Bought this thing for a dollar at an auction earlier this year. Made in VA/WVA, the inventor died apparently and although I have the instructions for it, the address and phone numbers listed in Conway Arkansas don't appear to be active anymore. It appears to be well made,, but before I install it in my Defiance MAster's Choice 32 system, I need the wisdom of the group as to whether this is a good idea for this stove and secondly, how to test it to make sure the ceramic plates are intact and functional.
When I got it it had a decent amount of creosote internally, but the unit does disassemble easily and the cat unit is easy to get to. I scraped all the creosote out that I could and used a Scotchbright pads to get at the tight areas. Nothing sticky, just mostly flaked off. I have the original instructions for installation but was wondering what the group thought of this unit in particular as well as the general adding on of these units. I realize that adding this unit, assuming it's safe to do so, will require additional babysitting of the fire and burn temps, but wondering if the pollution control and additional heat retention within the building will be worth the efforts. Thanks for any info you folks can provide.
DM&FS![[Hearth.com] "IN TENSE SI FIRE" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/172/172911-645e3cac2df07cb436a72050d1011e58.jpg?hash=9cbqruHSkM "[Hearth.com] \"IN TENSE SI FIRE\" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??")
![[Hearth.com] "IN TENSE SI FIRE" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/172/172912-1bc86b7255c62ea513e6c3b482c4f1d0.jpg?hash=RAd5I8dkdS "[Hearth.com] \"IN TENSE SI FIRE\" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??")
![[Hearth.com] "IN TENSE SI FIRE" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/172/172913-98228646ee7b9e5d8780311f4b4f3ccd.jpg?hash=vFZSMFRjwK "[Hearth.com] \"IN TENSE SI FIRE\" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??")
![[Hearth.com] "IN TENSE SI FIRE" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/172/172914-ebe41d0d5a055cd67fee86012b6aee7c.jpg?hash=2Fy7EJnDb5 "[Hearth.com] \"IN TENSE SI FIRE\" CATALYTIC DAMPER?? GOOD IDEA??")
When I got it it had a decent amount of creosote internally, but the unit does disassemble easily and the cat unit is easy to get to. I scraped all the creosote out that I could and used a Scotchbright pads to get at the tight areas. Nothing sticky, just mostly flaked off. I have the original instructions for installation but was wondering what the group thought of this unit in particular as well as the general adding on of these units. I realize that adding this unit, assuming it's safe to do so, will require additional babysitting of the fire and burn temps, but wondering if the pollution control and additional heat retention within the building will be worth the efforts. Thanks for any info you folks can provide.
DM&FS
