Maybe a stupid question?

[Tyandmacsmom]

Good morning,
This may be a stupid question, so please don't flame me for asking:

I have a Woodstock Fireview wood stove, and after cleaning it out this a.m. I noticed that I will probably need a new combustor for it in the fall. So here is my question: Do you HAVE to use a combustor with these stoves? I understand efficiency and the extra output of heat, I was just curious if it was a choice to use one or not. I do plan to purchase a new combustor, I'm just looking for a good deal on one online. Does anyone have a company that is reliable and cheap to recommend?

Thanks in advance,
Miranda

 

[firefighterjake]

Paging Backwoods Savage and Todd . . . paging Backwoods Savage and Todd . . . please report to Customer Service.

 

[firefighterjake]

Folks here are pretty friendly most of the time Miranda . . . unless the orderlies forget to come buy with our prozac . . . . . . so we generally don't give folks a hard time -- well I give Backwoods Savage a hard time about his insisitence on splitting his wood vertically with his splitter vs. horizontally . . . but that's about it . . . and that's just friendly banter . . . perhaps one day Dennis will see the light . . .

I think it would be safe to say that while you could probably technically get away without using the catalytic combuster (from what users say when you run the stove before it heats up enough you have bypassed the cat anyways) I suspect that most folks will say doing so is not good since it would waste wood, not be efficient and would not burn cleanly. I know if I had a cat stove I would want to run the cat simply because it would allow me to burn more efficiently . . . in the same vein of thought . . . while I could burn wood with my air control all the way open and never utilize my secondary burn in my own stove that uses secondary combustion . . . I would not want to do so . . . simply because I worked hard for that firewood and by gory I want all the heat I can get out of it.

As for buying combustors I suspect the Woodstock Gang will be along shortly to tell you where they get their combustors . . . if memory serves me right Woodstock now has a different combustor which some of the Woodstock folks seem to be quite excited about.

 

[Tyandmacsmom]

Thank you for the friendly reply! I really appreciate it. Besides being bummed I have to replace a part, I have to say: woodstock stoves are AWESOME. I'm really bad about cleaning my ashes out (literally, only do it about one time per month), but it is amazing.

 

[certified106]

I have burned predominately cat stoves before my latest trip off of the band wagon and I agree with everything Jake is saying. Yes you can burn without the cat in the stove but essentially you are just turning your efficient wood stove into a smoke dragon. Even if your cat is less than good I would still leave it in until the new cat arrives.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hi MirandaB and welcome to the forum.

As you have already found out, one of our resident fire fighters also has a lot of air and still has not learned the proper way to split wood. However, to get to your question, I would definitely not want to run the stove without the cat except for a short fire where you did not want much heat. During the winter months you certainly would not get as much heat from the stove. You would have to close the bypass in order to get much heat which would send the smoke up as if the cat was in place. You might find a very dirty stove when you next open that lid and you also will be cleaning your chimney a lot.

Cats are not that expensive and also have a guarantee. If your cat is not that old perhaps you can get a replacement from Woodstock with a reduced cost, possibly even just the cost of shipping the cat. I believe they are around $100 and one of the best parts now is that the new steel cats are in which means you can engage the cat sooner and we hope they will also last much longer. The first reports sound very encouraging. So I would highly suggest you give Woodstock a call.

That is amazing that you clean ashes only once per month. I don't think a Fireview would the amount of ashes we get but the worst is that you can not get as much wood in so that can have a big effect on how much heat you get. How do you clean the ashes?

Remember that cleaning ashes does not have to be a dirty job and there is absolutely no reason anyone has dust when emptying ashes. The key is to handle ashes like something very fragile. Move very slowly and do not overfill the shovel. Gently put the shovel into the ash container and then very slowly slide the shovel out from under the ashes. Never dump the ashes from the shovel. Always slide the shovel out from under the ashes. Done this way there will be no dust. One other thing you might try is to get one of the ash holders from Woodstock as those are perfect as they fit right at the right height of the firebox door and it also has a lid. It is very heavy so you don't have to worry about sitting that hot thing outside as it won't tip over. It is still best to not sit it on a flammable surface though.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Miranda, how long have you had your Fireview?

 

[Fsappo]

Dont not use it without a cat. I also suggest looking at the steel cat version. Dont cheap out on such a large, important and excellent investment which is what a Woodstock product is.

 

[Tyandmacsmom]

I've had my fireview for about 6 years. We had a Vogelzang box stove before that (ugh, not that it was bad stove as far as heat output goes, but there is no comparison to the soapstone.)

I usually run the stove all day long, and then we kind of bank it before bed and usually when my husband wakes up he just rakes the coals and gets it going again. I have been lucky about the ashes; not this past winter but a couple of winters ago we had crap wood we were burning (we didn't realize it was bad wood until last year when we got "good" hardwood...BIG difference.) I used to have to clean the ashes once a week, but with good wood I get about 3 inches of ash and then I scoop and dump it. We get a lot of ice here (in Vermont) so I use the ash in my yard. Burning from the end of September until about a week ago, I literally only filled three 5 gal. buckets with ash; I don't think that's too bad considering the last month and a half of burning I had to go back to the crappy wood because we ran out of the good stuff. We probably only went three or four days total over the winter where we didn't fire up the stove.

 

[begreen]

Hope you have several cords of wood for next season already split, stacked and drying. As you've discovered, dry wood is the key to good heat.

 

[firefighterjake]

See Miranda . . . I told you folks would be along shortly . . . and that they would be both friendly and informative.

 

[Todd]

Give Woodstock a call, you won't find a better price for your cat anywhere else. Since yours is 6 years old you will have to pay full price at $125. A new one is well worth the price when you figure in the extra heat output and fuel savings. I actually think it's illegal to burn a cat stove without a cat but I don't know who would enforce it?

You may also want to check your gaskets? Woodstock has a gasket replacement kit for all their stoves for about $40 I believe.

 

[Trktrd]

Don't go cat-less. I tried it once and the stove went nuclear and I had no control of the fire. With my particular stove, it's like putting a muzzle on a mad dog. Makes it controllable and safe. Not to mention efficiency.