You have furnace attached to the chimney in your home that keeps your entire house warm. The stoves also serve the purpose of roasting meat and mushrooms occasionally. Your evening and night parties light up with the burning flames of the decorated furnace that added a certain level of elegancy to your room.
The concern is the type of wood stove that you must use to enhance the utility and capability. Reach for a Catalytic wood stove.
What is catalytic wood stove?
It is a kind of wood stove in which the smoky exhaust is transferred through the ceramic honeycomb that is coated and is present inside the furnace. The smoke particles and gases burn there.
The introduction of the catalytic stoves took place to adhere to the 1988 EPA regulation. As per the directive, the limit of smoke emission out of the catalytic wood stove is 4.1 grams per hour. These stoves can produce long and uniform heat output.
Let’s dig out the advantages:
- Number one is the decrease in creosote production by almost 20 – 90 %.
- Almost 10% raises the overall productivity of the burning unit.
- Catalytic wood stoves can reduce the air pollution up to around 75%.
How would you install a catalytic wood stove?
It’s satisfying to hire a professional for the installation of the catalytic stove. Wrong fitting results in more pollution and ignition of a house fire. It also influences the stove’s draft and the capability of drawing combustion air and debars the exhaust.
You must call the local authorities to check the building permits and codes before installation of the stove. Then, you should inform the fire insurance agency. Plus, you need to consult a certified installer who can notify you about the flue liner for maintaining accurate draft and arrest the icing that can block the chimney.
You must use flue diameter recommended by the manufacturer. If the size of the flue is not accurate, it won’t be able to bestow the draft required for stove performance.
Again, if the draft is improper, a significant amount of smoke may enter your room through the air inlets.
You have to be sure that all the seals that are joining the stove to the flue and within the duct are considerably tight so that the smokes are prevented and cannot leak into the house.
Now, some knowledge of the catalytic combustor:
In a catalytic stove, the ceramic honeycombed combustor is overlaid with a non-reactive noble metal like palladium. You will get several shapes and sizes. Wheel-shape is the most common one. For example, it can be 5.1 cm or 2 inches thick and 14.6 cm or 5 ¾ inches.
The combustor is responsible for the smoke to be burned so that it can’t clear out up the drift unutilized. The gases emitted by the wood will only burn if the fire is at least 537◦C or 1,000 F. If anyhow, the light is declined and the gas in the specific firebox is less than 537◦C, no burning will occur.
Whenever the gas passes via the combustor, the distinct metal performs as a catalyst. It sanctions the gas for burning at the temperatures which are low as 260◦C or 500◦F.
Every catalytic stove contains a catalyst bypass that is level-operated and is usually opened to initiate as well as reloading.
There is little negativity too:
Degradation of the combustors takes place over time. There is the need for periodic replacement. If you can use and maintain them nicely, they can last approximately 10,000 – 20,000 plying hours that accounts for around 6 seasons.
Burn only natural wood. Materials like coals, treated wood, lighter fluid, trash, paper logs and painted wood, etc. urge the catalyst to break down untimely.
If you burn any foreign materials, the combustors may get adulterated and decrease the operating potentiality.
What should you do for highest efficacy?
Burn only dry and seasoned wood. Freshly cut and wet wood won’t work correctly. Season the logs for six months minimum outdoor. Cover it loosely and allow the air circulate candidly through the complete heap.
On the other hand, wet or green wood free up less heat because the energy from the fire first evaporates the moisture prior to the heat production.
The stove must be operated in the bypass mode in the starting. Wait until the oven is heated enough before including the catalyst. You must run the internal fans of the stove following the instructions wholeheartedly. Own a catalyst temperature monitor.