Cleaned Keystone Cat Today

I think but im not positive this was the original cat that came with the stove I bought in 2010. I had two Keystones and did some cat swapping and experiments between the two.

Anyways this cat has taken a beating the last couple Winters. I burn it pretty hot mid winter to keep the house mid 70's and lately I noticed I needed to give it more and more air to keep it burning hot so today I decided to take her out for a cleaning.

 

Looks like it was due but I've never seen a ceramic in person.

 

She was a little dirty and had some crumbling on the face. Almost looks like flame impingement in some spots. I ran a pipe cleaner through each cell and blew her out.

 

It could probably last the rest of the season but I went ahead and ordered a new steely from Woodstock.

 

Gonna' burn it after the cleaning just to see if it helped?

 

This what it looked like after I clean it. The lighter spots are the crumbling spots on the front face, they're maybe a 1/16" deep.

 

Yep, she's back in there and its better but definitely not 100%.

 

I think you'll like the new SS cat, especially during it's hyperactive stage.

 

Yeah, i think it will hold up better and be a little more efficient. Ceramics may burn a little hotter but that may be what caused my crumbling. I've hit 700+ more than a few times.

 

Correct, the new cats don't use a frame. I kept my old frame also just in case.

 

Todd, I loved the ceramic cat on my Fireview. Never had to clean it, worked fine for many years. I replaced mine, never having cleaned it, after about five years. It had started to crumble. Five years without requiring a moment of care and saving me a ton (literally) of wood a year, made the price of a new cat inconsequential. My Fireview is retired, replaced by my PH, but it sits in a corner of the family room (no flue in the room), with a relatively new cat on board, and a brand new back up in a dresser. Never know when I may want to use the stove. I'm certainly not going to get rid of it.

 

Sounds like your Fireview served you well Sherwood, I kinda miss mine and wish I kept it like you.

I don't mind replacing a cat every couple years, the benefits outway the cost as far as I'm concerned.

 

I cleaned the cat in my PH last week, I noticed the same as you, I had to give it more air to keep it hotter, in fact I could leave the air slightly open and the stove would stay at 500-550. In the past I would have to close the air all the way or it would overheat. Wherever I turned it down it would peak 75 degrees higher from that point.
Needless to say it was clogged with fly ash, cleaned it off and it's running like New again.
Not sure what the other Woodstock manual say but the PH manual says clean the cat every 4-6 weeks, I went 8 this time but from now on I'm going to do it every 6 weeks.
On another note I checked my cap for buil up, it was as clean as the first day I started burning the PH.

 

Todd: I thought you missed the ashpan so that's why you sold the FV. Why do you miss the FV, did it have better burn times? Although knowing you it's just time for a change

You should run the old cat through a vinegar wash. It really wakes up my SS cat.

 

I've had this from a dirty air scoop screen but haven't let the cat get that dirty yet. Of course either could cause it.

 

I should have mentioned I cleaned the screen too, its a bugger to get back in since I can only get one hand in there but I ended up using an ash shovel to hold it in place while I slipped the middle pin in.

 

So glad I removed my screen.....

 

The ash pan was one of the reasons I got rid of the Firewiew for another Keystone but I miss the looks and the slightly larger fire box as well. Your right about me, I like to change out stoves too often.

Once I install a steel cat I'll probably incorporate a vinegar wash as part of my yearly maintanance but I'm not sure doing it with the ceramic cat and all that gasket material. Those gaskets are very brittle and I'm afraid it will disinegrate.

 

I would not think of using a vinegar wash on the ceramic. Not needed either.