Cat stove owners

[Backwoods Savage]

With your cat stove, how often do you clean the cat and how do you clean them?

fwiw, I believe Woodstock recommends clean after a cord of wood or every 6 weeks. I cleaned ours once last winter and again at the end of the burning season. Both times there was barely any fly ash on the cat. For cleaning, I simply lift the cat out (wearing good gloves and stove down to a few coals but still warm), take it out on the porch and using an old paint brush, just lightly brush off the fly ash. Put the cat back in and load up the firebox. Cleaning takes me usually 2-4 minutes. I think if I hurried I could have it done in a minute.

 

[Todd]

I think I check mine once per month just cuz it's so easy with the Fireview and brush or vacuum it off as needed. My new Keystone will probably be checked less often due to the harder access?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You are right Todd. It is pretty easy to do. I'll be curious on the Keystone how it is.

 

[fire_man]

I vacuum mine with a very small brush attachment (about 4 inches square) after every cord or so of wood. This has the added benefit of sucking any fly ash out from the cells. I wonder why the Woodstock guys say not to use vinegar or water when the cat makers say to rinse in it.

 

[BrowningBAR]

With the Intrepid I checked it this past summer. Nothing was clogged and the chamber was in great shape. Based on this, I do not plan on checking the cat again until the season is over.

I go through, roughly, a cord of wood per season in that stove.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

That's interesting Tony. I never even considered washing it.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Oh, and to clean it I remove the interior panel to expose VC's ridiculously delicate chamber. I then remove the front panel of the chamber to gain access to the cat and remove it. To clean, I blow out any debris in the cat with compressed canned air and use a vaccum on the chamber.

 

[fire_man]

That's interesting Tony. I never even considered washing it.

Here is a summary from Woodstovecombustors.com:

To Clean Your Combustor
Inspect and clean the combustor at least annually. In addition to keeping the unit clear of ash and debris, a major cleaning every other year (or every year in heavy-use situations) will help prevent deactivation of the combustor due to accumulation of deposits on the surface of the catalytic material. DO NOT attempt to remove the combustor from its stainless steel band (if it is so equipped) for this procedure. Always be sure the combustor has cooled completely before handling. Handle with care to avoid breakage.

Using a clean, unused paint brush and a vacuum cleaner, remove any fly ash and loose soot from the combustor. If some cells are totally blocked, use a cotton swab or pipe cleaner. Be careful not to damage any of the cell walls by scraping or scratching them with a hard object.

Pour distilled water and vinegar in a pot to form a 50/50 mixture of the solution. Heat the solution until it is boiling.

Take the cord or coated wire and form a handle for dipping the combustor into the boiling cleaning solution.

cleaning combustor Slowly lower combustor into the boiling solution and slightly reduce the heat. There is no need to keep the solution boiling once the combustor is in place. Do not allow combustor to bump the bottom of the pot. Allow vinegar solution to flow easily through the combustor cells. Let it soak in the hot cleaning solution for at least 30 minutes.

After soaking combustor in the vinegar solution, dry with a soft towel. Dump the vinegar solution, rinse the pot and boil half of the remainder of the distilled water. Again, place combustor in the boiling water to rinse. With the water just below boiling, let it simmer for 15 minutes. Rinse combustor using this procedure at least twice. Use fresh distilled water each time.

Shake excess water from combustor cells and dry it thoroughly. Place combustor back into your stove according to the instructions in your owners’ manual.

Allow combustor to dry 24 hours before lighting a fire. Steam generated from a damp combustor could damage the catalyst material. If the stove must be put back into operation immediately, place combustor in an oven and heat at 300°F for at least 1 hour. Allow combustor to cool completely before reinstalling it.

 

[Todd]

No need to do the viniger/water rinse unless it's really plugged up.

 

[homebrewz]

Oh, and to clean it I remove the interior panel to expose VC's ridiculously delicate chamber. I then remove the front panel of the chamber to gain access to the cat and remove it. To clean, I blow out any debris in the cat with compressed canned air and use a vaccum on the chamber.

Thank you for that. I agree 100%.

Anyway, I washed my ceramic one in that fashion last year, but it was already crumbling and I didn't notice a performance difference. I replaced it with a steel one and keep the ceramic one as a spare.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Oh, and to clean it I remove the interior panel to expose VC's ridiculously delicate chamber. I then remove the front panel of the chamber to gain access to the cat and remove it. To clean, I blow out any debris in the cat with compressed canned air and use a vaccum on the chamber.

Thank you for that. I agree 100%.

Anyway, I washed my ceramic one in that fashion last year, but it was already crumbling and I didn't notice a performance difference. I replaced it with a steel one and keep the ceramic one as a spare.

To make matters worse, the chamber for the model I have has been discontinued as of this summer. Meaning I can not purchase another one. The entire catalytic process from VC is poorly done. From the design to customer service is one gigantic failure. Which is a shame since they have some of the nicer looking stove on the market (from my perspective).

 

[Flatbedford]

I pull mine out every few weeks or so when the stove is cool. I wear welding gloves and brush the ash off with my hands. I let it fall into the stove. While I have the lid open I brush whatever ash has collected in the top chamber down into the firebox. The entire process takes me about 2 or 3 minutes. The longest part of the job is clearing the thermometer, steamer and the souvenir chunk of soapstone from the factory from the stove top and replacing it. The Fireview is pretty darn easy. New owners should be sure to remove the bolts that hold the cat in place when the stove is new and the bolts will turn easily. The might be a little harder to remove after a few heating cycles. The manual says that the bolts do not have to be replaced after cleaning.

 

[nsfd95]

I clean it once a year in the fall before the season. Technically I have the chimney sweep do it for me. He used to work for the local Vermont Casting dealer doing installs and repairs until he went out on his own. I always ask what shape its in and if it needs to be replaced. I'm figuring he would have made an extra buck off me it did need to be replaced. When I tell other people that I know burn that I have the original cat (seven years} they tend to freak out. One guy that I work with has replaced his three times in five years. So I guess with my rambling I'm trying to figure out how long is a cat supposed to last?

 

[homebrewz]

To make matters worse, the chamber for the model I have has been discontinued as of this summer. Meaning I can not purchase another one. The entire catalytic process from VC is poorly done. From the design to customer service is one gigantic failure. Which is a shame since they have some of the nicer looking stove on the market (from my perspective).

Why don't you try making your own out of refractory board and refractory cement? Mine is held together with appear to be sheet rock screws!
If I still have the stove when it needs a new refractory, I'm going to try building one.

nsfd95: It depends on a lot of variables (how hot & how often you burn, type/quality of wood, etc). How frequently you need to clean your chimney will give you some idea of the kind of job its still doing. I've heard everywhere from 2 to 6 years. If you feel yours is still performing well, then that's great.

 

[Chad S.]

I checked mine every 4 weeks or so and just have a little ash to knock off, no clogging or crumbling.

 

[certified106]

I love my stove and it has always treated me well but due to how annoying it is to get to the cat I only clean it at the beginning of the season and then watch it closely during the year to see how it performs. If I notice it's taking longer than usual to light off I will clean it but nine times out of ten I go the whole season without cleaning it. If my VC Dutchwest Federal ever gives out the next cat stove I purchase is going to have to have easier access to the cat!

 

[North of 60]

Probably cord #27-30 through the CAT. Been vacuumed twice and brushed twice a season always in place. My CAT has never been removed.

 

[jetmech]

Once a year in my Intrepid ii... usually has some fine ash in corners... blow it off and reinstall and good to go. If this thing ever dies i would still like a Cat stove.. hope there are some good smaller cat stoves out there. I love its top loading and good looks.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Every cord or so, the face gets a quick brush. Takes about 3 minutes.

 

[leeave96]

I have only ran the Keystone for 3 days now - I guess I'll wait for a bit more before cleaning it - but the front glass is already dirty......

The cat on my Keystone is pretty easy to get out of the stove in that it is top vent. It is easy to take off the rear flue block-off plate (which also holds on the rear heat sheild) and reach in to remove the cat.

Thanks!
Bill

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Don't worry about that dirty glass as it is normal right at first. When you have a bigger fire it will clean. Until then if you want it clean, with a cool or cold stove, slightly crumple up a sheet of newspaper, dip it into the ashes and clean the glass. It works like magic.

 

[tiber]

To make matters worse, the chamber for the model I have has been discontinued as of this summer. Meaning I can not purchase another one. The entire catalytic process from VC is poorly done. From the design to customer service is one gigantic failure. Which is a shame since they have some of the nicer looking stove on the market (from my perspective).

Why don't you try making your own out of refractory board and refractory cement? Mine is held together with appear to be sheet rock screws!
If I still have the stove when it needs a new refractory, I'm going to try building one.

nsfd95: It depends on a lot of variables (how hot & how often you burn, type/quality of wood, etc). How frequently you need to clean your chimney will give you some idea of the kind of job its still doing. I've heard everywhere from 2 to 6 years. If you feel yours is still performing well, then that's great.

Because there's at least 8 panels you need to make, and that's probably more than most people want to invest in terms of time. On the other hand I just got a new router (woodworking, not computer) from my wife and I'm strongly considering pulling a gordo and making my own. I'm not happy about the price and mine is definitely shot.

 

[homebrewz]

I think there are some serious DIY's here who are up to it. If you do it, make a new thread about the build and how well it works.

If you start cutting into that material, make sure you wear respiratory protection.

 

[tiber]

I think there are some serious DIY's here who are up to it. If you do it, make a new thread about the build and how well it works.

If you start cutting into that material, make sure you wear respiratory protection.

If I do make it, I'll post it. I'll probably sell a few on ebay also to recoup costs.

 

[homebrewz]

Well, there may be certain legal and liability issues around selling something that was originally designed by another company and then using it in a wood burning appliance. I'm just saying.. I see you were in the post where someone talked about what Brian VT did. I'll post it here just for continuity sake.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/42492/

He used kaowool from a plumbing supply store.. looks like thick panels. There are places where you can order refractory board which would probably be the correct stuff. When I was cleaning mine, I broke the shelf that's inside of it and I pieced it back together with sheetrock screws. Seems to be holding up.