some smoke from cat stove on rainy/mild day - is this OK?

[jharkin]

Hi all-

New to the forum and new to cat stoves... We just bought a house this year that came with a 10yr old Encore cat stove. I know they are not too popular around here so I did my research on here - had a sweep inspect it (it had been cleaned before sale, said everything looked ok), replaced the cat, replaced the secondary air control and did the dollar bill test on all the gaskets. My wood for this year is a mix, about 1/2 cord of really dry wood left by previous owner and another cord I bought of oak that measures ~24% when I split it. I have been using the old wood to get it going really hot and then mixing in the oak. I grew up heating the house on wood - my dad had (sill has) a 1981 VC Resolute that we used to run 24/7 when I was a kid - so I'm familiar with stoves in general but this is my first EPA stove. We plan to use the stove mostly on weekends... not 24/7.

Now my question: yesterday it was about 45F and rainy, but I ran the stove anyway to take the chill off the house. I let the stove get nice and hot before engaging the cat but even on the second load of splits with a ~600F griddle temp and 1400F cat temp I see some (not a lot) of grey smoke out of the chimney.

Is some smoke normal for a wet/mild day? Or is it my less than ideal wood? Should I run it hotter?

Thanks,
Jeremy

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Stove: VC Encore 2550

Cat: New condar steelcat I just put in

Flue - 6" steel liner wrapped in insulation run up through an interior masonry chimney. I don't know the height exactly but guess its not much more than 15ft from the flue collar. I think its on the bare minimum side of requirements.

We know the stove was professionally installed by a stove shop in '99 - I have the receipts and town inspection report from the previous owner. Chimney sweep confirmed that the install looked ok. Gaskets all pass dollar buill test and the air control makes a dramatic effect on the flame so I think its still airtight.

 

[jharkin]

And here is a shot of the pipe from outside. I should have taken a snap of the smoke I was getting but forgot!

 

[jharkin]

And this is the inside of the pipe after about 6 all day fires.

 

[rickw]

I'd look at the difference between cat not engaged and cat engaged, with the stove good and hot and under very low primary air settings. If there is no reduction in the amount of smoke (not water vapor) then maybe the cat's dead. If there isn't much smoke anyway then maybe you won't be able to tell.

Stovetop/flue temp is another clue if the cat is doing anything useful; sounds like your cat is still working. I think its pretty hard to say anything about creosote buildup after 6 days.

 

[Todd]

Check you bypass, it could be leaking.

 

[grommal]

If the stove has not had the chamber around and below the cat rebuilt in 10 years, it might be due. 10 years is about all we could get our of our Encore before the refractory in that area had crumbled to the point where it was interfering with the secondary airflow and even starting to clog up the smoke passageways toward the cat element. Once this refractory starts to disintegrate and interfere with secondary airflow, the cat efficiency drops way off and you get plenty of smoke and creosote. Your stove might be on the edge of this.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Condensation? If you see white or gray smoke, does it peter out in just a short distance? If so, go back inside, stay dry and enjoy the heat.

 

[jharkin]

Thanks for the suggestions all.

The cat refractory actually looked ok - I cleaned it all out when I changed the cat and it wasn't crumbling too bad. But the gaskets on the fireback were not in the best shape, maybe I should redo them.

The cat, I think is ok. Its new, and Ive got the probe thermometer and can see when it lights off it will go from 550 to 1200 or more in minutes. That is a sign of a working cat right?

I'll check the bypass damper to see if its tight.. didn't think of that.

I'll also do a cat/no cat smoke compare next time I light it...