Condar CAT keeps dying!

[imacheezhead]

I'm have a CDW Federal Airtight. I just can't get my Condar CATs to last for a full season. When new they work great. I can achieve temps (on the probe) of 1200 deg. or better, but then after about 1 month performance begins to drop off dramatically to about 800 deg. and then I begin to have trouble even getting that! I try to do everything very carefully. I make sure I never overfire the stove. I use only well seasoned wood (mostly Oak).

I start the fire or reload an old one and give it a little primary air and wait for the probe to indicate 500 deg. or better and then close off all dampers. The temp starts to climb fairly quickly to 1250 deg. and remains there for for quite some time and then starts dropping off until I do another reload. This is when the CAT is new. After a month or so it becomes harder and harder to achieve decent CAT temperatures.

I never had a CAT crumble on me. They always look fine with only a coating of ash on them and never any creosote. I tried a steelcat once and it didn't last long either.

Can somebody give me an idea what the problem could be?

 

[HotCoals]

All cats are very sensitive when new.
Have you tried a vinegar/water bath?
Another thought ,does the cat stay snug where it lives?
I'm guessing you have a by-pass..is it sealing well when shut?
Is your draft good at low burn?
A new cat could get by with those probs for awhile.

 

[cannon]

Did I read that right temps, 2100deg. or higher? Condar website says not to burn over 1500deg or you could damage the combustor.
http://www.woodstovecombustors.com/Operation_Tips.html

 

[Ashful]

You're destroying your cat, running those temps. The catalyst will begin to delaminate from the ceramic around 1700 - 1800F. At 2100F, it's no surprise you're seeing failures within a year.

 

[imacheezhead]

Woops! Sorry. That's a typo! It's supposed to be 1200 deg. I corrected it.

 

[imacheezhead]

All cats are very sensitive when new. I haven't tried the bath yet, but I was thinking about doing that to one of my old CATs to see what happens.
Have you tried a vinegar/water bath?
Another thought ,does the cat stay snug where it lives?
I'm guessing you have a by-pass..is it sealing well when shut?
Is your draft good at low burn?
A new cat could get by with those probs for awhile.

I do have excellent draft and the bypass door seals good. The Condar CAT has a fiberglass seal that makes it impossible for gasses to get around it. Is this all I should expect out of it? I'd like to know what other people are getting for CAT temperatures.

 

[Ashful]

Most often right around 1500F in the early part of the burn, but anything 1050 - 1700 is not uncommon, here.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

look carefully for the air inlet that feeds in under the cat. you may be getting ash in the way restricting this airflow which is necessary for the cat to stay lit properly and not get plugged up

 

[Woody Stover]

look carefully for the air inlet that feeds in under the cat. you may be getting ash in the way restricting this airflow which is necessary for the cat to stay lit properly and not get plugged up

My Dw 2460 has the air distributor for a separate air supply to the cat. The Fireview and Keystone do not. I plan to put the Dw back in soon, and will play with that cat air to see what I can learn (I need a new distributor first.) The Woodstocks and the Buck 91 don't use separate cat air, so maybe the air wash injects air differently to feed the cat? Not sure of the setup on Joful's Jotuls....

 

[Woody Stover]

Woops! Sorry. That's a typo! It's supposed to be 1200 deg. I corrected it.

That's generally what I recall seeing on the Dw probe....