Dutchwest 2461

[Woody Stover]

With the air wide open, you're flushing cool air into the stove. You're also blowing smoke past the cat so fast that it can't eat the smoke. Once the cat is lit for 10-15 min, you should see nothing coming out the stack except heat waves. Stove top temp sounds good when you close the bypass, but cut the air to 1/2 or less about a minute before you do that. Then look for the cat to glow (can be hard to see, you may have to move your head around and look from different angles.) You could also pull the cat probe out and see the cat glowing through the hole. Once the cat is glowing, I cut the air further, to almost nothing, and the probe and stove top temps will rise pretty quickly and settle in around 600/1400. It's possible you may need a new cat probe as well, pull it out and if it looks ate up, get a new one. I would GENTLY put a small wooden dowel or something down the probe hole until you touch the cat, to see exactly how long a probe you need. You want the probe within 1/2" of the cat face. woodmanspartsplus has a bunch of different Condar cat probes I haven't seen elsewhere.

 

[Woody Stover]

Some wood species, Oak in particular, won't be very dry in a year and a half, unless split small.

 

[Woody Stover]

My 650 stove temps are with the meter on the plate above the cat...

 

[ssoucy]

if you crack the ash door with the cat engaged, smoke will backup even more into the room. My only option was to move the stove out of the basement.

 

[cham1733]

if you crack the ash door with the cat engaged, smoke will backup even more into the room. My only option was to move the stove out of the basement.

My issue is that when the ash door is closed and primary air is wide open my carbon monoxide detector will go off. When the ash door is cracked it does not. We haven't had smoke in the room with the ash door open. I guess what I am trying to figure out is if the stove is running better with the ash door cracked open (firebox temps around 500F and catalyst temps around 1000-1100F as opposed to around 325 and 900F) and no or less carbon monoxide in the room is there a problem with opening the ash door when I close the damper?

 

[cham1733]

With the air wide open, you're flushing cool air into the stove. You're also blowing smoke past the cat so fast that it can't eat the smoke. Once the cat is lit for 10-15 min, you should see nothing coming out the stack except heat waves. Stove top temp sounds good when you close the bypass, but cut the air to 1/2 or less about a minute before you do that. Then look for the cat to glow (can be hard to see, you may have to move your head around and look from different angles.) You could also pull the cat probe out and see the cat glowing through the hole. Once the cat is glowing, I cut the air further, to almost nothing, and the probe and stove top temps will rise pretty quickly and settle in around 600/1400. It's possible you may need a new cat probe as well, pull it out and if it looks ate up, get a new one. I would GENTLY put a small wooden dowel or something down the probe hole until you touch the cat, to see exactly how long a probe you need. You want the probe within 1/2" of the cat face. woodmanspartsplus has a bunch of different Condar cat probes I haven't seen elsewhere.

When I cut the primary air to half the stove temp dropped below 300F and the cat probe never read above 800F. We bought a new cat probe when we got the stove so that shouldn't be the problem. So you are saying that when you reduce the air stove and cat temps rise (Once the cat is glowing, I cut the air further, to almost nothing, and the probe and stove top temps will rise pretty quickly and settle in around 600/1400)? I know as soon as I close the damper my stove temp quits rising and will drop rather quickly to 500F and then drop further (unless ash door is cracked then it hovers around 500F). I know we don't have the best draft in our basement and having a 45 degree off set on the chimney probably doesn't help that either.

 

[Diabel]

When I cut the primary air to half the stove temp dropped below 300F and the cat probe never read above 800F. We bought a new cat probe when we got the stove so that shouldn't be the problem. So you are saying that when you reduce the air stove and cat temps rise (Once the cat is glowing, I cut the air further, to almost nothing, and the probe and stove top temps will rise pretty quickly and settle in around 600/1400)? I know as soon as I close the damper my stove temp quits rising and will drop rather quickly to 500F and then drop further (unless ash door is cracked then it hovers around 500F). I know we don't have the best draft in our basement and having a 45 degree off set on the chimney probably doesn't help that either.

From what you are describing in this post, I would say your wood is to be blamed for the cat behavior.
If I by mistake put few splits in the stove that are not yet ready (not seasoned properly) then I will get the same stove, cat reaction as you describe above. Same goes for the temps.

As for the smoke in the room, there could be soooo many factors. If possible adding a 4' section of pipe and see if by increasing draft the smoke smell will be eliminated would be a relatively quick fix.

 

[Woody Stover]

So you are saying that when you reduce the air stove and cat temps rise (Once the cat is glowing, I cut the air further, to almost nothing, and the probe and stove top temps will rise pretty quickly and settle in around 600/1400)? I know as soon as I close the damper my stove temp quits rising and will drop rather quickly to 500F and then drop further (unless ash door is cracked then it hovers around 500F).

From what you are describing in this post, I would say your wood is to be blamed for the cat behavior.

Yeah, cham, that's how it should run. Since the cat is relatively new, I agree with Diabel, sure sounds like wet (or not completely dry) wood. Excess moisture will dog the cat, so to speak. With the wet wood, your stack may never get hot enough to have good draft. Get some Eco-brick compressed wood logs, or some dry construction scraps, and see if it runs right. Read the instructions on the Eco-bricks; Both they and the construction scraps will burn HOT so don't load the stove full of that stuff or you may have a hotter stove than you ever wanted! Let us know what happens...