Vermont Castings Dauntless damper adjustment problems

[ThisWas]

Last winter, the 4th year I've had my Vermont Castings Dauntless, I had a problem keeping the damper door closed.
I'd close the damper using the lever on the left side of the stove (photo 1), and the damper would open itself some time later.
My mid-winter fix was to add weight to the lever handle.
This summer I want to make a proper fix. My stove dealer said I need to use the damper Adjusting Screw (photo 2 is from the operating manual).
My adjusting screw had a hex head as in the drawing; it doesn't accept an Allen wrench as described in the text.

I loosened the lock nut but couldn't turn the adjusting screw, or "pressure screw."
I applied penetrating oil over a couple of days but it wouldn't budge.
After I snapped off the hex head, I used a torch to loosen the screw and tried to turn it by gripping the stub with a lockwrench.
Of course I snapped off the stub.
I drilled a hole in the screw and used a screw extractor after applying more penetrating oil and heat, to no avail.
Current state of the damper plate, seen from inside the stove = photo 3.

Today I removed the stovepipe to see what's behind the damper plate (or door).
Photo 4 is taken from the rear of the stove looking down and towards the front of the stove.
They show a "damper rod" that is connected to the damper lever.
When I close the damper, the rod moves upwards to engage a tab and clicks into place, locking the damper plate closed.
If I'd been able to turn the adjusting screw I believe it would have pushed against the tab so it would engage the rod more firmly.

My question:
> Should I keep trying to remove the broken adjusting screw, or should I try to bend the tab instead?

There's about 1/4 inch of the broken screw pushing against the tab, which is called Damper Adjuster part # SRV2-00-586201.
(See photo 5.)
I won't be able to get much of a grip on the stub of the screw.
The tab is fairly thick... maybe I can get a shim in there if I can't bend it.

 

[begreen]

Remove the rest of the adjusting screw and replace. Evenutally you may need this.

 

[Eman85]

How hard is it to remove the damper and work on a bench instead of inside of the stove?

 

[ThisWas]

How hard is it to remove the damper and work on a bench instead of inside of the stove?

That's a good suggestion, but I think it might require disassembling the stove, and I'm afraid to turn a minor repair into a major one when cold weather's coming.

I see that the damper is attached to the stove with two metal clips at the hinge points. Each clip is fastened with a bolt like the one I broke, and I worry that all my stove bolts will be difficult to remove.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

That's a good suggestion, but I think it might require disassembling the stove, and I'm afraid to turn a minor repair into a major one when cold weather's coming.

I see that the damper is attached to the stove with two metal clips at the hinge points. Each clip is fastened with a bolt like the one I broke, and I worry that all my stove bolts will be difficult to remove.

You don't need to really disassemble the stove. It's just a matter of taking off the top

Then dropping the damper housing

It's not a bad idea to do this as it gives you the opportunity to change the gaskets you'll need to change soon anyway. The bolts on mine go through the damper and put the back of the stove. So if they break it's ok.. your going to replace them with stainless steel anyway.

I did a rebuild thread on the 2040 I have that will show you with a lot of photos.

It really isn't super hard. I took my time. Took photos and had replacement nuts bolts and washers on hand for the assembly.

You have time before winter sets in. Me personally I wouldn't want to go through an entire winter that way

 

[ThisWas]

You don't need to really disassemble the stove. It's just a matter of taking off the top

Then dropping the damper housing

It's not a bad idea to do this as it gives you the opportunity to change the gaskets you'll need to change soon anyway. The bolts on mine go through the damper and put the back of the stove. So if they break it's ok.. your going to replace them with stainless steel anyway.

I did a rebuild thread on the 2040 I have that will show you with a lot of photos.

It really isn't super hard. I took my time. Took photos and had replacement nuts bolts and washers on hand for the assembly.

You have time before winter sets in. Me personally I wouldn't want to go through an entire winter that way

Thank you - this is good to know! My temporary fix was to use a pry bar to move the adjustment tab away from the damper just enough that my wife could slip a steel washer over the end of the bolt, as a shim. The washer we used has a lip so it won't fall off, hopefully.

I'm afraid to mess with Vermont Casting bolts after my unhappy experience trying to remove one. Also, the Internet is divided into people who like stainless steel bolts for cast iron stove repair and those who don't.