Vermont castings encore 2250 problem

[Brown506]

Hey everyone Ive recently installed a used Vermont castings encore model 2250 and it appears to be in pristine condition but I'm having a hard time with a couple of things ...the primary control arm doesn't seem to have much effect..and without the cat engaged my burn times are horrible (three hours )chalk full of dry rock maple ...when I do engage the cat all flames stop and 60 percent of the time it just puts the fire out slowly and it fills the house with wood smoke odors ...all reply s are much appreciated..thanks

 

[begreen]

Once the cat is up to temperature the bypass should be closed. With the bypass open the stove is burning like an old smoke dragon of the 1970s. Most of the heat is going up the flue.

 

[Brown506]

Once the cat is up to temperature the bypass should be closed. With the bypass open the stove is burning like an old smoke dragon of the 1970s. Most of the heat is going up the flue.

Thanks for the reply ...I do shut the bypass ,I should have mentioned before that I tossed in some fire brick on the bottom over the grates because I was tired of having to relight it multiple times would this effect anything? This is my first time using a cat ...is it normal for the wood to smolder with no flames ?

 

[Eman85]

I have an older Encore so it may be different. I can burn without using the cat and it will burn overnight and my air control works just like any non cat stove. I would never put firebrick over the grates and I never have to relight mine. When you engage the cat what is the stove top temperature?

 

[Brown506]

I'll engage it at 400f I keep my thermo on the top of my first length of pipe (that Vermont castings short piece) so I would imagine my griddle would be a bit warmer ? with it engaged it will kick it down to 200f

 

[Brown506]

Tempted to add a pipe damper and just use it as a normal stove & the cat on occasion when I'm up and around ...I did reduce the pipe from 8 to 7 so I dunno if that will cause back puffs ,with the added damper ?

 

[Brown506]

You were correct begreen I wasent closing the primary fully ...I ran it last night without any issues but when I was getting ready for work I didn't close it fully and it had the undesired odors after about five minutes thanks 🙏 but no begreen85 without the fire brick I find the coles fall into the pan because of the size of the holes in the grate maybe if I let it fill with ash I dunno

 

[Joseo]

I'll engage it at 400f I keep my thermo on the top of my first length of pipe (that Vermont castings short piece) so I would imagine my griddle would be a bit warmer ? with it engaged it will kick it down to 200f

Hello I have the same stove model of the 2020 and it work better when you operate from cold to let at least 2 hours of low heat warming up raising the temperature gradually. Also keep at least 1/2” of ashes in the pan helps.

 

[Brown506]

Hello I have the same stove model of the 2020 and it work better when you operate from cold to let at least 2 hours of low heat warming up raising the temperature gradually. Also keep at least 1/2” of ashes in the pan helps.

Thanks I removed the fire brick I found the fire actually went the opposite way and was almost lazy and hard to reach temps w ash build ups on top with the primary wide open may have to do with cooler outside temps ? Not sure ..most definitely a complicated wood stove though

 

[Rob with VC and Kent]

Thanks I removed the fire brick I found the fire actually went the opposite way and was almost lazy and hard to reach temps w ash build ups on top with the primary wide open may have to do with cooler outside temps ? Not sure ..most definitely a complicated wood stove though

Just dropped into this site. Your original complaint about slow build and shutting down when damping to CA sounds exactly like my issue when the cable from the primary air controller broke. It fails pretty much shut-- you can check it at the lower back of the stove. Mine is currently 20 years old and when this happened over5 years ago I wasn't able to get service or parts. A previous model had a bolted inside port and fishing procedure to reinstall but the Encore was a revision that simply cast that port solid. Would require a total interior deconstruction of the stove. You can brace the intake open manually and be careful about managing the stove in a pinch.
30 to 40 minutes to heat the stovetop to 450-500 before engaging CAT and all should go fine. Secondary air will hold it nicely between 550-600 if you don't over-stoke. Hope this helps.

 

[U235]

This is the best/only video I could find on the operation of the primary air control.

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If you move the lever, the door should move. I had the exact opposite problem as Rob where the air control cable was pinched between the right air manifold and the side of the stove and it basically ran wide open all the time. Still out of control, just more exciting/terrifying.