Vermont Castings Damper Housing Melted

[quantro]

Hi All-

First time poster here, but have frequently read and appreciate the woodstove wisdom. I have a Vermont Castings Encore 1450 NC in my tenant's house, and was recently alerted to a severe problem. Evidently the flue collar has melted...and not just a little bit! There is something like a 3 inch gap between the damper housing (where is sagged) and the damper. See attached picture. They tell me that the damper gasket had fallen out, so it was hard to control the fire. I guess it just raged hot, and fired right out through the flue?

I find this alarming in several respects: Need to control the fire better, and not let it run hot (there was a stovetop thermometer, so should have made the problem clear). Obviously we need the damper gasket replaced and all other gaskets checked.

Is the stove reparable? Is it sufficient to replace the damper housing which has the obvious damage, or should I be concerned about overfiring damage to other parts of the stove? The damper *appears* okay, but that is one of the most obvious adjacent parts that could have been damaged.

Thoughts and advice much appreciated. Thanks!

(Picture is looking down through the open griddle at the damper housing and "closed" damper on the back, top of the stove.)

 

[bholler]

Yes it can be repaired but it will always be a poorley designed stove no changing that.

 

[webby3650]

The damper is a “wear” item. As well as most other parts of the stove. It’s a very poor design, even though so many people love Vermont Castings. If this part has failed, so have many other parts. It’s not uncommon to spend over $1K on repairs. Do yourself a favor and scrap the stove, either not make one available for the tenant or get a good non-cat stove from almost any other company besides Vermont Castings.

 

[Diabel]

I would scrap that sucker! Trust me.....I know first hand.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Personally, I think it is a mistake to rent a house that has a wood stove in it. People who aren't familiar with using stoves often do not realize how dangerous one can be if they aren't burned correctly. Renters, in general, in my experience usually do not take the care that homeowners take regarding the home they are renting.

 

[Bad LP]

Some people should not be allowed near fire.

 

[webby3650]

Some people should not be allowed near fire.

In the renters defense. These stoves are known to self destruct, too many working parts for the average user to keep an eye on.

 

[quantro]

Well, not really the answer I wanted to hear, but a pretty clear verdict! Thanks for the feedback.

In this particular case, we do need to have a woodstove in the rental. It's electric heat, and it's part of an energy program where technically the electric company can stop supplying at times if the electric supply is crunched. So need to have an alternative heat source. Plus power outages...

So, any particular recommendations for a simple to use stove, that is difficult to overfire or otherwise cause problems? What would you put in a rental house?

It's about 1100 sq ft house, though insulation is not great, so might err toward a unit spec'd for around 1500 sq ft space.

 

[bholler]

Well, not really the answer I wanted to hear, but a pretty clear verdict! Thanks for the feedback.

In this particular case, we do need to have a woodstove in the rental. It's electric heat, and it's part of an energy program where technically the electric company can stop supplying at times if the electric supply is crunched. So need to have an alternative heat source. Plus power outages...

So, any particular recommendations for a simple to use stove, that is difficult to overfire or otherwise cause problems? What would you put in a rental house?

It's about 1100 sq ft house, though insulation is not great, so might err toward a unit spec'd for around 1500 sq ft space.

Seriously the power company can shut off the power in the winter for no reason? That is absurd.

 

[begreen]

Seriously the power company can shut off the power in the winter for no reason? That is absurd.

Sounds like rolling blackouts when demand exceeds capacity. And it sounds more like India than PA.

 

[begreen]

So, any particular recommendations for a simple to use stove, that is difficult to overfire or otherwise cause problems? What would you put in a rental house?

It's about 1100 sq ft house, though insulation is not great, so might err toward a unit spec'd for around 1500 sq ft space.

There are several mid-sized choices. PE Super 27, Quadrafire 3100, Regency F2400, Osburn 2000, Enviro Kodiak, etc. There are also fancier versions of some of these stoves with cast iron jackets.

 

[bholler]

Sounds like rolling blackouts when demand exceeds capacity. And it sounds more like India than PA.

The poster is from new hampshire. The power company isnt allowed to shut off your power during the winter in pa.

 

[quantro]

The power company policy sounds bad, but they have never curtailed the power in the four years we've been here. And I think it's more likely they would have supply problems in a heat wave than a power outage or cold spell. The flip side is that the electrical rates are lower, and they only would cut power to the heating circuits. And they don't completely cut it, just off for some % of time. I'm sure it would stink if it went into effect, but there are some upsides. But they do still encourage (or require?) program participants to have a secondary heat source.

begreen- thanks for the recommendations. I'll check them out.

 

[bholler]

The power company policy sounds bad, but they have never curtailed the power in the four years we've been here. And I think it's more likely they would have supply problems in a heat wave than a power outage or cold spell. The flip side is that the electrical rates are lower, and they only would cut power to the heating circuits. And they don't completely cut it, just off for some % of time. I'm sure it would stink if it went into effect, but there are some upsides. But they do still encourage (or require?) program participants to have a secondary heat source.

begreen- thanks for the recommendations. I'll check them out.

So the program is volentary?

 

[quantro]

Voluntary to enroll, but not easy to back out since it involves setting up separate metering and circuits for the house (at least I think so, haven't try to disenroll). And like I said, there are some advantages to staying in, in terms of pricing. Here's the program description, for those interested:

Eversource's HEATSMART Program provides qualifying customers with a discounted kilowatt-hour rate for their separately metered electric space heating (and cooling if using a heat pump) and electric water heating. To qualify, customers must have permanently installed electric heat and an approved permanently installed back-up heating source sized to adequately heat the area of the premises served by the interruptible electric heat. Approved back-up heating sources are limited to electric thermal storage (ETS) devices as approved by the Company or a wood, wood pellet or coal stove. Wood fired, direct vent fireplaces are acceptable if a manufacturer's spec sheet listing the unit's BTU output rating is submitted with this application and is shown to meet the sizing requirements listed above. Emergency generators are not an eligible backup heating source nor are fossil fueled fireplaces (although they may both be present in the premises). Additionally, fossil fuel based heating systems such as oil, kerosene, propane, or natural gas do not qualify as an approved back-up heating source and cannot be present in the section of the premises to be served by the HEATSMART rate.

In exchange for the lower rate, customers agree to allow Eversource to briefly interrupt service to their heating circuits during periods of high demand for electricity. Eversource can interrupt the separately metered circuits for a total of eight hours in any 24-hour period. However, no single interruption would exceed four hours in duration and the time between consecutive interruptions would be no less than 2 hours. Interruptions will not occur more than five times in a month and no more than 26 times in a year.

Customers who choose to take advantage of the HEATSMART rate option, are responsible for :
1) the cost of hiring a licensed electrician to install a separate electrical panel and wire the electric heating circuits to this panel
2) the cost associated with, if not already present, an eligible back-up heating source, and
3) submitting a completed HEATSMART Application and Electrician Worksheet.

 

[webby3650]

Voluntary to enroll, but not easy to back out since it involves setting up separate metering and circuits for the house (at least I think so, haven't try to disenroll). And like I said, there are some advantages to staying in, in terms of pricing. Here's the program description, for those interested:

Eversource's HEATSMART Program provides qualifying customers with a discounted kilowatt-hour rate for their separately metered electric space heating (and cooling if using a heat pump) and electric water heating. To qualify, customers must have permanently installed electric heat and an approved permanently installed back-up heating source sized to adequately heat the area of the premises served by the interruptible electric heat. Approved back-up heating sources are limited to electric thermal storage (ETS) devices as approved by the Company or a wood, wood pellet or coal stove. Wood fired, direct vent fireplaces are acceptable if a manufacturer's spec sheet listing the unit's BTU output rating is submitted with this application and is shown to meet the sizing requirements listed above. Emergency generators are not an eligible backup heating source nor are fossil fueled fireplaces (although they may both be present in the premises). Additionally, fossil fuel based heating systems such as oil, kerosene, propane, or natural gas do not qualify as an approved back-up heating source and cannot be present in the section of the premises to be served by the HEATSMART rate.

In exchange for the lower rate, customers agree to allow Eversource to briefly interrupt service to their heating circuits during periods of high demand for electricity. Eversource can interrupt the separately metered circuits for a total of eight hours in any 24-hour period. However, no single interruption would exceed four hours in duration and the time between consecutive interruptions would be no less than 2 hours. Interruptions will not occur more than five times in a month and no more than 26 times in a year.

Customers who choose to take advantage of the HEATSMART rate option, are responsible for :
1) the cost of hiring a licensed electrician to install a separate electrical panel and wire the electric heating circuits to this panel
2) the cost associated with, if not already present, an eligible back-up heating source, and
3) submitting a completed HEATSMART Application and Electrician Worksheet.

Wow, what a pain! I pulled the plug on everything I can that’s on rural electricity. It’s WAY cheaper to use LP, or natural gas if one is so lucky in my neck of the woods.

 

[bholler]

Voluntary to enroll, but not easy to back out since it involves setting up separate metering and circuits for the house (at least I think so, haven't try to disenroll). And like I said, there are some advantages to staying in, in terms of pricing. Here's the program description, for those interested:

Eversource's HEATSMART Program provides qualifying customers with a discounted kilowatt-hour rate for their separately metered electric space heating (and cooling if using a heat pump) and electric water heating. To qualify, customers must have permanently installed electric heat and an approved permanently installed back-up heating source sized to adequately heat the area of the premises served by the interruptible electric heat. Approved back-up heating sources are limited to electric thermal storage (ETS) devices as approved by the Company or a wood, wood pellet or coal stove. Wood fired, direct vent fireplaces are acceptable if a manufacturer's spec sheet listing the unit's BTU output rating is submitted with this application and is shown to meet the sizing requirements listed above. Emergency generators are not an eligible backup heating source nor are fossil fueled fireplaces (although they may both be present in the premises). Additionally, fossil fuel based heating systems such as oil, kerosene, propane, or natural gas do not qualify as an approved back-up heating source and cannot be present in the section of the premises to be served by the HEATSMART rate.

In exchange for the lower rate, customers agree to allow Eversource to briefly interrupt service to their heating circuits during periods of high demand for electricity. Eversource can interrupt the separately metered circuits for a total of eight hours in any 24-hour period. However, no single interruption would exceed four hours in duration and the time between consecutive interruptions would be no less than 2 hours. Interruptions will not occur more than five times in a month and no more than 26 times in a year.

Customers who choose to take advantage of the HEATSMART rate option, are responsible for :
1) the cost of hiring a licensed electrician to install a separate electrical panel and wire the electric heating circuits to this panel
2) the cost associated with, if not already present, an eligible back-up heating source, and
3) submitting a completed HEATSMART Application and Electrician Worksheet.

I guess it isnt a bad program for some people. But i am really surprised you can enroll a rental property.