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Encore woodburning stove – Vermont Casting 2550 User Manual

Page 22

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22

Encore Woodburning Stove

2000956

In some newer homes that are well-insulated and

weather-tight, poor draft may result from insufficient air

in the house. In such instances, an open window near

the stove on the windward side of the house will provide

the fresh air needed.
Another option for getting more combustion air to the

stove is to duct air directly from the outside to the stove.

In some areas provisions for outside combustion air are

required in all new construction.
Your Encore will accept a duct to deliver outside air for

combustion.
When first using the stove, keep track of the air control

settings. You will quickly find that a specific setting will

give you a fixed amount of heat. It may take a week or

two to determine the amount of heat and the length of

burn you should expect from various settings.
Most installations do not require a large amount of

combustion air, especially if adequate draft is available.

Do not for any reason attempt to increase the firing

of your heater by altering the air control adjustment

range outlined in these directions.
Use the following air control settings as a starting point

to help determine the best settings for your installation.

Each is described as a fraction of the total distance the
lever may be moved from right to left.

Encore Control Settings

Burn Rate

Primary Air Control

Low

From far right to 1/3

the distance to left

Medium

From 1/3 to 2/3 the distance

to left

High

From 2/3 the distance

to left to far left

High-Efficiency Wood Burning with

Catalytic Combustion

An Encore leaves the factory with the combustor in-

stalled.
In the United States, it is against the law to operate this

wood heater in a manner inconsistent with operating

instructions in this manual, or if the catalytic combustor

is deactivated or removed. The components of the cata-

lytic combustion system in your Encore work together to

produce optimum conditions for secondary combustion.
When the damper is closed, smoke travels through

the catalytic element, which causes ignition of smoke

at temperatures of 500-600°F (260-315°C), half the

temperature normally required for unaided secondary

combustion.

The catalytic element is a ceramic “honeycomb” coated

with the catalytic material. The element is located in the

secondary combustion chamber, molded from a special

high-temperature insulating refractory material. The

chamber provides the correct environment necessary

for secondary combustion of the fuel (smoke).
Closing the damper exposes the smoke to the combus-

tor. If the combustor is at least 600°F, it will begin to

burn the smoke.
Closing the stove damper may also reduce the draft, so

to avoid putting out the fire or deactivating the combus-

tor, close the damper only when a fire is well-estab-

lished. When starting a fire, wait until the fire is well

established and there is an ember bed of at least 3-4”

(76-102mm) before closing the damper.
Never kindle a fire with colored paper or paper that

has colored ink or a glossy surface, and never burn

treated wood, garbage, solvents, or trash. All of these

may poison the catalyst and prevent it from operating

properly. Never burn cardboard or loose paper except

for kindling purposes. Never burn coal; doing so can

produce soot or large flakes of char or fly ash that can

coat the combustor and cause smoke to spill into the

room. Coal smoke also can poison the catalyst so that it

wonʼt operate properly.
In general, the fire must be sufficiently well-established

to ensure that catalytic activity is initiated. When first

starting a fire, a medium- to high- firing rate must be

maintained until the stove, catalyst, and fuel are all

stabilized at the proper operating temperatures.
Even though it is possible for the fire to get quite hot

within a few minutes after a fire is started, the combus-

tor may stop working or the fire may go out if the fire

is allowed to die down immediately as a result of the

damper being closed. Once the combustor starts work-

ing, heat generated by burning the smoke will keep it

working.
To determine whether the combustor is operating, ob-

serve the amount of smoke leaving the chimney when

the damper is activated and when it is not. This proce-

dure is described on Page 30.
Avoid using a full charge of very dry wood in the fire-

box. This may result in continuous very high tempera-

tures in the secondary combustion area and damage

the combustor. Wood which has been split, and stored

under cover for more than 18 months may be consid-

ered very dry. Also, do not use a full load of dry slab

wood or scrap wood. For long burns, use a mix of dry
and moderately dry wood.