Cleaning the Catalytic

[Ravenvalor]

Greetings Fellow Hearthlings,

I have been enjoying my Fireview since 2008 thanks to the friendly advice received from the members of this forum.

Could someone tell me the best method for cleaning my catalytic?
Also, can someone recommend a good replacement catalytic brand for when this one needs to be replaced?

Thanks to all. I have not been to this forum in a while. I hope all is okay. Have a Happy New Year

Jim

 

[fire_man]

How to clean:

1: Remove Cat from stove and let it cool off so you can touch it comfortably
2. Use a vacuum cleaner attachment that has a small brush (upholstery cleaner brush) and vacuum both sides of cat
3. Put cat back
4. Done

I would not look any further than Woodstock for the replacement cat. Their prices are the best and you know you are getting the right part.

 

[Ravenvalor]

How to clean:

1: Remove Cat from stove and let it cool off so you can touch it comfortably
2. Use a vacuum cleaner attachment that has a small brush (upholstery cleaner brush) and vacuum both sides of cat
3. Put cat back
4. Done

I would not look any further than Woodstock for the replacement cat. Their prices are the best and you know you are getting the right part.

fire_man,

Thanks for the tip. I am definitely concerned about quality when buying the catalytic.
About the cleaning, it would be nice to slide something inside those little holes. If not then maybe a high powered shop vac to pull the stuff out?

Best To You!

Jim

 

[fire_man]

Those holes should not be very clogged if you are using dry wood and engaging the bypass properly (waiting for hot enough cat temp). I think the new SS cats have VERY small holes that are tuffer to poke something into. I've heard some people use pipe cleaners (those twisty fuzzy things kids play with) to clean out Ceramic Cats. I have never done more than use the house vacuum. Some just brush the surface with a soft brush, I always felt better vacuuming.

 

[Ravenvalor]

Those holes should not be very clogged if you are using dry wood and engaging the bypass properly (waiting for hot enough cat temp). I think the new SS cats have VERY small holes that are tuffer to poke something into. I've heard some people use pipe cleaners (those twisty fuzzy things kids play with) to clean out Ceramic Cats. I have never done more than use the house vacuum. Some just brush the surface with a soft brush, I always felt better vacuuming.

I will keep that in mind. Thanks fire_man.

 

[leeave96]

If your cat was new in 2008, you should have more mileage in it yet. Your cat will be ceramic too. The main thing is to be careful. Don't want to blow compressed air in it or vacuum to hard. You may find your cat with some cracks - normal, but if you are not careful and your cat has some flame impingement, it may want to crumble a bit - just be careful. Also no need to take the cat out of the holder to clean. The good news is your Woodstock is one of the easiest access for cleaning the cat in a stove.

As for a replacement, I replaced my ceramic cat with the new stainless from Woodstock and very much like it. I think the best deal on these cats if from Woodstock, last time I checked they were about $125. With everything going-up, I may buy an extra one and beat the inevitable price increase.

How do you like your stove after several years of use? I think you got a great stove!

Good luck,
Bill

 

[HotCoals]

I hear the all the neat expensive stuff can wear off the cat..but still look good..I dunno.

 

[Ravenvalor]

If your cat was new in 2008, you should have more mileage in it yet. Your cat will be ceramic too. The main thing is to be careful. Don't want to blow compressed air in it or vacuum to hard. You may find your cat with some cracks - normal, but if you are not careful and your cat has some flame impingement, it may want to crumble a bit - just be careful. Also no need to take the cat out of the holder to clean. The good news is your Woodstock is one of the easiest access for cleaning the cat in a stove.

As for a replacement, I replaced my ceramic cat with the new stainless from Woodstock and very much like it. I think the best deal on these cats if from Woodstock, last time I checked they were about $125. With everything going-up, I may buy an extra one and beat the inevitable price increase.

How do you like your stove after several years of use? I think you got a great stove!

Good luck,
Bill

Bill,

I like the stove alot. This is the first time that I ever used wood to heat and it has been great. I even ran it lightly today even though the high was in the mid 50's. No use running the gas furnace. When I ran it today It only got up to about 250 degrees, so I engaged the combustor and set the damper to one and let her alone. I use the top of the lever as my gauge (meaning, I set the top of the damper handle to one). The Fireview heats up my entire 1400 sqft home. I have it set in the livingroom against the hallway and the bedroom walls. In order to get the heat to the back of the house though it has to go first away from the back of the house, then go through a doorway and then back down a 20' hallway before it gets to the bedrooms. It handles all of these twists and turns like a champ.

How do you like your Woodstock?

Jim

I appreciate the good advice.

 

[leeave96]

Bill,

I like the stove alot. This is the first time that I ever used wood to heat and it has been great. I even ran it lightly today even though the high was in the mid 50's. No use running the gas furnace. When I ran it today It only got up to about 250 degrees, so I engaged the combustor and set the damper to one and let her alone. I use the top of the lever as my gauge (meaning, I set the top of the damper handle to one). The Fireview heats up my entire 1400 sqft home. I have it set in the livingroom against the hallway and the bedroom walls. In order to get the heat to the back of the house though it has to go first away from the back of the house, then go through a doorway and then back down a 20' hallway before it gets to the bedrooms. It handles all of these twists and turns like a champ.

How do you like your Woodstock?

Jim

I appreciate the good advice.

My Woodstock is without a doubt the best stove I've ever used or laid eyes on. BTW, we use the top of the lever surface as our mark for damper settings too.

Bill

 

[sam_j]

Why not use compressed air to clean to combustor? If you kept the pressure low what would be the damage?

 

[leeave96]

Why not use compressed air to clean to combustor? If you kept the pressure low what would be the damage?

On the ceramic combustors, it doesn't take much to cause them to crumble - especially after they get some age on them. My view is compressed air is a no-no. Having said that, I've never had my cat's so dirty that it took anything other than a light vacuum to clean them. I've never had one plugged either. The only thing I have had to clean was fly ash.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[VCBurner]

Hello and welcome back,
I had to sell my cat stove last August and miss it a lot! I too jist vaccumed it off with a brush attachement. In my experience there was never anything but fly ash on it. Im a big fan of the Woodstock stoves, maybe someday!!
As far as purchasing a cat, I found one on Ebay for $50, thanks to forum member raybonz. A once in a lifetime deal, it was a stailess steel catalyst, what an upgrade! Though, I only used it for half a season then had to move and sold the stove. Woodstock has the best prices on them as far as I know.

 

[rdust]

A good read for caring and maintaining the cat can be found on the Condar page. Condar maintenance

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Greetings Fellow Hearthlings,

I have been enjoying my Fireview since 2008 thanks to the friendly advice received from the members of this forum.

Could someone tell me the best method for cleaning my catalytic?
Also, can someone recommend a good replacement catalytic brand for when this one needs to be replaced?

Thanks to all. I have not been to this forum in a while. I hope all is okay. Have a Happy New Year

Jim

Jim, we clean our cat once in mid winter (when we have a thaw) and again during the normal summer cleaning. We burn about 3 cord per year.

We do not wait for the cat to cool much but just let the coals burn down quite a bit. Wearing welder's gloves, we just reach in and lift the cat out. I take it out onto the porch and brush it with an old paint brush. There is never very much to brush off though thanks to our dry wood. Replacing the cat, make sure you have it in right. There is a lip on one side and that should face the rear of the stove. You do not have to replace those 2 shipping bolts. Total time for cleaning the cat is from 2 - 4 minutes.

We replaced our ceramic cat this year and have had the stove since 2007 so this is our 5th year. So far, the SS cat is much better than the ceramic cat. As for where to buy, I say get it from Woodstock.