2018/19 VC Owners Thread

[CTwith3]

I have an encore 2040 Flexburn.
Last year I replaced the door gasket’s and one of the class gaskets, in September I replaced the griddle gasket, and today I am replacing the ash pan gasket.
The stove is the only heat source for my house - I lived in a 2000 sq. Ft. split level house, so because of the floorplan it hits my house well. We leave our bedroom doors open at night to keep them warm and it does a really good job. I am retired, so the store runs all day, almost every day, unless this warm enough to let it die for a while because of the temperature outside.

 

[Dobish]

i’ve been cleaning out the ash pan when it’s full, but in the main forum, if I understand them correctly, I see people recommending leaving a bed of ashes 1-2” in the stove, which would men a full ash pan underneath that.

If I close the damper at about 475-500 and it looks like secondary burn is taking place judging by the dancing of the flames, at what temperature does the cat stop the secondary burn when the wood is burning down?

Also, how many hours do you folks really get from your stoves with seasoned wood from full fill to ashes? I’m only getting around 6 hours and the VC website claims the stove is capable of a 12 hour burn. I’m burning cherry, oak, and some maple.


Thanks for your help.

With the 2040, you can empty the ash pan, but still leave some ash in the top. I found that 1 to 2 inches is optimal. I stir to bring up the coals, but the ash pan gets emptied every 2 weeks or so.

I get between 6 and 11 hours, depending on if I'm going to try and crank it up and heat the house, or just maintain temps. My first year, i was closer to 4 hours since i was not burning super dry wood.

I also see my cat stall out at 502 degrees, then takes off and will run between 900 and 1300 depending on outside temps and wood. I normally get about 7 hours on low before the temp drops below 500.

 

[Kevin Weis]

I'm on my second year with a Encore flex burn. I'm getting about 6 hours at best but that's because my splits are too small. I had the wood cut for a much smaller stove and I'm still using that up. Once I get the 3''-5" X 18'' stuff in there I don't see why I couldn't get 10 hours out of it which is what VC say's it will do. Of course that means there is nothing left but some coals at the end of the "burn" time. To my understanding this is really nearly all the manufactures definition of a "burn" time. If you can re-start from the coals left then it's still part of the "burn" time. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this. I clean my ash pan out about every three days or so or when full no matter the ash depth on the grate above. Kevin

 

[frased]

If you hit the sack and you have the CAT engaged...

What happens if the fire starts to burn way down? Could you have smoke issues?

I see a million posts on engaging the CAT at 500 but what happens if your asleep or at work and it was left engaged (flue still closed).

Thanks all

 

[CTwith3]

When I reference 500 degrees I’m speaking of the temperature on the thermometer on the griddle top, I don’t have a cat probe, and VC told me on the telephone I can’t install one on my stove. I don’t have a thermometer on my stove pipe because it’s a double wall pipe and the reading would be inaccurate.

 

[CTwith3]

This is my ash pan gasket- it’s the one that came installed on the stove. It looks good, but there is that small gap left at the center on the bottom that concerns me. Is it supposed to be like that?

 

[frased]

When I reference 500 degrees I’m speaking of the temperature on the thermometer on the griddle top, I don’t have a cat probe, and VC told me on the telephone I can’t install one on my stove. I don’t have a thermometer on my stove pipe because it’s a double wall pipe and the reading would be inaccurate.

Just wondering from everyone here how that works on the other end. Just let the fire die off if your asleep and Cat is still engaged?

 

[Dobish]

Just wondering from everyone here how that works on the other end. Just let the fire die off if your asleep and Cat is still engaged?

If you have a 2040, you can absolutely install a cat probe. Once the cat is engaged and you know what temperature it's burning you can turn down the air flow to adjust your temperature once it is cruising you don't need to worry about what it's going to do you can set it and forget it it will eventually burn out

 

[ajayabb]

I notice a big performance difference for the worse when I have emptied my ash pan. Probably because of air leaks. I can get close to 10 hrs with my 2550 with a full load of splits, cat engaged and air turned all the way down.But again that is down to a small bed of coals.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Woody Stover]

It had every single original part still wrapped in paper and plastic. Has original ash pan holder, warming shelves, dragons, all handles etc. everything you’d get new. Even the moisture bag was in the firebox still. Once in a lifetime find.

For that "muscle car" I'd read everything I could about the thrills, chills and spills of running these hotrod downdraft stoves, before putting my foot on the gas; Maybe I'd fire it up next year. It'd be a shame to burn out the motor on your first drive!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

This is my ash pan gasket- it’s the one that came installed on the stove. It looks good, but there is that small gap left at the center on the bottom that concerns me. Is it supposed to be like that?

The gap in the gasket is definitely leaking some air into the stove I would replace that

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Just wondering from everyone here how that works on the other end. Just let the fire die off if your asleep and Cat is still engaged?

Your cat is running off of the smoke the wood is letting off. Once you wood is off gased the cat will stop running, as it has no fuel to burn. That being said. There's no worry about creosote, because all the smoke is gone and your down to coles theres nothing to worry about. Its ok to let it die down

 

[Dobish]

If you hit the sack and you have the CAT engaged...

What happens if the fire starts to burn way down? Could you have smoke issues?

I see a million posts on engaging the CAT at 500 but what happens if your asleep or at work and it was left engaged (flue still closed).

Thanks all

You have to come home, open the flue, and relight. No big deal, you don't have to worry about creosote after you are at the coal stage

 

[nunyabinis]

If you read around here enough you will find that VC stoves do not get a whole lot of love.

Yeah, I was really surprised by that. I've always considered my Encore one of the best purchases I've ever made. Easy to get the fire going. (especially if you open the ash pan door until the wood has caught fire) Easy to load from the top. Easy to clean the ashes out. Heck, even my wife loves the Encore. As I'm typing this my coonhounds are gathered around the Encore like a moth to a flame as seen in my profile picture.

I once showed a friend how easy it is to re-light a fire with the tiniest ember left over from the previous fire. I raked all the ashes into the pan and with only one ember about the size of a ping pong ball I had a roaring fire in a couple minutes.

 

[Kevin Weis]

There's no problem leaving the cat engaged till its down to coals. I've done this several times now with no smoke getting in the room. There is still a draft going through the stove with the cat engaged even if the fire has died down to just a few coals or even no coals. Kevin

 

[CTwith3]

If you have a 2040, you can absolutely install a cat probe.

Remove the heat shield?
Can someone post a picture of the back of their stove showing exactly where to drill? How would I measure to ensure I am drilling in the right spot? I can use tape to create a stop on a drill bit. How far in do I drill? What product should I use to seal around the probe’s point of eentry.
I just want to get it right, and appreciate all the guidance.

(I will replace the ash pan gasket tomorrow)

 

[Dobish]

Remove the heat shield?
Can someone post a picture of the back of their stove showing exactly where to drill? How would I measure to ensure I am drilling in the right spot? I can use tape to create a stop on a drill bit. How far in do I drill? What product should I use to seal around the probe’s point of eentry.
I just want to get it right, and appreciate all the guidance.

(I will replace the ash pan gasket tomorrow)

Do not remove heat shield. 6" probe will work. Drill will be whatever your probe size is, and you will want to just use the drill bit by hand. The refractory is very soft, so you don't need a stopper. You don't need to seal it with anything.

 

[CTwith3]

Did you pre-drill your heat shield with a bigger drill bit?

Ok, I just realized that’s not happening- I can’t get in behind the stove with a drill.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Okay, I'm missing something here. It has a hole pre drilled for the factory cat probe. Why are we drilling another hole? Granted the factory probe isn't graduated in degrees but another cat should fit there as well, no? Kevin

 

[Mich woodcutter]

Ughhh
Used to have an defiant I purchased new in 2001
Replaced it with this new Defiant flexburn ..yuck....
Not even close to putting out the heat the other one does...rolling At 620 degrees on the stove pipe its not putting out much heat...time to trade for Drolet?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Did you pre-drill your heat shield with a bigger drill bit?

Ok, I just realized that’s not happening- I can’t get in behind the stove with a drill.

No drill needed. Just a drill bit. There should already be a hole in the back casting. All you are doing is drilling a hole in the refractory box by hand.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Okay, I'm missing something here. It has a hole pre drilled for the factory cat probe. Why are we drilling another hole? Granted the factory probe isn't graduated in degrees but another cat should fit there as well, no? Kevin

No new holes. You are correct when saying remove factory probe and insert the probe from Auber Instruments if you want a digital probe instead of the factory one.

 

[CTwith3]

No drill needed. Just a drill bit. There should already be a hole in the back casting. All you are doing is drilling a hole in the refractory box by hand.

There is no hole, which is why VC probably told me I can’t use a probe/thermometer.
My Encore was built in May 2014 if that is any help.

Down to a few coals, just pulled them forward and filled the stove with seasoned wood I have from August 2017. We’ll see how long she burns tonight.

 

[Dobish]

There is no hole, which is why VC probably told me I can’t use a probe/thermometer.
My Encore was built in May 2014 if that is any help.

Down to a few coals, just pulled them forward and filled the stove with seasoned wood I have from August 2017. We’ll see how long she burns tonight.

Mine was built at around that time too. There might be a plug, a screw, or a knockout in the back. Did you see where mine was in the picture?

 

[Woody Stover]

Used to have an defiant I purchased new in 2001

What was the model number?