Intrepid II temperature on stove top?

[pki1980]

Hi,

I have an Intrepid II (the danica casing) and im not sure when to switch to catalytic mode. The only way for me to measure the temperature is on top of the stove , I usually get this up to around 225 Celsius and when i switch to catalytic mode i see that most of the flames go into the combustion chamber and i hear a "roar" and some clicking. However there is still smoke coming from the chimney when i go out to have a look, its hard to see but when its cold it looks mostly white at least.
How hot can you have the stove without it beeing a problem? I have measured stovetoptemp up to around 320C sometimes and im not sure if this is normal or not (in catalytic mode).

Im not sure how it is supposed to look, but when in catalytic mode i was under the impression that the flames would almost be invvisible but i still have a pretty normal fire even though its not as intense as when in bypass mode.

Another question about the chimney smoke, when i lower the burnrate i can see this from the chimney, the smoke is "slower" and seems to fall down to the ground more and its smells more compared to when in bypass mode, normal or not?

Any input is appreciated!

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Hello and welcome to the forums. How old is your stove? You really need three thermometers for these VC cat stoves. Stove top thermometer in the middle of the griddle top, flue thermometer, and a cat probe thermometer. In short, run your stove with primary air all the way open. When flue temps are between 300-400 degrees close damper. This is where a probe thermo for the cat comes in. Once my cat temps hit 900 degrees I start to close my primary air in increments until I am cruising at my desired cat temps and griddle top temps. 600 degrees on the griddle top is reserved for really cold temps for me. I like to cruise my griddle temps between 400-500 degrees. Usually when I get to 3/4 to fully closed on my primary air there is no flame in the box. Just glowing coals. If your chimney exhaust is white and disappears within 15' or so it's probably steam. Head over to the VC owners threads and read the last few years of posts. There is lots of information there. And always feel free to ask questions. Someone will be by to answer them.
P.S. all my temps are listed in Fahrenheit

 

[begreen]

A stove top temp of 320C/600F is not unusual and within normal operating parameters.

How old is the catalyst in this stove?

 

[pki1980]

A stove top temp of 320C/600F is not unusual and within normal operating parameters.

How old is the catalyst in this stove?

Hello and welcome to the forums. How old is your stove? You really need three thermometers for these VC cat stoves. Stove top thermometer in the middle of the griddle top, flue thermometer, and a cat probe thermometer. In short, run your stove with primary air all the way open. When flue temps are between 300-400 degrees close damper. This is where a probe thermo for the cat comes in. Once my cat temps hit 900 degrees I start to close my primary air in increments until I am cruising at my desired cat temps and griddle top temps. 600 degrees on the griddle top is reserved for really cold temps for me. I like to cruise my griddle temps between 400-500 degrees. Usually when I get to 3/4 to fully closed on my primary air there is no flame in the box. Just glowing coals. If your chimney exhaust is white and disappears within 15' or so it's probably steam. Head over to the VC owners threads and read the last few years of posts. There is lots of information there. And always feel free to ask questions. Someone will be by to answer them.
P.S. all my temps are listed in Fahrenheit

Hi

Actually I moved in to the house just 6 months ago so i have no idea how old the catalyst is and the previous owner is not easy to get hold of. After a chimney sweep i vacuumed the chamber and catalyst and it looked visually ok, no cracks or warping from what I could tell. Maybe it would benefit from boiling in vinegar if there are any dirt that couldn´t be removed just by vacuuming?
Yesterday I tried closing the primary air all the way but the fire was still burning after 5 minutes so i guess that is a sign that there is air still entering the stove somehow? Since it is in the danica cabinet I think it is quite hard to inspect with something like a flashlight to see if there is any obvious leaks, the one thing i can see is that when in catalytic mode there still looks like some of the flames are going up so maybe the "ropes" (sorry, from sweden so cannot recall the english word for it) creating airtight sealing might be bad? I have tested the connections with paper and then close it and its stuck so i think that is a sign that they are in good or at least decent condition.
However i noticed that there were 2 of these small metallic "rods" that was in the stove when i cleaned it, about 1,5-2 inch long and the look like they are some kind of cement/putty. I think they have are from the top corners where the back and sideplates inside the stove are connected and they look like they have fallen apart. Could this be where the air is sipping in?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Hi

Actually I moved in to the house just 6 months ago so i have no idea how old the catalyst is and the previous owner is not easy to get hold of. After a chimney sweep i vacuumed the chamber and catalyst and it looked visually ok, no cracks or warping from what I could tell. Maybe it would benefit from boiling in vinegar if there are any dirt that couldn´t be removed just by vacuuming?
Yesterday I tried closing the primary air all the way but the fire was still burning after 5 minutes so i guess that is a sign that there is air still entering the stove somehow? Since it is in the danica cabinet I think it is quite hard to inspect with something like a flashlight to see if there is any obvious leaks, the one thing i can see is that when in catalytic mode there still looks like some of the flames are going up so maybe the "ropes" (sorry, from sweden so cannot recall the english word for it) creating airtight sealing might be bad? I have tested the connections with paper and then close it and its stuck so i think that is a sign that they are in good or at least decent condition.
However i noticed that there were 2 of these small metallic "rods" that was in the stove when i cleaned it, about 1,5-2 inch long and the look like they are some kind of cement/putty. I think they have are from the top corners where the back and sideplates inside the stove are connected and they look like they have fallen apart. Could this be where the air is sipping in?

Do they look like wedges?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Do they look like this?

 

[pki1980]

Do they look like this?

Hi sorry for late answer, but no they look like they are more of a metalpaste of some kind. From this picture you can see where they are located in the rear topleft area and that they look like they now are "broken" where my paint skills have marked

Im still having clear bright flames while in bypass mode, I can control it a bit since when I max out the airintake the fire gets stronger but I cannot get the flames to vanish by closing the airintake.
I have replaced the gasket for the door, I think it should be fine since I tested it with the dollarbill test but maybe that could still be where the stove gets to much air? Do you know what size the gasket for the door should be?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Can you verify the primary shutter is closing all the way? If it’s a cable system like my encore then the handle can open and close all the way but if there is an issue with the cable or shutter the primary air may not shut all the way. There could also be an obstruction preventing it from closing all the way. Another thing you can try is take a bright flashlight or shop light and put it in the stove at night (cold stove obviously) and see if you can find light escaping from any seams. Let’s see if we can get @defiant3 to chime in and give us some professional assistance.

 

[pki1980]

Hi ok, I can try to see if the cable is obstructed in any way. I cannot really use the flashlight metod i think since my stove is built into what is called "the danica" cabinet
However i know that there is a Intrepid II installed in this cabinet, I will attach a picture since its over my head to explain this in english So the thing is i have this cabinet around the intrepid II which makes it harder to see if any leaks are there..
I got the manual for this as well, and the primary air is now adjusted with the controllever on the left side and this lever has a cable attached going on the backside of the stove (but still inside of the cabinet) to where this adjustment is usually handled in the right backside.