Dutchwest 2461

[VCBurner]

The maple will be fine if split when the snow is gone, stack it where it will get mid day sun on the side of your row, cover your rows with sheet metal roofing making sure to weigh the metal down so the wind dosn't blow it off.

If I were you, I would get it all split up and stack it so it's all mixed together, then when you do use it next year when you fill your wood box you should get some of each spicies. One big semi-seasoned oak split in the back of the stove mixed with some birch or maple in the front can be a good way to get a good long burn. As your stove will burn from the front to the back, when the fire reached that big chunk in the back it will be ready to give up all it's btu's.

" I like the tip about the wood placement in the stove. Makes complete sense! I'm laid off, so I can start to cut and split one tree/species at a time. I'll stack them in layers so that it'll be easier to access multiple species at a time. Starting with the oak. Getting them out of the woods will not be easy with the snow but it'll get me in shape."

 

[FireWalker]

The maple will be fine if split when the snow is gone, stack it where it will get mid day sun on the side of your row, cover your rows with sheet metal roofing making sure to weigh the metal down so the wind dosn't blow it off.

If I were you, I would get it all split up and stack it so it's all mixed together, then when you do use it next year when you fill your wood box you should get some of each spicies. One big semi-seasoned oak split in the back of the stove mixed with some birch or maple in the front can be a good way to get a good long burn. As your stove will burn from the front to the back, when the fire reached that big chunk in the back it will be ready to give up all it's btu's.

" I like the tip about the wood placement in the stove. Makes complete sense! I'm laid off, so I can start to cut and split one tree/species at a time. I'll stack them in layers so that it'll be easier to access multiple species at a time. Starting with the oak. Getting them out of the woods will not be easy with the snow but it'll get me in shape."

I didn't mean to suggest that you sort by species as this would be extra work.......just mix everything up then stack it, when you are bringing in an armload next year just look for second or two for that big piece of oak then mix in some other stuff for your load. When I grab wood off the stack to burn in my next load I'm working off a row that is 14 feet long so I can walk around a little and pick what I want. Usually goes something like this.......one big round for the back, then 2 splits of oak for the middle from over here then one more split of maple from right here and I'm off tho the wood box next to the stove.

 

[VCBurner]

The maple will be fine if split when the snow is gone, stack it where it will get mid day sun on the side of your row, cover your rows with sheet metal roofing making sure to weigh the metal down so the wind dosn't blow it off.

If I were you, I would get it all split up and stack it so it's all mixed together, then when you do use it next year when you fill your wood box you should get some of each spicies. One big semi-seasoned oak split in the back of the stove mixed with some birch or maple in the front can be a good way to get a good long burn. As your stove will burn from the front to the back, when the fire reached that big chunk in the back it will be ready to give up all it's btu's.

" I like the tip about the wood placement in the stove. Makes complete sense! I'm laid off, so I can start to cut and split one tree/species at a time. I'll stack them in layers so that it'll be easier to access multiple species at a time. Starting with the oak. Getting them out of the woods will not be easy with the snow but it'll get me in shape."

I didn't mean to suggest that you sort by species as this would be extra work.......just mix everything up then stack it, when you are bringing in an armload next year just look for second or two for that big piece of oak then mix in some other stuff for your load. When I grab wood off the stack to burn in my next load I'm working off a row that is 14 feet long so I can walk around a little and pick what I want. Usually goes something like this.......one big round for the back, then 2 splits of oak for the middle from over here then one more split of maple from right here and I'm off tho the wood box next to the stove.

"Yeah, that sounds easier. I'll just cut and pile all mixed then stack all mixed. Just another quick question Firewalker: how much did you heat with the DW and how much wood did you burn? I started burning in October we had a cold month and a snow storm. We had 5.25 cords and have gone through 3.71 leaving us with about 1.56 for the rest of the season. Right now we have two old stoves that don't mind burning some green wood. OK to burn a cord of green, if I cut and split now and mix with my seasoned mix? I'm heating close to 1,800 ft2 and don't want to burn any oil for heat! Thanks for all your help Firewalker!
Chris"

 

[FireWalker]

1. I thought you ment the wood you were going to cut and split now was going to be for next year not to burn green this winter! Geez.

2. Explain to me how much wood is a cord because if what you are saying is true, you have already used the same amount of wood I use in a whole heating season (we are just coming into the heart of the heating season) and I'm heating roughly the same number of square feet with only one stove.

3. I have tried to heat with geen wood and for me with the stoves I had, well let's just say I burned a lot more oil that year. I would consider mixing in maybe up to 20% green wood if your other wood is truly dry but this is not a great solution. Maybe your old stoves work ok with green wood but mine won't heat worth a darn.

4. My DW and my Equinox seem to use roughly the same amount for the season.......4 cords. I have a strange way of figuring my usage for the year, I start to get comfortable once I exceed 100 feet of wood stacked 4 feet high or roughly 4 cords. My stacks for some reason are 12 feet long down at my wood area. In late fall, I move it all under cover and then rebuild all my stacks with my newly cut and split wood for the next year. My 2 story log home is 2000 sf (not including full basement) is by no means tight, we have some heat loss issues that I am working on. Windy cold nights for us are tough and require extra effort with the stove (a few more splits and a hotter fire). Thank goodness my new stove is up to the challenge, My old DW just reached its limit and that was all it could do. My 1st floor is mostly open and the stove is roughly in the center. I suppliment my wood heat with oil hot water in floor radiant heating and burn through about 350 gallons of oil per year (1 1/2 tank). My basement is unfinished and hovers just above 40 degrees for the coldest part of the winter.

 

[Pine Knot]

I agree with Firewalker's observations.If you are burning less than seasoned wood put it in the back on the bottom with dry on top and in front. It seem to release it's moisture more slowly there and has less of a damping effect on the fire. It will be the last peice to burn and will provide the hot coals used to restart the fire.

 

[FireWalker]

None of this sound like it would work well in a DW cat stove as the OP asked about. You still considering buying the used stove (DW) and using it this season?

 

[VCBurner]

1. I thought you ment the wood you were going to cut and split now was going to be for next year not to burn green this winter! Geez.

2. Explain to me how much wood is a cord because if what you are saying is true, you have already used the same amount of wood I use in a whole heating season (we are just coming into the heart of the heating season) and I'm heating roughly the same number of square feet with only one stove.

3. I have tried to heat with geen wood and for me with the stoves I had, well let's just say I burned a lot more oil that year. I would consider mixing in maybe up to 20% green wood if your other wood is truly dry but this is not a great solution. Maybe your old stoves work ok with green wood but mine won't heat worth a darn.

4. My DW and my Equinox seem to use roughly the same amount for the season.......4 cords. I have a strange way of figuring my usage for the year, I start to get comfortable once I exceed 100 feet of wood stacked 4 feet high or roughly 4 cords. My stacks for some reason are 12 feet long down at my wood area. In late fall, I move it all under cover and then rebuild all my stacks with my newly cut and split wood for the next year. My 2 story log home is 2000 sf (not including full basement) is by no means tight, we have some heat loss issues that I am working on. Windy cold nights for us are tough and require extra effort with the stove (a few more splits and a hotter fire). Thank goodness my new stove is up to the challenge, My old DW just reached its limit and that was all it could do. My 1st floor is mostly open and the stove is roughly in the center. I suppliment my wood heat with oil hot water in floor radiant heating and burn through about 350 gallons of oil per year (1 1/2 tank). My basement is unfinished and hovers just above 40 degrees for the coldest part of the winter.

"I like how you organized your answers so I hope you don't mind me copying this effective method:

1. Yes I was going to cut next year's supply now. But, as I mentioned, I'm going through a lot of wood and could run out and will run out before the season ends. As a result, I may try to use some green to supplement the seasoned wood that's left.

2. I'm curious to compare our wood consumption. It seems that we may have two different ideas of what a cord is. What I consider a cord is 4 ft wide, 8ft long and 4ft high or 128 cubic feet. I just multiply the length, width and height OF THE STACKS to achieve the total cubic feet then divide it by 128 to caculate in cords how much I have. (WIDTH*LENGTH*HEIGHT/128) You say your stacks are 100 feet and 4 feet high, so I don't understand how you calculate it. What's the width, length, and height of yous stacks? As I said, my two stoves are old and not efficient. The Surdiac in the basement throws the most heat and maxes out at 36,000BTU's but only burns for less than 3 hours. It has a 17"w by 10"d by 12"h firebox or 1.1 cubic feet. It has a broken glass door, bad gaskets and broken thermostat. If I put new glass, and gaskets it would heat up to 1,600 sq ft. and would last 5 hours on a load. It's a better coal stove than a wood stove. The stove upstairs is in the livingroom is an antique camp style box with the two cooking burners on top (pictured in my Avatar). It is not meant to heat too much more than the livingroom and adjacent halway. It's not airtight but radiates a lot of heat when hot. Together they heat 1,760 square feet.

3. I have heated the house solely on wood this year. Not a smidge of oil. We consumed about 30gallons to heat the hot water for showers and sinks. The house is well insulated. We lose heat from the windows that are single pane with outside storms. I don't think I've used too much wood to heat the space, we've had almost 1.5 months of bellow 30 temps. Some days as low as single digits. But you could understand why I want a more efficient stove. I believe with the dutchwest I'll be able to heat the whole season with just over 4 cords.

4. I have a deposit on the large Dutchwest. But have not picked it up yet. If I do pick it up I will not burn green wood in it this year. I'm also looking into a better looking/efficiecy stove for the fireplace.

Thanks again Firewalker, you've given me a lot of usefull information. Keep on burning!!

 

[VCBurner]

I agree with Firewalker's observations.If you are burning less than seasoned wood put it in the back on the bottom with dry on top and in front. It seem to release it's moisture more slowly there and has less of a damping effect on the fire. It will be the last peice to burn and will provide the hot coals used to restart the fire.

"Pine Knot, how much wood have you used this season, so far? How much space are you heating with your DW large cat again? Would you purchase the same stove again? "

 

[Pine Knot]

I have used about a third of my well seasoned wood so far. I'm sorry I can't give you a more precise amount, but here on the farm I cut and split until the pile looks about right, then I quit. My house is about an average sized well insulated split level 3 bedroom. It has a heat pump with a constantly running circulating fan. My stove is in the lowest level. The stove keeps the heat pump off until temps. drop below twenty except for early morning hours.
Would I buy the same stove today? As I indicated in my earlier post this stove does things that I like. Steady even heat, After the cat is engaged, very little need to adjust controls, clean, and so far no problems. But this stove seems to have a very bad rep. with many here on this foram, and I think if I was buying a new stove that would have to be considered.
Besides those Woodstock Fireview's look awfully good

 

[VCBurner]

I have used about a third of my well seasoned wood so far. I'm sorry I can't give you a more precise amount, but here on the farm I cut and split until the pile looks about right, then I quit. My house is about an average sized well insulated split level 3 bedroom. It has a heat pump with a constantly running circulating fan. My stove is in the lowest level. The stove keeps the heat pump off until temps. drop below twenty except for early morning hours.
Would I buy the same stove today? As I indicated in my earlier post this stove does things that I like. Steady even heat, After the cat is engaged, very little need to adjust controls, clean, and so far no problems. But this stove seems to have a very bad rep. with many here on this foram, and I think if I was buying a new stove that would have to be considered.
Besides those Woodstock Fireview's look awfully good

" Hey Pine Knot,
I agree with you about the Woodstock Fireview. They do sound very nice. They also cost about $2,400. I could heat my house with oil for two years for that much. Burning wood, for me, is about saving money too.
I've researched this and other sites about the large DW cat and found that very few people have problems with the cat version of the DW. I've also found lots of stove owners who have problems with more reputable stoves. The truth is stoves are not indestructible. Hot fires can do major damage to even to the most durable stoves. It's up to the operator to monitor and learn the proper way to burn in any stove. Most stoves, even new ones, can have problems because of human error. Each stove is individually built and assembled often by a human so they can differ from one another even in the same model.
Of course, there's always the cat or non cat argument. Some people swear by it, some dislike it. Then, there are those who hate Vermont Castings! I'm not the kind of consumer who turns against a brand as a whole because of hear-say. Almost like people who won't buy Ford because "they are crap," so they swear by Chevy. But you can't possibly say that all Chevy's are better than all Fords.
I drive a Dodge! But, I may buy a Ford or a Chevy in the future.
So, to sum things up. I'm going to buy a rebuilt Large Convection Dutchwest Cast Iron Catalytic Wood Stove model 2461. I can't wait to get it home and install that beautiful piece of machinery. Maybe then I can join the rest of the happy Dutchwest owners such as your self. So be a proud DW owner and forget about the chit chat! Thanks for your time. Keep on burnin' "

 

[VCBurner]

I have used about a third of my well seasoned wood so far. I'm sorry I can't give you a more precise amount, but here on the farm I cut and split until the pile looks about right, then I quit. My house is about an average sized well insulated split level 3 bedroom. It has a heat pump with a constantly running circulating fan. My stove is in the lowest level. The stove keeps the heat pump off until temps. drop below twenty except for early morning hours.
Would I buy the same stove today? As I indicated in my earlier post this stove does things that I like. Steady even heat, After the cat is engaged, very little need to adjust controls, clean, and so far no problems. But this stove seems to have a very bad rep. with many here on this foram, and I think if I was buying a new stove that would have to be considered.
Besides those Woodstock Fireview's look awfully good

" Hey Pine Knot,
I agree with you about the Woodstock Fireview. They do sound very nice. They also cost about $2,400. I could heat my house with oil for two years for that much. Burning wood, for me, is about saving money too.
I've researched this and other sites about the large DW cat and found that very few people have problems with the cat version of the DW. I've also found lots of stove owners who have problems with more reputable stoves. The truth is stoves are not indestructible. Hot fires can do major damage to even to the most durable stoves. It's up to the operator to monitor and learn the proper way to burn in any stove. Most stoves, even new ones, can have problems because of human error. Each stove is individually built and assembled often by a human so they can differ from one another even in the same model.
Of course, there's always the cat or non cat argument. Some people swear by it, some dislike it. Then, there are those who hate Vermont Castings! I'm not the kind of consumer who turns against a brand as a whole because of hear-say. Almost like people who won't buy Ford because "they are crap," so they swear by Chevy. But you can't possibly say that all Chevy's are better than all Fords.
I drive a Dodge! But, I may buy a Ford or a Chevy in the future.
So, to sum things up. I'm going to buy a rebuilt Large Convection Dutchwest Cast Iron Catalytic Wood Stove model 2461. I can't wait to get it home and install that beautiful piece of machinery. Maybe then I can join the rest of the happy Dutchwest owners such as your self. So be a proud DW owner and forget about the chit chat! Thanks for your time. Keep on burnin' "

"Oh, Pine Knot, what a beautiful stove you got there!"

 

[Pine Knot]

My comments about the Fireview were more admiration than recommendation.

 

[kevinmerchant]

I am going on my third season with a small dutchwest cat 2460. The only thing I don't like about it is its not the large. I'm heating 2500 + sqft with it plus another smaller avalon insert. Both sit in fireplaces. I find the cat very easy to light off. Have gotten to start as low as 250 degrees reading on the internal temp. Love the side door and ash tray, with going as long as 5 days continues 24/7 burn before dumping ash. Full load - 6hrs with little effort on going again. Top it off ...it was free from a customer of mine and looked like they had less then a handful of fires in it. You say its a rebuild. How much do they want or did you buy it for. If you decide you don't like it I'll trade you my avalon :cheese: .

 

[VCBurner]

My comments about the Fireview were more admiration than recommendation.

" I figured as much. I admire those stoves too. On a different subject, how's your wood consumption going? Almost half way through the season and I've gone through 4 cords already(4*4*8) ! I might have to turn to coal if I run out of wood. "

 

[VCBurner]

I am going on my third season with a small dutchwest cat 2460. The only thing I don't like about it is its not the large. I'm heating 2500 + sqft with it plus another smaller avalon insert. Both sit in fireplaces. I find the cat very easy to light off. Have gotten to start as low as 250 degrees reading on the internal temp. Love the side door and ash tray, with going as long as 5 days continues 24/7 burn before dumping ash. Full load - 6hrs with little effort on going again. Top it off ...it was free from a customer of mine and looked like they had less then a handful of fires in it. You say its a rebuild. How much do they want or did you buy it for. If you decide you don't like it I'll trade you my avalon :cheese: .

" It sounds like you may need an extra large!! The guy I'm buying it from has one for sale. He's asking $900 for a rebuilt extra large Dutchwest cat. His prices are negotiable but seem somewhat fair for brand new looking stoves. I looked all over for stoves and was amazed at the quality of work he puts into rebuilding. He's a stove installer by day so he can get the parts at discount rates. The stoves are all taken appart and rebuilt with new gaskets and cement. Some have new parts that needed to be replaced. So, compared to other stove renovators his prices seem fair. Can you email me some pics of your avalon? My name is Chris, my wife is [email protected]"

 

[VCBurner]

Just figured I'd touch back and update the topic. I have started to post all the new developments with the stove on another thread.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/53337/
there you will find a more detailed account of what has happened over the last year with this stove. It has been just a couple of weeks less than a year since I brought the stove and I'm very happy with the performace of this stove. One thing I've learned about catalytic stoves is that they can be damaged by either overfires or poor quality wood. The catalyst can be damaged by thermal shock, a result of putting cold or frozen wet wood into a hot firebox with the cat engaged. The shock created by the quick temperature change can cause the cat to crumble faster than the 6-10 year life expectancy. Most common substrate in the combustors is ceramic. The new development in the cat world is a stainless steel cat. They light up faster (with lower temperatures,) thus increasing the stove's efficiency. I have a new steel cat arriving soon.

I had the stove installed in the basement as soon as I got it home. The end of the last heating season was full of learning experiences for me with the DW. There were only two of the so called "backpuffs" last year. The wood I was using was not very well seasoned. It was ready for this season , but not last year. I ran out of wood and started burning some of this years supply. Despite the greenish wood I was able to heat the house beautifully from an unfinished basement. The total heated space was 1750 sq ft. The stove is rated to heat up to 1600 sq ft. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the heat output. The burn times were also good, especially compared to the old Surdiac's 5 hours between re-loads. We can easily achieve 9 hours between re-loads with good heat output during the cycle. I have yet to test this stove in perfect conditions. The cat was used and needs to be replaced. The wood is still not as good as it should be. But the stove is still producing plenty of heat. I don't understand how people burn these stoves out and warp parts inside of them. One way I could see this happening is if the operator doesn't have any thermometer on the side door or flue pipe. Downstairs I had a flue pipe thermometer and operated the stove according to those temps.

The stove has since been brought up to the main floor. As of November 30th, we have seen a decrease in wood consumption and increase in heat in our main floor! This came at a price. We had some downdrafts due to the short chimney and tall pines that surround it. The downdrafts occured during the December Nor'easter. Not too often after that, but strong winds can sometimes cause this. I was aware of this fireplace being fussy with high winds, so I can't blamre the stove for this shortcoming. I plan on lining the flue and adding a section of class A pipe to the top of the chimney. I also want to test out a vacu stack to reduce the down draft effect due to the tall trees. Aside from these few occurances, the stove has more than surprised me with its performence. The past weeks have brought us temps as low as -14 f. overnight. The stove kept the house above 68f on an overnight 8-9 hour load.

My advice to any person looking to buy a stove is this: never buy a stove that is rated to heat exactly the space you intend to heat with it. Especially if you intend on heating only with your stove. You will end up pushing the stove beyond its limits and shortening its life. Buy a thermometer for your stove, so you know what's going on inside it. Looks can be deceiving. If you have a cat and don't have a probe thermometer, get one to see what goes on with the cat temps. If you want yopur cat stove to last, burn clean dry wood. If you want to get the proper heat out of any stove, burn clean dry wood. Asd far as the Dutchwest, I would easily recommend it to anyone. It is easy to operate and put out lots of heat if you feed it, install it and operate it well

I forgot to mention wood consumption. We used 7 cords last year with two pre EPA stoves. This year we will use about 4 cords with the Dutchwest.