Hello all. I'm new to the forum but not to burning wood. I've heated my 1989 1800 ft. house with a Consolidated Dutch-west small convection heater with the catalytic combustor. I'm actually on my second stove, as the first ones inside pieces cracked after 5 years and I found it easier to replace then to fix (they were cheap back then). Well I discovered a few weeks ago my combustor has broken up and it is only on it's second season (I heat entirely with wood). The combustor before that only 3 years I think. I took the top off and noticed the heat shield support for the combustor was mostly gone. So I could try replacing internal parts or get a new stove. New stove is the choice.
Now Cat or not Cat. To be honest I'm tired of babying the combustor. I love the way it works and the minimal creosote buildup over the heating season, and the heat I get off it. But after much research I decided on a PE Alderlea T5. I was leaning towards the T4 because I feel it is closer in size to my CD but after reading many posts on this forum I'm going with the bigger stove. I feel the T6 would put me out on the deck.
My main concern was not firing the stove enough to keep the chimney clean. That is my question. My experience with the dutch-west has been slow burning fires most of the time with higher burn only in the coldest of weather (January and February). Will I have to run the stove at higher temperatures to keep the secondary burn going to prevent creosote buildup in the chimney? And is that going to use more wood. I have a small woodshed attached to my garage that holds just enough wood for the year, so I will be able to tell. I'm not worried about using a little more but am concerned that I could use 1/2 again what I use now.
After reading many posts I feel the people here are knowledgeable. Thank you for your comments
Now Cat or not Cat. To be honest I'm tired of babying the combustor. I love the way it works and the minimal creosote buildup over the heating season, and the heat I get off it. But after much research I decided on a PE Alderlea T5. I was leaning towards the T4 because I feel it is closer in size to my CD but after reading many posts on this forum I'm going with the bigger stove. I feel the T6 would put me out on the deck.
My main concern was not firing the stove enough to keep the chimney clean. That is my question. My experience with the dutch-west has been slow burning fires most of the time with higher burn only in the coldest of weather (January and February). Will I have to run the stove at higher temperatures to keep the secondary burn going to prevent creosote buildup in the chimney? And is that going to use more wood. I have a small woodshed attached to my garage that holds just enough wood for the year, so I will be able to tell. I'm not worried about using a little more but am concerned that I could use 1/2 again what I use now.
After reading many posts I feel the people here are knowledgeable. Thank you for your comments