the ole smoke dragon.... ugh :(

so Ive thoroughly gone over my stove and have everything running well, to a point that is. When i load my stove up say 75% or so capacity it belches dark grey smoke. My MC is at 20% or below. Im burning silver maple that was cut in late summer 2010. split small winter of 2010 and been dry stacked ever since. at time of pic, stove top is 620 and at 18" up sinlge wall is 260 using IR thermometer, damper closed, air wide open.

Im thinking the cat needs replaced. I bought this stove used and installer looked at the cat and said it was in good condition. Can the cat be damaged without signs of damage, ie broken grid pieces?

How do ya'll overcome the belchy blackness at time of refuel? ive read some of the NS EW discussions and have tried packing as tight as i can.. seems tighter i pack the blacker and longer duration smoke i get.

Ive had several forum members help me out already, this is a killer web site and i appreciate it

pic

Good write up on cats: http://www.woodstove.com/pages/pdffiles/Catalytic Combustor Tips.pdf and http://www.condar.com/combustorcleaningmanual.pdf


I would try cleaning the cat in White Vinegar first.

As for the smoke during reload, not much can be done about that, you have a smoke dragon until you engage a working cat.

maybe the cat isnt working 100% but the smoke has cleared from dark grey to steam/off white. Maybe im engaging the cat too early. stove has been running all day. interesting the link you posted says the cat doesnt start burning til 500 degrees. if thats the case, i didnt reload til she calmed down to around 350. I run it wide open for about 2o minutes then engage the cat. perhaps im not waiting long enough... thanks for the links

Like I mentioned a few weeks ago, if I was running with the air wide open, my fireboox would be very violent and my stove top would be well north of 700.

The fact that your stove top is only at 620 should tell you something.

Also, running it wide open might prevent the cat from working as well as it should.

Yes Browning the things you've helped me with are in my aggregate for getting the best results. Im thinking silver maple is just not a great wood to burn, (awaiting agreement from other members) and im engaging the cat too early... and as you mentioned via private message i may not be running the defiant hot enough. its a learning curve for me too.... my (used) new to me stove is sitting in a 2400 sq. addition i built by myself over 2 1/2 years in the making. dont wanna see anything go wrong ya know Plus when i read other members commenting they cruise around 400 it makes me nervous to run mine at 600 plus. But like i said all you've helped me with thus far has been very benificial thanks man.

Got a lot of silver maple 4yrs back & it did belch in my acclaim Non cat secondary bypass (if I worded this correctly ) I don't burn it anymore .Turned it into campfire wood ( not cooking ) this wood lit well ,but coal base didn't last long.I personally won't use it for heating anymore ,but thats me & your milliage may very

Cheers

I burn silver maple and have had no issues with smoke. Good burning wood for me. I don't close the damper on mine till the cat probe reaches 500, but I also cut the air in half at the same time.

I think I see your problem,,,, Your chimney is installed incorrectly, it should be running vertically, not horizontally.