The last time I tried adjusting the cat air valve on my Dutchwest 2460, a couple years back, it didn't seem to do much. Thinking back, that cat had several years on it. I just left it 1/2 turn open after that. Now, with the new Woodstock 6 x 2" steel cat I have in there, the cat air seems to have a bit more effect. I played with it a bit last night. Early in the burn when there's a lot for the cat to feed on, it seemed to brighten a bit when I set the air 3/4 turn open. Later in the burn I cut it back to 1/2 turn open and it didn't change the glow much. If I opened it 1.5 turns early in the burn, "secondary" flames ignited right where the fountain was feeding in the air, below the cat. I don't think that constitutes "flame impingement" on the cat, but I think I will avoid it anyway. I also thought that maybe adjusting the cat air might help me get a quicker light-off, but the jury is still out on that.
Interesting finds. I was starting to wonder if starting to shut down to fast on reloads would cause the cat to run off in hyper mode due to the initial gasing of the wood.
Not sure about your downdraft model, but I would guess not. The longer you wait to cut the air, the more wood will be gassing. If that's the case, then yes, you may have to run some flame for a while until you can slow the gassing down, or the cat may go high. I found the same thing as jharkin; Reloading on too small a coal bed, it takes longer to get enough wood gassing, and to get the stove temp up.
I tried that a couple years ago and it leaked, now I just stick to the book and seems to work out with no leaks.
Can you see the wire attached to the primary air flap in the rear of the stove (maybe came loose)? Removing the right inside wall will give you a good indication of where it broke. There is no way to actually see the wire that travels under/through the stove (would require a complete tear down) but the wire can be change pretty easily without a tear down. If the break is out of site you can probably snake the new one with a thinner coat hanger or a flexible snake.
Thanks reckless. i can currently see fire through a small hole were the gasket channels meet on the bottom of the doors.
Are the doors properly aligned? Is the seam even top to bottom? Also make sure when you gasket the door to leave it loose and not pull it tight as I have made that mistake and had a door leak. If all above is correct then I would need a picture to try and help further.
Is your draft still OK, no smoke roll-out when opening the door or anything? Stove responds to air input? Still, sounds like a substantial leak if you can feel it.
Draft seems OK. Smoke does not roll out, but it is really easy to crash the cat when shutting the air down. At full open the cat can be at 1200+ and I shut the air by 1/4 and the cat will drop to 1050.Is your draft still OK, no smoke roll-out when opening the door or anything? Stove responds to air input? Still, sounds like a substantial leak if you can feel it.
The cat will continue to burn smoke, even if it isn't glowing, down to around 500 degrees. On the Dutchwest I run the air barely cracked once I've burned in a new load, and the cat will be up around 1200 but that's a different stove; I've never run a 2n1...
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/dutchwest-xl-2462-rebuild.151340/Yep, I love the top-down start but if it's cold out I'm usually lighting off the coals to keep the heat coming...no back-up heat here. If there's not a lot of coals, I'll sometimes just shove the coals to the back, put a couple big splits back there, and still do a top-down start in the front of the box. If there are more coals I might pull them forward and just put a couple small splits on and flame them up to raise the stove temp a bit before I pack the box and get that rolling. The kindling is burning pretty clean, and hopefully I can get closer to the temps I need with a clean burn. Once I load I'll try to keep the flame in the front of the stove, hoping it will heat up the top/cat faster that the whole load smoldering underneath, which is blowing a lot of smoke but not getting the stove hot very fast. Not sure how much difference that is making?Been working on improving starts to reduce smoke till the cat kicks in. Top down lighting has proven to be most of the answer. Now, I am trying different stacking. Tonight was my 3rd go at it. Most important to me is when my fan turns on, because that's when I'm really warming the house. The fan comes on automatically when the thermal switch closes as the stove warms.
All hardwood (mostly oak) except for a few pieces of broken up 2x6. Pics are just after light off and at about 40 minutes. By second pic, the fan was on and the cat was burning.
(I have the Woodstock round steel cat in there) and the stove top meter, which I have behind the probe, is 275-300.
I've got that 'brillo-pad' cat in my SIL's 2460 but haven't run her stove much; I'm interested to hear your reports on it.
When the stove top meter I have behind the cat probe is up near 300, the probe is still below the "0" line on the dial, about as far below zero as 200 is above zero, and this Woodstock steel cat will glow in about a minute after I close the bypass.
The probe is reading OK I think; I just put it in last year. It generally goes to 1100-1200 or so about a half-hour into the burn, and will stay over 1000 for a few hours.
