Yes ash is better. If bought a bottle of Rutland glass cleaner 10 years ago and then I discovered ash and water. Still have over 1/2 a bottle. If it does not come off with a bit of scrubbing I leave it for about few more hot burns.
2023/24 VC owners thread general discussion
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AsylumResident
Feeling the Heat
Dogwood winter is here so the stove is hot again! Mowed grass yesterday and fired up the stove last night. Burned a 1/2 box with the cat in the 1200's when I reloaded at 10PM. I let the cat run and cut the air to about 40% then cut it back when the cat was in the high 1400's. Good burn and plenty in the box at 8 this morning, cat and STT at 370. Opened the air and let the glass burn off then cut the air to 50% and went out. Came back about 11 and reloaded about 1/2 box, cat was in the high 500's. Let the cat run to 100 and cut the air back to about 40% and sat back and enjoyed the heat. Cat ran into the 1500's and then settled and slowly dropped. Stove is running like it should, totally behaving and enjoyable.
Jmorg
Burning Hunk
Hello everyone…hope y’all are having a great summer! Since it was a little cooler today I decided to sweep the chimney and clean out the Dauntless. I took my cat out and it basically just fell apart. Now that the Dauntless is a few years old and aftermarket cats are available, I was wondering if anyone had suggestions about which kind of cat I should get…ceramic or metal? Which do y’all like best? I’ll also be getting the Auber AT 100 this year so I can keep a better eye on the cat. I appreciate any and all suggestions!
I use both, but I can say the the metal cat works the best in my stove. It lights off quick, doesn't break apart, I dont get huge catalyst temperature swings with it.
I swept my stove early May, I still neet to finish cleaning the inside of the stove
Jmorg
Burning Hunk
Yeah, at this point I’m definitely leaning towards the metal cat. $130 for mine so not too bad.
I cleaned out the stovepipe in may.. Still haven't cleaned out the inside of the stove completely. I cleaned it partially when I swept.. Ill clean out the stove fully in September. Its like 7 weeks until we start burning.. very exciting times coming our way
Trying to get to Oct 1 up here. We'll see. By mid September I'll have it all cleaned and ready and if we get a cold night fire it up
Jmorg
Burning Hunk
With the cooler weather we had last week it got me a little excited about the upcoming burning season. I finally did my year 3 review of my Dauntless. I feel like this stove gets more predictable and easier to operate each year...hopefully that will continue. I'll attach the link to the review if anyone is interested in getting the stove or just want to compare experiences. We might be burnin' in 6-7 weeks, y'all...can't wait! I just watched my video and I think I said "um" about 100 times...lol
Hi, long time lurker here. I just picked up a used VC Encore 2040 for my workshop. I’m not new to wood stoves, but new to VC / CAT stoves.
This forum has me concerned about over firing the CAT, and my stove didn’t combat the CAT thermometer…. So I’m going to have to buy one.
It seems like everyone recommends the Auburn AT100-TC, but are there better ones for this stove? If this is the one, can someone point me to install instruction / the “best” probe option.
https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1063
Also - I’d like to datalog the temps using an Audrino or PI or other in the future. Does this impact the temp probe selection?
Thanks!
This forum has me concerned about over firing the CAT, and my stove didn’t combat the CAT thermometer…. So I’m going to have to buy one.
It seems like everyone recommends the Auburn AT100-TC, but are there better ones for this stove? If this is the one, can someone point me to install instruction / the “best” probe option.
https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1063
Also - I’d like to datalog the temps using an Audrino or PI or other in the future. Does this impact the temp probe selection?
Thanks!
Don't know if there are better ones. Auber's thermocouples work well and I've used them on other meters before I bought their meter. I don't data log, monitoring is stressful enough at times. I don't see how data logging would change the type of probe. You can buy various design probes for different spots on the stove and pipe.
The probes are cheaper than the meters so consider the meter first. The connector type (mine are all K type) allows it to work in a variety of meters. @arnermd does data logging I believe.
I had to modify the bracket that held the factory probe to install the new probe. I used a black marker to make a mark on the probe when it was centered in the cat chamber. Be careful with the ceramic parts when you access the cat chamber. My stove has two removable ceramic plates to access it. The cool part about installing the probe is you get to better see the design of the stove.
You’re going to have a learning curve and some of it will be unique to your setup. Try to pinpoint the correct operating instructions for your specific model. I’ll attach a picture of what I’m using in my 2040 cat c.
I had to modify the bracket that held the factory probe to install the new probe. I used a black marker to make a mark on the probe when it was centered in the cat chamber. Be careful with the ceramic parts when you access the cat chamber. My stove has two removable ceramic plates to access it. The cool part about installing the probe is you get to better see the design of the stove.
You’re going to have a learning curve and some of it will be unique to your setup. Try to pinpoint the correct operating instructions for your specific model. I’ll attach a picture of what I’m using in my 2040 cat c.
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Thanks! I ended up picking up an AT100 with the standard k-type thermocouple. I don’t have a bracket, so I’m going to have to make something (no problem, lots of metal /tools here). I ended up grabbing the 10” long thermocouple thinking I can bend it if it’s too long or if I need to for fitting a clamp to it.
Good call on the manual, I do have the original paper manual, but it’s pretty sparse on operation details. In fact it tells me what temperature to engage the CAT… but the standard active CAT gauge doesn’t display temperature, and mine didn’t come with one. lol
Looks like the probe/meter will be here Friday, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to slide it in over the weekend and try it.
Make the bend radius as big as you can.... sharp bends will stress / break it.
I dont know this to be true, but I suspect it would be best to make any bends before it is used. It may be more likely to break if it has been used heated up.
I think the typical body for these sensors is inconel, which I don’t think is sensitive to heat cycle brittleness. Inside of the little tubes is wires, which is why they OEMs recommend generous bend radii.
I have a lot of experience modifying J and K type thermocouples that have been “laying around the lab” (for decades sometimes) and they seem to be very robust. Nonetheless I will bend it before the first fire to fit my bracket.
Thanks for all the replies!
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