Catalyst help, how do you know.....

[My Oslo heats my home]

I have a Dutchwest 2461 large, a catalyst, that I am doing some repairs to for a friend. I have broken down the stove to find a few minor replacement parts that need to be ordered before we can put this back together and do an install. The issue I'm having is the CAT itself. I have never worked on a catalyst stove before and have no idea if this CAT is in good shape to use or not. All the other items that house the CAT seem to be in good shape, everything is in working order and mostly rust free.
Can someone tell me what I need to do in this situation...Thanks

 

[certified106]

If the stove is over 5-6 years old and hasn't had the catalyst replaced it is probably safe to say it should be or is close to needing replaced. The only true way to tell if it is good is to put it in the stove and fire it up to see if it will light off. If it takes a long time to get it to light off or you have trouble keeping it lit off it definitely needs replaced.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Other than the test of firing and lighting it, along with it's age...is there a physical exam that will tell me anything? As far as I can see it is in great shape, no wear or loss to report. I'm guessing it is a replacement from sometime recent in the stoves life, you can tell someone has had the top off and the guts apart before.

 

[leeave96]

Based on your description, it sounds like the cat is OK. Install it and give it a burn - unless the cat is crumbling, that's really the only way to see if it is working.

Given the way prices are going up on everything, I'd buy a spare cat to keep on the shielf. If you need it, you got it.

I think you got a pretty good stove - I almost bought one myself not to long ago.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Even if you see cracks in the honeycomb it can still be good. Even a small part missing the thing will still work but once that starts it may not take long before it all crumbles. If it were me and you are rebuilding, I'd put a new steel cat in rather than the old ceramic cat.

 

[Woody Stover]

Just dust off the combustor with a soft brush and gently blow it out (no air compressor!) If it's like my Dutchwest small, you can see if the combustor is lit off by looking up through the front glass and the baffle, and the thermo should tell you as well. Then look outside to see if there's any smoke. Even if it's shot, it's not too big a deal to replace the combustor. I'm going to try a stainless combustor in my, and my SIL's, Dutchwests. It's supposed to light off at lower temp, and isn't vulnerable to thermal shock.

 

[ecocavalier02]

Even if you see cracks in the honeycomb it can still be good. Even a small part missing the thing will still work but once that starts it may not take long before it all crumbles. If it were me and you are rebuilding, I'd put a new steel cat in rather than the old ceramic cat.

whats the word on these steel cats. You think its worth switching over?

 

[raybonz]

Even if you see cracks in the honeycomb it can still be good. Even a small part missing the thing will still work but once that starts it may not take long before it all crumbles. If it were me and you are rebuilding, I'd put a new steel cat in rather than the old ceramic cat.

whats the word on these steel cats. You think its worth switching over?

I think they work better and used one for a few months..I found it lights faster and at lower temps than the ceramics and mine stayed pretty clean too..The one my CDW took was 6"x2" round and I saw no sagging at all..Another big plus is you'll never crack a S/S cat.. I sold the stove with it so the new owner got lucky on that plus a spare cat (ceramic) to boot.. If Woodstock has your size they offer the best deal out there for steel cats..

Ray

 

[Todd]

Even if you see cracks in the honeycomb it can still be good. Even a small part missing the thing will still work but once that starts it may not take long before it all crumbles. If it were me and you are rebuilding, I'd put a new steel cat in rather than the old ceramic cat.

whats the word on these steel cats. You think its worth switching over?

Woodstock has switched over to the steel cat because they have more surface area for catalytic activity which means more efficiency, not prone to thermo shock, light off at a lower temp of 400 instead of 500 and also more resistant to potassium posioning so we should see longer life.

Blaze King made the switch as well, but later switched back for some reason. I'm thinking their stoves were already very draft sensitive and the steel cats smaller cells restricted the draft even more?

 

[leeave96]

Even if you see cracks in the honeycomb it can still be good. Even a small part missing the thing will still work but once that starts it may not take long before it all crumbles. If it were me and you are rebuilding, I'd put a new steel cat in rather than the old ceramic cat.

whats the word on these steel cats. You think its worth switching over?

Woodstock has switched over to the steel cat because they have more surface area for catalytic activity which means more efficiency, not prone to thermo shock, light off at a lower temp of 400 instead of 500 and also more resistant to potassium posioning so we should see longer life.

Blaze King made the switch as well, but later switched back for some reason. I'm thinking their stoves were already very draft sensitive and the steel cats smaller cells restricted the draft even more?

+1

I'll have a better handle on the SS cat this year when I have a chance to give it a season long burn. I especially like the resistance to thermal shock - it makes for a less worry free burn. I think of them as the equivelant of SS burn tubes in a non-cat stove. Load the stove and don't worry about damaging the cat.

Bill

 

[tcassavaugh]

Had a 2461 and used it for years. Bought a couple of cats throughout the time i used it. I bought a steel one and used it about a month. didn't seem to work as well to me, but that was 5 years ago. They might be better now. Lots of places to get one if you need one.....and prices vary.

cass

 

[Todd]

Some say the steel cats don't put out as much heat as the ceramic cats but so far I haven't seen any difference. I have one of each in my Keystones and both have no problem getting up over 600 stove top pretty quickly. The other day I had my steel cat fired up and it took less than 1 hour to get the stove temp up over 500. So far I'm sold.

 

[certified106]

I had my stainless cat for about a year and it was holding up fine however I'm curious to see how they do in the long haul because the one my Dad has is made by Condar also and after about 2.5 years it's not looking that great. The outside of the cat looks fine but the interior center honeycomb where it gets the hottest is starting to disintegrate and when you take it out to clean it you can hear it rattle and see the center of the honeycomb is loose and some tiny pieces are falling out so I have my doubts as to whether it will make it 5-6 years like our ceramic ones were but only time will tell.

 

[ecocavalier02]

What's the word on gettin one for a blade king princess?

 

[VCBurner]

Hello MOHMH,

The I think as others stated, if the cat is not visibly crumbling it's is worth firing it up to see if the thing lights off. Four bolts and the top comes off if it needs to be replaced. As far as the stainless steel goes, as Raybonz stated, I used one for a couple of months and would highly recommend having one put in. They light off MUCH faster and make the operation of the stove easier. As far as I've heard, Woodstock has the cheapest price for the SS cats. Raybonz found two on EBAY last season, for about $50 and we ended up with one each. That was a deal! I think he said they are $125 from Woodstock. Don't mess with some cheaper immitation cats you can find out there for half the price, I've heard bad stories about them, they also last half the time of a regular cat and are thinner. The 2461 takes a standard 6x2 cat also. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me or post here and I'll be glad to help. Many around here are versed on these Dutchwests. Great stoves.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Hello MOHMH,

The I think as others stated, if the cat is not visibly crumbling it's is worth firing it up to see if the thing lights off. Four bolts and the top comes off if it needs to be replaced. As far as the stainless steel goes, as Raybonz stated, I used one for a couple of months and would highly recommend having one put in. They light off MUCH faster and make the operation of the stove easier. As far as I've heard, Woodstock has the cheapest price for the SS cats. Raybonz found two on EBAY last season, for about $50 and we ended up with one each. That was a deal! I think he said they are $125 from Woodstock. Don't mess with some cheaper immitation cats you can find out there for half the price, I've heard bad stories about them, they also last half the time of a regular cat and are thinner. The 2461 takes a standard 6x2 cat also. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me or post here and I'll be glad to help. Many around here are versed on these Dutchwests. Great stoves.

VC, appreciate the input and attention on this subject very much. TY... My predicament is a bit swayed, I'm giving this stove to a friend of mine. He and I share a couple grapple loads of tree length a year and we use his property to do the work and store the wood there. The stove was in my house when I bought it, it was in terrible shape (broken front door, no glass, missing door handles etc.). I told him I would give him the stove if he was willing to pay for the repair/replacement parts. He agreed but he was on a tight budget. So, that said, and seeing as the CAT is in fairly good shape I'm going to let it go for now, in hopes it fires for at least one season. And as you already know, the 2461 stove top is quickly removed and access to the combustion guts are easy. The remaining parts I have been able to find here and there and by this time next week I should have this stove ready to roll out of the garage and into my friends basement.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'll be putting a steel cat in our stove this fall and am happy with the reports we are getting. Todd also states he has had good results and we value his opinion highly.

 

[VCBurner]

As long as you can get a light off it should be OK. If it doesn't look all chipped or cracked with chunks missing it should still do the job.
Good luck. One of the great things about this stove is availability of parts. You can find these used for cheap and replace the parts for the early 90's models with brand new parts that dealers have in stock.