So I spent the late afternoon doing wood stove maintenance, mainly cleaning the Catalytic Converter. This is a pretty simple and not very time consuming process that needs doing about once a year. So I didn't finish by dinner, and finished after dinner. Mary: "So, did you get it cleaned." Me:"Oh yes, it's really a fairly easy process that I the factory came up with." * First you get a 2 gallon jug of white vinegar, and a 2 gallon jug of distilled water. * Then vacuum the catalytic converter and tap all the loos ash dust out of it. * Then mix a gallon of vinegar and a gallon of distilled water in a hand pump pressure sprayer. * Then place the catalytic converter is a dish-washing sink tub. * The spray and soak the mixture into first one side and then the other side of the Cat, and empty the waste water out of the tub repeatedly. * Do this until you have used the entire 2 gallon mixture. * Then spray a single gallon of the distilled water rinsing all the final debris out of the Cat. * Then dry the CAT on both sides with a hair dryer. *Reinstall the CAT in the stove." Mary: "All I wanted was a yes, or a no."
I had a greenish tint to the dirty water after this cleaning. ...whatever that might mean. It cleared up, as I did repeated sprayings and then the rinse cycle.
One thing I noticed was the lack of any of that green residue on the CAT in the Absolute Steel. In fact it was so clean I just tapped it out and put it back in the stove. Very little fly ash on/in it as well. Most likely because in the AS it is not directly above the firebox, as it is in the Fireview. Also to note, the radiator/hoodscoop is in fine condition with no warpage at all.
When I saw the name of this thread, I was thinking at first you literally meant "cleaning the cat" because yesterday I had the fun job of brushing all the nappy hair around my cat's neither regions while trying not to get clawed to death.
Yeah, I've seen that on the diesel-foils a couple times. I read somewhere what compound that was but I don't recall now what they said...chromium oxide...just stabbin' in the dark here.
Yes, the thought that came to mind was oxidization. Maybe caused by moisture in the wood. Most of my wood is very good, but some is only a year old, as the rest is 2 or 3 years old.
Now this is a classic case of when a simple warning such as Easy Boys! just will not do- to post stuff like this, you really should use a different color font. I suggest white. and a little But now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, your post has, unfortunately, generated questions. 1) How long do you have to wait between cleanings, er, I mean how often do you have to do this "task". 2) Do you ever find prizes in the..... leavings of the operation? Stuff like diamonds or small slivers of gold you cat may have sat on before the.... task? 3) Do you sell the fur for people to make wigs or something similar? 4) If you burn the 'materials' you recover, that would explain the green water after cleaning the cat. (the catalytic combustor- I cannot imagine the color of what is left after cleaning the cat = pet). 5) Do you and your family have a key word or phrase you use to begin this.... task? 6) If you do have a particular phrase, does the cat recognize it and sharpen his / her claws to get ready? 7) If you buy the cat a nice dinner and then turn the lights down, put on some slow music and speak gently, do you think you could get the cat to enjoy these..... tasks? Brian P.S. I LOVE this forum!
The first steel cats were "diesel-foil." The newer ones are DuraFoil, which (I think, not clear on details) is a different construction and supposed to remain stable. Maybe thicker foil as well? I've seen the diesels shrivel, to the point I had to put extra layers of interam gasket around them to seal them into the cast iron frame. This one is from my Ks. It's in good shape and hasn't shriveled much at all, since I was careful to run it relatively cool...not bright orange. You can kind of see the mounting ears on this Dura. No cast iron frame or interam gasket needed; You lightly bolt them snug to the rope gasket around the opening with the shipping bolts. Dennis, you need to get the low-down on all the differences from your people at the plant. Note the rows going straight, all the way across on the Dura:
And this right here is just why I decided not to buy a cat stove and stayed with the steel secondary combustion tube stoves! Don't wanna clean no stinkin cat!