Question to Woodstock Fireview owners

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Gyprat

Member
Oct 4, 2011
33
SC
What kind of catalytic converter do you use in your stove?
I installed this stove 3 years ago. It came with a stainless catalyst. I had a hard time getting the stove top to heat above 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It would not get above 350 degrees if air damper was set to 1 as the manual recommends. The wood was good and relatively dry (seasoned).
I called Woodstock and they sent me a new catalyst. Great customer service by the way.
The new catalyst was doing much better but it only lasted one season . I still had a hard time getting the stove to heat as it should. It was showing some corrosion and lost it's efficiency. I called Woodstock again. They did not know why I keep having issues. I mentioned that my neighbor has a similar catalytic stove and uses the same wood. His stove works great and he usually replaces his catalyst every 5 to 6 years. His catalyst is ceramic.
The guy at the customer service said they can send me another catalytic converter free of charge. They sent me a ceramic model. I did not know they had a ceramic catalyst for my stove. Wow! What a difference! It's a different stove now. No more problems getting it to heat up. I can see the catalyst glow now. We are going on the second season with the ceramic catalyst and I don't see much deterioration in its performance.

I just wanted to share my experience. We love this stove and get a lot of comments about how great it looks. Woodstock's customer service has been excellent.
 
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I'm surprised you had issues with the stainless, especially when it was new. Usually a brand new SS is hyperactive and lights off really easily at lower firebox temps. I never ran a SS in the Fireview, but I know of several members that did with success.

I have found that cleaning a 1 year old SS cat with a vinegar bath definitely improved it's performance. I never had to do that with the ceramic cats, but they crumbled after a few years.
 
I just switched to a stainless one late last year and it's still working. I ran ceramic before that and they lasted me a few years...probably 4 seasons? Woodstock has had a few issues with their stainless cats originally, but I hear they're working well now. Time will tell. If mine acts up I'll probably go back to the ceramic type. So far so good though.
 
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