Hey all. I just recently retired my VC Dutchwest catalytic due to what I believe to be the cement giving out on one sidewall causing the wall to shift a bit. This ,in turn , led to the top cover not sitting right, and I believe , lowered performance. I replaced the cat several times during her burn life, but it seems now, even with a new cat, shes just not performing up to par. I think its b/c of small air leaks due to age/cement drying/cracking. The burn time was getting very short(just a few hours). Chimney has a new ss liner that draws great, so Ive eliminated that as a cause of poor performance. Anyone have any experience/ ideas / familiarity with this situation? I have a new non-cat insert that works great, but I hate bury the old girl without due cause. Thanks.
