Princess cat

[TheElementalCashew]

My stove is a Princess 32, been burning for 2.5 seasons with it using the original steel cat. A typical season for me is 24/7, November-April.
The last month or so I’ve been noticing a lot of smoke from the chimney. With the warmer weather this week, I took the opportunity to let the stove go cold and run the SootEater up the chimney. I had a decent amount of large, flakey creosote come down which is not normal (usually it’s a smaller amount of powder).
This seemed odd, so I decided to pull the cat and check it out, as I have a spare ceramic cat I could put in for now.
I found that on the front face of the cat, the upper 1/3 or so of metal was plugged or nearly plugged with a hard, brown buildup. I also found on the back of the cat that the lower 2/3 or so of the metal was plugged or nearly plugged with fly ash, which was invisible from the front.
I periodically blow canned air into the cat to clear any ash, but this was all invisible from the front. I tried to blow canned air through it while the cat is removed and none of the ash moved. I’m hesitant to try using my air compressor to blow it out, as I’ve read here that can strip the precious metals from the surface.
I picked at the hard, brown buildup on the front of the cat and was unable to remove any gently. Is this a candidate for a vinegar bath?

Any thoughts about what I could do to prevent this? I guess I thought I’d get more than a couple seasons from a cat, but perhaps that is unreasonable considering the amount of low and slow burning I do.
I don’t keep track of wood species, but the wood I burn tests anywhere between 15-20% on a fresh split face, which I check at random.

 

[Todd]

It seems the metal cats are more prone to this and need a little more maintenance during the season. I would try the 50/50 vinegar/distilled water soak and see how it works the rest of the season. If it’s toast at least you have the spare.

 

[stoveliker]

On the other hand, you're at 6 months times 30 days times 24 hrs times 2.5 seasons = 10,800 hrs.
The cat could be nearing the end of its life, which some folks say is 10-12k hrs.

Nevertheless, I'd indeed first see if you can clean the gunk out so it's not clogged anymore. Try another few burns. If that does not show less smoke again, then I'd swap the cat.

I wonder if the flyash gets stuck there once creosote starts accumulating on the surface of the cat?

Interesting half-covering of brown crud. Is the back side fly ash on the same channels that does *not* have crud on the front size?

 

[TheElementalCashew]

On the other hand, you're at 6 months times 30 days times 24 hrs times 2.5 seasons = 10,800 hrs.
The cat could be nearing the end of its life, which some folks say is 10-12k hrs.

Nevertheless, I'd indeed first see if you can clean the gunk out so it's not clogged anymore. Try another few burns. If that does not show less smoke again, then I'd swap the cat.

I wonder if the flyash gets stuck there once creosote starts accumulating on the surface of the cat?

Interesting half-covering of brown crud. Is the back side fly ash on the same channels that does *not* have crud on the front size?

That's true, I didn't do the math on how many hours it's actually been used. I'll probably try giving the cat a bath and see how it looks after. I'll also need to buy some new gasket I suppose, since the old one crumbled on the way out.

It's an interesting phenomenon. On the front where the brown junk is, the back is clear. On the front where it appears clear, the back is clogged with ash. It must have been a real restriction on air passing through the cat, though I haven't had any issues keeping the cat in the active zone.

 

[moresnow]

Another vote for a nice long spa treatment
Followed up with a nice distilled h20 rinse and dry
Let us know how it works out

 

[Highbeam]

That dang gasket costs 20-30$ so is a factor. A new cat is so cheap and has a known 12k hours ahead of it I don’t think I would bother spending any money or time on that old metal one. Removing that baked on gunk won’t be easy on the bench.

Good move switching to ceramic. I’ve used both and prefer ceramic.

 

[Dieselhead]

That dang gasket costs 20-30$ so is a factor. A new cat is so cheap and has a known 12k hours ahead of it I don’t think I would bother spending any money or time on that old metal one. Removing that baked on gunk won’t be easy on the bench.

Good move switching to ceramic. I’ve used both and prefer ceramic.

There’s a guy on a BK FB page I follow that runs automotive header wrap on his cat, says it fits well, is cheaper than interam, and is reusable inbetween cat cleanings. Not a bad idea...

 

[Highbeam]

There’s a guy on a BK FB page I follow that runs automotive header wrap on his cat, says it fits well, is cheaper than interam, and is reusable inbetween cat cleanings. Not a bad idea...

View attachment 325351

Fortunately for me, my ceramic cats in my installation never get an accumulation until they start to die so I have no need for a reusable gasket but I would consider a reusable gasket to be superior engineering. Woodstock doesn’t require one time use gaskets and they still work pretty well I’ve heard.

 

[shoot-straight]

That dang gasket costs 20-30$ so is a factor. A new cat is so cheap and has a known 12k hours ahead of it I don’t think I would bother spending any money or time on that old metal one. Removing that baked on gunk won’t be easy on the bench.

Good move switching to ceramic. I’ve used both and prefer ceramic.

20-30$ for gasket? I bought some a few years ago but that's insane. I just Looked and yea it's insane.

 

[Dieselhead]

Fortunately for me, my ceramic cats in my installation never get an accumulation until they start to die so I have no need for a reusable gasket but I would consider a reusable gasket to be superior engineering. Woodstock doesn’t require one time use gaskets and they still work pretty well I’ve heard.

Yea I never pull mine either, I’m on season 3. I’ll, get one in the off season to have on the shelf as I’m about up on hours.

 

[Highbeam]

Yea I never pull mine either, I’m on season 3. I’ll, get one in the off season to have on the shelf as I’m about up on hours.

After seeing supply issues over the last several years I would definitely recommend having your next cat on the shelf ready to go.

 

[TheElementalCashew]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I have the new ceramic cat in now and the stove is running perfectly again with no smoke.

I started to pick at the old metal cat in preparation to give it a vinegar/water bath, and parts of the metal grid began to separate. I'm just going to write this one off and pick up another ceramic cat to have on the shelf for a couple years down the road.