How do you maintain the best catalyst performance?

We run a woodstove with a combustor (not going into any mfgs or stove makers please) and would like to know how you have taken care of yours.
A little food for thought:
1. Just take it out and brush
2. Blow out ash gently with compressed air
3. Vinegar wash
4. Your own treatment

From our experience, there seems to be a direct relation between how well seasoned our fuel is and how we run our stove. This will sound too obvious to those of you that burn cat stoves. We are just curious to ask others if they have a better way. Cats are not cheap and we want the longest life before replacement.

 

I vacuum mine every couple weeks when burning full time
vinegar bath 1 or 2 times per year

I get about 3-4 years Max burning 24x7, looks like I need a new one now but I'll wait for it to get colder and get a better draft first.

 

I got a handheld bellows as a gift. That seems to blow out the cat nicely and gently.

 

I brush and vac both sides of the Cat each month if not more. Only run dry fuel. Always bake a fresh load wide open to get everything good and hot before turning down for the long haul. Never reload except when the house is saying its ready. Not necessarily because the stove is getting low visually. Seems that reducing the times I open the loading door on a hot Cat makes sense. Dunno. My theory. I always get a restart on coals alone. No kindling. Seems to be working.

 

I run two. Every month or two I will switch them out. The old one gets vacuumed and then rinsed. Then a vinegar splash and rinsed with water.

 

I have a new Sirocco. Manual says to replace the gasket with each removal of the cat. How can it be vacuumed and cleaned without a supply of gaskets?

 

The BK design cat can be vacuumed in place from the front. Use the flexible section of the shop vac hose. If you need to remove it for some reason, you need a new gasket. They are easily purchased at the same place that sells cats, about 7$ each. I don't ever need a gasket because I don't remove the cat until it's dead and needs replacement and the replacements come with a new gasket preinstalled.

I have found no need or benefit of catalyst "maintenance" other than brushing off the face of the cat with a soft bristled paint brush so that I can inspect the cells easier. I use a ceramic cat with big cells compared to the tiny cells of a steel cat so I don't have cloggage issues. It also helps that my chimney draft is within spec and I burn mostly on low settings so flow rates are low which prevents sucking excessive ash into the cat.

When a cat gets worn out after 10-12k hours it will start to accumulate a bit more fuzz on the cat face. The cats are actually relatively cheap and easy to buy and replace. I have found maintenance to try to eek out a few more months is counterproductive. Just pop a new one in. I also don't clean oil filters on my car engines.

Things I do that prolong cat life is to keep a tight door seal. The introduction of cold, non preheated door leak air is the major cause (95% according to BK) of premature cat failure. Of course, all of my fuel meets the dryness spec of sub 20% (actually very low teens) and is not covered in snow. Burn complete cycles.

 

Good info. Thanks! Do you brush because vacuuming only removes some of the particulate? Would it be better to first brush to loosen then vacuum?

 

I do what Backwoods Savage does, because he says something and it’s easier to just copy it! Except keeping my bedroom at 80 in winter! Only because my wife gets too hot and won’t snuggle BUT hey I’m keeping my wife

 

Number one priority.
Well Seasoned wood!

I brush with a chip brush and vacuum about 3-4 times per year as the cat gets slow to light off.

 

You forgot to mention your burn times.
What do you mean by burn complete cycles? Burn a load complete before refueling? This would negate the need of opening the load door until stove has cooled.

 

I wonder if even more cleanings like this would help even more? I mean more than 3-4, more like 2-3 times a month or even once weekly.

 

Idk
Do you change the air cleaner in you car more often than recommended to make it run better?
Clean is clean.

 

So I guess my question to you then is each time you clean it, just how dirty is it? Not trying to be an smart butt, but it’s hard to quantify (for those that have never dealt with a stove like this) clean without pictures or a more detailed explanation of when it needs to be cleaned.

When you clean it those times, does it need to be cleaned or are these cleanings more cautionary than anything else?

 

The cat doesn't really appear "dirty". There's just a little ash sticking to it, mostly on the bottom side where you don't see it till you pull it out.
(Kinda like a dirty screen on a window)

You can tell when it "needs" cleaned by the extra time the cat takes to "light off" and when you're not hitting the usual high STT .

No offense taken, Hoyt. Please don't think i was being a smartazz. It's kind of hard to explain and pictures wouldn't really show you much difference. It's just a dusty film of ash, but it must insulate the cat enough to keep it from lighting.

 

This is a cat that maybe should get cleaned

 

No offense taken. Just making sure and being cautious so that I didn’t appear that way. LOL!

Often times I find some read black and white words and get the sense more was meant than what was written. That is, they often get their panties in a wad for no reason.

Your post above helped explain what you meant and made it more clear to me. Appreciated!

 

Yes.
I've never seen one quite that dirty.