only complaint/concern I have is that I loaded it up and turned down the airflow (to slow the burn) and I came home at lunch to a huge pile of embers/coals...but all wood was pretty much gone. We're talking 3-4hrs. here. How do I make it last longer?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

[rdust]

Only complaint/concern I have is that I loaded it up and turned down the airflow (to slow the burn) and I came home at lunch to a huge pile of embers/coals...but all wood was pretty much gone. We're talking 3-4hrs. here. How do I make it last longer?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

What mode are you burning in?

 

[Shari]

Just a little update...

I'm not sure if my wife was mistaken or what but I went upstairs and the ENTIRE upstairs, not just the rooms above the stove...was VERY warm. The hallway was unbearably hot so I'm not sure how to fix that issue. But I am quite pleased thus far.

Only complaint/concern I have is that I loaded it up and turned down the airflow (to slow the burn) and I came home at lunch to a huge pile of embers/coals...but all wood was pretty much gone. We're talking 3-4hrs. here. How do I make it last longer?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

Put a small (6"-7") table top fan on the floor at the top of your steps. Point the fan to blow cold air down the stairs.

EDIT: Forgot to add - Buy putting the fan where I mentioned you will be pulling the cold air out of the upper rooms which will allow the heated air to fill in the void left by the cold air = better distribution of the heated air.

 

[summit]

Just a little update...

I'm not sure if my wife was mistaken or what but I went upstairs and the ENTIRE upstairs, not just the rooms above the stove...was VERY warm. The hallway was unbearably hot so I'm not sure how to fix that issue. But I am quite pleased thus far.

Only complaint/concern I have is that I loaded it up and turned down the airflow (to slow the burn) and I came home at lunch to a huge pile of embers/coals...but all wood was pretty much gone. We're talking 3-4hrs. here. How do I make it last longer?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

leave the airflow turned down when reloading onto hot coals... no need to wind it up just to shut it down... are you burning CAT in or CAT out?

 

[emt1581]

Only complaint/concern I have is that I loaded it up and turned down the airflow (to slow the burn) and I came home at lunch to a huge pile of embers/coals...but all wood was pretty much gone. We're talking 3-4hrs. here. How do I make it last longer?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

What mode are you burning in?

Non-CAT.

I took that out as a precaution so I don't damage it in case my wood is too moist.

-Emt1581

 

[emt1581]

Just a little update...

I'm not sure if my wife was mistaken or what but I went upstairs and the ENTIRE upstairs, not just the rooms above the stove...was VERY warm. The hallway was unbearably hot so I'm not sure how to fix that issue. But I am quite pleased thus far.

Only complaint/concern I have is that I loaded it up and turned down the airflow (to slow the burn) and I came home at lunch to a huge pile of embers/coals...but all wood was pretty much gone. We're talking 3-4hrs. here. How do I make it last longer?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

leave the airflow turned down when reloading onto hot coals... no need to wind it up just to shut it down... are you burning CAT in or CAT out?

I was actually told by my installer today that I should leave the stove totally opened up (not sure if that includes the cook top, doors, and ash pan....but to leave it open for an hour a day to prevent creosote build up in the flue.

Anyone do this?

Also, I went outside today and saw this huge/long metal band basically anchored/nailed in to the middle of my roof. I called the guy on it and said no one ever mentioned that needed to be there, just the wall bands to secure it to the house. He said federal code/standards require that the chimney be a certain height above the roof and that the specific band needs to be there to protect against wind. He said the only way around that would be to box in the chimney with siding. He wants $1800 to do this.

Please share your thoughts on this whole chimney/band/boxing in issue.

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

[emt1581]

Just a little update...

I'm not sure if my wife was mistaken or what but I went upstairs and the ENTIRE upstairs, not just the rooms above the stove...was VERY warm. The hallway was unbearably hot so I'm not sure how to fix that issue. But I am quite pleased thus far.

Only complaint/concern I have is that I loaded it up and turned down the airflow (to slow the burn) and I came home at lunch to a huge pile of embers/coals...but all wood was pretty much gone. We're talking 3-4hrs. here. How do I make it last longer?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

Put a small (6"-7") table top fan on the floor at the top of your steps. Point the fan to blow cold air down the stairs.

EDIT: Forgot to add - Buy putting the fan where I mentioned you will be pulling the cold air out of the upper rooms which will allow the heated air to fill in the void left by the cold air = better distribution of the heated air.

Oh ok. What about turning the whole house fan on for a few minutes a few times a day...or would that do something totally different?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

[rdust]

I was actually told by my installer today that I should leave the stove totally opened up (not sure if that includes the cook top, doors, and ash pan....but to leave it open for an hour a day to prevent creosote build up in the flue.

Anyone do this?
-Emt1581

He just means to burn it with the primary air wide open, NEVER burn it with the ash pan open. Some people do it some don't, I don't do it, I burn seasoned wood and burn clean. If I burned wide open for an hour I'd melt the stove down!

Oh ok. What about turning the whole house fan on for a few minutes a few times a day...or would that do something totally different?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

Not a good idea, you will be sucking air out of the house that the stove needs. I'd imagine it could even pull smoke in from the stoves air inlet.

I don't think you'll ever get even heat in a 2 story house unless it's an open layout. My upstairs is typically 6-8 degree's cooler than my lower level which is perfect for me since I like to sleep in a cooler room.

 

[VCBurner]

Emt, you started a thread about your original unexpected experience in the shop and now it has come full circle. I'm glad to see that your purchase has become a good decision for you. These stoves are really exciting to people who appreciate wood heat. They should be, and your new thread sheds new light on how it works in real world scenarios. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have enjoyed hearing about it. Please post us some pictures. Congrats on the new fire!

 

[emt1581]

I was actually told by my installer today that I should leave the stove totally opened up (not sure if that includes the cook top, doors, and ash pan....but to leave it open for an hour a day to prevent creosote build up in the flue.

Anyone do this?
-Emt1581

He just means to burn it with the primary air wide open, NEVER burn it with the ash pan open. Some people do it some don't, I don't do it, I burn seasoned wood and burn clean. If I burned wide open for an hour I'd melt the stove down!

Oh ok. What about turning the whole house fan on for a few minutes a few times a day...or would that do something totally different?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

Not a good idea, you will be sucking air out of the house that the stove needs. I'd imagine it could even pull smoke in from the stoves air inlet.

I don't think you'll ever get even heat in a 2 story house unless it's an open layout. My upstairs is typically 6-8 degree's cooler than my lower level which is perfect for me since I like to sleep in a cooler room.

Thanks for the info.

-Emt1581

 

[emt1581]

Emt, you started a thread about your original unexpected experience in the shop and now it has come full circle. I'm glad to see that your purchase has become a good decision for you. These stoves are really exciting to people who appreciate wood heat. They should be, and your new thread sheds new light on how it works in real world scenarios. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have enjoyed hearing about it. Please post us some pictures. Congrats on the new fire!

Oh I definitely appreciate it!! I was somewhat worried when my wife said it didn't heat the upstairs, but now I'm thrilled with this thing. Not only does it heat those two rooms but also the ENTIRE HOUSE Well...except for a room on the opposite side of the house but even that is somewhat warm. So now I've gone from $600-$800 electric bills to $300-$400 a YEAR for heat. Should drop those bills down to $100 and change....at least that is my hope.

I do have to say that this experience is a LOT like buying a boat with one exception and that is, the happiest days would seem to be every one the stove is running rather than the first and last day you own it. But yeah, insanely expensive...and we're still not done!! Another $2K or so to box in the chimney so it doesn't look so bad. If it were up to me I'd leave it. Then again, if it were up to me I'd have bought a plain black stove and been done with it rather than all this focus and double or tripling the price based on looks (color/finish/style/etc.)

But enough complaining. Yeah, I definitely appreciate this thing

-Emt1581

 

[VCBurner]

I love those stoves! With the savings you've stated. $500-$600/ Winter month it should pay for itself in a few years right? And you'll be a lot warmer in those years, too. Way to go, now lets see some pics or it's like it never happened.

Take care,

Chris

 

[-PB-]

congrats dude... +1 on the pics. We are all interested in seeing your setup.

 

[afptl]

you need to get the thermometer for the top of the stove. It really tells you a lot and helps you get a feel for what is going on in the stove.

 

[ddddddden]

[quote author = "emt1581"] How do I make it last longer?[/quote] That's what she said!

 

[ddddddden]

. . .but seriously folks, long burn time = the forte of cat stoves. It's probably not a bad idea to take it out while you get to know the stove, but you'll probably get longer burns with the cat. There's a guy named NinoUrbana who seems pretty intent on finding the limits of this stove. See his posts in your other thread on the 2n1. Do what he does.

 

[emt1581]

. . .but seriously folks, long burn time = the forte of cat stoves. It's probably not a bad idea to take it out while you get to know the stove, but you'll probably get longer burns with the cat. There's a guy named NinoUrbana who seems pretty intent on finding the limits of this stove. See his posts in your other thread on the 2n1. Do what he does.

Hmm...I didn't get a notification about replies to that thread. I'll have to check it out.

In terms of the cat, again, I wanted to err on the side of caution rather than screw it up, but I thought about that...it bumps up the efficiency which would seem to bump up burn time as well. However, my installer said that even with the cat, he thinks it's only a 6hr stove. I think he's wrong because last night I turned the external (stove pipe) damper to 45deg. (half open), turned the airflow all the way down, and closed the internal damper, and when I woke up this morning, some of the wood wasn't even burned yet...so that slowed it waaayyyy down. However, the trade-off was it didn't heat very well at all. I mean you couldn't see your breath, but it wasn't toasty either. My concern would be how cold the upstairs got. But in all honesty I didn't check to see.

-Emt1581

 

[emt1581]

congrats dude... +1 on the pics. We are all interested in seeing your setup.

Ok ok, but I'll need someone I can email them to who can post them for me. I belong to a pic posting site (hunt101 I think) but it's just never worked on any forums. If someone can PM their email address I'll send a pic or two along. But again, it's going to be crappy quality.

-Emt1581