You need to take the cat shield down and clean the cat at a minimum as I doubt it has been done lately. You can run it with the cat shield down to verify visually that it is working, just be careful to not allow flames to hit the cat too much as this will hurt it. I would build a smaller fire towards the back of the stove.
With the unknown history of that insert I would take the cats down and clean them in a bath, but you will need to get more gasket to put them back properly.
This website has good info on cats: https://www.firecatcombustors.com/Articles.asp?ID=250#top
I do believe I had gotten a 6" probe: https://www.woodstovecombustors.com/thermometers/catalytic-thermometers.html
With the unknown history of that insert I would take the cats down and clean them in a bath, but you will need to get more gasket to put them back properly.
This website has good info on cats: https://www.firecatcombustors.com/Articles.asp?ID=250#top
I do believe I had gotten a 6" probe: https://www.woodstovecombustors.com/thermometers/catalytic-thermometers.html
