liberty
ArboristSite Operative
Can I use compressed air to clean the combustor cells set to a very low pressure like 20 psi or would this remove the precouis metals?
Cleaning catalytic combustor
- Thread starter liberty
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slinger
ArboristSite Guru
What type of stove? I had a catalyst on my Appalachian Insert and the recommendations I read were to build a hot fire-- the catalyst (ceramic) was self cleaning.
I miss that stove.
I miss that stove.
liberty
ArboristSite Operative
Fireplace Xtroidinair. Hot fires burn it off but inside the passage ways get clogged.
slinger
ArboristSite Guru
Hope this link help. I seem to recall being told that pitting of the catalyst causes premature failure. The replacement catalyst was about 80 bucks for the stove I had.
Link:
http://www.woodheat.org/maintenance/maintenance.htm
Link:
http://www.woodheat.org/maintenance/maintenance.htm
Last edited:
SWI Don
ArboristSite Guru
I have used compressed air at ~80 psi but wouldn't recommend it. I got about 4 years out of my catalyst and it is ~$250 for a new one.
The old one is still in there but I had a chunk fall out. There isn't a hole all the way through so I am waiting until I can use my left hand fully (tried to cut my index finger off with a utility knife, I got 3 more weeks before I can move it- cut tendon) before I swap them out.
Reading Blaze Kings manual you can vacuum them out to get the fly ash out. Otherwise there is a deep cleaning procedure that involves soaking the catalyst in a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water at just under boiling temp and two hot rinses in boiling hot distilled water.
I vacuum mine out from time to time to get the fly ash off. The main thing is burn dry wood and no trash and your catalyst maintainence will go way down.
Don
The old one is still in there but I had a chunk fall out. There isn't a hole all the way through so I am waiting until I can use my left hand fully (tried to cut my index finger off with a utility knife, I got 3 more weeks before I can move it- cut tendon) before I swap them out. Reading Blaze Kings manual you can vacuum them out to get the fly ash out. Otherwise there is a deep cleaning procedure that involves soaking the catalyst in a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water at just under boiling temp and two hot rinses in boiling hot distilled water.
I vacuum mine out from time to time to get the fly ash off. The main thing is burn dry wood and no trash and your catalyst maintainence will go way down.
Don
logbutcher
Addicted to ArboristSite
Catalytic combusters are delicate: the paladium or other precious metal coating on the ceramic grids is fragile. Blow out or brush carefully.
Sud-Chemie and Corning, makers of cats, have a manual ( maybe online ) that shows how a good combustor should look, and pics of deteriorated cats from too hot flames or trash burning, or higher than normal heating.
One renewal method that has worked for me is to literally bathe the cat in a flat pan or plate of warm vinegar--be sure that SWMBO is out of the house if done on the kitchen cook stove. The instructions for this usually come with a new cat or on the maker's site for details.
I clean and check the cat at least twice each heating season. Since we use the cat stove 24/7 in winter, the cat's life is around two years, maybe three if the winter was mild.
For efficient, long, consistent heat, our cat stove does a better job than the non-cat for a similar space and insulation. Replacing the cat every 2-3 years is just part of routine maintenance. Forget the "12,000 hour, or 6 year 'prorated' life" of a catalytic combustor. Used hard for 100% wood heat in a normal northern winter, cats last less than the 5 or 6 years they warranty.
Sud-Chemie and Corning, makers of cats, have a manual ( maybe online ) that shows how a good combustor should look, and pics of deteriorated cats from too hot flames or trash burning, or higher than normal heating.
One renewal method that has worked for me is to literally bathe the cat in a flat pan or plate of warm vinegar--be sure that SWMBO is out of the house if done on the kitchen cook stove.
The instructions for this usually come with a new cat or on the maker's site for details.I clean and check the cat at least twice each heating season. Since we use the cat stove 24/7 in winter, the cat's life is around two years, maybe three if the winter was mild.
For efficient, long, consistent heat, our cat stove does a better job than the non-cat for a similar space and insulation. Replacing the cat every 2-3 years is just part of routine maintenance. Forget the "12,000 hour, or 6 year 'prorated' life" of a catalytic combustor. Used hard for 100% wood heat in a normal northern winter, cats last less than the 5 or 6 years they warranty.
I have the same stove, I just use a shop vacuum with a soft bristle brush attachment, yearly.
