Dutchwest 2460 Cat - Report and Update

Well, it's halfway through winter, 20 outside (I know that's not cold for lots of you, but for us Kentucky boys it's frigid ) so I thought I would report on my new Dutchwest 2460 cat stove.
(click on the small image to see a full size picture).

A little background first. The new stove replaced a Consolidated Dutchwest Federal Airtight A+ that we installed when we built our house here in western Kentucky in 1987. We designed and built our house (approx 1400 sq ft) as an earth sheltered (partially in the hillside), passive solar home with thick, insulated concrete walls and floors for thermal mass. The south facing wall is almost all windows. On sunny days, the solar gain provides the bulk of our heat so the little DW was perfect for keeping the house warm at night and cloudy days. We use the sun and wood stove for all of our heating needs.

We bought our new DW 2460 from a local dealer (Hearth & Home in Reidland, KY) in October. Because the new stove was basically the same model as the old stove I just had them deliver the stove and set it up where the old stove had sat rather than pay for "installation". Once they had it in place it only took me an hour to level the stove and connect the existing stove pipe (double wall, black, DuraVent).

I can honestly say that I love our new stove. Features that I especially like include the ash handling system, the large glass front door, and the fine control on the air intake. The ash handling is much better than the old stove which had shakers in the floor of the firebox that were a bit of a pain to operate with a fire going. The new stove has slots in the flat floor of the firebox. I can just push the coals back and forth and all of the ash drops into the ash pan which can be easily taken out and emptied even with a fire going.

Even though the stove is small, I can fill it at 10PM, turn the air control low, and have enough coals left when I get up at 7AM to simply throw in some kindling and a few small splits and have a fire going in no time.

The only somewhat downside applied to our old stove as well. Because of the solar gain, thick insulation, and large thermal mass, it is easy to get our house too warm, particularly in the relatively mild climate here in KY. Because of that, we tend to just put a smaller amount of wood in the stove and keep the air control turned low most of the time.

All it all, I would recommend this stove to anyone.

Jeff Nelson
Paducah, KY

Welcome to the forums, Jeff!
Yeah, us So. Indiana boys ain't exactly sweating to death either...not for a few months anyway. I just love that little stove. It served us well for many a year. If I sell the Keystone, I want to rebuild my 2460 so it's ready to step in as a backup if need be. I hope I don't have any warped panels or it might be tough to put back together. Parts are a bit pricey. The usable firebox space is close to 1.4 cu.ft. about the same as the Keystone, so overnight burns are no problem. I need more heat than you do, so I got the blower for it the last year I used it...worked great for pulling more heat off the stove and moving it around the space. It was a bit loud though, and being hearth-mounted the fireplace may have acted as a megaphone. To be fair, I never had dry wood back then (lots of Oak here) so for all I know, it would heat our place without the blower in all but the very cold weather. So how's your wood supply, nice and dry?
I really like the front or side loading option; The front door is great for building a top-down load when the stove is cold, side door is good for reloads. And like you said, great ash pan system. Super-clean-burning stove. As you may know, you can see the combustor cookin' if you get down low and look up through the glass and baffle at the right angle. Did I mention I love this stove? And don't forget, you can always open a window if needed. Best of luck with your new stove; I'm sure it will serve you well.

I didn't know that. I may try that tonight. Thanks for the reply.

Hi Jeff and welcome.

16 years now with my DW 2460. Great little stove. Right now here in Canada it is 8 and the little stove is holding its own in my 1900 sq.ft. home, ......just though, I'd buy the next model up but I'm afraid the house would get too hot, easier and cheaper to put on a sweater for these cooler temps.

Enjoy your stove, it has been a top performer for me, I'd buy another in a heart beat.

Tight house, blower on the stove, killer fuel supply? Looking at the EPA numbers, the Large Convection doesn't look to put out that much more heat, but looks like the 2460 will run at lower output. Not sure how much stock you can put in those numbers...

I guess on the tight house question. Lotsa glass, solarium, deck over the lake w/sliding glass doors etc. Saving grace IMO, is the 7 1/2 ft. ceilings wide open concept with stove smack dab in the middle. No blower, couple of small fans blowing in towards the stove. Keep in mind it is a two story double A frame. Wood cut/split last spring, nice and dry in the basement. Mostly what we call hardrock maple and some yellow birch. I burn 2 1/2-3 cords on average per year.

The difference between the two models is 3 inches in length. the 2461 can be bought here from a local hardware chain for $1299.00 on any day and I've seen them on sale for $1099.00. Gotta admit, I'm awful tempted.

It's a convective stove but the sides radiate pretty well, so a central location is nice...

Sure, I could just look at the combustor probe or the stack and tell if it's working but I like glowing orange things, like coaling Cherry and combustors.