New Catalyst

Just dropped off the new Catalyst for our Absolute Steel….. original one is on its 5th winter…. Probably was bad after the first 2 years… a bit rough to it with not so good wood…

Any advice for breaking in… or just install and let her eat ?

 

I just got my spare cat and gasket kit the other day as well...so WS must have been pumping then out lately. Mine's still working well, only 1 full burning season on it now....but watching to see what feedback you get.

 

I replaced mine after three and a half years of use. The original one still worked ok but it was not lighting off like usual and temperature was not going as high as before. I installed mine and let er rip, no special procedures.

I am going to buy another one this summer and put it on the shelf for when I need it.

 

New cat is installed…. Came just in time …

 

This is better….

 

I have never done that with my stove, very interesting that you can take a look at it.

 

What??!!?? I DID NOT know that was an option..... Wow I'm a bit shocked... I second oldspark x100.

 

If you are looking at it thru an open door, then that is a reason your cat dies soon.
This is giving thermal shock to it, leading to spalling off of a coating that you need for it to work.

Never let room temperature air on a hot cat...

 

That’s how Woodstock told me to take a quick peak at it…. I don’t know.

plus with the exhaust coming through the cat, I doubt any cold air is reaching it… looking at the outgoing side….

 

If Penny, Lorin or anybody from Woodstock said it’s ok you’re fine. I’d be more worried about putting snow covered wood into the firebox and thermally shocking the cat that way. They definitely wouldn’t recommend you do it all the time, but once to verify it is working is ok.

 

Wife brings wood in a few days before it gets burnt…. No snow.

 

Does lifting the lid like that affect draft?

 

For the 1/2 second it open…. Maybe

 

Cats are good about 8-10 thousand hours of use in life; IME wet smoky bad burning wood shortens life as much as anything else

 

That was the first couple years with the original….
But we stayed warm.

 

Is that an aftermarket cat or from Woodstock?

 

Well every reload the cat gets room temperature air, and the cat is hot by my definition.

 

From Woodstock…. Was unable to find aftermarket one.

Do have to give them credit…. They gave me a 28% discount…. They are guaranteed for 6 years…. Mine is 5.

 

Yeah, I think they would give me some money back if I asked. I ordered online 8 months before I knew I would need it, so that would be 2 1/2 ish years. Ever since all the supply chain issues I didn’t mind paying full price and having peace of mind. The combustor cost is nothing compared to what my electric bill would be without the stove. Woodstock is definitely a great company.