Could this be harmful to my catalytic combustor?

[ohlongarm]

Stumbled upon this Friday by chance,had a large coal bed of cherry coals in the stove after about a twelve hour burn,as I was raking the pile to the front to get them to where I could push the smaller ones into my ash pan,I accidently pulled the plug from the ash pan loose and to the side .Now mind you I had a hefty pile of red hot cherry coals in there,well it looked like someone stuck a blowtorch through the ash pan opening.All this occured while the bypass was open.So I raked the pile to the front,left the cap to ash pan off,the cat was still at active zone closed the bypass,opened the air all the way,and talk about heat,this inferno burned for almost 3 hours real heat and the cat stayed well into the active zone. Question can this additional air influx damage the cat?only have did this one time,the coal bed turned into baby powder in 3 hours,gone.

 

[webby3650]

Of course it's bad. So you knew the plug was dislodged and you kept burning that way, and then let er rip on high for 3 hours?
It's harmful to run any stove with ashpan "open".

 

[Squisher]

Is that when you got those stove top temp readings of 737 in your other thread?

 

[Highbeam]

Yes, you could have overheated the cat, stove overall, and also small bits of the stove belly subject to the blast furnace heat you created. If you want you can remove the ash plug loop to prevent this in the future.

 

[webby3650]

Yes, you could have overheated the cat, stove overall, and also small bits of the stove belly subject to the blast furnace heat you created. If you want you can remove the ash plug loop to prevent this in the future.

It doesn't really sound like an accident. If I read it right, it started as an accident then was left to rip intentionally.

 

[shoot-straight]

many on here act like I'm crazy for not using the ash plug. An open ash plug-intentional or not is bad news.

I prefer to stay out of the fray

 

[webby3650]

many on here act like I'm crazy for not using the ash plug. An open ash plug-intentional or not is bad news.

I prefer to stay out of the fray

Ya, you are crazy!
I love the plug, it's so easy to use. Never had any issues at all.

 

[shoot-straight]

Ya, you are crazy!
I love the plug, it's so easy to use. Never had any issues at all.

Like a fox

 

[Highbeam]

many on here act like I'm crazy for not using the ash plug. An open ash plug-intentional or not is bad news.

I prefer to stay out of the fray

It's not that you don't use it. You use it all the time to keep the hole plugged!

 

[weatherguy]

I would think it's similar to burning with a leaky door gasket, a real leaky door gasket.

 

[Highbeam]

I would think it's similar to burning with a leaky door gasket, a real leaky door gasket.

Or an open ash pan drawer on one of those designs with a grate under the fire and sealed ash pan.

 

[bholler]

Or an open ash pan drawer on one of those designs with a grate under the fire and sealed ash pan.

Yes just asking to cause serious damage to that stove which supposedly cant be hurt.

 

[Highbeam]

Yes just asking to cause serious damage to that stove which supposedly cant be hurt.

That's dumb, you can hurt any steel plate stove with a cutting torch.

 

[bholler]

That's dumb, you can hurt any steel plate stove with a cutting torch.

Yes I know that but on one of his previous threads when I expressed a concern that he could be over firing his stove I was assured that there was no way at all that a bk could be hurt by over firing. He has just show us how it can be done

 

[BrotherBart]

Why warp the bottom of the stove to have a blast furnace. Just crack the door open an inch.

 

[Highbeam]

Why warp the bottom of the stove to have a blast furnace. Just crack the door open an inch.

I don't think that that would be nearly as effective as blasting the stream of air through a deep bed of coals. All of the air would just flow over the fuel.

 

[webby3650]

Yes I know that but on one of his previous threads when I expressed a concern that he could be over firing his stove I was assured that there was no way at all that a bk could be hurt by over firing. He has just show us how it can be done

No, the statement was that a BK can't be hurt from overfiring IF the door is sealed and the bypass is closed. This is totally different than opening a huge hole under the coals and turning it into a forge! I know you are aware of this, just making sure others do too.

 

[bholler]

No, the statement was that a BK can't be hurt from overfiring IF the door is sealed and the bypass is closed.

Well the statement was not qualified with those conditions but you are right I did assume that at the time and you are good to clarify it. But I dont remember anything in that thread bout any conditions just that the thermostat would protect the stove from over firing so there was no danger of damage.

 

[tarzan]

The thermostat controls the amount of air entering the stove so of course if you introduce an uncontrolled source of air your defeating the function of the thermostat.

 

[bholler]

The thermostat controls the amount of air entering the stove so of course if you introduce an uncontrolled source of air your defeating the function of the thermostat.

Yes I know that but not everyone does. Which is why I thought it was wrong in the other thread that people were saying that there was no danger at all of overfiring a bk. Yes as long as everything is working as it should ect the thermostat should protect the stove but people do things wrong as shown in this thread and things break.

 

[tarzan]

Yes I know that but not everyone does. Which is why I thought it was wrong in the other thread that people were saying that there was no danger at all of overfiring a bk. Yes as long as everything is working as it should ect the thermostat should protect the stove but people do things wrong as shown in this thread and things break.

Actually, from what he stated, I don't think he overfired his stove but easily could have running with the ash plug out.

Your were proven right though, I suppose for my part I expected a certain level of knowledge from a veteran wood burner.

 

[bholler]

I suppose for my part I expected a certain level of knowledge from a veteran wood burner.

Yes I knew that if everything was working right and if it was being operated correctly it should be ok. But obviously from this thread he does not always operate it correctly and not everyone who comes here is a veteran wood burner. So I have a problem with a blanket statement like you cannot overfire a bk stove without including all of the limitations on that like ash pan sealed and bypass closed ect.

 

[ohlongarm]

Is that when you got those stove top temp readings of 737 in your other thread?

You think tht's too hot temp taken center stove just above the door.

 

[Squisher]

No. I was just surprised at that output level.

 

[ohlongarm]

Stumbled upon this Friday by chance,had a large coal bed of cherry coals in the stove after about a twelve hour burn,as I was raking the pile to the front to get them to where I could push the smaller ones into my ash pan,I accidently pulled the plug from the ash pan loose and to the side .Now mind you I had a hefty pile of red hot cherry coals in there,well it looked like someone stuck a blowtorch through the ash pan opening.All this occured while the bypass was open.So I raked the pile to the front,left the cap to ash pan off,the cat was still at active zone closed the bypass,opened the air all the way,and talk about heat,this inferno burned for almost 3 hours real heat and the cat stayed well into the active zone. Question can this additional air influx damage the cat?only have did this one time,the coal bed turned into baby powder in 3 hours,gone.

Case closed won't do that again the stove was only at 575 during this deal,remember just a coal bed width of stove about six inches high ,maybe ten in depth.