Cat cleaning
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ValleyCottageSplitter
Feeling the Heat
How many hours on the cat? If the cells are clear and the cat gasket (from firecat) is tight and your cat still fails the performance test from the manual then it's time to either replace the cat (preferred) or perform the vinegar boil which is a pain to do and only a temporary fix while you wait for the new cat.
These stoves make a good amount of creosote due to low flue temperatures and if your wood quality was a little poorer this year or if you ran the stove thermostat a little cooler then the creosote can get thicker.
Thanks for the quick reply. Your help is much appreciated. This was my third year and it is the first time I clean the CAT. No black smoke but I noticed that I am using more wood for the same amount of heat. My wood was splitted too thick and I realized that some of it was still relatively wet in the center. When I removed the CAT, I noticed that the gasket around it was worned out. The holes within the CAT were not clogged but there was a thick coating of ash inside each one of the holes. After cleaning there is definitely a thin film of ash covering each one of the holes. I wonder if it is possible that this film will prevent the proper functionality of the CAT. I have around 10 000 hours of use and the wood stove and pipe were bought brand new 3 years ago.
![[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/245/245378-b5a70db59ebe3d1b7538c24d0d7d4991.jpg?hash=rGLao3VgTz "[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning")
That photo was after you blew out the cat with compressed air? Nice photo btw.
Higher wood consumption, hard deposits on the cat, higher than normal creosote accumulation, over 10,000 hours, I wouldn't waste money on a gasket I would buy a new cat.
The wild card is the wet wood. That wet wood could also cause the higher consumption and flue accumulation. Even if your wood was perfect for next year you are rapidly closing in on the expected life of that catalyst. Buy the new cat anyway.
I did a cat boiling post with photos and everything on the same steel cat that you are using. It did give me several months of renewed good performance. Since you have the cat out and since those deposits will certainly hurt cat performance you might want to try it.
Option 1) buy new cat, use dry wood from now on. Good as new performance for another 12000 hours.
2) put that cat back in with a new gasket and burn it hot to clean the cat, use dry wood. The cat is almost spent.
3) boil the cat in vinegar and put it back in with a new gasket, use dry wood. The cat will last a bit longer than #2.
Higher wood consumption, hard deposits on the cat, higher than normal creosote accumulation, over 10,000 hours, I wouldn't waste money on a gasket I would buy a new cat.
The wild card is the wet wood. That wet wood could also cause the higher consumption and flue accumulation. Even if your wood was perfect for next year you are rapidly closing in on the expected life of that catalyst. Buy the new cat anyway.
I did a cat boiling post with photos and everything on the same steel cat that you are using. It did give me several months of renewed good performance. Since you have the cat out and since those deposits will certainly hurt cat performance you might want to try it.
Option 1) buy new cat, use dry wood from now on. Good as new performance for another 12000 hours.
2) put that cat back in with a new gasket and burn it hot to clean the cat, use dry wood. The cat is almost spent.
3) boil the cat in vinegar and put it back in with a new gasket, use dry wood. The cat will last a bit longer than #2.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I'd give it a vinegar bath and run it for another year, see how it does. I built a temporary rocket stove out of a few cinder blocks when I did mine. You can do it on the kitchen stove too, but the boiling vinegar smell is very strong.
Get another cat and gasket now, and you'll be ready to go when you decide to change it, even if that is years away.
Get another cat and gasket now, and you'll be ready to go when you decide to change it, even if that is years away.
The picture was taken after I cleaned it with compressed air. I will order a new CAT before next season and a couple of gasket from Firecat. I think I will first try to clean the old one with water in order to dislodge the film of ash. If it doesn’t work I will do the vinegar bath procedure. I should have plenty of dry wood for next winter since I made myself a couple of new rack and most of my firewood for this year was stacked and covered 3 years ago
![[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/245/245380-71c70e34575f110077286e2b5caa513e.jpg?hash=Kt5vUXjDWc "[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning")
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I am under the impression that those residues would not burn, even at higher temperature. This looks like a mineral (ash) deposit. Do you guys clean the CAT with air after each season? I never cleaned it and maybe that’s why residues are now baked on it. It still glows but maybe the residues makes it less efficient.
Use only distilled water and distilled white vinegar.
If you don't want to simmer the cat you can use a spray bottle with 50-50 distilled water and distilled vinegar, let it soak a half hour, then rinse well with distilled water. Repeat that sequence a few times.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Use distilled water for cleaning.
Tap water has minerals in it, and the minerals will mask the catalyst after the water evaporates.
lsucet
Minister of Fire
A good cleaning now that it is out is good but a hot burn once in a while can do good also, at least with the ceramic cat. The SS cat with the tendency to get clogged I don't know but a good hot burn always is good.
Ok I didn’t knew I had to use only distilled water. I have some already available at home. I will get a clean spray bottle and report back after the test. I usually do at least one hot burn each month but it is never super hot. 1 or 2 o’clock on the cat thermometer
![[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/245/245430-4ec6d747cfb3a1085082794160f56b69.jpg?hash=qvE6OovTDw "[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning")
That’s why you’re supposed to use vinegar. The vinegar is an acid and will dissolve mineral deposits that look like crust. Then you neutralize the acid with distilled water to stop the reaction. The water doesn’t clean anything.
The very thin catalyst layer is setting invisibley close to the metal so anything you can see on top of the metal is masking the catalyst so it can’t eat smoke. It should look like new even when the cat is dead.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
It's supposed to look 'dirty'. The wash coat is high surface area aluminum oxide, so it will look non-reflective and oxidized right from the factory.
I don't think the naked eye can tell much difference between a new cat and a cat with some masking.
I don't think the naked eye can tell much difference between a new cat and a cat with some masking.
I’m with you jetsam. The photo of accumulated shmuck on it earlier in the thread was a lot of debris that will mask the catalyst.
A new, or clean cat will have a dull appearance. Almost brown like it’s dirty but no buildup of debris.
There are still chunks of dirt caked on one side of the CAT. The picture is not too good. I will get distilled vinegar tomorrow at the supermarket and get more distilled water. I was under the impression that the vinegar bath was a last resort kind of thing. This CAT was still glowing red last winter. Is it possible that it is glowing red without eating up the smoke. I will also order a new CAT and the 2 inch gasket from firecat this week.
![[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/245/245439-17b9f09f4ddf33bc40f9fe1328e47318.jpg?hash=ZllEj1TNJM "[Hearth.com] Cat cleaning")
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Yeah, the chunky stuff in the first photo was just big chunks of ash, which you can vaccum or rinse off. Mineral deposits are what the vinegar's for, and they are not really visible (my cat didn't look terribly different after being boiled in vinegar, and it probably had above-average mineral deposits due to having had to deal with some really terrible wet wood over the years).
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I'd run it until you start seeing smoke during normal operation. When it can't keep up with your regular burns anymore, you're wasting wood.
Then again, most owners probably never replace the cat and don't care if it's burning half or none of the smoke. Those are the guys that should have just bought a tube stove to start with, though.
Ok I will wait for the gasket to arrive, reinstall it as is and see how things goes this upcoming burning season. I am seriously considering removing it every year and clean it the way I just did. Even if It makes me save one or 2 facecords a year it will be worth it. I live in the city so it is also better for my neighbor’s health. Thanks everyone for your input
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Ok I will wait for the gasket to arrive, reinstall it as is and see how things goes this upcoming burning season. I am seriously considering removing it every year and clean it the way I just did. Even if It makes me save one or 2 facecords a year it will be worth it. I live in the city so it is also better for my neighbor’s health. Thanks everyone for your input
The Woodstock guys, with their easily removed cats, seem to love giving their cats regular vinegar washes. At least annually.
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