Vermont Castings Encore User manual

Gasket Kit #3419
Installation Instructions
for the Encore Stove
Your stove uses gaskets to provide a tight seal between
moving parts. Eventually these gaskets will become
compressed and will no longer seal properly. Replacing
the gaskets will ensure good performance.
Materials Provided:
• 17’ of 5/16” Glass Fiber Gasket for the Flue Collar,
Catalyst Access Panel, Main Doors and Damper
• 6’ of 3/16” Glass Fiber Gasket (Glass)
• 4’ of 5/16” Wire Reinforced Glass Fiber “Armaseal” for
the Griddle
• 3.5’ of 3/8” Glass Fiber Gasket for the Ash Door
• 3 oz. Tube of Gasket Cement
Tools Needed:
Phillips screwdriver Small cold chisel
Utility knife or scissors Wire brush
Rubber mallet, or hammer and wood block
Flashlight or droplight
Procedure
For a guide to each gasketed area, refer to the follow-
ing sections and illustrations. Regardless of its location,
replacing a gasket involves these steps.
• Remove the old gasket by scraping it out of its chan-
nel with an old screwdriver.
• Clean the gasketing channel with a wire brush. Be
careful with adjacent surfaces, especially if they are
enamelled. Remove any stubborn deposits with a
small cold chisel. Clean both mating surfaces thor-
oughly to bare metal.
• Cut the appropriate size gasket to length, allowing an
extra inch.
• Knead the tube of cement before opening, to mix the
contents thoroughly.
• Place an unbroken 1/8” bead of gasket cement in
the channel. Do not use too much cement as it may
saturate the gasket; the gasket must remain soft and
resilient. One tube of cement will produce a 1/8” bead
sufficient for all the gasket in this kit.
2008843 8/08 Rev. 9
• Starting with one end, press the gasket into the
cemented channel. If the gasket goes around and
meets itself, ensure that you have a good joint before
trimming the excess gasket. Do not overlap, or leave
ragged edges.
• Seal the gasket by placing it firmly against its normal
mating surface. A slip of waxed paper between the
gasket and its mating surface will help keep the ce-
ment from travelling through the gasket and sticking
to the mating surface. Clean away any excess ce-
ment.
• Allow to dry. Be sure to remove the waxed paper!
• Be careful, with enamel stoves, to keep cement off
the enamel finish. If cement does accidentally get on
the enamel, wash it off immediately with warm water.
• If you have questions, refer to the Encore Owner’s
manual or a Vermont Castings dealer.
Flue Collar
Remove the two (2) Phillips head screws and lift off the
flue collar. Pull off the old gasketing. Thoroughly clean
the gasket channel, and the mating face of the flue
collar. Cut two (2) lengths of 5/16” replacement gasket.
Place a continuous 1/8” bead of cement in the chan-
nel for each piece, and gently press the gasketing into
place. If you are also replacing the damper gasket, go
on to the next section. Otherwise, replace the flue collar
and secure with the Phillips screws.
KT466
Encore flue collar
4/04
Flue Collar Opening
Catalyst Access
Opening
(1986-91 Units
Only)
KT466
Fig. 1 Flue collar gasket (all units) and catalyst access panel
location (1986 - 1991 units).
Damper
Remove the flue collar and open the damper. Pull off
the old gasketing and clean off the old cement. Thor-
oughly clean the damper plate and around the damper
opening in the upper fireback. Cut a piece of the 5/16”
gasket material to length, allowing 1” of excess. Place
a continuous 1/8” bead of cement in the damper gasket
channel, and press the new gasketing in place, trim-

2
ming off the excess length. Remove any excess ce-
ment. Close the damper to seat the gasket. Replace the
flue collar and screws.
Catalyst Access Panel
(This section applies only to Encore Model 0028 and
2140, which were built before December 1991. Later
stoves and the Encore 1450 Non-catalytic model do not
have a separate external access panel for a catalyst.)
If the stove has a rear heat shield, remove it by un-
threading the four (4) bolts holding it to spacers in-
stalled in the stove back. Remove the four (4) Phillips
head screws and the catalyst access plate from the
back of the stove. Pull off the old gasketing and thor-
oughly clean the gasket channel of old cement. Cut
a length of replacement gasket, allowing an inch of
excess. Place a continuous 1/8” bead of cement in the
channel, and press the new gasketing in place, trim-
ming the excess carefully. Remove any excess cement.
Replace the access plate on the stove back and secure
with the screws.
KT467
Catalyst access
panel
4/04
KT467
Fig. 2 Catalyst access panel (1986 - 1991 units only).
Griddle
Remove the griddle. Pull off the old gasket and clean
the channel with the wire brush. Set the steel reinforced
gasket in the griddle channel and mark the correct
length. Place the gasket on a wood cutting surface
and trim with the utility knife or scissors. Twist the ends
slightly to prevent unravelling. Place a continuous 1/8”
bead of gasket cement in the channel and press the
gasket into place. Replace the griddle and compress
against the gasket by striking around the edges with the
rubber mallet or hammer and block of wood.
KT468
griddle gasket
4/04
KT468
Fig. 3 Griddle gasket.
Ash Door
You may find it helpful to remove the ashpan bracket
from the inside of the ashdoor; use a 7/16” wrench for
this.
Remove the old gasketing and clean the gasket chan-
nel thoroughly. Clean the ash door and the mating
edges of the ash drop. Cut the required length of gasket
plus one inch. Place a continuous 1/8” bead of cement
in the channel and press the gasket into place, trimming
the excess carefully. Replace the ashpan bracket if you
removed it. Close and latch the ash door, to seat the
new gasket.
KT468
ashdoor
gasket
4/04
KT469
Fig. 4 Ashdoor gasket.
Front Doors
Carefully remove the doors and place them face down
on a padded surface. Note where the gasket ends are
trimmed, so you can make an exact replacement.
• Pull out the old gasketing and clean each gasket
channel with the wire brush.
• Lay the new glass fiber in place and trim to length.
• Place a continuous 1/8” bead of gasket cement in
the gasket channel and press the trimmed gasket-
ing into place. Remove any excess cement that
may have squeezed out around the gasket.
• If you are also replacing the glass gasket, go on to
the next section. If you are not dealing with the glass
gasket, you are finished.
• Replace the doors on the stove, and latch the doors
to seat the gasket.

3
KT470
Fig. 5 Door perimeter gasket.
KT470
door gasket
4/04
Inside view of front doors
Outside view of left front door,
showing gasket on outside of
the door.
Glass
NOTE: Encore models 0028 and 2140, built before De-
cember 1991, have two (2) panes of glass in each door.
With these models, all four pieces of glass are identical,
and a wire reinforced gasket separates the two panes.
Models 1450, 2190 and 2550, built after December
1991, have a single pane of coated glass in each door.
Since the coating goes on the room side of the door,
there is a left and a right pane. Be sure to mark which
is which. Some single-pane units originally used a flat
die-cut gasket between the glass and the door; use the
round 3/16” rope-type gasket, from this kit, to replace
the flat gasket.
• Remove the door assemblies and place on a pad-
ded surface, inner side up. On the right door, remove
the Phillips head screw securing the door manifold
and glass clip to the upper right of the door. Swing
the door manifold out of your way. The Encore 1450
non-catalytic model does not have an integral door
manifold.
• Remove the screws and retainer clips from both
doors. Lift out both glass panes together with the
formed wire gasket (#3) that separates them. Pull off
the old glass fiber gasket and clean the channel thor-
oughly. Do not remove the flat Interam gasket strip
(#1) on which the installed glass rests. (Replacement
material for this gasket is not included in this kit.)
• Cut the required replacement gaskets, allowing a little
excess. Place a continuous 1/8” bead of cement in
each channel and press the gaskets into place, trim-
ming the excess carefully, and removing any excess
cement.
• Clean both sides of each pane of glass for double-
pane doors; clean only the inside of the panes from
single-pane doors.
• For double-pane doors, center one pane of glass on
the gasket. Place the formed wire gasket on top of
the glass. If necessary, the gasket may be shaped
to fit properly around the opening. Place the second
pane on the gasket.
• For single-pane doors, center the glass on the gas-
ket. Be sure to place the pane with its coated side
facing out into the room.
• Replace the retainer clips and screws, including the
clip under the manifold on the right door. Leave the
screws slightly loose on the right door.
• For the Encore 1450 non-catalytic model, replace the
retainer clips and tighten the screws. Skip to “Testing
the Gasket Seals”.
• Replace the doors on the stove. Remove the griddle
so you can reach in through the opening to reposition
the manifold on the right door. Move the manifold as
high as possible without actually touching the upper
air manifold, and as far as possible toward the left
door manifold without hitting it. Tighten the screws.
Open and close the doors to check the manifold
clearances.
KT471
glass gasket
4/04
Glass Panels
Interam
Gasket
Strip
Rope Gasket
Wireformed Gasket
KT471
Fig. 6 Glass gasket. 1986 - 91 unit shown; later units have
only one pane of glass per door.
Testing the Gasket Seals
After the cement has had several hours to dry, test
the new door seal by closing and latching the door on
slips of paper or dollar bills, placed at approximately 6”
intervals along the top and bottom of the door opening.
Be sure to include the area where the right front door
overlaps the left door. It should not be possible to slide
the papers, and they should be pulled straight out only
with considerable resistance. If the paper pulls out eas-
ily, readjust the doors as needed until the doors hold the
paper tightly. Do not apply this test to the glass gasket-
ing - it is not accessible and does not get the repeated
impacts that other seals receive.

MHSC
149 Cleveland Drive • Paris, Kentucky 40361
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