Encore 2550 rebuild... start to finish

[jharkin]

Some more time so I cleaned the right side panel. Same routine as the fireback - two handed approach with a dremel/grinding bit and shop vac to clean the gasket channel. Seems tedious at first but I got it done in under an hour. Then a quick wire brushing over the rest of the panel.

Whoever did this one last figured if some glue is good a lot more is better. There was tons of cement squeezed out around the gaksets...




My wife has started making pies. That must be a sign fall is coming. Time to pick up the pace!

 

[begreen]

Great thread. I'm really enjoying the progress Jeremy. My wife made apple crisp with our Spartans yesterday. Pie coming tomorrow. Yum!

 

[jharkin]

No progress today, going out to fly

 

[fortuna1]

No progress today, going out to fly View attachment 108813

Enjoying this thread as well.
About the cat, do you all use a special gasket for the cat? The guy at firecat where I'm getting the catalyst is trying to sell me on it.

 

[jharkin]

About the cat, do you all use a special gasket for the cat? The guy at firecat where I'm getting the catalyst is trying to sell me on it.

You are not supposed to. The cat should be a fairly snug fit in the refractory and then when it gets hot everything expands to seal tight.

That being said, last year with my warn out refractory and warped cat I had a big gap and used some to tighten it up. Not sure it helped much. Definitely dont do this with new parts, I think you could end up deforming the refractory box.

 

[jharkin]

Making progress again. New combustion throat is here and I got an email from Condar that the warranty replacement cat is on the FedEx truck. Now I just have to make a call to find a new refractory.

Tonight I spent some time cleaning up the lower fireback. Unlike the side panels, I was the last one to re-gasket it and only used the recommended 1/8" bead of glue, it only took me 20min to get all the residue off.

The lower fireback gets probably the most abuse of any part of the stove, having the heat of the firebox on one side and the 1700F cat exhaust on the other. I'm sure some metallurgists could probably tell us something about the heat this thing was exposed to just from the way it turned the iron all those funky shades of red.

The heat also does a job on gasket. It was a gray graphite impregnated rope gasket but its turned all white and crumbly from the heat.

 

[jharkin]

Still to do...

• Clean up the left side panel
• Regasket the window glass
• Rip out and redo the damper gasket a second time
• Clean all the cement residue from inside the stove
• Replace refractory

Then regasket everything and put it all back together. Other than the off chance of cracking the glass when I take the windows out the only thing that really has me worried is getting that upper fireback back in.

I have been picking up a lot of chunks of furnace cement slag as I clean the inside of the stove. I think a lot of it is excess from the seams around the top. I'm really hoping that the cement in the tongue and groove joints is still good because i really really dont want to strip this thing down all the way. I dont know that Id be able to get it all back together perfect.

 

[Reckless]

Still to do...

• Rip out and redo the damper gasket a second time

So how much glue and your sayin don't stretch it too much right? I have a feeling I stretched my griddle gasket too much.... easy fix tho

 

[jharkin]

The fire back kit instructions recommend using a 1/8" bead of glue. I cant claim to an expert but I lay out a bead enough to coat the groove but not so much that it will squeeze out when you press in the gasket. I am using a tube of "gasket cement" from the local stove shop, not furnace cement - this stuff is a bit thinner consistency.

Definitely try not to stretch the gasket too much, but don't bunch it up either. The wirewound griddle gasket might not stretch much but the regular rope stuff does considerably and when its stretched out is a bit thinner and may not seal as well.

 

[Reckless]

The wirewound griddle gasket might not stretch much but the regular rope stuff does considerably and when its stretched out is a bit thinner and may not seal as well.

Ever since I replaced the battered and beatup griddle gasket I now get puffs of smoke, I was thinking of going with non-wire which I heard works better but needs to be replaced more often.

 

[jharkin]

Ever since I replaced the battered and beatup griddle gasket I now get puffs of smoke, I was thinking of going with non-wire which I heard works better but needs to be replaced more often.

BINGO - Thats exactly what happened to me and what I ended up doing. I replace the rope every 2 years or so but its only a half hour job so I don't mind.

 

[Reckless]

BINGO - Thats exactly what happened to me and what I ended up doing. I replace the rope every 2 years or so but its only a half hour job so I don't mind.

Did you stick with 5/16 or go to 3/8?

 

[jharkin]

Did you stick with 5/16 or go to 3/8?

5/16

 

[jharkin]

k, all parts are here or on the way. Refractory is ordered, and the warranty replacement steelcat arrived from Condar today. I should have taken a better photo of the old one, but just looking at it I see a big difference. The new one has a uniform brown coloring to the cells while the old one had faded to dull grey . I can't have put much more than 4000 hours on it the way I burn but it looks like it may have been toast.

So, all told I'm in this for just over $400 including misc parts. Sure its probably more than the stove needed but hopefully it will be good for another 10 years. Looking forward to much better performance this season.

 

[ScotO]

I must say, Jeremy, you've done an excellent job of documenting the rebuild of your Encore.....I mean excellent!
I read the whole post and I gotta say, that stove sounds like a PITA to work on....how often do you do this overhaul? is this a "once every ten years" thing or every other year?

I have to replace the door gasket and glass gasket on my Napoleon 1900p, and also modify the byfold door seal on my NZ3000 before fall (the bifold doors don't seal very good from the factory where they overlap, so I have an idea in mind, and it should work great. Just have to take the glass out of one door and modify the door overlap slightly). I'll be sure to post my work when I get to it.

Again, excellent job.....top notch documentation, and your stove should perform like new when done!!

 

[begreen]

So when are you going to change this from a "minor" rebuild? Looks like you are going all the way to do it right.

 

[ScotO]

So when are you going to change this from a "minor" rebuild? Looks like you are going all the way to do it right.

I was going to mention that myself, BG....Minor rebuild my azz!!

 

[jharkin]

HaHa thanks guys. Its not all the way... All the way would be breaking it down completely, top sides back off and recementing everything. That I DONT want to do unless there is no choice, I'm told its hard to get right if you are not an experienced tech.

As to how often... Consider this stove is 16 Years old and the first 12 of those years where with the house former owner. I have no idea if its been abused. This job should be one that only gets done whenever the refractory needs replacing, which depending on how much you burn I've read should be every 10 years or so??
I've seen other mention of needing to do a full tear down recement every 10, but I know first hand my Dad still burns the old '79 Resolute I grew up with and its never been rebuilt. Well the damper is busted and its probably burning like a smoke dragon now because of it but its still servicable.


But yeah, owning a VC is not for the faint of heart when it comes to maintenance. I'd be cursing this thing if I didn't have the dremel, grinder and impact driver to make things go faster. It better be worth it!

 

[begreen]

The '79 Resolute was a great stove but a different animal.Sounds like your dad's is seriously overdue for a rebuild.

 

[jharkin]

The '79 Resolute was a great stove but a different animal.Sounds like your dad's is seriously overdue for a rebuild.

Its overdue to get replaced really. Bypass damper broke a couple years ago and they dont make parts anymore. He got it welded up by a buddy of his who runs a shop but that only held for a season. Replacing is just not a top priority for them right now due to finances, but they are on oil and cant afford to stop using it either. I'm trying to steer him to reliable/economical choices like a 30-NC. The ironic good thing is that he is heating 1600ft with it so he burns hot which keeps his pipe fairly clean even though its running like a dragon.

I have fond memories of us kids drying our snowsuits by that stove on snow days back in the 80s. Probably some part of me that resists chucking the Encore to the curb because of those memories. It is kind of sad to see what happened to VC.

 

[jharkin]

I was going to mention that myself, BG....Minor rebuild my azz!!

Ha. Do I get some points toward my Overkill merit badge (tm) ?



BeGreen, you can change the thread title to 'Encore 2550 Overhaul' if you want..

 

[ScotO]

Ha. Do I get some points toward my Overkill merit badge (tm) ?

ABSOLUTELY!! Can't get anymore "overkill" than that!

 

[begreen]

I just shortened it to VC rebuild.

 

[jharkin]

I just shortened it to VC rebuild.

Hmm I don't see any change.

 

[begreen]

maybe cached? refresh your browser. all I did was remove "minor".