Fireview Catalytic Combustor

Hello all, does anyone know how long the Catalytic Combustor on the Woodstock fireview lasts? I just cleaned everything out this morning and started a new fire, let the stovetop temps reach a little over 300° and pulled the bypass handle and it's not glowing red like it used to do. This is my 4th burning season with it so I think it might be time to replace it, just wondering if anyone here with the Fireview has any input?

 

Some people say a 50/50 vinegar and distilled water bath will bring it back.

 

Really? Hmm, guess it can't hurt. It's cold here now so the fire is roaring so it will have to wait until another warm up. It was in the 50s here yesterday so I took advantage of it and cleaned out the stove and combustor. But I did notice I didn't clean the screened housing that holds the catalyst too well, a lot of ash stuck in the front screen, I wonder if this is the reason it won't light off?

 

That could be why.

 

Cat manufacturers say 12000-14000 hours. Good luck trying to estimate that.
4 years in MA, I'm guessing you push the stove pretty hard. How many cords do you think have been through it?
A vinegar bath may bring it back to life. I like an active cat but as long as it is burning clean, I figure it must be working.
If it's glowing, you know its working but I have a cat probe and the cat can be very active (900F+) and not be glowing.

 

Roughly 15 cords I would think. I can see a light glow on the cat, I think I need to clean the screen housing better, I didn't notice how dirty it was. I hit it with the ash vac from the inside but it's very hard to reach from inside the firebox. Our next warm up I will clean that screen and see if it helps. After checking on Woodstock's website if the cat stops performing within a 6 year time frame they will warranty the cat at a prorated rate which is great! So if it doesn't seem like it's working after I clean the housing I will give them a call.

 

A dirty screen makes my draft sluggish. It would be a good place to start.

 

Thanks for the detailed instructions, I will give that a try if cleaning the screen doesn't do the trick.

 

Wait for a warm day and try the cat cleaning.
It's pretty easy to do and could give you a big difference in STT and efficiency

 

http://www.condar.com/combustorcleaningmanual.pdf

 

I don't think I have anything to worry about, the stove is cranking this morning and the cat is glowing away! Not too sure why I couldn't see the glow last time but it might have been just a lazy burn. Once I clean the screen housing I think I will be 100%, nothing to replace yet....

 

Yes indeed! It was very cold here today and had a great draft, I lifted the top and saw the cat glowing away. Still not as bright as it used to but I'm sure it's because of all the soot covering the screen and starving it of air.

 

Yep, lotta variables involved. A couple splits that were slightly damp, the amount of draft on a given day, how you established the load, etc, etc could all contribute to how robustly the cat lights off. How old is the cat? Steel?

 

I bought the stove in August of 2012, installed the stove in October and started burning so I'm on my 4th season. The cat is stainless and then platinum coated.

 

One of the things you'll notice if performance is dropping off is the cat won't hang in there at high temp for as long. I've had the diesel-foil steel cats, but just recently got a Dura-Foil from Woodstock, a round cat that fits in my Dutchwest. It's working great in there. I can light it off at around 275 stove top, zero on the cat probe. I just loaded the stove with Red Oak a couple hours ago, burned in the load pretty good, but only had 250 stove, -300 cat. It light off really fast. There are those variables again...

 

Yes but like I said, that screen is very dirty and I had a hard time seeing the cat so I briefly lifted the top just to take a peek.

 

Dennis you beat me to this comment! And if his screen is so dirty he can't see the cat, YIKES!