So on my third winter now I'm having muuuuuch better results. Dryer wood= better burns, little glass cleaning, easier to control etc.
But one problem i still have with the catalyst. On medium loads of 3-4 splits I have no problem getting it to light off. Once I get a good bed of coals I just reload and let it burn wide open till the load is fully charred and the stovetop hits 550-600F. Close the bypass damper and very quickly the catalyst probe temp pops to 500 and starts climbing quickly to 1000+. I know its lit off right when I see it jump 50 degrees every 5 seconds or so and hit 1000 within a minute. It will usually cruise between 1100 - 1500 depending on load and draft.
Its the big overnight loads I have a problem with. when I pack it to the gills the above method wont get me a reliable light off. ( And by packed I mean packed - I push the coals front, load splits E-W pushed against the left side and put a couple small ones upright on the right to fill in then fill it to within an inch of the griddle). Often I will get he cat probe temp to climb sluggishly to 650~700 then just sit there. I'm finding I either need to burn wide open and push the stovetop to 700 before shutting hte bypass(by then the andirons are usually glowing) or else just leave it for a half hour or so as it slowly rises up to temp. Its only when the cat probe temp gets to 1100 or so that the smoke out of the stack will fully clear.
My wood is a mix of oak, maple and and old crabapple, all of which has been split and stacked in single rows in my yard now for 2 full summers. I resplit and checked a couple pieces and the internal MM readings are 15-18%.
The catalytic combustor I replaced in fall 2009 with a Condar Steelcat. At this point its probably got less than 6 cords through it as Im only a weekend burner. I get only a coffee can or so of fine black soot on a cleaning once a year so I think its generally doing its job. I did have a couple overfire scares and got it over 1800F twice for short times... not sure if that was enough to poison the element. This season I gave it the full vinegar/distilled water boil treatment but it really didnt have much build up.
BTW, otherwise this Encore stove is in good shape. The refractory is holding up well and Ive replaced every gasket but the damper and all checkout fine on the dollar bill test. I dont have any drafting or controllability issues to speak of.
Any ideas... or is this normal and I just simply need to get those big loads hotter to burn off the water?
But one problem i still have with the catalyst. On medium loads of 3-4 splits I have no problem getting it to light off. Once I get a good bed of coals I just reload and let it burn wide open till the load is fully charred and the stovetop hits 550-600F. Close the bypass damper and very quickly the catalyst probe temp pops to 500 and starts climbing quickly to 1000+. I know its lit off right when I see it jump 50 degrees every 5 seconds or so and hit 1000 within a minute. It will usually cruise between 1100 - 1500 depending on load and draft.
Its the big overnight loads I have a problem with. when I pack it to the gills the above method wont get me a reliable light off. ( And by packed I mean packed - I push the coals front, load splits E-W pushed against the left side and put a couple small ones upright on the right to fill in then fill it to within an inch of the griddle). Often I will get he cat probe temp to climb sluggishly to 650~700 then just sit there. I'm finding I either need to burn wide open and push the stovetop to 700 before shutting hte bypass(by then the andirons are usually glowing) or else just leave it for a half hour or so as it slowly rises up to temp. Its only when the cat probe temp gets to 1100 or so that the smoke out of the stack will fully clear.
My wood is a mix of oak, maple and and old crabapple, all of which has been split and stacked in single rows in my yard now for 2 full summers. I resplit and checked a couple pieces and the internal MM readings are 15-18%.
The catalytic combustor I replaced in fall 2009 with a Condar Steelcat. At this point its probably got less than 6 cords through it as Im only a weekend burner. I get only a coffee can or so of fine black soot on a cleaning once a year so I think its generally doing its job. I did have a couple overfire scares and got it over 1800F twice for short times... not sure if that was enough to poison the element. This season I gave it the full vinegar/distilled water boil treatment but it really didnt have much build up.
BTW, otherwise this Encore stove is in good shape. The refractory is holding up well and Ive replaced every gasket but the damper and all checkout fine on the dollar bill test. I dont have any drafting or controllability issues to speak of.
Any ideas... or is this normal and I just simply need to get those big loads hotter to burn off the water?