Dutchwest Federal Catalytic Rebuild

[certified106]

So my family has had 3 Dutchwest Federal wood stoves over the last 30 years and I have inherited one of them. It's a Dutchwest Federal 288 XL or model#2184. My dad has owned this wood stove since I was 13 and passed it down to me. It has always been well maintained and is in excellent condition with no cracks a new catalyst and new door gaskets. However due to the age of the stove and moving it from his house to mine I was contemplating re-cementing the seams on the stove. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether it should be done or not? I have already had it fired up this year and it seemed to be firing fine. Also has anyone actually torn one of theses stoves down, if so how long does it take to do and is there anything special I should know about rebuliding one? Thanks so much for the help I appreciate any info!

 

[Todd]

Do a thorough inspection of it, light a fire and drag an incense stick or cigarette around the sides to see if it's sucking in air through any seems. If it's working fine I wouldn't mess with it.

 

[thefaf]

I have owned three Dutchwest Federals, the oldest being the Adirondack, circa 1988, Made in Taiwan, just before the VC takeover. I liked that stove. It had a thermostatic air inlet in the back that worked pretty slick. Some say they were junk then, but I had good luck with mine. If you put a very bright light bulb inside the stove in a dark room and don't see any light through the seams, you might be better off, as stated before, to NOT knock the stove apart. Of course, it might be a good idea to change every gasket, if not done already, just on principle. Good luck!

 

[certified106]

Thanks for the input guys. I have been really on the fence with what I wanted to do. I have already been burning with it this year and it shows no signs of leaking air at the seams yet. All the burns have been good controllable burns like normal and you can shut it down and pretty much choke it out without a problem. I was leery of knocking it apart and having to clean up all the seams and get it put back together as I have no idea how hard it is to get all the seams cleaned up. I also used a CO analyzer and checked the stove to ensure it wasn't leaking CO while running and couldn't find any problems. Guess I'll just run it like it is and see how it goes.

 

[Todd]

Yeah, you know the old saying "if it aint broke don't fix it".

 

[certified106]

Hmmm... well I guess I didn't actually read the manual for my stove very well. I was putting it back away last night and reread the page on the stove seams and it doesn't even recommend taking the stove apart. The manual says to just spot clean visibly deteriorating cement and reapply new cement to those areas. Guess that's my Sunday afternoon project this weekend as it's going to be 78 on Sunday.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum certified106. Like Todd states, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Hopefully it will serve you well for many years.

 

[certified106]

Welcome to the forum certified106. Like Todd states, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Hopefully it will serve you well for many years.

Thanks I appreciate the welcome. I wish I had found this forum a few years ago as there is so much information that can be gleaned.
I really want a Hearthstone Mansfield but just can't part with the money when my old beast wont die. I look the hearthstone up every once and a while and drool over it! My wife thinks I'm nuts but I have finally found people that understand how I feel so I know I'm not crazy.haha

 

[BrotherBart]

The ole DW Federal has a checkered past and wrecked Vermont Castings as a company but a bunch were sold and a lot of people have heated their houses well with them for a lot of years. I was an inch away from driving up to New England to buy one in 1985. I have always wondered how it would have done in this house.

 

[certified106]

The ole DW Federal has a checkered past and wrecked Vermont Castings as a company but a bunch were sold and a lot of people have heated their houses well with them for a lot of years. I was an inch away from driving up to New England to buy one in 1985. I have always wondered how it would have done in this house.

Yeah I read all the horrible experiences people have had with them on this forum and it just about makes me want to get rid of mine. My family has had three of them with the earliest one dating back to around 86 and the newest one around 94 and all three of them are still running great. I don't know if it makes a difference in the build quality but all 3 of the ones we have were models that seemed to be built heavier duty so that they could have coal ran in them also. We have been over all three of them with a fine tooth comb and still have yet to replace any parts or have any warping or cracks so maybe we are just lucky. All three of the XL's that we have still easily sustain a ten hour burn time overnight with coals hot enough to have the morning fire blazing in ten minutes. O well one of these days it's going to break and then I definitely see a different brand in my future. I have looked at a few of the newer dutchwest stoves and they sure don't look like they are built as heavy as the old ones.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum certified106. Like Todd states, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Hopefully it will serve you well for many years.

Thanks I appreciate the welcome. I wish I had found this forum a few years ago as there is so much information that can be gleaned.
I really want a Hearthstone Mansfield but just can't part with the money when my old beast wont die. I look the hearthstone up every once and a while and drool over it! My wife thinks I'm nuts but I have finally found people that understand how I feel so I know I'm not crazy.haha

Certified, have you also drooled over the Woodstock stoves? Some of us can hardly wait for the new one to be on the market early in 2011.

 

[certified106]

I have looked at them but have been concerned by the square footage heating capacity listed for the stoves. I am currently heating a 2400 square foot two story ( not counting the basement) and when it gets to hot I open up the basement door and throw the excess heat down there. I believe if I am recalling correctly they were listing the fireview as capable of heating 1800 sq ft. give or take a little bit.