Potential Green Mountain 80 Buyer - Cleaning?

[JPinnell]

Old Burner needing a bigger stove. Grew up with Ashley Convection type. Fisher Papa Bear and other smoker dragons. I've got a wood furnace in the workshop. I try to keep my supply 3yrs ahead as we mostly burn red oak.

Been running an Englander 13NC for the last 17yrs for 1400sqft in MidMo. House addition will double the space, but I really don't expect the heat to get everywhere. So needing something to cover 2200-2500sgft. High/vaulted ceilings in the Kitchen/Dining/Fam area which is approximately 1000sqft. This little guy has been reliable as a hammer, occasional gasket or baffle board. Easy to clean from the bottom up. I usually clean the flu at the start, mid Jan, then end of season and at worst see a gallon or so of flaky black creosote.

So we went stove shopping. Wife wants something nicer looking than a black steel box. CAT stoves were not on my radar, but she likes the looks of the GM80. My concerns are maintenance? Looks like a set of replacement Cats is $700. I've read about ash blocking them and needing dusted/vacuumed.

Is the GM80 handyman serviceable? Or a maintenance hog?
Can I run a soot eater easily up from the bottom and it is a 30 minute job? Or is it a 4hr stove gets half disassembled?
Expected service life on the cats?

Thanks everyone!!

 

[Dajolu]

I have the 60, I need to take my stove pipe off to clean because it has a 90 deg. bend. I think if with the baffle boards out you may be able to run the soot eater up through the bypass? I don't burn much, usually just for some ambiance at night on the weekend. Maybe burned 1/3 of a cord last year and one of the two cats was half clogged with ash. Not clogged bad though, came out easy with the vacuum. I plan to check and clean the cats monthly this year. I have enjoyed my Hearthstone so far.

 

[neverstop]

Cat design leaves a lot to be desired. Stove require a lot more draft than other similar "hybrid" stoves. I wouldn't want to send a soot eater up through my stove (have the Shelburne). I remove the flue off the stove and go in via that. I only sweep once a year though, not much build-up. I could probably do every other.

 

[GM80NY]

I have a gm80 and i dont know how flexible the rods are for the soot eater but I think its unlikely you will be able to stick it through the bypass to clean the chimney. The angle is pretty sharp. Might just ruin your rods.

I usually start burning beginning of Nov but this year Late Oct got pretty cold. I clean the chimney usually in Jan and then end of the season maybe April. Theres usually about an inch or so of flakey creosote built up in the cleanout Ts door.

The Catalysts: last few years I thought it was playing in the ash too much that was clogging the cats. This year im seeing if I can get the draft to slow down earlier to see if that might be why they clog up. I usually need to hit them every month and a half.

Mine was installed in Feb of 2021 and I havent had to replace my cats yet and they dont look all burnt out and the honeycombs inside still look in great shape. No warping or deformation. I am curious to try the smoke difference test (engaged vs disengaged) this year though.

I am happy with the Green Mountain 80 and have learned a lot.

Also you can keep wood pretty close to it to dry it out when you bring a bunch inside. Ive had 0 signs of any wood near it charring