I have burned wood for 25-30 years. 7 years ago I purchased a 52 bay Appalachian catalytic stove. Has been a great stove. Have had typical maintenance, clean/ inspect chimney every other week. Vacuum catalyst 1 to 3 Times a season. However I am on my 3rd set of catalysts in this 7 year time. 2 months ago put in anew set of them stove burned great following cat temps between 1200-1500. Stove temps around 550. The last 2 weeks I have not been able to get stove temps above 450 ish. Cat tempsaround 1000-1200. When the door is open a lot of smoke in the firebox. Outside looking at the chimney crystal clear, no smoke at all. Wood is seasoned and dry.And chimney is clean. Only thing I can think of other than a faulty catalyst issomehow intakes have become plugged. Anybody have a 52 bay Appalachian that can give me a little help? Have tried calling the manufacturer, however they are like talking to a brick wall. Any ideas?
Welcome to the forum Tyler. Do you ever do a vinegar bath on the cat? Still, if no smoke coming from chimney it sounds like the cat is working fine. But perhaps a vinegar bath would give enough cleaning to get that temperature back up. One other thing to consider is that we have much warmer outdoor temperatures so most times that calls for just a tad more draft; not a lot, just a little. For a vinegar bath, we use a simple spray bottle. I'd suggest 24 - 32 oz best for the size. Use distilled water and white vinegar. (It is very important to use distilled water.) Mix it at 50/50. Spray perhaps 3/4 of it from one side then turn it over and spray the other side. Then fill the bottle with just distilled water and spray the same way. Let it dry then re-install it. We do this usually only once per year when we do the annual summer cleaning. Hope this helps.
Welcome Tyler ... Your age shows 31 years old, yet you list your burning experience at 25-30 years... that’s curious. Does that time period include heating with wood when you were growing up? Just wondering out loud is all. I don’t have a CAT stove, so I can’t offer much on that.
