Gray Henon

16,990

Big white pine burn, most of the remaining windfall from Helene.  Topped off one of the two piles with a bunch of bamboo that died after flowering.  Neither pile charred the center very well, the huge piles just exacerbated the wet wood problem.  Still made a ton of char, maybe a new record.  Got the smaller of the two piles spread.  One more to go…

11/4/25

They make draft regulators:

https://www.usstove.com/parts-and-accessories/draft-regulator-6/

I’ve never used one, so can’t speak much to their performance.  

Jotuls are another solid brand.  

I prefer a non-cat stove for simplicity, but a cat stove is probably better if you live in an valley that could trap smoke, you want the highest efficiency, and/or you want the longest burn times.  Check out cat replacement intervals and cost.  

With that tall chimney, your stove is going to be pretty unforgiving when it comes to air leaks.  Keep a close eye on the gaskets and stove joints.  Get two thermometers, one for the pipe above the stove (wire it on) and one for the stove itself.  Keep an eye on them and if the stove starts running hotter than usual, chase down the leak before it causes a problem.

You’ll learn how your stove likes to run and what is normal.  Also expect temp changes with wood type/moisture changes.  Make sure your have a well covered place to store your wood and season it well for best performance.

https://www.harworthheating.co.uk/documents/Technical/Vermont/Encore/Obsolete%20Models/Encore%202550%20Service%20Manual.pdf

You may be in luck, sounds like the fireback might just be held in place with a couple of wedges.  I’d clean the stove out really well, and see if the part pops out easily.  If so, inspect the rest of the stove for damage and proceed accordingly.

Don’t think that model uses firebrick on the back.  I believe this part is severely damaged:

https://friendlyfires.ca/products/vermont-castings-lower-fireback-defiant-encore-encore-1308646/?srsltid=AfmBOoqE96g2IRDIkc96MQqIwCKWBtiFY_SwhEiJuWpQfn0XHoEYZ1LW

While the part does appear available (no endorsement of the website above, beware scam sites), if it is indeed the correct one, beware that this type of repair is not for the faint of heart.  It usually involves broken bolts that must be drilled out and retapped.  If you do attempt it, soak all fasteners with a good penetrating oil for several days ahead of time.  You will likely need four hands to get it back together.  Reseal all the joints well and replace the gaskets before reassembly.  Something probably made that stove severely overheat, bad gaskets are the usual culprit.  It is also possible that it was run long and hard in a cold climate, or exposed to water over a long time via leaky chimney. Not as likely, but a very tall chimney and/or one that is frequently subjected to high winds could also be the cause (excessive draft).

Search youtube for a detailed repair video.  

I’d probably just look for a new used (quality) stove on Craigslist/Marketplace.

If I was in a bad cash squeeze, I’d probably be willing to to run it (after a chimney cleaning and inspection) under supervision, starting with a small fire and slowly working up, making sure it doesn’t have an air leak that is causing overheating.  Those stoves are double walled in most places and I wouldn’t be worried about the stove catastrophically failing in some way.   Of course with all necessary smoke/CO detectors in place.  But this is me, and I have 20+ years of experience heating with wood.  If you have never heated with a woodstove, I’d recommend reading a couple good books on the subject.  I’d probably stay away from social media for general woodstove advice, unless it is a specialty forum, as there is a lot of “Fudd Lore” out there on the subject.

Awesome work, once again!  Do you have any trouble getting through your preserved food?  Over the years, I’ve found we sometimes get burned out on certain preserved foods.  We usually get through them eventually, but it takes effort.  I do my best to minimize what ends up going to the animals or compost, too much work!

Ending the trumpet vine on the house experiment very soon.  Just too aggressive.  The vines hold moisture against the house as well.  I am going to paint the wall white instead.

16,415


All spread, back to piling!

15,980

Squeezed a little spreading in between other obligations…

15,900

Got a quick turn around and favorable weather, a long dry spell to assist in drying the wood, followed by good rain for burning.  The first pile we built burned really well, the second didn’t have quite as long to dry and didn’t completely char the core, but still produced over 400 gallons of char.  Still need to spread the better of the two piles.

9/27/25

I really like this idea.  I’d like to see it applied to other conservation areas as well.  So often, competition leads to sub optimal outcomes.