Everything About Wood Stove Catalytic Combustors
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Your wood burning stove is the primary heat source for home heating. Keeping your wood stove
operating at its optimum efficiency increases the stoves performance. The catalytic combustor in your
wood stove is the heart of your wood stove. The EPA has enforced strict regulations on the emissions
for pollutants of wood stoves. Installing a catalytic combustor in the wood stove forced all smoke to be
re-burnt before it entered the chimney. This resulted in cleaner emissions in the air.
The most surprising result of adding the catalytic combustor to the wood stove was a huge increase in
heat output from the stove. In order for the catalytic combustor to engage the stove must reach an
internal temperature of around 1100 degrees. Once the catalytic combustor is engaged it slows down
the burning process in the stove. The wood is slowly “Cooked” as opposed to being burnt. The slow
cooking of the wood is a more thorough burn which results in total combustion. Coals and ash are
reduced to a fine white powder. The total combustion utilizes the wood as a fuel source with no waste.
The increase in heat output by using less wood to heat your home has been a huge savings. Keeping
your catalytic combustor operating properly adds to the wood stoves efficiency. Periodically you must
remove the catalytic combustor and clean it. A shop vacuum will do a great job to get the light coating
of fly ashes that can accumulate on the surface of the combustor. If the ceramic cells are clogged you
may need to uses a pipe cleaner.
Like your heart clogs can cause major problems. Just as you watch what you put into your body only
burn seasoned wood in the stove. Do not use a lot of newspaper to start your fire especially colored
magazines as this can clog the combustor. We suggest using Fatwood a natural fire starter. Burning
firewood that is not seasoned puts excess moisture into the wood stove and this can cause the
ceramic cells in the combustor to deteriorate.
Keep your combustor clean and it can last five years or longer providing heat into your home. If the
catalytic combustor starts to crumble it must be replaced.
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