4 Year old "Intrepid II"

[bmwbj]

I've owned this V/C Intrepid II for 4 years now, and I still seem to have trouble getting the combustor to fire off properly.
With a thermometer on the the griddle reading over 550, and bright flames, and a bed of coals about 2" deep, some time it works, but most of the times it doesn't.
I use the stove mainly in the normal open mode because of the cat. issues. I have made sure the cat. is clean and in place, and I have had other people read the manual and try it for them selves. They all came up with the same results.
My wife and I both love the looks of this stove, and it keeps my 1200sq foot home at a nice comfy temp., but I constantly have to "fiddle" with it to maintain the temps. I refuse to go to bed with the stove unattended.
Please give me some advise, and some ideas before I finally loose my "cool" and "overheat" with-out the stove.

Thanks, Bob

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Buy a new cat?

And welcome to the forum!

Matt

 

[elkimmeg]

its one thing to clean the Cat but that compartment it resides in must be cleaned so fly ash left there is not drawn int to the cat

I tape a soft rubber hose on my shop vac and vac it out I clean my cat at the start of the season and at the mid point


sometine blowing it out is not enough and probably aftert 4 years it needs a real good cleaning , pipe cleaner cleaning

The next step is using a 1/2 solution on vinegar and water boil place the can in the solution and boil it for 10 minutes

thak it out let it cool an blow it out again Another posibility is there is a ceramic rope type gasket that fits around the combustor

it should be replaced is missing it simply is self stick can be bought stovecombustors .com or Condar anyone selling cats should have it

Missing the gasket smoke is escaping by the cat without going threw the combustor that will cause intermittent results

this is after 4 years there is a bottom plate on the back take off the cover and vac the area out,

Most problem are due to not really cleaning the stove any stove remove the bottom grill and shop Vac paint brush to loosen and clean out the stoves

Fly ash can build up and block air passages ,this is the ### 1 reason for stove performance degradation over time

 

[bmwbj]

Pyro, maybe I should explain my situation better, I have owned this stove from new for 4 yearys now. I clean the cat twice a season including cleaning all the fly ash. I really do believe the cat has never worked properly from day one. Is there any other way of testing the cat. besides runnung the stove, because I do believe it does not ever fire up, even when the stove is @ 600 deg.

Thanks, Bob

 

[elkimmeg]

could be you had a defective cat from day one .Take the rear hood cover off fire up the stove get is going hot engage the damper and see if the cat glows red. if glowing red after a few minutes look at the top of your chimney do you see a lot of smoke ? very little or none at all Cats do not have to glow red to be working beut ever one I've seen glowing red are working

 

[kwburn]

can you give more detail on what actually happens after you engage the cat?
does the griddle temp drop uncontrollably to like 250-300 unless you disengage? or does it just stay the same?

hate to state the obvious, but are you expecting the griddle temp to jump up after engaging the cat?
the thermostatic air control is going to keep it pretty darn close to that 600 degrees even after you engage, at least from my experience. at most mine will head up to around 650 and then i'll just give the air lever a little tweak to bring her down back around 600 which i think is a good all around temp for this stove.

it sounds like your warm up process before engaging is ok. i usually get mine up to 600-650 after having burned a minimum of like 20 minutes before engaging or else i'll see my griddle temp start to slide indicating that i engaged too early.

 

[bmwbj]

kwburn, sorry I've been away for a week, the answer to your question is yes, the griddle temps do drop down, that is why I believe the cat. is not firing up as needed. I have even tried to engage it over 600 but it still seems to not fire up.
I think I'm going to try a new cat. and hope for the best...

 

[Gooserider]

Any chance your wood isn't dry enough? What is your source, and how well has it been protected? It might be worth buying one of those "grocery store bundles" of super dry stuff and see if that burns better. If it does, then you may need to look more closely at your wood.

Gooserider

 

[bmwbj]

GooseRider, I've tried store wood already with no results. I orderd a new Cat. yesterday. The weather here has been too warm to attempt the wood stove, but by the time I get the new Cat. the outside temps should be better.
BTW, I am burning 1 year old Maple, which has been sun dried and kept out of the rain, and split into 4" splits 14" long. I don't have a moisture meter, but all the ends are split and it sounds dry when smacking two pieces together. It also burns without giving off any signs of steam and or bubbles on the ends, and burns hot with out any trouble.
I have had alot of people try to get this thing to work properly, aside from having a factory rep. try their hand at it. I love the stove, and it heats great with-out the cat operating, but I know from all the forums that I would save alot of time loading, and burning up my wood pile if the cat was working properly. Burning a couple of splits at a time to keep the smoke clear and the temps within normal ranges is pretty tough with a cat stove that doesn't work the right way...

 

[Gooserider]

GooseRider, I've tried store wood already with no results. I orderd a new Cat. yesterday. The weather here has been too warm to attempt the wood stove, but by the time I get the new Cat. the outside temps should be better.
BTW, I am burning 1 year old Maple, which has been sun dried and kept out of the rain, and split into 4" splits 14" long. I don't have a moisture meter, but all the ends are split and it sounds dry when smacking two pieces together. It also burns without giving off any signs of steam and or bubbles on the ends, and burns hot with out any trouble.
I have had alot of people try to get this thing to work properly, aside from having a factory rep. try their hand at it. I love the stove, and it heats great with-out the cat operating, but I know from all the forums that I would save alot of time loading, and burning up my wood pile if the cat was working properly. Burning a couple of splits at a time to keep the smoke clear and the temps within normal ranges is pretty tough with a cat stove that doesn't work the right way...

No problem, glad you gave it a try - We just try to cover all the bases on possible problems and I hadn't seen the wood mentioned. Sounds like you are burning good quality stuff, so that doesn't sound like an issue.

I hope the new cat gets the stove working better for you.

Gooserider

 

[bmwbj]

Thanks, Goose we'll give the new cat. a try when it comes in, and update the post with the results ---- thanks all...

Bob

 

[webbie]

A couple things.....4 years ago was a trying time for VC - don't know if there was any fit or finish probs with that stove, but definitely check the bypass and it's seal. Could be problems with the air supply, although I don't know how this is easily checked.

Other than that, I have NEVER heard of a bad batch of cats and unless you burned 3 cords of wood a year, it is highly doubtful that your cat is gone....especially since you burned the stove without the cat engaged. Make certain you keep the old cat since it is probably good.

My guess, if not the above, is the draft (or lack of). What happens when you put it into downdraft mode? Does a decent flame still stay on the fire, or does it smoke and smolder? Does more or less smoke come out the chimney when it is in bypass mode?

Maybe a VC dealer or Elk will chime in with exactly the know possibilities regarding the inlet air. We had Encores with stuck or unconnected air inlets, and I think we have to partially disassemble stove to confirm and fix.

 

[elkimmeg]

There is an air inlet flapper located on the back right side of the stove Primary air n move it to the left it should open right to close

Craig may have hit on something the bi pass damper to engage the cat is a gasket seal If the seal/ gasket is not making a tight fit then exhaust is not p being passed threw the Cat compartment The cat itself also requires a gasket tape around the outer metal casing, again if exhaust can escape around the cat then it is not going threw it.. The bottom left and right of the cat are air channels that can get clogged with fly ash impeding secondary air into the cat combustor compartment. Has it been cleaned and removed?

If burning hot without the cat engaged is the damper warped? Again if not making a tight seal the cat combustor will not function properly what about fly ash in bott6om ,of the refractory package under the combustor? If it blocks the thematic probe again the secondary air feed will not supply the air required to fire and keep the Cat combustor fired?

when is the last time you cleaned the prober end Check near the rear of you owner's manual for instructions concerning probe care.

 

[seaken]

The catalytic combustor is under a 6 year warranty. You said you think it never worked? Did you try calling the dealer and ask for warranty service?

Many times the surface temperature has to be adjusted to get results. I have situations where I needed to exceed 700 degrees before the stove would go into cat mode.

The secondary air inlet can sometimes let in too much air. Have you confirmed that it is working properly?

You didn't mention anything other than surface temps. What does the smoke stack look like? Does the smoke not clear up after the cat is engaged?

You can purchase a probe meter to monitor the catalytic fire. Condar makes one, about $100 I think.

The catlytic block does not need to be wrapped in insulation. The Intrepid II uses a soft refractory combustion chamber that the catalytic slides into. The opening is then covered with the soft refractory access panel. No other gasketing is needed.

 

[seaken]

I've owned this V/C Intrepid II for 4 years now, and I still seem to have trouble getting the combustor to fire off properly.
With a thermometer on the the griddle reading over 550, and bright flames, and a bed of coals about 2" deep, some time it works, but most of the times it doesn't.
I use the stove mainly in the normal open mode because of the cat. issues. I have made sure the cat. is clean and in place, and I have had other people read the manual and try it for them selves. They all came up with the same results.
My wife and I both love the looks of this stove, and it keeps my 1200sq foot home at a nice comfy temp., but I constantly have to "fiddle" with it to maintain the temps. I refuse to go to bed with the stove unattended.
Please give me some advise, and some ideas before I finally loose my "cool" and "overheat" with-out the stove.

Thanks, Bob

"Normal" mode for all catalytic stoves is catalytic engaged. Try 700 degrees and 3" of red hot coals. It's hard to diagnose over the internet but I think you need to keep trying. We routinely use that stove in unattended mode.

 

[bmwbj]

Guys, I can say that I have checked the "Primary" and "Secondary" air flaps for ease of movement and for proper fit.
My stack is 3 sections of 6" black pipe leading into 6 sections of 7" double insulated SS all going straight up thru ceiling and attic than thru roof. I know I have a great draft, it will suck a match out by itself.
I do notice that the wonderful roaring fire will die right down to almost nothing when I run in the bypass mode, and the griddle temps will drop along with the stack temps. I have never however tried to operate the stove over 650 because of manual recommendations of "overfiring". I have always maintained a clean combustor (free from flyash). Unfortunatly the dealer I purchased my stove from is no longer in business for finantial reasons. and as luck may have it I received my new replacement Cat from Condar today.
As soon as the outside temps drop low enough to burn this thing again, I will give it another try with the old Cat. first, and if it works I will keep the new one as a spare. Oh and by the way, I only burn about 1.5 cords a year.

Bob

PS: Here is some of my maple for this year...

 

[bmwbj]

First warm-up fire last night, it dipped down below 40, I love this time of year...

 

[kwburn]

i have to say i fired up my Intrepid tonight. i only had a few logs handy and they were on the thicker side but dry. got the fire going and up to 600 and engaged and the temp started slipping slowly downward with full air. when it approached 500 i disengaged and banged the logs around and spread them out a bit. let it run up to 650+ before engaging again and this time the temp stayed dead on for hours. i actually had to manually close the air control a bit to bring it down a little.

so i second the advice to bring the temp up a bit and be sure to have plenty of coals before engaging.

 

[elkimmeg]

I find most posters here are in a rush to damper down. It is so important to get a good bed of coals under the load and get that load involved in the secondary burn process.

This time of year being warmer than normal, it is hard to dial in stoves, in the warmer weaker draft conditions.

KWburn illustrated what happens when the damper is engaged too early, and the results after allowing the fire to be established and resetting the damper

 

[bmwbj]

OK, Here's an update to my Cat. issues. I tried my stove 3 different times this weekend, after cleaning the old 4 year old Cat. and each time I brought the stove temps up over 650* with a 3" bed of coals, and the Cat never operated.
I let the stove burn out than installed the new cat. (I just received), and it worked so nice after the first attempt, above 550* I had the stove loaded with 4-3" splits of silver maple and it burned perfectly for 3 hours, before having to reload. The temp. was set at 500* and it stayed there.
WOW it only took me 4 year to figure this out ---- I should have talked to you guys earlier, Thanks a bunch.

Bob

 

[elkimmeg]

welcome to another world of burning Have fun with it