Catalytic add-ons

[laynes69]

I was curious what was out there. Thought I would look into the idea, but I cant find any companies producing them. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Eric Johnson]

I bought mine from Woodman's Supply in New Hampshire. It was just over $200 for an eight-incher. You can probably google them faster than I can.

 

[laynes69]

I've tried multiple time now. I use Dogpile which is my favorite search engine. I was pretty much curious what all models they could retrofit.

 

[Eric Johnson]

They had a website at one time, but I can't find one now.

Woodman Associates Inc.
P.O. Box 186, Ballards Ridge Rd.
East Wakefield, NH 03830.
1-603-522-8216

If they're still in business, the phone should work.

 

[pgmr]

http://www.stovepartsplus.com/Merch..._Code=SPP&Product_Code=WM-6109&Category_Code=

http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/product.asp?Product_id=20455

 

[Roospike]

I wonder how much extra heat you can "keep" or "capture" with the cat being in the pipe as a damper design ?

Part# 6109
6" CAT-1000 Round 1 1/2" High Catalytic Add-On Damper
The CAT-1000 burns the smoke that would normally escape out the chimney in the form of uncombused wood smoke.
By burning these gases, the heat output is increased by as much as 30% with the same amount of wood. The CAT-1000 also reduces the creosote and pollutants considerably.

 

[laynes69]

They might work like a damper, but the heat would not get distributed into the home with the furnace blowers. It may capture whatever doesnt burn, But it would be nice to create an internal bypass like a hinged door, then have a catalyst inside the furnace so once it lit off, it would burn the gasses. With the amount of wood a woodfurnace holds, you could get some serious burn times and heat. The catalyst would have to be located inside the furnace. I'm sure it could be done with some serious fabrication.

 

[Eric Johnson]

The cat burns off the gas and heats up, which increases the ambient temp around the furnace or boiler or stove. In my case, it heats up the cinder block boiler room, which I presume increases efficiency. I notice the increase in wood use when I forget to engage the cat, so I'd say it works pretty well. As to cutting the smoke, I'd say probably cuts it in half.

 

[laynes69]

So in other words, Place it as close to the furnace as possible, to help heat the furnace to extract some of the heat. My dads got a base burning ashland stove. He has got the bypass damper which makes the smoke go through the coals into the secondary chamber to burn off. The only problem is he gets alot of creasote, which I am pretty sure hes not burning it hot enough. Maybe he could get a cat for the thing to help solve this problem. It looks like the hitzer wood furnaces, withough the jacket around it.

 

[Eric Johnson]

The cat element gives off heat, so if your furnace is in the basement, it will heat your basement. In my case, I'm interested in getting the extra heat back into the water, which is accomplished by the air around the boiler being hotter (about 150 degrees), but it would be more efficient to have the boiler or furnace located in living space, so that you get some direct benefit out of the extra heat.

In my limited experience, add-on cats don't work nearly as well as one that's designed into a stove or other appliance, but they work a lot better than nothing.