What happened to my woodstove?

Hi, I am only familiar with non-cat stoves and this is a VC Defiant Encore. I cannot understand what this was supposed to look like or what happened (like this when we bought the house). Any ideas? Thank you!

Hi Sunny,
A lot of woodstoves have a firebrick liner that both protects the metal body of the stove and helps to hold some heat as thermal mass.
They are considered a wearable part that need to be replaced every so often. Yours look like they fit this bill.
You can purchase firebrick 'splits' at hardware stores, masonry yards, woodstove shops, online.....  

Hi Sunny;
It looks to me that your wood stove is about shot.
The poor thing was run hot, and metal is spalling.
As Gerry stated, firebricks could prolong its life, but in the long run you will want to replace it.

A used box stove in better condition is the fastest, cheapest way.
A J-Tube RMH utilizing cob and whatever low-cost materials are available is not as fast, but another way.

I, of course, recommend building a full masonry Batchbox stove; home built the cost is $1500-2000,not cheap.
Or not recommended by me... Brand new catalytic wood stoves are readily available for $4000 +

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.

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.

Thanks everyone for the advice! It looks like we will definitely be replacing it. The fireback kit looks to run over a grand and there are other things we don't like about the stove anyway. In regards to the tall chimney, this is in the basement of a two story house on a slope. Our chimney might be 30-35' tall. Is there something in a new stove we should consider if this is causing excessive draft? For example, with cat stoves you can't adjust the damper in smaller increments it's just open or shut. Is that a factor?

When you say used box stove- is there a certain brand/model I should look out for? We plan to look for the same output/size.

While I would love to build a RMH someday, or a full masonry stove that isn't a reality for this winter. We replace it quickly. I have seem some other VC similar models going for the $500 ballpark on FB marketplace so I'm thinking we might go with one. Now that I know about the fireback I will know exactly what to look for to make sure it is intact so I appreciate the explanation!

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.