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Wood burning stove owners.. catalytic combustor question

Posted on 8/27/18 at 9:53 am
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
94676 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 9:53 am
I had to practically dismantle my entire stove to get to the catalytic combustor which is 30 years old and pretty much disintegrated when I pulled it out.

I'm ordering a new one but while everything is in pieces does anyone have any cleaning suggestions? Should I just hit everything with some easy-off? It's pretty black and I almost sheared off a couple of the screws trying to get to the combustor so I want to take advantage of having access to everything.

Anything else I should look into doing while it's apart?

Tia
Posted by TH03
Mogadishu
Member since Dec 2008
172004 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 9:53 am to
I look forward to the next 6 months of your kitchen upgrade updates.
Posted by upgrayedd
Lifting at Tobin's house
Member since Mar 2013
139218 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 9:55 am to
quote:

I'm ordering a new one

From Amazon?
Posted by real turf fan
East Tennessee
Member since Dec 2016
12216 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 10:03 am to
We have two wood stoves, both with catalytic combusters.
We've had them for about 25 years (the older) and 20 years the newer which is in our guest room and seldom used in winter.

The 25yo one gets changed every five years because it does degrade with time. A newish one can be cleaned with a very thin test tube brush and some pipe cleaners.

As for the stove interior: if you've got creosote on the interior, it IS water soluble.
You can download parts diagrams (to warn you where there might or should be screws). We've found that some screws just disintegrate with age and have to be replaced. Also the flipping mechanism may need some parts replaced for a smoother flip. Check the sides of the fire box for warpage or breaks. Likewise the grate at the bottom.

Do you have asbestos tape on hand for reassembly as well as the 'epoxy' to glue certain parts back together?

Our last cleaning of our Dutchwest was a total breakdown to replace a broken interior wall. It was a pain, but nothing we couldn't do....sort of a child's construction game on a larger and heavier scale.
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
94676 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 10:43 am to
quote:

forward to the next 6 months of your kitchen upgrade updates
lol this isn't in my kitchen dumbass
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
94676 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 10:54 am to
quote:

some screws just disintegrate with age and have to be replaced

Yep noticed that.

quote:

you have asbestos tape on hand for reassembly as well as the 'epoxy' to glue certain parts back together?


No and that's a great point. There is definitely what looks like a flat "rope" around the edges which I'm guessing it's the asbestos tape you're referring to. I will order some of that and adhesive with the combustor. Thanks.

quote:

flipping mechanism may need some parts replaced for a smoother flip.


Was completely off the track. Between that and the fact the insulation around the combustor had come off and was clogging the opening is a wonder I didn't burn our house down.

Wife kept making fun of me for being unable to start a fire and it turns out the whole damn stove was broken. Every time I tried to close the damper smoke would backfill into the house.

Thanks for the tips!
This post was edited on 8/27/18 at 10:57 am
Posted by real turf fan
East Tennessee
Member since Dec 2016
12216 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 1:37 pm to
My husband (to whom I read part of this) added that you need a carbon monoxide detector in the room with the stove.

We've never had CO problems with our stove, but friends almost died because their boat had a CO accumulation. (Stupid friend tossed one CO overboard because it kept going off.) Two of the four ended up at Erlanger in the hyperbaric chamber to get their O2 levels back up. Since then, we've been very cautious about CO potential problems.
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
94676 posts
Posted on 8/27/18 at 1:40 pm to
oh dang. maybe i should just hire someone to come over and put it all back together for me.

thanks again
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