Catalytic stove question

[Wood Doctor]

Carbuerizing is Gibberish

You don't have a case, the fact is the steel plate does not do the same thing as a catalyst.

You may think it does, but if you were to do actual testing you would find it performs very differently and my educated guess is that much worse over a wider range of applications than a catalyst.

This doesn't even mention the fact that standard steel starts to Carbuerize at 800F. This is 12+ years of combustion engineering talking. Note I'm not saying the steel plate isn't working, but I am saying that it doesn't do the same job as the catalyst.

Well that's your engineering against mine. If steel carbuerizing were a problem, then every wood stove made with steel is slowly carbuerizing. How may years go by before a Fisher, Nashua, Buck, and numerous other brands of wood stoves fall apart due to carbuerizing?

I never claimed that my hot steel plate is doing the same job as a catalyst. The catalyst does perform--I used them for 20 years in a cat stove and got tired of fooling with them. They fall apart in about three years, cost a bundle to replace, and are a bear to clean. Who on earth wants to fool with high-tech trash like that?

I don't and that's why I went to work in my shop and and killed the cat. Therefore, I do have a case and you know it.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

how?

did you kill the catalyst? mine is 10 years old still working fine and i keep it lit for 2 months straight.

 

[Wood Doctor]

did you kill the catalyst? mine is 10 years old still working fine and i keep it lit for 2 months straight.

I killed the cat by throwing it away after (1) it crumbled and fell apart and (2) I got tired of cleaning out all the little pores that clog up. As you clean them, they continue to fall apart. If you don't clean them the stove is clogged.

Congratulations on your success in using one. 10 years? Give me a break. Even the stove MGFs say they only last for two or three.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

well

first one only lasted 5 i bought 2 then and the first replacement is still rocking. i pull it every couple or 3 years and do a vinegar soak but thats all. its due again but its lighting off good still so i leave it alone. i vacum mine out and haven't had the clogging trouble. i was kinda surprised i thought it was fading last year but i think it was wood quality i;m in my seasoned oak now and its really cooking i cut the air back to keep it from going over 1500

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

really?

Even the stove MGFs say they only last for two or three.

which manufacturer?

http://firecatcombustors.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-long-should-combustor-last-before.html

woodstove catalytic combustors

G1733 Catalytic Combustors for Wood Burning Stoves and Furnaces | University of Missouri Extension

The Complete Catalytic Combustor - The Chimney Sweep News


before you rest your case again take a read at what the amateurs above think as opposed to your expert opinion

 

[Cerran]

Well that's your engineering against mine. If steel carbuerizing were a problem, then every wood stove made with steel is slowly carbuerizing. How may years go by before a Fisher, Nashua, Buck, and numerous other brands of wood stoves fall apart due to carbuerizing?

I never claimed that my hot steel plate is doing the same job as a catalyst. The catalyst does perform--I used them for 20 years in a cat stove and got tired of fooling with them. They fall apart in about three years, cost a bundle to replace, and are a bear to clean. Who on earth wants to fool with high-tech trash like that?

I don't and that's why I went to work in my shop and and killed the cat. Therefore, I do have a case and you know it.

Then either you're doing something wrong or the design of the stove you are using is poor. Catalysts should last more than three years even with the stove as a primary heater.

And yes standard A36 steel for any stove operated for extended period above 800F will cause eventual failure of the steel. This is why all steel stove makers do not warranty stoves operated above 800F.

 

[Ohiowoodguy]

My actual question was: are steel cats any better than ceramic. You all can keep your baseless "expert" rants- you know what they say about "internet arguments".

 

[Dalmatian90]

Jr. Ass't Grammar Nazi stepping in for a moment...

particularly CO and other hydrocarbons.

Should read:

particularly CO and hydrocarbons.

CO is missing the prerequisite H to be a hydrocarbon.

 

[Cerran]

My actual question was: are steel cats any better than ceramic. You all can keep your baseless "expert" rants- you know what they say about "internet arguments".

The short answer is they can be dependent on pricing and your needs. From what I understand they typically hold up better under any thermal shocking that takes place and they do light off at lower temperatures.

 

[Justintoxicated]

Something like this to support the plate?

I used angle iron and 5/16" bolts rather than weldings. After two years, this collar that supports the steel plate is still intact. I tried two stacked steel plates, separated slightly, but one works just as well and is much less hassle.

By now, I would already have spent over $200 on cat combustors that would have given up and been a PITA to clean.

Is that your Federal Airtight? It uses to have a square plate with holes in it under the cat too right? Mine has a square plate under the cat so I guess I would get the best of both? Then there are these air tube things that vary in length between the square plate and the cat combustor.

 

[Wood Doctor]

And yes standard A36 steel for any stove operated for extended period above 800F will cause eventual failure of the steel. This is why all steel stove makers do not warranty stoves operated above 800F.

Please tell me and thousands of others where the owner of the standard steel stove is supposed to measure this temperature you are talking about. The stove pipe (say within a foot of the stove), the sides of the stove, the base, the back, the front, the top, etc.?

I have a thermometer that attaches to iron or steel with a magnet. Where should I place it? I imagine the position could change the reading by +/- 500 F. WDYT?

 

[Cerran]

Most manufacturers will tell you where to place the thermometer but typically it's close to the pipe outlet or somewhere on the stove top.

 

[logbutcher]

Then either you're doing something wrong or the design of the stove you are using is poor. Catalysts should last more than three years even with the stove as a primary heater.

And yes standard A36 steel for any stove operated for extended period above 800F will cause eventual failure of the steel. This is why all steel stove makers do not warranty stoves operated above 800F.

Au contraire
Let's stick to the manufacturers' engineering specs here. Plug in my experience since out first cat stove in 1989 used for ~ 100% 24/7 heating.

For the older ceramic base catalytic combustors ( tech name BTW ) the average life of a cat is tested at +/- 12,000 hours of burn time life. That's when the paladium substrate wears and fails to light off no matter how much cleaning.

The newer metal based cats are "supposed" to have a life span "greater" than
> 12,000 hours. Undetermined since the metal cats have not been in use for much more than a year.

For our cat stoves over the years, the ceramic base cats' life ( no jokes inserted please ) has been ~ 2-3 seasons of heating, equivalent to 12,000 to 15,000 hours of hard use. This includes the vinegar bath cleanings and usual dust-offs.

That's from the trench, real life use. Many cat users "say" their cats are fine 5-6 years. BUTT: how many hours of use ? Are the cats performing the light off after the engineered life span ? Mileage will vary.:shout:

JMNSHO