(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

The chimney is clean: The trilogy

BarnyardEngineering

BarnyardEngineering

Well-known Member
Location
Rochester, NY
Good news and no inane questions. Just a report.

For the past two years I've asked around trying to find a reasonable solution for the hard-burning, smoke-puffing POS Vermont Castings Dutchwest catalytic wood stove. Dry wood, more chimney, resealing the stove, new catalysts... nothing helped.

This year, I've given up. I opened the catalytic converter bypass, and broke off the handle. No more catalyst.

No more smoke in the house. No more fighting to get it to burn. No more sun goes down, stove goes out. Puts out more heat and seems to be more efficient with wood.

The downside: I can't load the stove. Even with the air intake completely closed the fire gets pretty intense with only 2-3 sticks of wood. I'm a little concerned about what it would do with the firebox completely stoked. That means putting wood in the stove every 3 hours round the clock for the next 4-1/2 months.

The downside is worth it, so far. I've been burning for two weeks now, 11 days with the bypass open, I'm still alive, and I'm pleased with the heat output of the stove...

This post was edited by BarnyardEngineering on 11/11/2023 at 02:16 pm.
 
A wood fire loves turbulance in its air supply. If you can redirect the intake air (especially bring it in from the outside and aimed at the heart of the fire, you can reduce the air supply to slow the consumption of wood, and keep the home warmer. Hot fires are efficient at getting heat out of wood and combusting the turpines and tars. Small hot combustion center is essential. The reason pellet and corn stoves work is a small hot fire. Jim
 
Those catalytic stoves are a bunch of nanny state BS anyway. Only issue will be is when the insurance agent comes
around.
They came and inspected my wood stove in the shop and insisted it must be UL listed. There is no UL tag on the
stove but it is clearly factory built. They passed it but they did not like it.
 
A friend claimed that really hard woods burned best in catalytic stoves. Avoid soft maple for sure. If you are buying your wood
you may not always get what you need. Another person I knew would never burn any wood that did not come off of a well drained
ridge as he feared the wood was too soft. Superstition or not you tell me.
 
Im not sure how the fire can get intense if there is no
air intake to the fire box. I would make sure I could
control how much air can get in and then fill it and let
it smoulder. You definitely do not want an out of
control fire. Glad you got it figured out and thanks for
letting us know. I always wondered if you ever figured
it out.
 
For a longer burn time, use the largest logs you have or better yet that will fit in the fire box. They will burn slower, thus the longest. The heat output may be a little less but it doesnt sound like that
is a problem for you.
 
I have had a Vermont Castings Encore catalytic wood stove since 1988. I installed it before I finished building my house for heat while I was finishing it. I love it. Heats good. Easy to control. When the converter is active the flames diminish but the heat output increases.

It does smoke sometimes if the brick with clay liner chimney is cold
and the wind is out of the North or East. When it is out of the West
or South all is well.

The problem is with the design of our house. When smoke is a
problem the wind is creating low pressure on the West and South side of the house. The chimney is on the North side, it is under higher pressure when the wind is like that.

My chimney is also on a single story outside wall but is 2 1/2 stories tall to clear the roof. This allows the top to cool down and decreases draw. Live and learn. My fault for not having enough information when I designed and built our house.

Cant use the stove now anyway unless the power is out. Wife is
allergic to whatever is in the firewood. :(
 
We have a Vermont Castings Encore about 10 years old. It is not
a catalytic type. About 5 years old it started puffing smoke so I
drilled several three eighth holes in the damper which helped.
We also just replaced the ceramic smoke baffles which act
similar to a catalytic converter. I really like the top load door but
the tendency to puff smoke is a real nuisance. And, the damper
housing metal got soft and sagged. We ordered a new one and I
reinforced it with a piece of angle iron. It would be nice for the
engineers to figure this stuff out and just fix it.
 
I believe I have the same stove, used it for about five years without the catalyst. Got plenty hot, burned the flame plate off the inside up top after some time. Don't know how long it took to do that. It''s a replaceable part, BTW, bolts onto the stove.

Just retired the stove in favor of a larger one I put in the basement. Didn't want to battle the wood and bark and bugs in the main living area any more. Basement better.

Stove is old but still in good working order, wouldn't hesitate to hook it up somewhere else. Only time I had a chimney problem is when someone else was taking care of my house while I was away and they burned all green wood instead of the seasoned variety I had plenty of.

Gerrit
 
I have a more generic air tight stove (no catalytic converter). I always had to have a damper in the chimney to be able to control the fire, especially a fully loaded stove to run all
night.
cvphoto166511.jpg
 
I also have a Vermont Dutch West, medium size. In my opinion, it is well made but poorly designed. It is my primary heat source and it does a reasonable job of heating but it will not heat the whole house. I have quit using the cat-thing also for the same reasons you did. I was not impressed with it at all.
But no matter what, cleaning the flue is becoming a challenge. Don't know what I'll do in the near future bout that. Michael
 
I've been using a Riteway for 40+ years. I found the trick is to let it burn low in the evening so when I load it up for the overnight it comes up
slowly. Loading it up when it's really hot the damper shuts down and the volatile gasses build up until enough air leaks in and causes a big huff
that pushes smoke through the door gaskets. Once it actually blew the pipe elbow out of the flue opening. I woke up to the house filled with smoke,
scared the s**t out of me.
 
Just my 2 cents but there are woodstoves then there are Fisher woodstoves. I have been heating my house since 1994 with this stove and never had one issue. Drafts
perfect, burns perfect, no dampner, no catalytic converter bypass, just a vent on each door. My parents have the same stove and have been heating their house since 1980
with it. My gas furnace never runs, and neither does my parents. I clean my chimney a couple times a year and there is very little creosote.
cvphoto166550.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 02:34:56 11/12/23) I also have a Vermont Dutch West, medium size. In my opinion, it is well made but poorly designed. It is my primary heat source and it does a reasonable job of heating but it will not heat the whole house. I have quit using the cat-thing also for the same reasons you did. I was not impressed with it at all.
But no matter what, cleaning the flue is becoming a challenge. Don't know what I'll do in the near future bout that. Michael
Click to expand...


Cleaning the flue when done right is as easy as falling off a log. Once you get it good and clean to start with, when you stoke it in the AM, open it up and let'er rip. Get it hot enough that the fire goes right up the flue and burns any creosote formed during the night. Have a "friendly" chimney fire every day.
 
(quoted from post at 06:45:59 11/12/23) Sounds like its not airtight, I have a
Jotul stove and control the fire with air
intake rarely use damper.
Click to expand...

It isn't but I can't figure out how to make it airtight. I've smeared tube after tube of furnace cement over the seams. I've replaced all the rope seals. The more I do the worse it smokes. Nobody can help me. The wood stove dealers are clueless. Nobody else around has a wood stove like this.

I'd replace it but I have no idea where to buy one or what to buy.

That's why I'm over it. With the bypass open it doesn't smoke. I just have to limit how much wood I burn in it.
 
Simple and good. My Vermont castings has a top load door and a bottom ash pan & door. That cut down on the ash floating around by about 90% during clean out. Ill put up with the puffing for those features.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BarnyardEngineering
The chimney is clean, one year later.
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
in-too-deep
I
BarnyardEngineering
Speaking of wood... stoves
2 3
Replies
42
Views
2K
Charles in Aus.
Charles in Aus.
BarnyardEngineering
The chimney is clean.
2 3 4
Replies
62
Views
6K
showcrop
showcrop
M
Why I chose to insulate and heat my pole barn
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
showcrop
showcrop
L
AGM (acid glass mat) batteries on older farm machinery---can they take the charging system?
Replies
11
Views
974
INCase
I
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top