Older DutchWest Cat Stove

[PunKid8888]

So how are these stoves?

I have access to a free older Dutchwest freestanding stove. I am unsure of the model or the size, but I know that is smaller then my cousin's new large dutchwest stove. it is a cat stove but the front doors have small square viewing glass.

He used this stove in his small 800sqft home with no problem, for a few years. he said he noticed a small crack and wanted a newer stove so he went newer and bigger (I think more for the log length). Now with this new stove he rarely even engages the cat, because it will heat him right out of the house. he also gets some really good burn times (8hrs or so) with some not so good wood, and (since learning from this site) not so good burning habits that all could help the burn time to be even longer.

So from his success, and the fact that it is free, I would like to try out the stove next season, if I like it then I will upgrade to a newer unit (non cracked). So does anyone else have one of these older stoves? I would really like some more feedback from it. If I could get 8hrs from the stove that would be great, if I could stretch it to 10 that would be most ideal (work hours)

My house is 1100 sqft ranch with okay insulation. The stove will be centrally located and next to an existing chimney, but it will utilize its own class A. I am able to keep the house warm right now with the smaller Englander Pellet stove in the same room.

 

[PunKid8888]

No One runs one of these?

 

[raybonz]

No One runs one of these?

I have an older Dutchwest Large Federal and they run very efficient.. Many people here do not like them but if you run dry wood they perform very well.. Do a search for dutchwest or cdw or similar here nd you'll find info.. You can still buy parts for these stoves and would advise you repair the stove if it is cracked.. Did the previous owner overfire this stove? If they did you could be in for more trouble than it is worth.. Give it a good look before you commit yourself.. One big plus with these stage 1 EPA stoves is there are no refractory materials (at least on the my CDW stove) which are fragile and prone to regular expensive replacement.. In the 20+ yrs. I have owned this stove I have replaced one baffle at ~$20.00 and one ~$100.00 catalytic combustor.. Very cheap to own!

Good Luck!

Ray

 

[PunKid8888]

I am not sure if it has been over fired or not. I know my cousin did not, but he also got it used and does not know if the crack was from him or the previous owner.

How long of a burn do you get out of your stove?

 

[raybonz]

I am not sure if it has been over fired or not. I know my cousin did not, but he also got it used and does not know if the crack was from him or the previous owner.

How long of a burn do you get out of your stove?

If I pack it full of oak with the cat air closed and the secondary air choked down and it isn't windy 8 or 9 hrs. later I have some hot coals left to restart the fire again.. I don't know what model stove you have so this info may not apply to you.. A crack would add air if it's in the combustion chamber so that wouldn't help matters either.. Hope this helps.. If you know the model and year you can download the owners manual for free and it will have all that info..

Ray

 

[PunKid8888]

Yea I found the manuals online from VC website. Next time I am at my cousins I will write down the actual model number and year.

I like to hear real world results from people then the owners manual burn times and heat out put. the manuals always seam to be very optimistic.

 

[raybonz]

Yea I found the manuals online from VC website. Next time I am at my cousins I will write down the actual model number and year.

I like to hear real world results from people then the owners manual burn times and heat out put. the manuals always seam to be very optimistic.

The trouble is that there are so many variables as to burn time etc.. Results will vary from time to time.. There will be a nameplate on the back of the stove which is easy to read with all the info you'll need.. Until you run it you won't know how it will burn etc... especially with a crack adding a new variable..

Ray

 

[jj54]

I have an older DW Federal. Around 1990 vintage. Would echo previous poster on cheap to own. My cat's still working. One broken grate is all that's happened. House size similar.. except I'm in a cape. Vented into fireplace in front of house, and it keeps us warm!
A little cool in far bedroom downstairs.. but with cape-cod style, that warm air goes right upstairs, so upstairs bedrooms are warm.I know some of these can attach a blower also. We've burned a lot of different woods in it, and a good load of oak will give you just what was said by previous poster.. a nice bed of coals. No problem going overnight. We like the stove, and it's held up well.

 

[jotul8e2]

I have a Dutchwest "Large" (which is the medium size, of course - go figure) from about 1990 which I use in my well-insulated 2200 sq. ft. shop. Burning 24/7, it will keep the temperature in the mid 60's even when nighttime temps fall to near zero. It does seem to be very efficient, and they are built very stout. They also had a very nice rear heatshield (optional?) for reducing clearance to combustibles, and there was a screen which would let it be used as a fireplace.

That's the good news.

The small glass windows will not stay anything like clean more than a few hours. They have an air control for the firebox and another, separate control to feed the cat. There is a third air control IN THE ASH PAN DOOR which is never to be used under any circumstances - but there it is. It is my belief that this was designed by someone who was mad at his customers. Since there is no really reliable way to get the right combination between those two controls it is very easy to over fire these stoves. This is likely why the one you have seen is cracked. After much trial and error I finally have hit upon a combination that works most of the time and I will never, ever touch them again.

I find it very, very difficult to get mine hot enough to engage the cat without opening the ash door. In fact, I don't think I ever have. It will put out significant heat for about three, maybe four hours, on a full load of oak or hickory. I can let it go nine hours or so and still have enough coals to restart. The fan has two settings, loud and louder, but I don't use it anyway.

The ash pan is very well made, but small. I have to empty mine at least every 36 hours, so I usually do it every morning.

Very few parts are still available, but I was able to get a replacement leg about two years ago.

I got mine needing the aforementioned leg, a good scraping and painting, and a new cat, for free, including delivery. In retrospect, it may have been overpriced a little. But I am on my third season of burning and I put wood in and heat comes out, so what more do you want?

The newer ones are different in almost every way except appearance and represent a thorough redesign.

Mark

 

[raybonz]

I have a Dutchwest "Large" (which is the medium size, of course - go figure) from about 1990 which I use in my well-insulated 2200 sq. ft. shop. Burning 24/7, it will keep the temperature in the mid 60's even when nighttime temps fall to near zero. It does seem to be very efficient, and they are built very stout. They also had a very nice rear heatshield (optional?) for reducing clearance to combustibles, and there was a screen which would let it be used as a fireplace.

That's the good news.

The small glass windows will not stay anything like clean more than a few hours. They have an air control for the firebox and another, separate control to feed the cat. There is a third air control IN THE ASH PAN DOOR which is never to be used under any circumstances - but there it is. It is my belief that this was designed by someone who was mad at his customers. Since there is no really reliable way to get the right combination between those two controls it is very easy to over fire these stoves. This is likely why the one you have seen is cracked. After much trial and error I finally have hit upon a combination that works most of the time and I will never, ever touch them again.

I find it very, very difficult to get mine hot enough to engage the cat without opening the ash door. In fact, I don't think I ever have. It will put out significant heat for about three, maybe four hours, on a full load of oak or hickory. I can let it go nine hours or so and still have enough coals to restart. The fan has two settings, loud and louder, but I don't use it anyway.

The ash pan is very well made, but small. I have to empty mine at least every 36 hours, so I usually do it every morning.

Very few parts are still available, but I was able to get a replacement leg about two years ago.

I got mine needing the aforementioned leg, a good scraping and painting, and a new cat, for free, including delivery. In retrospect, it may have been overpriced a little. But I am on my third season of burning and I put wood in and heat comes out, so what more do you want?

The newer ones are different in almost every way except appearance and represent a thorough redesign.

Mark

Odd I never have trouble getting the cat to ignite.. As for the ash bin I never empty it.. I find it creates a turbulence and my stove runs best with it full.. As for the damper on the ashbin door like I said I leave my ashbin full at all times and it does not hurt the stove at all.. Maybe you should give this a try as it may help with the cat too.. I do wonder...

Ray