Hi, do you think you could boil water on the top if you removed that part you called the radiator? open the top lid, remove that chunk of metal and leave the combustor to glow red, up at the top cover. can you try it ;) see if you can get a rolling boil going. Thanks
I’m sure you could boil water by lifting out the center burner and putting the pot on the stainless steel surface below. I’m not inclined to remove the inner steel radiator and fire the stove. Woodstock spent a lot of time designing and beta testing the Ideal Steel, and I think that inner radiator was added because of the heat being too much for the stove top. The weight of it also helps hold the combustor sled down for a good seal on its gasket. I’m sure that radiator is there for good reason and I don’t want to prematurely burn out my stove by overheating any parts through removing it.
I don’t know that it does that, but it does keep the passages clear so that it keeps working effectively by allowing smoke to readily pass through. Catalytic combustors become less effective when dirty.
Recently I made a video where I address how I run this stove, and I discuss burn time. With an ash bed in the stove, I have rekindled from embers and kindling after 24 hours. 12-14 hour reloads are easy. Can go less for more heat. Purchase direct from manufacturer. Look up Woodstock Soapstone Ideal Steel in your favorite web search engine.
The stove has been installed for a year and burned about 5 cord through it to date. The combustor is still perfect. I vacuum it off every 4 weeks or so of 24/7 burning. Last weekend I took advantage of a warm day and did a vinegar/distilled water rinse for the first time, though it didn’t really need it. I expect to get about 3 years out of it. We’ll see. A new one for this stove is $185 today. A good deal compared to many others.
I just bought a vermont castings cast iron dutchwest with catalyst that was built in 1993..I did some minor resealing of the seams with furnace cement, new rope gaskets and new cat..The stove is perfect, with no warping or any damage from getting too hot over the 30 years it has been used..I love it it is my first cat stove and i am definitely sold on the cat!..Pulls every bit of heat out of the wood and my chimney should stay much much cleaner..There is no smoke going up my chimney while the wood smolders for hours and the cat is glowing red at 1200 degrees!
I brought it in (tractor assisted) and put it on the hearth (creative sliding on pallet). There are videos of that. A chimney company installed the liner and hooked it up. You can easily remove many parts and shed a lot of weight from the stove. I show some of that in the video where I put it on the hearth.
You should check out the vacuum called powersmith ash vac. It works fantastic.
Wow that's easy. I like it.
Nice video! Can't wait for your next update, what colors did you choose for the stove?
This is a charcoal body and metallic blue accents.
Hi, do you think you could boil water on the top if you removed that part you called the radiator? open the top lid, remove that chunk of metal and leave the combustor to glow red, up at the top cover. can you try it ;) see if you can get a rolling boil going. Thanks
I’m sure you could boil water by lifting out the center burner and putting the pot on the stainless steel surface below. I’m not inclined to remove the inner steel radiator and fire the stove. Woodstock spent a lot of time designing and beta testing the Ideal Steel, and I think that inner radiator was added because of the heat being too much for the stove top. The weight of it also helps hold the combustor sled down for a good seal on its gasket. I’m sure that radiator is there for good reason and I don’t want to prematurely burn out my stove by overheating any parts through removing it.
Do you know if regularly vacuuming the catalytic combustor can extend it's lifespan?
I don’t know that it does that, but it does keep the passages clear so that it keeps working effectively by allowing smoke to readily pass through. Catalytic combustors become less effective when dirty.
The thermostat you use for the Catalyst, do you happen to have a link for it ? Thanks 😊
No. It came straight from the manufacturer (with the stove).
What is the longest burning time you can get with that stove. Also do you have a link to where that could be purchased
Recently I made a video where I address how I run this stove, and I discuss burn time. With an ash bed in the stove, I have rekindled from embers and kindling after 24 hours. 12-14 hour reloads are easy. Can go less for more heat. Purchase direct from manufacturer. Look up Woodstock Soapstone Ideal Steel in your favorite web search engine.
Have you had to buy a new one yet
The stove has been installed for a year and burned about 5 cord through it to date. The combustor is still perfect. I vacuum it off every 4 weeks or so of 24/7 burning. Last weekend I took advantage of a warm day and did a vinegar/distilled water rinse for the first time, though it didn’t really need it. I expect to get about 3 years out of it. We’ll see. A new one for this stove is $185 today. A good deal compared to many others.
I just bought a vermont castings cast iron dutchwest with catalyst that was built in 1993..I did some minor resealing of the seams with furnace cement, new rope gaskets and new cat..The stove is perfect, with no warping or any damage from getting too hot over the 30 years it has been used..I love it it is my first cat stove and i am definitely sold on the cat!..Pulls every bit of heat out of the wood and my chimney should stay much much cleaner..There is no smoke going up my chimney while the wood smolders for hours and the cat is glowing red at 1200 degrees!
Who installed your stove? Seems prohibitively heavy to diy
I brought it in (tractor assisted) and put it on the hearth (creative sliding on pallet). There are videos of that. A chimney company installed the liner and hooked it up. You can easily remove many parts and shed a lot of weight from the stove. I show some of that in the video where I put it on the hearth.
@@ProductiveRecreation I'll look for the videos thanks!