new-to-me Dutchwest catalytic stove

[twd000]

I just moved into a house in Southern New Hampshire a month ago. It is a Colonial-style, bedrooms upstairs, living area main floor, 80% finished basement. There are two cords of split and stacked hardwood in the yard, and a huge Dutchwest 2462 in the basement. I downloaded the owner's manual from Vermont Castings and read it over. I'm looking for some opinions on the condition of the stove, and tips on burning this winter.

 

[begreen]

It doesn't look to be in bad shape. The cat is breaking down and may need replacement.

Note that heating from a basement with uninsulated block walls is going to waste a lot of wood. A third of the heat is heading right out the walls and not up into the house. That means one cord out of three is wasted heating outdoors. The solution is to insulate the basement walls or move the stove upstairs.

 

[Grisu]

Is there are stainless steel liner in the chimney?

2 cords is not a bad start but when you are seriously considering to use the stove a lot for heating those will get you barely through the upcoming winter. I highly recommend to get the wood for the following winter stacked that is has time to dry at least one year. (And two would generally be better.) Don't rely on wood being advertised as "seasoned". It rarely has been split and stacked for more than a few weeks.

 

[branchburner]

Welcome to the forums. I had a friend with an older version of that stove, and it served him well for years. But after being stored poorly and getting a bit ragged, we couldn't get $100 for it. It's now sitting in my backyard growing rust, and in hindsight I wish I had rescued and restored it myself.

The good news is, you got a DW cat instead of their infamous non-cat. I'd suggest buying a new combustor, keep posting here for tips, and search the old threads for additional info. Nice that you have some wood all ready to go, because cat stoves like WELL-seasoned wood. One tip you will hear here plenty: don't burn anything cut/split/stacked for less than a full year (2-3 for oak).

 

[twd000]

It doesn't look to be in bad shape. The cat is breaking down and may need replacement.

Note that heating from a basement with uninsulated block walls is going to waste a lot of wood. A third of the heat is heading right out the walls and not up into the house. That means one cord out of three is wasted heating outdoors. The solution is to insulate the basement walls or move the stove upstairs.

Do you think I can get a burning season out of this cat, or do I need to replace it now?

The un-insulated block wall you see is the center chimney that runs through all three floors. The foundation walls are insulated and drywalled in the room containing the stove. The heat loss shouldn't be too bad, but it remains to be seen how much heat will make it up to the upper floors.

 

[twd000]

Is there are stainless steel liner in the chimney?

2 cords is not a bad start but when you are seriously considering to use the stove a lot for heating those will get you barely through the upcoming winter. I highly recommend to get the wood for the following winter stacked that is has time to dry at least one year. (And two would generally be better.) Don't rely on wood being advertised as "seasoned". It rarely has been split and stacked for more than a few weeks.

Not sure about the liner. Does that involve me climbing on the roof?

I've started scrounging wood for next season. I'll primarily be using propane this season since I'm getting a late start, but I want to put the woodstove through a test to help me plan for next year. I also have two open fireplaces on the main floor, coming off the same center chimney. I may investigate moving the DW up there, or buying a new stove to put on the main floor.

 

[Grisu]

Not sure about the liner. Does that involve me climbing on the roof?

Either you or a chimney sweep. Has the chimney been cleaned and inspected before the closing?

I also have two open fireplaces on the main floor, coming off the same center chimney.

Have that looked at to make sure you have 3 separate flues in the chimney. Putting a stove/insert on the main floor would certainly give you more heat there.

The catalyst looks pretty bad. For a few occasional fires it may still work but I doubt you will get close to the actual efficiency the stove was designed for.

 

[twd000]

Either you or a chimney sweep. Has the chimney been cleaned and inspected before the closing?


Have that looked at to make sure you have 3 separate flues in the chimney. Putting a stove/insert on the main floor would certainly give you more heat there.

The catalyst looks pretty bad. For a few occasional fires it may still work but I doubt you will get close to the actual efficiency the stove was designed for.

The inspector found some creosote and recommended I get it cleaned. I will have a chimney sweep come out in the next month or so, to do the cleaning and inspect the flues / liner.

Which cat / combustor should I be looking at? I understand there are ceramic and stainless steel versions? Condar brand is the way to go?

Can anyone make some general comments about the vintage of this stove, and how it compares to more modern catalytic stoves? If I replace the cat, what sort of efficiency and particulate output should I expect? What about burn times? It has a large firebox (2.9 cubic feet). Can I expect 10-12 hour overnight burns in winter? Can I burn low and slow in shoulder seasons?

 

[fox9988]

@Woody Stover has a DW, maybe he will be along shortly to comment.

 

[twd000]

Oh, and the crumbly ceramic "shroud" over top of the catalytic honeycomb - what is that piece called? Do I need to replace that too? It looks like both the shroud and the cat have a hole in the center, which aligns with the temperature gage. The temperature gage doesn't look like it is long enough to protrude down into the shroud, but is it possible that's what caused the damage?

 

[begreen]

By shroud do you mean the refractory cover? If it has a hole in it that may be why the cat failed. Start a conversation with Woody Stover. That will trigger an email to him. He knows this stove.

 

[twd000]

refractory cover, got it. Yes, I tried to show the hole in my 4th photo. The holes seem to be aligned. I'll ping Woody. Thanks

 

[begreen]

Hard to see from the picture but it looks like the refractory is still pretty much intact, but maybe I am not looking at the right part. I don't have this stove so it would be better to speak with someone like Woody who knows it well.

 

[twd000]

is this the right catalyst to buy? http://catcombustor.mybisi.com/product/model-consolidated-dutchwest

 

[begreen]

That doesn't look right and the price makes me suspicious. This is the one for your unit.
(broken link removed to http://www.woodstovecombustors.com/dutchwest_new.html)

 

[twd000]

thanks. And the consensus is that the steel version is worth the extra $50 ?

 

[begreen]

There is not a blanket concensus that I know of. Steel cats started showing up 2-3 yrs ago. They have some advantages including better resistance to thermal shock. How they will work long term is TBD. Construction quality of the cat is an important factor. There's a lot of discussion in the BK threads about the differences and benefits of each. Here's a recent discussion.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/steel-catalytic-combustor-for-a-blaze-king-ultra.145687/

 

[Woody Stover]

Can't tell from the pic but as long as the refractory doesn't have any big chunks out of it, you should be OK there. The cat thermometers eventually erode away at the tip, and yours may be overdue for replacement. As long as the tip about is 1/2" from the surface of the cat, it should give accurate readings. I'll check the one I put it recently and see how long it is. It's a Condar and they're cheaper than the OE replacement. If you want to tackle it, you can get a gasket set here: (broken link removed) The combustor might be OK, you'll have to try it with some DRY wood and see how it does. I'd have a backup in stock, though. I was thinking of trying the DuraFoil cat from Woodstock...should hold up very well. it's 6x2" and should fit: http://store.woodstove.com/product.php?productid=16207&cat=265&page=1 I won't deal with Clear Skies since they ripped me; Ordered 2 cats but only received one. Repeated attempts at resolution were ignored. I put the one I got in my SIL's 2460 so I'll see how it holds up..

 

[tcassavaugh]

i bought that model stove long ago and i have that stove in my basement. its no longer connected. i went to a summit a few years ago downstairs and a small jotul upstairs. I had to replace my cat in the 2462. i tired both the ceramic and the steel one. i prefer the ceramic. i think i got mine from black swan. the stove works well with dry seasoned wood. not so good with unseasoned wood a trait pointed out earlier with lots of stoves. there are features i like about it like the ash bin and the side loading doors. I've had earlier models of VC/Dutchwest that worked well too. I think i had an Adirondack extra large years and years ago. i went with the 2462 because the other worked so well. the 2462 worked ok but it was hard to heat both the upstairs and downstairs with it. i have @ 2400 sq ft, 1200 each floor, thats why i went with a bigger stove downstairs but it just went through too much wood trying to heat the whole house when it got much below 25. i used almost a third again more wood when i run just downstairs in the basement. it takes a couple of days to bring everything up to temperature. i had installed some corner fans to help move the heat but not sure they worked any better than plain old convection movement. i also have a drop ceiling so i removed a panel or two when i had it running to get up between the ceiling and the upstairs floor.
the medium sized jotul f3 cb does well for us when someone is around to feed it. it has a relatively short burn time. my wife and i go to work about 4 hours between us so i feed it when i leave, she stokes it when she leaves for work and its still burning a little when i get home. the basement is mostly under ground. it hasn't gotten under 55 through the milder maryland winter, although outside it did get into the low teens the basement remained pretty warm. only when it was going to be real cold both day and night did i fire up the summit. good luck. i think you can get the replacement parts and do well. key is, get seasoned wood....and a moisture meter so you can check the stack or the person that delivers to be sure.

 

[twd000]

OK, the chimney sweep is here and providing a wealth of information. The woodstove was installed with a 10" oval liner, and everything looks to be in good shape. He is cleaning all 3 flues, and I will order the replacement catalyst and refractory. The tag on the stove says 1990..I understand there was a significant design evolution of catalytic stoves after 1993? What are those differences, and is it a reason not to rehab this stove?

 

[twd000]

We did notice one other thing that I missed when I first opened the top. Note picture #6, the bracket that connect the damper plate to the damper rod is spalling pretty severely. It looks to be a design flaw where the bracket touches the hot catalyst when the damper is open. Is this a safety issue, or can I continue to use it in this condition?

 

[twd000]

update: I installed a new catalyst and refractory cover and started a fire last night. So far so good. I got it up to temperature then engaged the catalyst . Was able to burn 8 hours overnight with an inch of coals left over in the morning.

I reloaded it this morning before heading off to work, and noticed that there was thick white smoke wafting out of the chimney. Likely that I prematurely engaged the cat. I did not reinstall the catalyst temperature probe because I could see that it was the reason there was a hole punched through the old refractory cover. So my questions are: how can I measure the catalyst temperature, and how low is too low to smolder the fire? Can I shoot the stove top with an IR probe and add X degrees to guesstimate the catalyst temperature? Can I choke the air intake back so much that there are just a few flames in between the logs, or do I need every split to be fully engulfed before engaging the cat and making the final airflow adjustment?