VC Defiant - Where is primary air intake?

[Woodsplitter67]

I took the cover off the air control and found what I think is the problem.
Fortunately, the door seems to be stuck kind of in the middle .
That’s why the 600 degrees
Not how I wanted to break the stove in , but it is what it is at this point .
It did not overfire .
View attachment 318661View attachment 318662

So from the picture.. it looks closed in the bottom picture.. is that correct.. the flapper is kina on a spring.. with the primary air closed.. can you push the flapper open with your finger and when you push it open will it close on it own.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Im assuming you speaking of my photo of the flapper.

Check as specified above with your finger to see if anything is hanging the flapper up.. if not.. You can adjust the cable. loosen the Alan bolt and let a little cable into the stove.. open .. then close the primary air to see if it closed all the way.. you should hear the flapper click closed to the bottom of rhe stove..

 

[Loueze]

I already did an adjustment, but I’m not sure i got it right .
I tried moving the control lever and it was only moving the cable back and forth.
The Allen screw was never tightened.
I had not read your instructions yet and tried my own method .
I put the control lever in the full open position and pulled the cable tight , then tightened the Allen screw.
I know it helped , but it’s not like I could put the fire out if I didn’t open the air control.
Yes , I was overly excited and made a fire amd now it’s too hot to mess with
At least , thanks to you , I know where to concentrate my efforts.
I agree that the flap door feels springy.
I just don’t know if it is all the way shut.
Better for now .
Thanks again

 

[Loueze]

Thanks to the help I received from this forum / blog/ website whatever …… I fixed my stove and it is now a source of great joy .
Thank you very much .
Particularly woodsplitter

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Thanks to the help I received from this forum / blog/ website whatever …… I fixed my stove and it is now a source of great joy .
Thank you very much .
Particularly woodsplitter

Im glad it worked out for you.. I would have recommended my stove shop to you, but you being that far north it would be out of the service area. Do some reading here on stove operation there's a number of people here.(excluding GrumpyDad) that have good knowledge and know how to operate this stove..

 

[Loueze]

Again
Thanks so much

 

[Llilith]

Prob none of my business, but I've never been good at keeping my opinions to myself. This animosity between Woodsplitter and GrumpyDad is really off putting. Just the opinion of a newbie. It seems like there are more ways than one to be successful with this stove and I don't understand the constant oneupmanship. Its tiresome and doesn't make this feel like a very welcoming place.
I realize that the answer is probably... don't like it, leave. Sorry if I've offended anyone but the more I read, the more unpleasant it is.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Prob none of my business, but I've never been good at keeping my opinions to myself. This animosity between Woodsplitter and GrumpyDad is really off putting. Just the opinion of a newbie. It seems like there are more ways than one to be successful with this stove and I don't understand the constant oneupmanship. Its tiresome and doesn't make this feel like a very welcoming place.
I realize that the answer is probably... don't like it, leave. Sorry if I've offended anyone but the more I read, the more unpleasant it is.

its ok.. im not easily offended.. your still going to get quality advice from me.. Im still willing to help you out with your stove..

 

[Llilith]

its ok.. im not easily offended.. your still going to get quality advice from me.. Im still willing to help you out with your stove..

I really appreciate that. I only said something because maybe you guys weren't considering how this seems to people just getting acquainted with this valuable forum. And maybe it's just me. I've been wrong before.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I really appreciate that. I only said something because maybe you guys weren't considering how this seems to people just getting acquainted with this valuable forum. And maybe it's just me. I've been wrong before.

You have to understand, and like you said there are many ways to operate a stove but in his opinion there is ONLY one way. Mine was a learning journal so to speak and frustrations with a brand. Many people have a die hard almost family like love for a manufacturer or product. I could never understand that, same with a sports team or a company that may employ someone. Im in the mostly negative camp about this brand, the other guy is a brand zealot. Im gettnig what I need to out of my stove, and Ive produced evidence that how the other guy is suggesting you MUST operate the stove at all times is inaccurate both based on the company literature, talking with their support and my experiences. Im not suffering from run away cat temps, cats that look like they were smashed with a hammer or tossed into a volcano. Sure I had my rough patches early on but, as long as I leave the cat out when Im burning relatively warm to hot, I have no problems relegating the cat usage to only be in when Im burning lower than 400f STT. But whatever, I have thick skin and have no concerns about what some little troll thinks. Also FYI every stove setup is different and that impacts how the stove operates. Im operating on the bare minimum flue length, in a valley between two tight mountains. Someone with a taller flue on top of a high might experience completely different behavior, or someone dealing with much colder weather.
If I had to do it over again, I would have never have gotten this stove. There's just no easy way to tell the family how to operate it honestly without risking a serious stall or overfire quickly. Not unless they are willing to make small adjustments, and monitor it every 10 minutes or so until they see it cruising, and many times when you think you are good you walk away and an hour later the stove is acting up again. So keep an eye on your stove to learn when you need to babysit it, and when you dont. Hopefully with your setup, yours is a carefree experience. I should add mine is used only 2-3 days a week in this home, we have another home that we travel between but sometimes we are here for weeks at a time all depending on commitments. SO my learning curve likely took much longer than most due to many cold restarts and not being able to learn daily.

This isnt me, but after reading through these forums and learning about VC stoves, the ins/outs, all you need to do is watch this video to get affirmation that the VC stoves are challenging to operate and not optimally designed. Which has been my point all along...

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

 

[U235]

Some good information here if you can get past our little VC family feud. I’m in my second season with the Encore, basically only being able to control heat output by the amount of fuel I’ve loaded. Always hot - minimal impact of air flow adjustments. I tried the incense/candle trick and couldn’t find any severe leaks. Did the dollar bill check and was I ever surprised. The ash door was super loose on the latch side and the main doors were slightly loose in the right side. Running the first fire after addressing those and what a huge difference!

Now the question…. What is the intended travel for the flap? On a room temperature stove, when should the flap contact the stove body? I’m hitting the stove at about 60% closed (audibly and visually) The rest of the travel I guess is just tightening the spring. Presumably this is documented in a service manual but I’ve never found it. I feel like I need more open WOT to achieve faster starts now that I’m actually influencing the air with the lever.
Thanks again for all you’ve done to help us up the wood stove learning curve.

 

[GrumpyDad]

Some good information here if you can get past our little VC family feud. I’m in my second season with the Encore, basically only being able to control heat output by the amount of fuel I’ve loaded. Always hot - minimal impact of air flow adjustments. I tried the incense/candle trick and couldn’t find any severe leaks. Did the dollar bill check and was I ever surprised. The ash door was super loose on the latch side and the main doors were slightly loose in the right side. Running the first fire after addressing those and what a huge difference!

Now the question…. What is the intended travel for the flap? On a room temperature stove, when should the flap contact the stove body? I’m hitting the stove at about 60% closed (audibly and visually) The rest of the travel I guess is just tightening the spring. Presumably this is documented in a service manual but I’ve never found it. I feel like I need more open WOT to achieve faster starts now that I’m actually influencing the air with the lever.
Thanks again for all you’ve done to help us up the wood stove learning curve.

Ive observed that as well with the flapper position. I have not noticed it change what so ever with a warmed stove, but I dont think I checked when it was super warm. However, changing the air from the lowest setting to the beginning of when the flapper is fully seated, there is a difference in the flames and activity of the flames FWIW.

 

[U235]

From Encore 2-N-1 manual - looks like some adjustment is in order!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

From Encore 2-N-1 manual - looks like some adjustment is in order!

View attachment 319184

Sounds like.from the post above .. yes you need an adjustment.

Its easier with 2 people so you done need to get up and down on the floor. I marked the cable with a sharpie for reference Loosen the hex bolt, pull some cable out. finger tighten the hex bolt and repeat, until when you close your primary air the flapper claps up against the body of the stove. Stove has to be cold

 

[Kevin Weis]

Some good information here if you can get past our little VC family feud. I’m in my second season with the Encore, basically only being able to control heat output by the amount of fuel I’ve loaded. Always hot - minimal impact of air flow adjustments. I tried the incense/candle trick and couldn’t find any severe leaks. Did the dollar bill check and was I ever surprised. The ash door was super loose on the latch side and the main doors were slightly loose in the right side. Running the first fire after addressing those and what a huge difference!

Now the question…. What is the intended travel for the flap? On a room temperature stove, when should the flap contact the stove body? I’m hitting the stove at about 60% closed (audibly and visually) The rest of the travel I guess is just tightening the spring. Presumably this is documented in a service manual but I’ve never found it. I feel like I need more open WOT to achieve faster starts now that I’m actually influencing the air with the lever.
Thanks again for all you’ve done to help us up the wood stove learning curve.

To my understanding the primary air flap should have a gap with the lever in the closed position on a cold stove. It should not rest on the mating surface. What this gap should be maybe 1/16"? Remember as the stove heats up the thermostat will tend to close the flap to maintain its temperature setting.

 

[sargeott]

Im glad it worked out for you.. I would have recommended my stove shop to you, but you being that far north it would be out of the service area. Do some reading here on stove operation there's a number of people here.(excluding GrumpyDad) that have good knowledge and know how to operate this stove..

I had to laugh at that last line.

 

[sargeott]

To my understanding the primary air flap should have a gap with the lever in the closed position on a cold stove. It should not rest on the mating surface. What this gap should be maybe 1/16"? Remember as the stove heats up the thermostat will tend to close the flap to maintain its temperature setting.

From Encore 2-N-1 manual - looks like some adjustment is in order!

View attachment 319184

The directions says specifically "When re installing makse sure the door cable is adjusted so the door fully closed when stone cold".
That seems pretty difinative to me

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I had to laugh at that last line.

I do have a good sense of humor.. Im still laughing at that one..