Dutchwest FA model 2183 catalytic stove

[Pgroves66]

Hi everyone! I'm new to the site, and have been looking at the various forums, and I'm impressed with the knowledge here.

I have the above noted stove, which was in our house when we moved in, in 2000. I had the combuster checked last year, and was told it was in good shape. However, I cannot seem to get the temp on the stove to go any higher than 600, and that is really pushing it.

I saw another thread that the poster mentioned that he was getting 1000 - 1200 on the temp gauge after starting the combuster. I burn only seasoned wood, no wet or green stuff.

I know I need to do some basic maintenance on it, like the gaskets around the doors, the latches, and probably stuff I haven't even discovered yet. My plan is to do this at the end of the burning season in the spring. I told my husband we need to spend some money on maintenance, just like we do with the vehicles.

Can anybody point me in the right direction as far as things to look for, where to get manuals for this stove, suggestions, or anything that might help me? I would greatly appreciate any input.

Just as an aside, our home is 2600sf, and over a 13 month span of time I only used 256 gallons of fuel oil. If I can get this stove working at peak performance, i know I can do a lot better on that number. Oil heats our hot water as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Patti

 

[Renovation]

Hi everyone! I'm new to the site, and have been looking at the various forums, and I'm impressed with the knowledge here.

I have the above noted stove, which was in our house when we moved in, in 2000. I had the combuster checked last year, and was told it was in good shape. However, I cannot seem to get the temp on the stove to go any higher than 600, and that is really pushing it.

I saw another thread that the poster mentioned that he was getting 1000 - 1200 on the temp gauge after starting the combuster. I burn only seasoned wood, no wet or green stuff.

I know I need to do some basic maintenance on it, like the gaskets around the doors, the latches, and probably stuff I haven't even discovered yet. My plan is to do this at the end of the burning season in the spring. I told my husband we need to spend some money on maintenance, just like we do with the vehicles.

Can anybody point me in the right direction as far as things to look for, where to get manuals for this stove, suggestions, or anything that might help me? I would greatly appreciate any input.

Just as an aside, our home is 2600sf, and over a 13 month span of time I only used 256 gallons of fuel oil. If I can get this stove working at peak performance, i know I can do a lot better on that number. Oil heats our hot water as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Patti

Welcome Patti,

You've come to the right place.

The two main reasons for lazy burns are unseasoned wood and draft.

Regarding wood, we just have to ask if your wood is really dry--how long have you had it seasoning, and have you checked moisture, or resplit a piece, held it to your cheek and checked if it felt cool?

Regarding draft, can you describe, and especially post photos of your stove and chimney?

Now that I've asked the standard questions, folks will have you sorted out in no time.

Have a great one.

 

[Pgroves66]

Thanks for the info! I will post pictures of the stove and chimney within a day or so. Since I'm new to this forum, how do I go about putting pictures up - is there a link to attach photos?

As for the wood, I have different wood in different stages of seasoning. The newest wood has been cut for 7 months. After that it's about a year to two years for the rest of the wood. What I'm burning right now is a mixture of the 7-month to between 1-2 years seasoned. However, I have burned wood that was seasoned 2-3 years, with the exact same outcome. I have been using this woodstove now for about 3 years (it sat without being used, or only used once in awhile, for quite a few years. The type of wood I am burning now is a mixture of poplar, oak, maple, and ash.

Thanks again!

Patti

 

[Renovation]

Thanks for the info! I will post pictures of the stove and chimney within a day or so. Since I'm new to this forum, how do I go about putting pictures up - is there a link to attach photos?

Sounds great!

Towards the bottom of post compose/edit window, there's an Attachements line. Click on Browse, and you're off!

Best wishes.

 

[Todd]

Is that a probe style thermometer that measures the internal cat temp? If so sounds like the cat may be burnt out. It may look fine but they don't last forever. If that thermometer is a simple external magnet type 600 is a pretty hot stove. Is there any smoke coming out your chimney? Sure sign of a bad cat is smoke or could be a warped bypass damper causing the smoke to bypass the cat. There are a few Dutchwest burners here that should be able to hook you up with a manual or you could check the Vermont Castings web site.

found your manual
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/307498b2bfd8db6b20d9f828efbfa80b/

 

[Pgroves66]

I believe it is a probe style thermometer - I know it definitely isn't one of the ones that sticks on with a magnet. It sits in a round indentation in the top of the stove. I will watch the chimney closer, but from what I have seen, the only time smoke comes out is when I first start it without the cat engaged, when I'm getting it up to temp.

Thank you so much for the manual!

Patti

 

[Pgroves66]

I checked the chimney with the damper open and closed. With the cat engaged, there is a bit of white smoke coming out of the chimney - I'm not sure how much is supposed to come out when using the cat. When the cat is not engaged, there is quite a bit more, and it is darker in color.

Sorry I haven't posted pictures of the setup yet, I need to locate the cable for my camera to connect to my computer, since I don't have a built-in card reader. When I do, I will post them.

Thanks!