Have installed two probes in a new Defiant. Neither have worked. Am I missing something, easy installation?
VC Defiant CAT c Catalyst temperature probe
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It has to have a long enough probe to extend into the stove. What probe is being tried out?
This is what the cat thermometer looks like. Note the long probe.
www.woodmanspartsplus.com
This is what the cat thermometer looks like. Note the long probe.
Catalyst Temperature Probe | Vermont Castings Defiant and Encore
Catalyst Temperature Probe for the Vermont Castings Wood Stoves Defiant and Encore Catalytic models and may be compatible with other manufacturers
Thanks for the reply, Both probes are VC Part #30007274 (as the picture you provided) the long probe. Its got me stumped.
really dumb question - are you closing the bypass correct? that probe won't really move until the bypass is closed.
you have the correct probe, I would recommend getting the Auber 100 digital, trust me you will want this to run these Cat stoves from VC.
you have the correct probe, I would recommend getting the Auber 100 digital, trust me you will want this to run these Cat stoves from VC.
From a cold start my recommendation would be medium starter fire with (2-3) 2-3" logs, burn these down to coal, reload 1/2 or full load (depending on your comfort with the stove) and get things going again up to the STT 600 mark, confirm with IR gun or reliable magnetic temp gauge at top of griddle closest to flue as possible . Close bypass dampener - leave air fully open, even if the Cat is bad the probe should react to the temp change in the cat chamber and start to rise. the cat may take 20-30 minutes to light off as the chamber needs time to warm up. The Defiant is a heavy stove that wants lots of coals and will take time to get the stove up to operating temp.
I have the Auber 100 setup on my Encore and below if how I do mine, this is why I prefer the Auber probe, you can really see what is going on behind the scenes.
With the Auber digital my stove will sit cold between 50-70 degrees depending on indoor/outdoor temp with no fire in the box. I light a fire and do a burn down similar to above but with 3-4" maple or poplar for quick heat, typically takes around 30 minutes. By the time this is done STT is around the 400-500 degree mark with the cat chamber is up around 100 degrees without having closed the bypass at all, so I know heat is permeating throughout the stove.
I flip the bypass/keep air open 100% and the temp rapidly rises (3-5 degrees per second) to around 500-600, with a brief stall in rise around these temps while the cat fire off (temps creep up still at 1-2 degrees per second during cat light off), then once the cat takes off temps increase in the 3-5 degree per second. I start cutting back around 800-900 depending on the following factors: size of wood loaded, how quick it is rising, the type of wood I'm burning, and the outdoor conditions (my exterior stack is short and certain winds affect me in bad ways).
I always want the cat to get above 1000-1200 during a burn at a minimum.
I have the Auber 100 setup on my Encore and below if how I do mine, this is why I prefer the Auber probe, you can really see what is going on behind the scenes.
With the Auber digital my stove will sit cold between 50-70 degrees depending on indoor/outdoor temp with no fire in the box. I light a fire and do a burn down similar to above but with 3-4" maple or poplar for quick heat, typically takes around 30 minutes. By the time this is done STT is around the 400-500 degree mark with the cat chamber is up around 100 degrees without having closed the bypass at all, so I know heat is permeating throughout the stove.
I flip the bypass/keep air open 100% and the temp rapidly rises (3-5 degrees per second) to around 500-600, with a brief stall in rise around these temps while the cat fire off (temps creep up still at 1-2 degrees per second during cat light off), then once the cat takes off temps increase in the 3-5 degree per second. I start cutting back around 800-900 depending on the following factors: size of wood loaded, how quick it is rising, the type of wood I'm burning, and the outdoor conditions (my exterior stack is short and certain winds affect me in bad ways).
I always want the cat to get above 1000-1200 during a burn at a minimum.
Mystery solved! Probe worked fine , rising into the acceptable area, and midway when bypass closed and the cat kicks in. However, when fan is turned on, probe temp drops below acceptable range. Air from fan blowing across probe rod cools down rod temp. I turned off fan and cat temp rose again. With the fan on, cat temp in the stove is much higher than the reading on the scale outside, May not use the fan unless it gets really cold (6 Degrees tomorrow night}. House nice and toasty.
Great news! I still recommend the digital probe over analog.
You might be able to do something as simple as wrap the exposed probe in aluminum foil loosely to prevent the convective cooling.
You might be able to do something as simple as wrap the exposed probe in aluminum foil loosely to prevent the convective cooling.
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