2015/2016 VC Owners thread

[Diabel]

Well I decided to bail on my Encore 2250. Rather than spend the $700-1000 (not to mention my time) to replace the upper fireback & damper assembly I'm replacing the stove with an Woodstock Ideal Steel (totally different look obviously). I still may rebuild the stove for a project & then sell it, or just sell it as is.

Wise decision.

 

[droppinloads]

Yeah it's for the best. So I stripped down the stove & did a little video on what's going on with the damper. It looks like the damper rod is just misaligned or something. Hope this works...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Reckless]

Bought an upgrade and added it directly to my condor probe. I like being able to see real numbers and not guesstimates did I mention it also has two buzzer alarms?!?!?!? Only down side is no stand but after some slight mods it's all hooked up. It's the Auber AT100 and I Highly recommended it!! www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=279]http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=279

 

[Reckless]

43 today with a low of 34 so I'm burning maple, cherry, oak combo. Got to test my recently reengaged secondary air. Drill and tapped a high temp stop and set the bimetallic coil for 1-2 o'clock. Seems to be working great as its now completed closed by 1050 cat probe temp. Cat cruising 13-1400. Stay warm!!

 

[Dobish]

So I know this may not be the appropriate spot, but we are thinking about making a purchase of an Encore 2 in 1 2040. I have always heard good things about VC, but I don't see a ton of positive feedback on the newer versions. Are we making a good choice?

 

[begreen]

They are still very beautiful stoves and clean burners when working right, but they are a complicated stove that are known for higher maintenance. The castings are excellent but the innards and in particular the refractory package was fragile. Due to the reputation earned by a long run of some lousy models they often have poor resale value. Recently the VC line was bought by Monessen. The hope is that this large parent company will finally restore the VC name. Rumor is that they are working on new models that may have more conventional tube secondary construction, however this is still TBD.

 

[redhat]

So I know this may not be the appropriate spot, but we are thinking about making a purchase of an Encore 2 in 1 2040. I have always heard good things about VC, but I don't see a ton of positive feedback on the newer versions. Are we making a good choice?

Yeah, I think you are making a good choice. I'm on my second week with a new 2040 Encore and love it. I've owned VC Encores for a long time, my previous stove was a 2550 and a 0028 before that.

There are a lot of positive reviews of the flexburn (2n1) stoves if you read through the threads. The refractory material has been vastly improved over previous models, and the cast iron lower fireback and hood that were prone to warping in the 2550 eliminated altogether. Unfortunately, even with the improvements introduced with the 2n1's, many folks still consider VC's high maintenance stoves based on their experiences with the older models. I don't see it with the newer flexburn models.

 

[jharkin]

Besides the maintenance, the thing that bothers me about my 2550 is that even burning <20% moisture wood with a brand new catalyst and refractory and maintaining ctalyst temps over 1000f I will see some smoke out of the stack. Confirmed with a decent amount of black creosote in the annual flue cleaning.


Are the 2n1 models burning cleaner?

 

[redhat]

Besides the maintenance, the thing that bothers me about my 2550 is that even burning <20% moisture wood with a brand new catalyst and refractory and maintaining ctalyst temps over 1000f I will see some smoke out of the stack. Confirmed with a decent amount of black creosote in the annual flue cleaning.


Are the 2n1 models burning cleaner?

I had pretty good luck with my 2550 getting clean burns, nothing but vapor out of the stack if cat was clean and in good shape.

So far so good with my new 2n1, no smoke whatsoever when I looked last weekend. So with my limited experience with the 2040 it appears to be a clean burner.

 

[Diabel]

It has been a week since the 2550 was put in service. It has been going 24/7 and so far so good. The stove is working as it should, no smoke out the pipe, nice and quick light offs, steady cat temp at around 1300 (once it reached 1500). Hope this keeps up with no surprises.

 

[redhat]

It has been a week since the 2550 was put in service. It has been going 24/7 and so far so good. The stove is working as it should, no smoke out the pipe, nice and quick light offs, steady cat temp at around 1300 (once it reached 1500). Hope this keeps up with no surprises.

The 2550 is a great performer when everything is dialed in. If mine hadn't required around $500 in parts I'd still be running it today. Would have been cheaper to repair the 2550 but I was looking for an excuse to buy the 2040.

 

[PowerGuy]

My name is Kevin and I am the lucky (or unlucky) owner of a VC 2550 that came with my house. I wanted to say hi and introduce myself, this is my second post here after doing hours of reading around the forum often getting off track of what info I was looking for and yet gaining some good knowledge.
This will be my third season with a wood stove and with the info that I have gathered hopefully the best yet, if I can get it running right. I didn't want to clog up this thread so I made another post here asking for some help and giving more of a background on the stove and my experience with it.

 

[Dobish]

Yeah, I think you are making a good choice. I'm on my second week with a new 2040 Encore and love it. I've owned VC Encores for a long time, my previous stove was a 2550 and a 0028 before that.

There are a lot of positive reviews of the flexburn (2n1) stoves if you read through the threads. The refractory material has been vastly improved over previous models, and the cast iron lower fireback and hood that were prone to warping in the 2550 eliminated altogether. Unfortunately, even with the improvements introduced with the 2n1's, many folks still consider VC's high maintenance stoves based on their experiences with the older models. I don't see it with the newer flexburn models.

this may sound like a really dumb question, but what sort of maintenance is required?

 

[redhat]

this may sound like a really dumb question, but what sort of maintenance is required?

Since you are looking at the 2040, I'm guessing you are asking about that model. Really should be just routine stuff, keep the cat clean and replace gaskets as needed. Seeing how the refractory materal in the 2040 is a rock like material I don't see it falling apart like the softer material used in the older cat and everburn models.

 

[begreen]

Seeing how the refractory materal in the 2040 is a rock like material I don't see it falling apart like the softer material used in the older cat and everburn models.

Time will tell how well the new refractory stands up. These are still fussier stoves to run if conditions are not ideal. That said, if draft is good and the wood is right then they can be nice heaters.

 

[Charles1981]

This is my third heating season and no signs of cracking or crumbling on my 2040 but it kind of starting to "flake"on the outside layer in spots. No sure what this means for the long run, but so far pretty happy with my 2040

 

[Dobish]

So the wife and I decided that we liked the look of the 2040, liked the warming racks, and with a toddler, the top-loading will probably be a bonus. I just picked it up with all the bits and pieces (at 18% off too), and hopefully will get it installed tomorrow! We will see how it goes! All i have to do is measure a few times, cut a hole in the roof, and put the pipe in right?

 

[Diabel]

Congrats!

You should pick up a stove top, flue and cat thermometers/probes before you run the stove. These three will tell you what goes on in the whole firebox system.

 

[Charles1981]

Make sure you meet the minimum chimney height requirements and if you can surpass it do so. It seems many VC problems in the past may have to deal with short chimney that are either under or just at the minimum height.

 

[Dobish]

Make sure you meet the minimum chimney height requirements and if you can surpass it do so. It seems many VC problems in the past may have to deal with short chimney that are either under or just at the minimum height.

Thanks, we are going with about a 15' chimney after all is said and done.... hopefully it is enough!

 

[Excavator]

Bought an upgrade and added it directly to my condor probe. I like being able to see real numbers and not guesstimates did I mention it also has two buzzer alarms?!?!?!? Only down side is no stand but after some slight mods it's all hooked up. It's the Auber AT100 and I Highly recommended it!! www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;cPath=17&amp;products_id=279]http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=17&amp;amp;products_id=279
View attachment 166357 View attachment 166358

did the condar probe plug in to the AT100 or was it modded

 

[Diabel]

I would go higher if possible. What is the minimum that VC requires?

 

[Charles1981]

The manual states a minimum of 16 feet (edit sorry). You would be progressing into previously charted territory with known issues and this stove if you only reach a chimney height of 15 feet. I would try very hard to get an additional 3 foot length on there at the least.

 

[begreen]

Thanks, we are going with about a 15' chimney after all is said and done.... hopefully it is enough!

Usually chimneys need to be taller at high altitudes to compensate for the thinner air. Normally VC has altitude charts in the stove manual. Here's a chart for a different Encore using a 6" liner.

 

[Reckless]

did the condar probe plug in to the AT100 or was it modded

you cut the plug off and attach the one they provide. This thing has helped me tremendously!