VC Encore 2040 - how to burn?

[newburn]

I recently had a new Encore stove installed. This is my first time operating and using a wood stove.

I have burned it about 5-6 times now and have quite a few questions as to the most efficient way to burn this stove.

First, how exactly am I to utilize the catalyst temperature probe that comes from the factory with this stove? It has a large white section that I assume tells me when to close the bypass damper because it reads "operate catalyst," however it only seems to move after I close the bypass damper. Also, when it does finally reach the white section on the probe, if I start messing with the secondary air control it drops back down, which leads me to believe the catalyst is not working at that point?

Secondly, what would a standard procedure look like from start of the fire to reload in the morning for an overnight burn? I have been able to get a small amount of coals one morning, but nothing I could simply reload large logs with. I still had to use kindling to get it going and from what I have read this stove should be able to obtain 10 hour burns.

 

[Dobish]

Hi Newburn,
Welcome to the forum. I just replied over in the 2015/2016 VC thread, but I will try and answer your questions here as well.

The catalyst probe that comes with the stove will only read the temperature when the cat is engaged. You want to engage the cat when the griddle temp is around 450, and then you will be able to watch the cat probe rise. The cat acts as a secondary damper, so it will reduce the air flow. You want to keep the cat probe thermometer around 1000-1100 (the optimal range), and you will do this by adjusting your air flow once everything is engaged.

I have found that this is a bit finicky, and you have to slowly bring it down when it stabilizes. Depending on your setup, wood, draft, etc, you may have to leave it open a bit more than others. i can't go down much more than 1/2 on the air flow, but I am running 15' of chimney (which is the minimum recommended)

To your second point, what sort of wood are you burning? this will make a huge difference. While the manual says 8-10 hour burn, i have found it to be a bit closer to 5-7 hours. I do a full load every time, but generally about 1/2 hour before bed i will load it up, let it catch good fire, then engage the cat. About 10 minutes before going to bed, i will adjust the air flow down and it will burn for the majority of the night. when i get up, I will toss in some 1" rounds or kindling, then pile up the logs on top and leave the air control open. once it is up to temp, i will start the whole process again. I am burning mostly elm and box elder, which burns a bit quicker. We will see what happens when i get into some other stuff that is dry now.

I guess it also depends on how long you sleep

 

[begreen]

Your post was very helpful. Copying it here for future 2040 owner reference

We finally got chilly enough to light up the stove this year!
we have someone who is going to be staying at our house during the day for a little while, and I wanted to give them a quick down and dirty on how to load, what to watch for, etc. I was thinking about making a quick instruction sheet for them, and wanted to include temps to look out for. I have an IR thermometer that lives near the stove, but I wanted to run through this and get verification before I printed off.

If i say, the following, is this pretty accurate?
- Flue temp should be >250º and between 250º and 450º
- griddle temp 450º to 650º
- close air to keep griddle temp around 450º
- Engage cat when 3-4" of coals on bottom
- Cat temp between 500º and 1700º (1100º ideal)
- close air when cat temp is around 1100º
- reload when griddle temp <300º
- freshen fire when cat temp is <500º

 

[newburn]

Yes, thank you for your great replies.

Re: the cat probe; how am I supposed to know what temp it is running at? The one that looks like my stove is a black circle with a small white section that reads 'operate catalyst.'

Right now I have some dry oak slab wood and a mix of locust that is slightly green and some that is fairly dry. Cut down a few dead trees. I have been using a mix of the two. I recall reading in the manual that it wasn't a good idea to stuff the stove full, so I haven't tried it much more than 1/2 full.

One other question I have been thinking about is that I like the ash try, but how the heck do you empty a hot ash pan when the cover completely covers the tray?

 

[Dobish]

based on my measurements and the manual, this seems to match up pretty closely with the one provided.

When you are doing your break in fires, you definitely don't want to stuff it full. Once seasoned, it think you can get it pretty close, as long as you can control your air flow. I generally leave it with about an inch or so to the top.

Ash tray.... i only empty it when it is cold. I have found that if I leave about 2 inches of ash in the bottom of the firebox, and don't clean it out completely, it doesn't all fall through to the tray. It helps keep some of the heat in, and the ash will burn off. When i first started, i was cleaning it about every 3 days. I would first open the ash tray door, pull it out and cover it, then dump it. Then i would put the drawer back in, scrape out the ash over the grate, then empty that. most of the time, I would forget that I took the pan out and start scraping, then swear a lot and end up with ash everywhere.... i would wear my thick leather gloves and hope it was not super hot!

now I end up cleaning it about once a week, and if i don't push the ash into it, it barely gets full.

 

[newburn]

well if that probe is calibrated the same as the one that came with the stove, it looks like ideal temp (1100) would be right about the middle of the white part, maybe a bit higher. I have barely been able to just reach the white before it seems to stall. Maybe I haven't closed the damper at the right temp since I haven't had a thermometer for the stove top until just today. I will try to follow your temps the next time I run the stove!

 

[begreen]

Try setting the thermostat a bit higher than that stall point so that the fire has more air.

 

[newburn]

Try setting the thermostat a bit higher than that stall point so that the fire has more air.

Which thermostat do you mean? The air control on the left? I believe this was with the damper closed and air wide open.

 

[begreen]

Yes, I wouldn't expect it to stall under those conditions unless draft was weak due to warm outside temps or the wood poorly seasoned. Try to get the stove a bit hotter next time per Dobish's instructions once it cools down outside.

 

[newburn]

Ok, so I am still having trouble getting my catalyst temperature probe to get up above the white line.. Started a good fire and let my girdle temp reach 450 and closed the bypass damper and an hour later my probe is still barely on the white and as the fire burns it goes down. I have been unable to upload a picture because it says my file is too big, not sure what the problem is there.

Anyways can anyone think why either my catalyst isn't getting hot enough or the probe maybe isn't calibrated correctly?

 

[jharkin]

If it's behaving sluggish the cat stalled. When mine lights off, you know it. The probe temp will pass 500 and rise to 1000+ in mere minutes. If it doesn't climb that fast I open the damper and primary air full, wait 5-10 minutes and try again.

If this happens often you may need to get your griddle temp above 500 before engaging the cat. Everyone's conditions are different and as you develop a better wood supply (drier) you will find it lights off easier.

 

[Dobish]

Is it in all the way? Did you drill the hole and make sure the probe is seated correctly? It could be your draft. How long is your chimney?

 

[Blackcat]

I would like to piggyback on this thread, if possible.
We have the same stove and had our first fire of the season yesterday. We only used it for a month or so last year because of our entire chimney rebuild.
This morning I was perusing the manual again and read that there is a temperature probe that came with the stove. The store we bought it from did not do the install-the company that installed the new chimney did.
I did not realize that a probe came with the stove and am pretty sure it isn't installed.
I use a stove top thermometer to gauge the temps.
I can't tell if there is one somewhere and how to find/install it. The manual isn't clear, to me at least, where exactly this goes.
I'm including a pic of the back area of where I think it should be. There is just a wire sticking out.

 

[Dobish]

The probe that should have come with it was 92. Mine was in a cardboard box that was in the stove. it goes in above where the wire is, but you may have to drill through #8 to get it all the way in. It should sit this far in.... and look like this when burning well.


That wire is lower than where my cat is, looks like it is part of the blower? do you have a blower?

Another thing to check is the pipe temp. If you are running your cat, you should see a major drop in the temp if operating correctly.

 

[Dobish]

Ok, so I am still having trouble getting my catalyst temperature probe to get up above the white line.. Started a good fire and let my girdle temp reach 450 and closed the bypass damper and an hour later my probe is still barely on the white and as the fire burns it goes down. I have been unable to upload a picture because it says my file is too big, not sure what the problem is there.

Anyways can anyone think why either my catalyst isn't getting hot enough or the probe maybe isn't calibrated correctly?

Try burning for a while without turning the cat on. It might be that you just don't have a good enough coal bed as well. Griddle temp might be hot enough, but the coals might not be hot enough to bring the cat up to temp....

 

[Diabel]

Ok, so I am still having trouble getting my catalyst temperature probe to get up above the white line.. Started a good fire and let my girdle temp reach 450 and closed the bypass damper and an hour later my probe is still barely on the white and as the fire burns it goes down. I have been unable to upload a picture because it says my file is too big, not sure what the problem is there.

Anyways can anyone think why either my catalyst isn't getting hot enough or the probe maybe isn't calibrated correctly?

It sure sounds like wood issue. Not seasoned! Been there done dat!

 

[Excavator]

It sure sounds like wood issue. Not seasoned! Been there done dat!

I agree. And when I have good seasoned wood I have to be care full not to engage cat above 400 or she takes off and cat probe hits above 1500 pretty fast. The wood has a lot to do with control.

 

[Diabel]

Well said.

 

[Dobish]

This is how far out mine is. It is right below the label. I guess I haven't been that far back there in a while.

 

[Blackcat]

Nope....did not get anything in a box with our stove. Since we bought this last year, I'm sure the store I bought it from will deny they never gave it to us Not happy with the store we purchased this from. Once we got this installed and running, I wasn't sure if I was adjusting the nut for the damper correctly, I got charged for a service call when they came out for 5 minutes.

 

[Dobish]

Nope....did not get anything in a box with our stove. Since we bought this last year, I'm sure the store I bought it from will deny they never gave it to us Not happy with the store we purchased this from. Once we got this installed and running, I wasn't sure if I was adjusting the nut for the damper correctly, I got charged for a service call when they came out for 5 minutes.

Just buy a condor one with the temperatures on it...

 

[Excavator]

Better yet buy the Auber AT100 digital probe that let's you program alarms and the display remains always on

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Diabel]

At100 is the best route. I really like mine.

 

[newburn]

Is it in all the way? Did you drill the hole and make sure the probe is seated correctly? It could be your draft. How long is your chimney?

I actually didn't install it myself. The guys from the stove store put it together when they delivered it. They also installed a stainless steel liner. I don't know the exact height, however, they listed a 25' kit on the invoice for the liner. It is a two story house and the stove is on the first floor.

 

[newburn]

View attachment 186712

The probe that should have come with it was 92. Mine was in a cardboard box that was in the stove. it goes in above where the wire is, but you may have to drill through #8 to get it all the way in. It should sit this far in.... and look like this when burning well.
View attachment 186713

That wire is lower than where my cat is, looks like it is part of the blower? do you have a blower?

Another thing to check is the pipe temp. If you are running your cat, you should see a major drop in the temp if operating correctly.

I have a suspicion that the probe is either not installed correctly or not functioning correctly. I wish I could post pictures, but I always get an error saying the file is too big. Anyways, my probe sits out farther than it looks like yours does. Your picture makes it look like the dial actually touches the stove, but my dial is about a finger tip width out from the stove body.

Is there a way I can tell my catalyst is working? I haven't been able to see any clear fire or light coming from the area the catalyst is during a hot burn.