2025/26 VC performance discussion thread

[Jarch2202]

Ordered, I'll update soon. Thank you.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Ordered, I'll update soon. Thank you.

Just a heads up I run my stove using 3 items. The Auber, a stove top thermometer and a thermometer on my stove pipe and I double check with an inexpensive IRgun

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Ordered, I'll update soon. Thank you.

You may want to go back to the 2023/24 threads around Christmas time I v done a couple of how to posts to help people out and what to look for.

I may have do one in 24/25 also not sure

 

[Jarch2202]

Just a heads up I run my stove using 3 items. The Auber, a stove top thermometer and a thermometer on my stove pipe and I double check with an inexpensive IRgun

I will be able to keep my cheaper magnetic thermometer on the stove top which has been generally aligning with the auber thermometer, I also have a heat activated fan that is mounted to my flue about 18 inches up, which gives me a general idea of whats happening in there.

 

[arnermd]

So i called back the dealer before reading this to ask about damper install and where I should be putting it. In opposition to the original guy I talked to he said I should absolutely not install a damper on the stove.

I am not familiar with your stove, I have a Defiant. Assuming they are similar..... here are some thoughts.

• Warped cats and overtemp cats are a very common problem on the Encore and Defiant. Not sure about the Dauntless.
• @Woodsplitter67 gave you excellent advice, get a digital cat temp probe. It is required in my opinion.
• Does your cat run north of 1600 - 1700 every load or is it once in a while? If so there may be an air leak somwhere.
• STT <500 is just silly, we all run way hotter than that frequently.... 650 is typical when we are looking for lots of heat on cold days. I get concerned if I see STT > 700.
• If your STT is "controllable" with the air lever then it is unlikely you have an air leak. If your STT is running up to 650 -700 with air full closed consistently and you are seeing lots of active flame for long periods of time I would suspect an air leak. sounds like this is not what you are experiencing.
• Sometimes closing the air all the way down actually increases the cat temp. Maybe try running with air a bit more open (30-50%) and see if that helps.
• The smell you are experiencing may be a a result of backpuffing, where gasses buildup in the firebox and then light off all at once.
  • Usually you can see a flash of flame and smoke puffs out of the stove.
  • Often this is due to low draft conditions, but I have experienced it with good draft over 0.1 iwc. It can be unpredictable.
  • Usually opening the air just a nudge will fix the issue, but not always....
• As for installing a key damper, I installed one several years ago with mixed results.
  • I am shocked a dealer would recommend installing one... you should not need one and it can be very dangerous, if it seals well and you forget to open it up. I would not think a dealer would want to take that risk recomending one.
  • Some key dampers have holes in them so you cant completely seal them up thus reducing the risk. But I found they do not reduce the draft enough for my setup to have a significant effect.
  • I changed to a solid plate damper and this was a little better but still had very little effect, I have 8" stove pipe and there was enough leakage around the circumference of the plate to result in strong draft under some coditions.
  • I then fabricated a meatal step on either side of the plate to seal against when closed. There was a post maybe 3 years back with pics. This absolutely killed the draft when I closed it. I can kill a full on fire by closing this damper and waiting for it to smother out...
  • Despite all that effort, I run with my key damper full open almost all the time. The only time I close it is if I have a cat north of 1750 that will just not come back to earth..... I have found blocking the secondary air inlet is just as effective and lower risk of getting smoke back into the house.
• This is what I do to try and control cat temps:
  • Metal cats are more tolerant to high temps in my experience. I would recommend one if you can get it for your stove. Ceramic cats generally warp and crumble in my stove after 1-1.5 seasons (4-6 cords).
  • Lately I have been raking coals toward the front away from the secondary inlet on reloads. This has been helping a lot recently.
  • I reload when cat comes down to ~550 - 500. Close damper right away and leave air full open until cat gets to 1100. Start reducing air in stages to keep cat>950. Run with air 30 - 50% open.
  • Sometimes when I do what has worked 10 times before the cat still goes nuclear. My stove is unpredictable.
  • I stopped worrying about cat temps below 1600 - 1650. If it is less than that I just let it go, maybe nudge the air down a little.
  • If cat > 1650 I will reduce air to 0% if it was open. If it was already at 0% I will open it 20 - 30% to see if that helps.
  • If it continues to climb I will plug the primary air inlet, with magnets.
  • Next I will plug the secondary air inlet with magnets, this almost always reduces the temp right away.
  • The last thing I will do is close my key damper.
  • As you do these things it is quite common to see an initial reaction in temp but in a few minutes it goes the other way. Sometimes the temps come down initially and then after a few minutes they climb again and vice versa.... so be patient with your adjustments.

Sorry for the short novel.... hopefully something in there is of use to you.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I am not familiar with your stove, I have a Defiant. Assuming they are similar..... here are some thoughts.

• Warped cats and overtemp cats are a very common problem on the Encore and Defiant. Not sure about the Dauntless.
• @Woodsplitter67 gave you excellent advice, get a digital cat temp probe. It is required in my opinion.
• Does your cat run north of 1600 - 1700 every load or is it once in a while? If so there may be an air leak somwhere.
• STT <500 is just silly, we all run way hotter than that frequently.... 650 is typical when we are looking for lots of heat on cold days. I get concerned if I see STT > 700.
• If your STT is "controllable" with the air lever then it is unlikely you have an air leak. If your STT is running up to 650 -700 with air full closed consistently and you are seeing lots of active flame for long periods of time I would suspect an air leak. sounds like this is not what you are experiencing.
• Sometimes closing the air all the way down actually increases the cat temp. Maybe try running with air a bit more open (30-50%) and see if that helps.
• The smell you are experiencing may be a a result of backpuffing, where gasses buildup in the firebox and then light off all at once.
  • Usually you can see a flash of flame and smoke puffs out of the stove.
  • Often this is due to low draft conditions, but I have experienced it with good draft over 0.1 iwc. It can be unpredictable.
  • Usually opening the air just a nudge will fix the issue, but not always....
• As for installing a key damper, I installed one several years ago with mixed results.
  • I am shocked a dealer would recommend installing one... you should not need one and it can be very dangerous, if it seals well and you forget to open it up. I would not think a dealer would want to take that risk recomending one.
  • Some key dampers have holes in them so you cant completely seal them up thus reducing the risk. But I found they do not reduce the draft enough for my setup to have a significant effect.
  • I changed to a solid plate damper and this was a little better but still had very little effect, I have 8" stove pipe and there was enough leakage around the circumference of the plate to result in strong draft under some coditions.
  • I then fabricated a meatal step on either side of the plate to seal against when closed. There was a post maybe 3 years back with pics. This absolutely killed the draft when I closed it. I can kill a full on fire by closing this damper and waiting for it to smother out...
  • Despite all that effort, I run with my key damper full open almost all the time. The only time I close it is if I have a cat north of 1750 that will just not come back to earth..... I have found blocking the secondary air inlet is just as effective and lower risk of getting smoke back into the house.
• This is what I do to try and control cat temps:
  • Metal cats are more tolerant to high temps in my experience. I would recommend one if you can get it for your stove. Ceramic cats generally warp and crumble in my stove after 1-1.5 seasons (4-6 cords).
  • Lately I have been raking coals toward the front away from the secondary inlet on reloads. This has been helping a lot recently.
  • I reload when cat comes down to ~550 - 500. Close damper right away and leave air full open until cat gets to 1100. Start reducing air in stages to keep cat>950. Run with air 30 - 50% open.
  • Sometimes when I do what has worked 10 times before the cat still goes nuclear. My stove is unpredictable.
  • I stopped worrying about cat temps below 1600 - 1650. If it is less than that I just let it go, maybe nudge the air down a little.
  • If cat > 1650 I will reduce air to 0% if it was open. If it was already at 0% I will open it 20 - 30% to see if that helps.
  • If it continues to climb I will plug the primary air inlet, with magnets.
  • Next I will plug the secondary air inlet with magnets, this almost always reduces the temp right away.
  • The last thing I will do is close my key damper.
  • As you do these things it is quite common to see an initial reaction in temp but in a few minutes it goes the other way. Sometimes the temps come down initially and then after a few minutes they climb again and vice versa.... so be patient with your adjustments.

Sorry for the short novel.... hopefully something in there is of use to you.

Supp big dawg

 

[Jarch2202]

I am not familiar with your stove, I have a Defiant. Assuming they are similar..... here are some thoughts.

• Warped cats and overtemp cats are a very common problem on the Encore and Defiant. Not sure about the Dauntless.
• @Woodsplitter67 gave you excellent advice, get a digital cat temp probe. It is required in my opinion.
• Does your cat run north of 1600 - 1700 every load or is it once in a while? If so there may be an air leak somwhere.
• STT <500 is just silly, we all run way hotter than that frequently.... 650 is typical when we are looking for lots of heat on cold days. I get concerned if I see STT > 700.
• If your STT is "controllable" with the air lever then it is unlikely you have an air leak. If your STT is running up to 650 -700 with air full closed consistently and you are seeing lots of active flame for long periods of time I would suspect an air leak. sounds like this is not what you are experiencing.
• Sometimes closing the air all the way down actually increases the cat temp. Maybe try running with air a bit more open (30-50%) and see if that helps.
• The smell you are experiencing may be a a result of backpuffing, where gasses buildup in the firebox and then light off all at once.
  • Usually you can see a flash of flame and smoke puffs out of the stove.
  • Often this is due to low draft conditions, but I have experienced it with good draft over 0.1 iwc. It can be unpredictable.
  • Usually opening the air just a nudge will fix the issue, but not always....
• As for installing a key damper, I installed one several years ago with mixed results.
  • I am shocked a dealer would recommend installing one... you should not need one and it can be very dangerous, if it seals well and you forget to open it up. I would not think a dealer would want to take that risk recomending one.
  • Some key dampers have holes in them so you cant completely seal them up thus reducing the risk. But I found they do not reduce the draft enough for my setup to have a significant effect.
  • I changed to a solid plate damper and this was a little better but still had very little effect, I have 8" stove pipe and there was enough leakage around the circumference of the plate to result in strong draft under some coditions.
  • I then fabricated a meatal step on either side of the plate to seal against when closed. There was a post maybe 3 years back with pics. This absolutely killed the draft when I closed it. I can kill a full on fire by closing this damper and waiting for it to smother out...
  • Despite all that effort, I run with my key damper full open almost all the time. The only time I close it is if I have a cat north of 1750 that will just not come back to earth..... I have found blocking the secondary air inlet is just as effective and lower risk of getting smoke back into the house.
• This is what I do to try and control cat temps:
  • Metal cats are more tolerant to high temps in my experience. I would recommend one if you can get it for your stove. Ceramic cats generally warp and crumble in my stove after 1-1.5 seasons (4-6 cords).
  • Lately I have been raking coals toward the front away from the secondary inlet on reloads. This has been helping a lot recently.
  • I reload when cat comes down to ~550 - 500. Close damper right away and leave air full open until cat gets to 1100. Start reducing air in stages to keep cat>950. Run with air 30 - 50% open.
  • Sometimes when I do what has worked 10 times before the cat still goes nuclear. My stove is unpredictable.
  • I stopped worrying about cat temps below 1600 - 1650. If it is less than that I just let it go, maybe nudge the air down a little.
  • If cat > 1650 I will reduce air to 0% if it was open. If it was already at 0% I will open it 20 - 30% to see if that helps.
  • If it continues to climb I will plug the primary air inlet, with magnets.
  • Next I will plug the secondary air inlet with magnets, this almost always reduces the temp right away.
  • The last thing I will do is close my key damper.
  • As you do these things it is quite common to see an initial reaction in temp but in a few minutes it goes the other way. Sometimes the temps come down initially and then after a few minutes they climb again and vice versa.... so be patient with your adjustments.

Sorry for the short novel.... hopefully something in there is of use to you.

This process is very helpful. It answers many of my questions. I am sure there is some variation with my setup, but generally sounds alot like what I experience when I use similar tactics.

I look forward to getting the probe installed for some more accurate data.

I have heard better things about the metal catalysts and I found one after i boutht this one forabout half the cost.

Honestly thank you for the time you took to help me. I appreciate it. And thank you to Woodsplitter67 as well.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

This process is very helpful. It answers many of my questions. I am sure there is some variation with my setup, but generally sounds alot like what I experience when I use similar tactics.

I look forward to getting the probe installed for some more accurate data.

I have heard better things about the metal catalysts and I found one after i boutht this one forabout half the cost.

Honestly thank you for the time you took to help me. I appreciate it. And thank you to Woodsplitter67 as well.

This is what this site is about, helping others and sharing ideas.

BTW I love the metal cat. Definitely more durable.

 

[JohnDaileyNH]

This is what this site is about, helping others and sharing ideas.

BTW I love the metal cat. Definitely more durable.

Metal cat is the way to go for sure. Everything @Woodsplitter67 said is spot on. Same methods I've used to dial in the Encore. I do rake my coals back when I reload.

The auger runs my stove. Only numbers I pay attention to once my cat is engaged. Not sure how anyone runs a VC stove without a digital cat temp

 

[AsylumResident]

I am not familiar with your stove, I have a Defiant. Assuming they are similar..... here are some thoughts.

• Warped cats and overtemp cats are a very common problem on the Encore and Defiant. Not sure about the Dauntless.
• @Woodsplitter67 gave you excellent advice, get a digital cat temp probe. It is required in my opinion.
• Does your cat run north of 1600 - 1700 every load or is it once in a while? If so there may be an air leak somwhere.
• STT <500 is just silly, we all run way hotter than that frequently.... 650 is typical when we are looking for lots of heat on cold days. I get concerned if I see STT > 700.
• If your STT is "controllable" with the air lever then it is unlikely you have an air leak. If your STT is running up to 650 -700 with air full closed consistently and you are seeing lots of active flame for long periods of time I would suspect an air leak. sounds like this is not what you are experiencing.
• Sometimes closing the air all the way down actually increases the cat temp. Maybe try running with air a bit more open (30-50%) and see if that helps.
• The smell you are experiencing may be a a result of backpuffing, where gasses buildup in the firebox and then light off all at once.
  • Usually you can see a flash of flame and smoke puffs out of the stove.
  • Often this is due to low draft conditions, but I have experienced it with good draft over 0.1 iwc. It can be unpredictable.
  • Usually opening the air just a nudge will fix the issue, but not always....
• As for installing a key damper, I installed one several years ago with mixed results.
  • I am shocked a dealer would recommend installing one... you should not need one and it can be very dangerous, if it seals well and you forget to open it up. I would not think a dealer would want to take that risk recomending one.
  • Some key dampers have holes in them so you cant completely seal them up thus reducing the risk. But I found they do not reduce the draft enough for my setup to have a significant effect.
  • I changed to a solid plate damper and this was a little better but still had very little effect, I have 8" stove pipe and there was enough leakage around the circumference of the plate to result in strong draft under some coditions.
  • I then fabricated a meatal step on either side of the plate to seal against when closed. There was a post maybe 3 years back with pics. This absolutely killed the draft when I closed it. I can kill a full on fire by closing this damper and waiting for it to smother out...
  • Despite all that effort, I run with my key damper full open almost all the time. The only time I close it is if I have a cat north of 1750 that will just not come back to earth..... I have found blocking the secondary air inlet is just as effective and lower risk of getting smoke back into the house.
• This is what I do to try and control cat temps:
  • Metal cats are more tolerant to high temps in my experience. I would recommend one if you can get it for your stove. Ceramic cats generally warp and crumble in my stove after 1-1.5 seasons (4-6 cords).
  • Lately I have been raking coals toward the front away from the secondary inlet on reloads. This has been helping a lot recently.
  • I reload when cat comes down to ~550 - 500. Close damper right away and leave air full open until cat gets to 1100. Start reducing air in stages to keep cat>950. Run with air 30 - 50% open.
  • Sometimes when I do what has worked 10 times before the cat still goes nuclear. My stove is unpredictable.
  • I stopped worrying about cat temps below 1600 - 1650. If it is less than that I just let it go, maybe nudge the air down a little.
  • If cat > 1650 I will reduce air to 0% if it was open. If it was already at 0% I will open it 20 - 30% to see if that helps.
  • If it continues to climb I will plug the primary air inlet, with magnets.
  • Next I will plug the secondary air inlet with magnets, this almost always reduces the temp right away.
  • The last thing I will do is close my key damper.
  • As you do these things it is quite common to see an initial reaction in temp but in a few minutes it goes the other way. Sometimes the temps come down initially and then after a few minutes they climb again and vice versa.... so be patient with your adjustments.

Sorry for the short novel.... hopefully something in there is of use to you.

This is essentially everything I do as well (I have the Defiant). I have not needed the magnets for covering the air inlets because I have not been running more than three splits at a time. Even with just three slits my cat has gone above 1600 a couple times but it isn't there long due to not having enough wood in there to fuel a complete take off. I said at the start of the season I was going to run the stove with no more than three splits on a load and it has kept the cat in check all season. Of course it's a big trade off of not being able to get the nice long run times but I have gotten about 8 hours on this for overnight burns. To me this solidifies the theory that the Defiant isn't properly designed to handle FULL loads consistently. It's just way too much fuel for the system and cat size.

 

[Megunticook]

Been burning exclusively red oak in this cold snap (Maine), we've got a lot of it on our land and there's no better firewood for max. BTUs.

Anyway a bed of red oak coals can get pretty hot, and I'm finding I have to be a little more careful on the reloads not to let things get cooking too much. Last night I had a nice thick bed of coals and a half-burned split in the firebox, so I added a medium-sized split and closed the damper after a couple minutes and turned the air inlet down about half way. Everything seemed fine, but the cat temp. rose to 1600 so I shut the air down all the way. Cat kept rising and hit 1800 for a few minutes before heading back down. STT was 500.

Not ideal but probably not enough to damage the cat (ceramic), I guess we'll see at the next inspection. Next time in that situation I will close the damper immediately after reload and probably dial the air back more. I was below 10 degrees outside and I have a 27 foot chimney so the draft was pretty strong.

I was debating whether to open the damper and let the cat cool down but decided just to keep an eye on it and wait it out. But I know this topic has been discussed quite a bit here. I found some interesting pointers in these guidelines from Applied Ceramics, thought I'd share as others may find it helpful.

Here's their advice on hot reloads:

During the refueling of a hot stove that has an internal firebox temperature below 500°F (260°C), it is our recommendation that the stove be fired for about 10 minutes to ensure that the catalyst reaches 600°F (320°C). Doing this will ensure sufficient temperatures and proper amounts of volatiles for the catalyst operation. When refueling a hot stove that has an internal firebox temperature above 500°F (260°C), no re-firing step is necessary. Just open the bypass damper and load your fuel. The bypass damper can be closed immediately, as long as the fuel is free from any form of moisture.

They weren't consistent on the max. temperature a combustor should see:

Temperatures above 1600°F will damage the catalyst. Temperatures between 1400°F — 1600°F are normal, but temperatures 1200°F — 1400°F are recommended.

Temperatures above 1800°F (1000°C) will damage the combustor. Temperatures between 1400° and 1600°F (650-760°C) are common, but operating temperatures between 1000° and 1300°F (537-704°C) are recommended. Most of this heat is transmitted to surrounding stove parts via thermal radiation.

I've always wondered about why my combustor sometimes glows but often doesn't:

It should be noted that the combustor glows during the first 20 — 30% of the burn cycle, when the catalyst is receiving the most smoke and burning at a high temperature. The combustor can reach 1000°F and produce a glow. The combustor does not have to glow to be working. As less smoke is present to burn, the combustor temperature drops and the glow will cease.

And interesting to note they say a combustor can last many seasons, although obviously depends on how much and how well you burn. This matches my experience:

When used and operated correctly, independent studies have shown catalytic combustors remain effective and provide clean burning in wood stoves for up to 8 seasons.

And they recommend opening the damper if the cat. gets above 1800 degrees:

If temperatures are above 1800°F, switch to the bypass mode and allow the catalyst to cool down to about 1000°F before resuming normal catalytic operation.

Every stove setup is different and everyone has their preferred methods, the guidelines above aren't written in stone, but always useful to get some research-based data from a manufacturer.

Stove has been running great all winter, and good thing too because it has been a chilly one up here in Maine. Great feeling to have dependable wood heat when it's night after night of single digits and subzero temperatures.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Been burning exclusively red oak in this cold snap (Maine), we've got a lot of it on our land and there's no better firewood for max. BTUs.

Anyway a bed of red oak coals can get pretty hot, and I'm finding I have to be a little more careful on the reloads not to let things get cooking too much. Last night I had a nice thick bed of coals and a half-burned split in the firebox, so I added a medium-sized split and closed the damper after a couple minutes and turned the air inlet down about half way. Everything seemed fine, but the cat temp. rose to 1600 so I shut the air down all the way. Cat kept rising and hit 1800 for a few minutes before heading back down. STT was 500.

Not ideal but probably not enough to damage the cat (ceramic), I guess we'll see at the next inspection. Next time in that situation I will close the damper immediately after reload and probably dial the air back more. I was below 10 degrees outside and I have a 27 foot chimney so the draft was pretty strong.

I was debating whether to open the damper and let the cat cool down but decided just to keep an eye on it and wait it out. But I know this topic has been discussed quite a bit here. I found some interesting pointers in these guidelines from Applied Ceramics, thought I'd share as others may find it helpful.

Here's their advice on hot reloads:



They weren't consistent on the max. temperature a combustor should see:





I've always wondered about why my combustor sometimes glows but often doesn't:



And interesting to note they say a combustor can last many seasons, although obviously depends on how much and how well you burn. This matches my experience:



And they recommend opening the damper if the cat. gets above 1800 degrees:



Every stove setup is different and everyone has their preferred methods, the guidelines above aren't written in stone, but always useful to get some research-based data from a manufacturer.

Stove has been running great all winter, and good thing too because it has been a chilly one up here in Maine. Great feeling to have dependable wood heat when it's night after night of single digits and subzero temperatures.

Me personally I absolutely would not open my damper if my cat was 1800 degrees.. That's a disaster waiting to happen, you might as well dial the fire department as soon as you do that.

 

[arnermd]

Been burning exclusively red oak in this cold snap (Maine), we've got a lot of it on our land and there's no better firewood for max. BTUs.

That's useful info thanks for posting. My opinion:

• There is no single temp that destroys a catalyst, it is likely time and temp as well as thermal shock. The cat can handle 1800 for some period of time.... but not forever...
• Their suggested temps are in the ranges I would expect.
• I am sure other stoves get many seasons out of a cat.... but not the VC's, certainly not my Defiant. 2 seasons is a miracle.
• Opening the damper at 1800 is a bad idea.... I have tried it. The flame goes hyperactive and shoots up the stove pipe and very quickly the exhaust ends up at 1200+ and you get funny smells.... STT will climb to 700+ too....
  • Better approach is to plug the primary air first and then the secondary air inlet if needed. Leave the damper closed.

 

[Jarch2202]

This is what this site is about, helping others and sharing ideas.

BTW I love the metal cat. Definitely more durable.

First load with the digital probe, I am trying to figure out exactly where to have the probe sit. I am using the frame from the kit, drilled a slightly larger hole in it so its a nice stand, at first I had it backed up to the wall, and i think it was giving a high reading, so I pulled it out a little bit, and it adjusted to be maybe more believable.

I reloaded at about 550, closed bypass immediately and had air on high, it jumped rapidly to about 1350 in a matter of minutes. As I notch the air back, it is going down to about 1250, then climbing back up. It was about 45 minutes after reload, 70% closed and climbing above 1400, and then oscilating below in a 5 minute period. I was seeing more rapid climbs and drops of 20-30 degrees.

Shortly after this, it spiked pretty rapidly to 1550, so I closed bypass all the way, it oscilated a little bit between 1500 and 1550, for about 10 minutes then dropped.

Load was a seasoned wood, below 20% about 80% filled.

Seems to be running a little hot for comfort. Any insights?

Any insights?

 

[Eman85]

You say you reloaded at 550, was that cat temp? Usually if I reload at that cat temp and immediately closed the bypass the cat would drop or stall and not rise. Climbs and drops seem to happen as different pieces of wood catch and give off smoke.
You say it spiked rapidly to 1550 and you closed the bypass all of the way, did you mean the air intake?
You'll get used to the running hot and it seems like it's responding as it should to the air control. The digital numbers climbing fast can cause a lot of anxiety that you didn't have when you were just looking at the analog gauge or going by the flame. When the cat really takes off and it sounds like a jet in your stove that's exciting!

 

[skb31]

First load with the digital probe, I am trying to figure out exactly where to have the probe sit. I am using the frame from the kit, drilled a slightly larger hole in it so its a nice stand, at first I had it backed up to the wall, and i think it was giving a high reading, so I pulled it out a little bit, and it adjusted to be maybe more believable.

I reloaded at about 550, closed bypass immediately and had air on high, it jumped rapidly to about 1350 in a matter of minutes. As I notch the air back, it is going down to about 1250, then climbing back up. It was about 45 minutes after reload, 70% closed and climbing above 1400, and then oscilating below in a 5 minute period. I was seeing more rapid climbs and drops of 20-30 degrees.

Shortly after this, it spiked pretty rapidly to 1550, so I closed bypass all the way, it oscilated a little bit between 1500 and 1550, for about 10 minutes then dropped.

Load was a seasoned wood, below 20% about 80% filled.

Seems to be running a little hot for comfort. Any insights?

Any insights?

These numbers aren’t crazy as a heads up. 1550 is on the high end but not outrageous. It looks scary because you’re getting real time feedback. I reload my stove when the cat probe reads around 800 with the air all the way open. I move the coals around, move them back a bit, then level them but I don’t pile them against the back wall. I immediately close the damper after reloading.

I start cutting the air around 1000 until I know I have control and slowly let it rise. It takes 20-30 minutes on average to slowly dial it back without starving it. I run it with the primary air 80 to 100% closed most of the time. My target is 1100 to 1400 cat probe temp.

As far as probe placement, if you can get access to the cat chamber when the stove is cold you’ll be able to place the probe well. It’s shouldn’t touch a surface. Once I got mine placed I marked the outside of the probe with a marker in case it ever moved.

 

[Turbo89]

These numbers aren’t crazy as a heads up. 1550 is on the high end but not outrageous. It looks scary because you’re getting real time feedback. I reload my stove when the cat probe reads around 800 with the air all the way open. I move the coals around, move them back a bit, then level them but I don’t pile them against the back wall. I immediately close the damper after reloading.

I start cutting the air around 1000 until I know I have control and slowly let it rise. It takes 20-30 minutes on average to slowly dial it back without starving it. I run it with the primary air 80 to 100% closed most of the time. My target is 1100 to 1400 cat probe temp.

As far as probe placement, if you can get access to the cat chamber when the stove is cold you’ll be able to place the probe well. It’s shouldn’t touch a surface. Once I got mine placed I marked the outside of the probe with a marker in case it ever moved.

This x2! I’ve run my CAT up to 1550 not infrequently and have barely noticed any impact to my CAT. I have my alarm set at 1650, heck I saw 1680 last week with a wet load of wood, but STT and flue temps were fine.

 

[Turbo89]

Anyone buy a gasket replacement recently for an encore 2040 Cat-C?

I picked some up on Amazon last fall, been running all season fine. I replace the door gaskets and top gasket.

 

[Jarch2202]

Had a scary one last night. I had a series of successful burns, with cat temps under control, capping around 1300 and eventually sitting around 900-1000.

Last night I loaded up before bed, had a nice hardwood mix and a piece of locust in there. It was going 'normally', i started notching back the air, and i think i must have gone just a hair too far too early and basically started supercharging my catalyst. I should have opened up just a bit to get some more flames, but wanted to see if it would even out.

After about 2 hours, things got real interesting. The cat temp was rising past 1550, 1600. 1650 and eventually got to 1725 for a bit. I thought at this point I had the air closed all the way down, but the flames still had a lot of momentum. The stt wasnt bad too start, and then started to get near 650 with no signs of slowing down.

I ended up getting a fan out to try to cool the stove, waiting for the downturn of the burn. It continued very hot, oscilating between 1600 and 1700 for about an hour. I finally thought i should double check the intake was really closed, so I did a quick back and forth, then heard the distinct closing, and watched the fire immediately slow down to a lazy secondary.

What a way to get ready for bed.

 

[Eman85]

I made a habit of loading the stove a couple of hours before bed. Nothing worse than trying to go to bed and seeing that temp spiking.

 

[Smokey Da Bears]

Well friends, it's been a fun couple of days over here. If you recall, Post #137 in this thread I shared a picture of a warped catalyst pulled from my VC Defiant. We all got a chuckle out of it, and I think @Woodsplitter67 even told me I won first prize for "never saw that before".

Welp....happened again! And only after 6 weeks of use. I noticed my cat temps were recently sluggish, hanging in that 900 range and lots of smoke in the exhaust. So, I pulled the stove apart and voila! another warped catalyst!

So, after some conversation with Midwest Hearth - and let me be clear, their customer service is fantastic and since they aren't the manufacturer of the catalyst and just a reseller I don't think they are at fault - but we were discussing a potential "hot spot" in my secondary with a root cause of an air leak somewhere. I found this odd as the Auber Probe is only about 1 inch away from where the warping on both of these catalysts occurred. They consider over firing the catalyst to be anything above 1600. But nonetheless, I've been searching and searching these last few days and ordering in gaskets and tightening anything that can be tightened. Midwest Hearth mailed me out another catalyst as a "one time replacement".... meaning I'm not getting another discounted one and the next one is full price. Understandable....I have an MBA, that's a business decision.

However, I've now done a little catalyst comparison......

Catalyst #1 in this picture was the original metal catalyst I purchased in December 2022. It was in operation from December 2022 through December 2024, when overall performance appeared to decline. This Catalyst retained it's structural integrity, but failed to reach optimum operating temperatures. In comparing this catalyst to the others in the picture, there is an observable difference in the build of the Side Walls. Catalyst #1 is more reinforced and thicker then Catalyst #2 and #3, with an overlap of the metal to the top and bottom of the honeycomb.

Catalyst #2 in this picture was a catalyst ordered with warranty discounting in late December 2024. This catalyst survived almost a year in my stove (granted I think last winter here was substantially warmer than this year and I burned a lot less wood). This catalyst lost it's ability to maintain optimum temperatures this past December 2025 , which led to my discovery of structural warping (Post #137 in this thread). I certainly saw temps in the 1500-1600 range on this catalyst for short periods. Highest temp was probably something like 1612, which I let ride and it came down after about 20 minutes. But by the definition, this is over-firing above 1600.

Catalyst #3 in this picture was a catalyst ordered December 2025 also with warranty discounting. This catalyst survived 6 total weeks in my stove. The highest temperature I have seen on this catalyst in those 6 weeks was 1456. The catalyst all the way up until my most recent clean out was achieving temps in the 1000-1250 range, but I was seeing lots of smoke out of my chimney which made me look at that catalyst. Warped in almost the same location as Catalyst #2. This is identified by the Red Arrow when you look at the catalyst in the picture sitting within the secondary chamber (left side, and in the back of the catalyst).

So all that said - anybody have any thoughts? I've emailed this information back out to midwest hearth and I'm sure they're going to respond. Interestingly enough - I do not see the Metal Catalyst for the Defiant/Encore available for sale on their website. Only the Ceramic is available. The metal catalyst is available there for the Dauntless. Whether the Defiant/Encore metal is sold out, or they've stopped selling it is unknown.



GO PATRIOTS!

 

[Eman85]

Catalyst holder is sheet metal so it doesn't take much to get it red hot and warped. My catalyst is warped like that, I vacuumed it and put it back, works fine. My previous cat was pretty old and was all warped. My cat has been 1500-1600, not on purpose but it happens, sees 13-1400 usually.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Well friends, it's been a fun couple of days over here. If you recall, Post #137 in this thread I shared a picture of a warped catalyst pulled from my VC Defiant. We all got a chuckle out of it, and I think @Woodsplitter67 even told me I won first prize for "never saw that before".

Welp....happened again! And only after 6 weeks of use. I noticed my cat temps were recently sluggish, hanging in that 900 range and lots of smoke in the exhaust. So, I pulled the stove apart and voila! another warped catalyst!

So, after some conversation with Midwest Hearth - and let me be clear, their customer service is fantastic and since they aren't the manufacturer of the catalyst and just a reseller I don't think they are at fault - but we were discussing a potential "hot spot" in my secondary with a root cause of an air leak somewhere. I found this odd as the Auber Probe is only about 1 inch away from where the warping on both of these catalysts occurred. They consider over firing the catalyst to be anything above 1600. But nonetheless, I've been searching and searching these last few days and ordering in gaskets and tightening anything that can be tightened. Midwest Hearth mailed me out another catalyst as a "one time replacement".... meaning I'm not getting another discounted one and the next one is full price. Understandable....I have an MBA, that's a business decision.

However, I've now done a little catalyst comparison......

Catalyst #1 in this picture was the original metal catalyst I purchased in December 2022. It was in operation from December 2022 through December 2024, when overall performance appeared to decline. This Catalyst retained it's structural integrity, but failed to reach optimum operating temperatures. In comparing this catalyst to the others in the picture, there is an observable difference in the build of the Side Walls. Catalyst #1 is more reinforced and thicker then Catalyst #2 and #3, with an overlap of the metal to the top and bottom of the honeycomb.

Catalyst #2 in this picture was a catalyst ordered with warranty discounting in late December 2024. This catalyst survived almost a year in my stove (granted I think last winter here was substantially warmer than this year and I burned a lot less wood). This catalyst lost it's ability to maintain optimum temperatures this past December 2025 , which led to my discovery of structural warping (Post #137 in this thread). I certainly saw temps in the 1500-1600 range on this catalyst for short periods. Highest temp was probably something like 1612, which I let ride and it came down after about 20 minutes. But by the definition, this is over-firing above 1600.

Catalyst #3 in this picture was a catalyst ordered December 2025 also with warranty discounting. This catalyst survived 6 total weeks in my stove. The highest temperature I have seen on this catalyst in those 6 weeks was 1456. The catalyst all the way up until my most recent clean out was achieving temps in the 1000-1250 range, but I was seeing lots of smoke out of my chimney which made me look at that catalyst. Warped in almost the same location as Catalyst #2. This is identified by the Red Arrow when you look at the catalyst in the picture sitting within the secondary chamber (left side, and in the back of the catalyst).

So all that said - anybody have any thoughts? I've emailed this information back out to midwest hearth and I'm sure they're going to respond. Interestingly enough - I do not see the Metal Catalyst for the Defiant/Encore available for sale on their website. Only the Ceramic is available. The metal catalyst is available there for the Dauntless. Whether the Defiant/Encore metal is sold out, or they've stopped selling it is unknown.



GO PATRIOTS!

Well on the bright side I bet there's very little in the way of creosote build up.. so that's a positive

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I'm sitting here this morning watching the stove. 7 degrees -11WC and my cat died or is on its last leg it's taking forever for the cat to get to 1,k

Its been a long time since the stoves been run this hard I'll probably go through the most wood I've burned in a year, in a long time.

Iv set the remote on the gas fireplace to help out. I don't want the house temperature to drop to much.

I can say they the stove has performed well all of these years. It's a really good heater. This stove was an excellent choice for me.

 

[Smokey Da Bears]

Sorry to hear - it’s a pain when you have to pause heating. Agreed, I’ve burnt the most wood I’ve burnt in 4 years this year. I’m already realizing I’m behind for the next 2 seasons.

I put my oldest catalyst (#1) from the picture above back in and we’re running fine. I want to see if that catalyst, which appears to be constructed differently, shows any signs of warping in the next few weeks.