Woodstock Absolute Steel: chimney suddenly smoking in cat mode?

23 months. I check the cat often and vacuum it every so often. This October was the first time I've cleaned the cat with the vinegar solution. I check the gaskets whenever I check the cat and they've been fine.

 

yes, first time. Im starting the 4th year on it. I needed to replace the bypass gasket and the ash pan gasket, so I just replaced the door gasket and cat gasket at the same time.

 

Im interested in the AS... Sounds like the cat is easy to get to and replace? Did anyone figure out if aftermarket cats are available for the AS, in case one needs/wants to go that route?

 

The AS cat is VERY easy to replace. Lift the top cover, remove the heat shield, and theres the cat. If the stove is cold, you can remove it in 30 seconds. I didnt look into aftermarket, I dont recall how much I paid for mine, but I am pretty sure it was reasonable. <$200

 

woodstock has some pretty good videos on their website. One is removing and installing the AS cat.

 

I would be good to have a 2nd vendor for cats for all of the WS stoves, but that AS is unlikely to attract the aftermarket suppliers of cats for 2 reasons.

1. The Cat needs a frame that angles the cat toward the front of the stove. The cat requires this custom frame for fitment into the stove.

2. The volume of AS stoves out in the user community is small compared to most Woodstock stoves and even more s0 when compared to other stove manufacturers. The stove seems to compete with it's own big brother both in size and costs.

 

Regarding the AS Cat, my 6y/o commented last night - “look at the glow of the Catalyst”
Been happy so far with performance- brush off every week or so.

 

OFFTOPIC: just noticed you are in 'western RI'. I am in central RI. Given the size of RI, we could probably talk to each other from our respective porches.

 

No doubt. Not being native, I have always laughed when a 20 minute drive is “too far” although where I live you need to drive at least that to get anywhere... sorry to continue to be off topic...

 

Yep, almost anything is just too far... and nothing is very far is 'real' miles in this area (as opposed to RI miles which seem to be really short).

It works the other way too; I am local and when traveling west across the northern US, especially after, say Chicago, I just could not believe how much open space there was. It was most noticeable, and a little annoying because it was a brand new idea to me, when the low fuel indicator turned on and I only had about 40 miles of range left. Usually that meant I would have to tank sometime w/in the next few days but in Montanyngdaho, it became a question of whether I could make the next open fuel station or not.

To get back on topic, that is why most firewood sellers state exactly what cities / towns they will deliver to or state how many miles they will deliver..... because if they were not so careful, they might find themselves 15 or 20 miles away, which would be three clicks to the left of 'horrible'. But the bright side is we burn hardwood and pass on the softwood; I have heard- tell that some folks actually burn soft wood fire wood, on purpose!

 

How do you even see the cat unless you left the hood on top of the stove?

Ah, you have an IS not an AS?

I ride my motorcycles down in RI/CT quite frequently. Wrights Chicken Farm, in Burrelsville (sp?) and the Beef Barn in Smithville. Then over to the the Vanilla Bean in Pomfret CT or a little further west to the beautiful roads in CT.

 

Sitting on the floor in front of stove it gives off a glow you can see up through the glass. Either the Cat or the stove is so hot it’s glowing...
definitely an AS. All great spots you mentioned. Safe riding!

 

I have an IS too, but this is what yoy see when the cat is glowing from looking up from below while laying on the floor.

 

Nice

 

I had a Resolute and could not agree with you more.

 

Not sure if pic will come through but definitely a glow from the Cat on the AS...

 

I see a little line of glow in that pic, but it's mainly just darkness. Are you taking that pic through the front class, or did you open the hood on top? I just can't tell. Maybe I'm fussy as the whole cat is very visible on my Fireview I have ustairs in the main living area.

 

Right, I see the same thing on my Fireview, maybbe I'm just not looking at the right time or the right angle. I don't see poop looking through the glass on my AS.

 

Picture was through front glass - not lifting the top - looking up from the hearth at an angle - held the phone at 60 degrees(?ish?) and phone was an inch or two away from the glass (got pretty hot, pretty quick...). Lighting in the house didn't help - if totally dark it might have shown better. The first pictures showed the whole living room in the reflection...
Glow is definitely there from the cat and it can really be lit up at times.