Consolidated Dutchwest wood/coal stove

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William Balaska

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Hi I am in the process of buying a Dutchwest FA288 2184 wood/coal stove. It was the largest stove they made in 1990-1993. It was bareley used by the original owner. It is a catylyst model. Do these require a coal kit to burn coal and what type of coal do ou burn in them. The price is right at $400 cash it just needs some fresh paint otherwise all ther. Any one using this stove or similar.
 
cant help with the coal? but i've had my dutchwest xl for 3 years great stove it is my only sorce for heat, i have 2000 sq ft and even in the coldest days it keeps the house warm, and long burn times. good luck
 
I have one, yes you need the side panels and metal insert instead of the cat converter. I have all of it. I've never burned coal in it but I still have the original literature which may delve a little more in detail.. Very heavy unit, the inside side panels must weigh 30 lbs a piece. These act as firebrick protecting the inside of the unit.

Good price, I paid $ 1300 for it brand new. Mine also has the glass doors which are removable and can be replaced with factory metal inserts for even more heat transfer. I also have those and the original cat converter which they tell me should have been replaced years ago but no one told that to the converter. Still puts out 700 or more degrees when you put the damper down.

:greenchainsaw:
 
Just picked her up yesterday got her for $350 She's like new just needs good cleaning otherwise in almost new condition. If anyone wants to sell their coal kit let me know. The converter looks fine, what a beast it dosen't look like 634lbs until U move it!
 
One important item : these stoves, while terrific while operating properly, can leak thru the gasket material on the inside of the stove. I'm not talking the doors, I'm speaking of the two chambers where the heat comes out the top front of the stove, they have a mesh covering over them. Make sure nothing leaks. Take some newspaper and start it then deliberately make it go out so that it smokes. If smoke starts coming out anywhere other than up the chimney you have a problem. The only remedy for where its probably leaking is to remove the top..remember its cast iron and will break.

I'm assuming you have the blower with the unit, it makes the stove SOOOO much better to distribute the heat. Takes very little electricity which is a nice feature. The thermostat just magnetically attaches to the back.

If you dont have the options ( blower, cast door inserts, metal strainer, cat converter ) you can spend hundreds to get them. For now I'd be more concerned with making sure its leak proof and go from there. Since you want to burn coal thats a no brainer. Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. I would try nothing smaller than pea coal to start, you can always go up or down from there. Good luck..

*** if you have access to good hardwood, you can get burn times of 8 hrs if the weather outside isn't too cold and the cat converter is new.

:greenchainsaw:
 
Pics.

Bill: Now that you have a new project You must post Pics. and keep us updated on your progress. Sounds like that is a real find. Should be great if you can find a coal kit.
 
I removed the top place to replace the gaskets and inspect the converter. I am going to replace all gaskets to be on the safe side. I don't have the blower I'm going to call stove's and stuff tomorrow to see if it can still be purchased. I'll try and post some pics soon.
 
Glad to hear you're doing it the right way. C.M.'s only warning sign ( if you're lucky enough to recognize it ) is a splitting headache and all in the house will probably have it. It saved my family's life 35 years ago when I woke up with a headache ( I never get headaches ) and my wife woke up as well with one. As soon as she said it, I immediately knew what happened since it was a cool damp night. Thats why I never burned coal in it. To be fair, our first home wasnt set up correctly for the coal stove having way too long a stovepipe at almost a right angle with no lift.

C.M. alarms are really inexpensive compared to years ago and an investment that no one should be without.

Too bad I didnt know you were looking for one, would have sold you mine for $ 400 and you wouldnt have to buy anything. I put in an OWB that takes care of everything so I no longer need it. And brace yourself for the price of the blower. Used ones have gone for $ 65 on E bay. Can only assume new ones are higher..

:greenchainsaw:
 
Can you tell me the right sized gasket to use 3/8, 1/2 or 5/8 the book dosen't specify. It's easier to buy in length instead of a kit. I know the blowers are expensize. Well al in all I will most likely burn wood instead of coal but I wouldn't mind having the grates just in case. I bought carbon monoxide detectors it's cheap insurance. Well I'm still happy with my purchase at $350, let me know if your going to ebay your stove I'll buy the grates and blower if you want to sell them. Thanks
 
I checked the original book and I cant find it either. If they allow, buy a couple of inches of each and see which one works best for you. Or better yet, take a door off ( takes a couple of seconds ) and take it with you.

Right now the stoves sitting downstairs in the corner decorated. I made a raised hearth about a foot high in brick and solid concrete underneath so the hearth is a permanent fixture. I'll let you know if I want to sell anything. The blower is one of the first things to get to dramatically increase the heating area. Its because all of the high heat is chambered in between 2 walls of cast iron and using the blower gets it out in the room. The second chamber actually retards the heat distribution w/out the fan assist so dont get discouraged if its not putting out what you think it should. It probably is but you aren't getting the full benefit. Unfortunately a small fan in back of the unit wont do much good unless you make a shroud to force it thru the chamber.

Good luck..

:cheers:
 
One important item : these stoves, while terrific while operating properly, can leak thru the gasket material on the inside of the stove. I'm not talking the doors, I'm speaking of the two chambers where the heat comes out the top front of the stove, they have a mesh covering over them. Make sure nothing leaks. Take some newspaper and start it then deliberately make it go out so that it smokes. If smoke starts coming out anywhere other than up the chimney you have a problem. The only remedy for where its probably leaking is to remove the top..remember its cast iron and will break.

I'm assuming you have the blower with the unit, it makes the stove SOOOO much better to distribute the heat. Takes very little electricity which is a nice feature. The thermostat just magnetically attaches to the back.

If you dont have the options ( blower, cast door inserts, metal strainer, cat converter ) you can spend hundreds to get them. For now I'd be more concerned with making sure its leak proof and go from there. Since you want to burn coal thats a no brainer. Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. I would try nothing smaller than pea coal to start, you can always go up or down from there. Good luck..

*** if you have access to good hardwood, you can get burn times of 8 hrs if the weather outside isn't too cold and the cat converter is new.

:greenchainsaw:

I know this thread is 4 years old and maybe this is not proper forum etiquette to bring up such an old topic, but the description of stove leakage you describe here is precisely what we are experiencing.

Our Consolidated Dutchwest wood stove (model FH288) was installed in 1991 (approximately 5 years before we purchased the home). We used the stove a season or two in the late 90s and then stopped using it until about 2006. Since then we have used it as the primary heat source for our home during the cold winter months. We have had no problems with it until this season (2012-13). It has been smoky. I am used to the usual wood smell of the burning wood. This a noticeable increase. Two weeks ago the smoke was unbearable. We couldn't see any leaks and attributed it to green wood. We let the fire go out due to a period of warm weather (Tennessee winters).

Yesterday, we lit a fire with good seasoned wood and the intense smoke was back. This time we found a leak from the top, front of the stove. We were concerned that it could be failure of the catalytic combustor, but I feel that even if the combustor wasn't operating properly the smoke would still be sucked up the chimney. The chimney is not plugged. The leak you describe in this post makes me think it is the gaskets in the top of the stove.

You say the only remedy for where its leaking is to remove the top... so dumb question time... do you mean remove the top and replace the gaskets? Or is there something else that needs to be done?

Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated. (And again I apologize if this thread was too old to resurrect.)
 
I know this thread is 4 years old and maybe this is not proper forum etiquette to bring up such an old topic, but the description of stove leakage you describe here is precisely what we are experiencing.

Our Consolidated Dutchwest wood stove (model FH288) was installed in 1991 (approximately 5 years before we purchased the home). We used the stove a season or two in the late 90s and then stopped using it until about 2006. Since then we have used it as the primary heat source for our home during the cold winter months. We have had no problems with it until this season (2012-13). It has been smoky. I am used to the usual wood smell of the burning wood. This a noticeable increase. Two weeks ago the smoke was unbearable. We couldn't see any leaks and attributed it to green wood. We let the fire go out due to a period of warm weather (Tennessee winters).

Yesterday, we lit a fire with good seasoned wood and the intense smoke was back. This time we found a leak from the top, front of the stove. We were concerned that it could be failure of the catalytic combustor, but I feel that even if the combustor wasn't operating properly the smoke would still be sucked up the chimney. The chimney is not plugged. The leak you describe in this post makes me think it is the gaskets in the top of the stove.


No such thing as a too old thread. The first thing to do if you haven't already is to get a carbon monoxide and a smoke detector and put it wherever you have the stove. The smoke detector will go off if the stove gets too hot or gets a leak. The carbon monoxide detector is mainly for coal burning but if I'm not mistaken it may go off with wood as well. If you have a thick stainless steel plate in the center of the stove with a thermostat in the middle its possible, and by far the easiest, the leak may be either around that thick rope type gasket or the temp probe its self. I normally seal that area with pliable stove cement, fast and easy to do. A little " never seize " around the probe would take care of that area. Unless its blocked completely the cat converter shouldn't be an issue. Just open the baffle and let it breathe freely and see if it still smokes. You are now by passing the cat converter completely. If it still smokes check for a blocked chimney/exit pipe to the pipe exiting the stove. If you have decent draft it shouldn't be coming out the front unless a big chunk of the gasket material came apart. But even then the stove is designed to fit together like a V so that even if that happens, leakage should not be as bad as you describe. If nothing works then I'd take the top off and redo the gasket ( which I believe was stove cement from the factory, nothing expensive just labor intensive ) If you plan to burn coal please check and redo the entire stove. They work well but the stove cement wasn't their best idea. I used mine for about 15 years before I switched to oil. I bought new in 1987 and the other day we roasted some hot dogs with hot dog sticks after opening the twin doors of course. I then closed the doors and found the cat was still operating at 1200 degrees with a little draft.
I may have the original break down of the stove via drawings. Let me know if you need them and I'll try to copy them and get it to you somehow. You may be able to access them on line somewhere as well. Get back to me if you don't understand anything. My knowledge is limited but I'll be glad to share what I know.. Good luck.

*** I re read this and if the " front " do you mean what the two plates meet or where the hot air is supposed to exit ? If its in between the two chambers the actual leak may not be in the front of the stove.
 
I know this thread is 4 years old and maybe this is not proper forum etiquette to bring up such an old topic, but the description of stove leakage you describe here is precisely what we are experiencing.

Our Consolidated Dutchwest wood stove (model FH288) was installed in 1991 (approximately 5 years before we purchased the home). We used the stove a season or two in the late 90s and then stopped using it until about 2006. Since then we have used it as the primary heat source for our home during the cold winter months. We have had no problems with it until this season (2012-13). It has been smoky. I am used to the usual wood smell of the burning wood. This a noticeable increase. Two weeks ago the smoke was unbearable. We couldn't see any leaks and attributed it to green wood. We let the fire go out due to a period of warm weather (Tennessee winters).

Yesterday, we lit a fire with good seasoned wood and the intense smoke was back. This time we found a leak from the top, front of the stove. We were concerned that it could be failure of the catalytic combustor, but I feel that even if the combustor wasn't operating properly the smoke would still be sucked up the chimney. The chimney is not plugged. The leak you describe in this post makes me think it is the gaskets in the top of the stove.

i also notice on mine if you really tighten the 4 bolts for the top cover, the cover can start to bent up in the middle causing a leak through the seal i just loosened mine a bit and it re-sealed...

You say the only remedy for where its leaking is to remove the top... so dumb question time... do you mean remove the top and replace the gaskets? Or is there something else that needs to be done?

Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated. (And again I apologize if this thread was too old to resurrect.)


have you ever taken the top plate off of the stove? i have the small dutchwest takes a 20 inch log, about the same age as yours, and i take the top plate off every time i clean the chiminey, if im burning not so dry wood it will become pretty filled with creo. and i clean the chiminey every month during burning season. but if you havent taken the cover off it might be plugged up not letting the smoke up the chiminey... its easy to do just 4 bolts and it comes right off, just a rope seal, no cement.
 
Last edited:
have you ever taken the top plate off of the stove? i have the small dutchwest takes a 20 inch log, about the same age as yours, and i take the top plate off every time i clean the chiminey, if im burning not so dry wood it will become pretty filled with creo. and i clean the chiminey every month during burning season. but if you havent taken the cover off it might be plugged up not letting the smoke up the chiminey... its easy to do just 4 bolts and it comes right off, just a rope seal, no cement.


I guess we should find out what model they have since the innards, cat and design might be a bit different. Mine for example has the heavy stainless steel plate with a temp probe in the top middle of the stove. It has no bolts just the weight of in presses the rope gasket into a well in the stove, again not the greatest idea. If they by pass the cat it shouldn't make any difference if its blocked. It is however a good idea to check it yearly and clean out residue.
 
I guess we should find out what model they have since the innards, cat and design might be a bit different. Mine for example has the heavy stainless steel plate with a temp probe in the top middle of the stove. It has no bolts just the weight of in presses the rope gasket into a well in the stove, again not the greatest idea. If they by pass the cat it shouldn't make any difference if its blocked. It is however a good idea to check it yearly and clean out residue.

i dont remember when vermont castings took over , but is yours a pre vermont castings model, with the brass air controls?, you say yours was new in 87, his is a 91 which is a VC model, mine is a 90 or 91 model 2460 , all of the ones ive seen around this year use the 4 bolt design...,
also i have a hard time believeing that such a large piece of your stove would be made from stainless...
 
Thank you for your quick responses!

The stove is FA288 Model No. 2184. I have attached a photo of the stove. The smoke was coming from the opening around the gold rod at the top above the door. Smoke was visible coming from that area when the door and damper were closed. We did the flashlight test to find a leak and that's the only trouble spot we found.

We have never removed the top of the stove, but were planning on doing that to inspect the cat. Build up in that area may be the problem.

Thank you so much for the insights. I believe it will help me get to the bottom of it. If you have anything to add, please do!
 
i dont remember when vermont castings took over , but is yours a pre vermont castings model, with the brass air controls?, you say yours was new in 87, his is a 91 which is a VC model, mine is a 90 or 91 model 2460 , all of the ones ive seen around this year use the 4 bolt design...,
also i have a hard time believeing that such a large piece of your stove would be made from stainless...

Probably didn't make it clear that the stainless piece is about a 5 inch square and almost an inch thick. There are no bolts holding it in. It just has a rope gasket around it. You put a small screwdriver on the edge and lift it until you can grab it with your fingers. The cat sits directly underneath and looks like an air cleaner on a car or small tractor. The probe for the cat just drops in the center of the square and resembles a valve from a car with heat indicated on the top of the " valve ". It goes up to around 1400 degrees Fahrenheit I believe. I had it up to 1200 a week or so ago. Its the original cat from 1987. The rest of the stove iscast iron. The stove is actually a Federal Airtight but the catalog I got with it says Consolidated Dutchwest. It is a Model FA288 rated at 85,000 BTU's, weighs 612 lbs and supposed to have a burn time of 15 hours, ( more like 8 hours of useable heat ) It has a brass spin draft control on the bottom door and a brass spin dial on the left side of the stove that work in tandem but are set separately. There also are three heavy brass/black handles for the bottom door and the twin glass doors that swing open. Sorry for the confusion..
 
Thank you for your quick responses!

The stove is FA288 Model No. 2184. I have attached a photo of the stove. The smoke was coming from the opening around the gold rod at the top above the door. Smoke was visible coming from that area when the door and damper were closed. We did the flashlight test to find a leak and that's the only trouble spot we found.

We have never removed the top of the stove, but were planning on doing that to inspect the cat. Build up in that area may be the problem.

Thank you so much for the insights. I believe it will help me get to the bottom of it. If you have anything to add, please do!



Yours has a long slot where the hot air comes out. Mine has two 2 by 3 inch or so open slots on the left and right side of the stove which accomplish the same thing. Unfortunately if the smoke is coming from that slotted area it appears that the stove cement has been damaged and will need to be addressed. Do you have a blower on the stove ? While I doubt if the cat has anything to do with the leak you shouldn't have to remove the top of the stove to access the cat. From your pic I can see the plate ( mine is in the same location ) and the cat is underneath that plate. If your plate has no bolts its being held in place by its weight alone. Just get a screw driver or something similar and pry it up and remove it. If it has bolts they would be removed. Because they ( the bolts ) apparently would be exposed to the smoke it might be a chore to remove them. My unit's plate is flush with the top but yours seems to be elevated a bit so they must have made a change of some sort.

I wish I had a quick fix for you but.......... please be careful if you continue to use it. If its as bad as you state it would not be a good idea to continue to use it. It probably would be manageable without closing the damper but that's where all the heat comes from the smoke activating the cat for a more complete burn. As I said these stoves work extremely well when everything is correct. Unfortunately it was not thought out as well as it should have been as far as reliability goes, especially for the price they were getting for them. Once rebuilt with modern materials it should last a lifetime minus the cat. I have seen some of these units with a large crack in the cast iron. It almost always happens early in the stoves life by overfiring it before the cast iron is cured. A minimum of five fires was recommended before full use.
 
Thank you for your quick responses!

The stove is FA288 Model No. 2184. I have attached a photo of the stove. The smoke was coming from the opening around the gold rod at the top above the door. Smoke was visible coming from that area when the door and damper were closed. We did the flashlight test to find a leak and that's the only trouble spot we found.

We have never removed the top of the stove, but were planning on doing that to inspect the cat. Build up in that area may be the problem.

Thank you so much for the insights. I believe it will help me get to the bottom of it. If you have anything to add, please do!

I have the CDW extra large, 2462 and it looks like your stove except mine has the single front door. I've had it for over 15 yrs. and last fall, I took the top off and replaced all the rope and re-cemented the joints. The top is easy to lift off, just two bolts on each side, under that is the refactory that looks like styrofoam, that just lifts out also and under that is the catalyst, I just replaced my original last year, but it didn't need it. Before I sealed it up, it was getting hard to control the burn, but now it is like I remember when new. I really like the stove once I learned how to run it and it will last as long as I need one.


http://www.arboristsite.com/attachm...ning-equipment/268872d1356096739-dscf3169-jpg
 
I have the CDW extra large, 2462 and it looks like your stove except mine has the single front door. I've had it for over 15 yrs. and last fall, I took the top off and replaced all the rope and re-cemented the joints. The top is easy to lift off, just two bolts on each side, under that is the refactory that looks like styrofoam, that just lifts out also and under that is the catalyst, I just replaced my original last year, but it didn't need it. Before I sealed it up, it was getting hard to control the burn, but now it is like I remember when new. I really like the stove once I learned how to run it and it will last as long as I need one.


http://www.arboristsite.com/attachm...ning-equipment/268872d1356096739-dscf3169-jpg

mine is the same as yours just the small version
 

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