I have a VC encore 2in1. Normal operating procedure for me is start the fire in non-cat mode, air open. When griddle temp hits 600 i engage the cat and slowly throttle back the air intake until its completely closed. This allowed a full stove to burn all night at around 400. Recently I filled the stove, engaged the cat, cut off the air and went to bed. Several hours later i check the stove and it was cruising at 600. I stayed with it for several hours and the temp never went down. It kept running extremely hot without my ability to control it seeing as the cat was engaged and the air was cut off. This would see to me as it is probably an air leak. I checked the front doors and the ash pan, everything seemed tight. There is a slight whisper sound near the back of the stove. Its been 3.5 hours now and its still running at 600. Any ideas why this would be running so hot and abnormally? Thanks!
Out of Control VC Encore
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I think your draft has increased because of the colder weather. 600 isn't too hot for me. If you can keep it there for 3 hours then I would rule out a leak. Is this temp taken on a corner of the top or on the griddle itself?
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Same wood you've been using all along? If you got into some drier or less dense stuff, you might have to cut the air sooner, not burn in the load as much to control the gassing. Stronger draft from colder weather is a pretty good bet, though...
The sound is the afterburner. Your stove employs two burn technologies to re-burn smoke. If your stove is cruising at 400, the cat is probably doing the work. At 600, the fire is hot enough to burn smoke in the burn chamber, which you can hear. As mentioned, perhaps due to increased draft. My afterburner works much better in colder weather.
So even though you are not accustomed to running the stove this hot, it is by no means out of control. A lot of people would LOVE their stoves to cruise for hours at a steady 600. Some of the older VC downdrafts really were out of control, running over 800 until they began glowing!
(BTW, if you point an IR gun at the rear of your stove you might be surprised, if your VC is anything like my downdraft stove. My rear burn chamber can reach 700 even when the stove top is 500.)
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