Cat or non-cat?

Some folks just think it is too good to be true. A good cat stove gets just as hot as a noncat and also can run low and slow.

Highbeam said:

A good cat stove gets just as hot as a noncat and also can run low and slow.

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I agree for the most part. That said you can damage a cat burning real hot with a lot of flame where you don't have to worry about that with a tube burner.
I think if you run a cat stove correctly you don't have to run it hard to begin with it. I like the long flat heating curve of the cat.

I think another thing to mention is that Cat stoves, in my experience, heat more evenly over the burn cycle whereas a tube stove's burn cycle is more uneven having a huge burst of heat in the beginning and then dropping during the coaling stage. With a cat you can avoid that burst.

HotCoals said:

I'm curious as to the details to that statement. So if you could elaborate I would be interested in reading about it.

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I'm not a good judge on what's fussy .. as I'm coming from using a JUCA custom fireplace insert with 12 cubic feet firebox .. blower motor is 3x+ bigger than Buck 91 with at least twice the heat output. after initial fire is started with a hot bed of coals, JUCA takes all of 2 minutes to load. open door .. stack wood .. close door you are done. ashes drops into opening in floor which doubles as intake air.

only catch is the enormous amount of wood JUCA goes through .. have not finished season yet with Buck 91 but wood usage is 1/3 or less of JUCA.

back to my statement about cat stoves being more fussy ... read comments on how to run a Buck 91 .. you will not find anyone doing exactly the same thing. common to see statements about running their Buck 91 for several years before figuring out best way. seems everyone has a slightly different way of running their Buck 91 .. Buck technical tells you one way .. dealer tells another .. read about several other ways ... etc. etc.

bottom line is I'm very pleased with Buck 91 and would go with cat again without hesitation.

I have no experience with anything other then an old pre EPA stove and my new cat stove and I can say this stove is so easy to burn and very forgiving. I can load it with kiln dried pine or pretty wet oak and as long as I have a good coal bed it will burn just fine. I also like have full control over the stove. There is no chance of this stove ever having a runaway situation. Not only that. The burn times that I get with usable heat is amazing.

Lots of threads for this topic . . . but I'm game.

Went with a non-cat . . . no regrets . . . but I wouldn't rule out a cat stove either.

I'd just like something safe with good burn times. Nothing too fancy. Easy to operate

HotCoals said:

I agree for the most part. That said you can damage a cat burning real hot with a lot of flame where you don't have to worry about that with a tube burner.
I think if you run a cat stove correctly you don't have to run it hard to begin with it. I like the long flat heating curve of the cat.

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Turns out you can damage a noncat with too much flame as well. Both technologies have a max output.

I want to address the gasket comment brought up early on. My cat stove is 12 years old and is my primary heat source. I haven't needed to replace any gaskets so I would say that's just a rumor. I'm betting the need for gasket replacement is more based on stove design and not at all if it's a cat stove or not. Even the gasket that my cat rests on is fine after all this time so...

Creekheat said:

Thoughts?

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kennyp2339 said:

be happy during a extended shoulder season?

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That's my thought, Creekheat. We do a lot of shoulder burning down here....long and low is the way to go.

begreen said:

There are many many pages of exhaustive discussion on this topic.

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Yeah, but maybe we can come up with something new here.....uhhhhh....never mind.

HotCoals said:

you can damage a cat burning real hot with a lot of flame

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I think the screen on the Woodstocks protects the cat pretty well. Todd and others run their cats with considerable flame when outside temps warrant it, and push the stove up towards redline, like 600-650, with no apparently problem. I generally don't have to run that hot here, but it can be done.

_CY_ said:

have not finished season yet with Buck 91 but wood usage is 1/3 or less of JUCA.

read comments on how to run a Buck 91 .. you will not find anyone doing exactly the same thing. common to see statements about running their Buck 91 for several years before figuring out best way. seems everyone has a slightly different way of running their Buck 91 .

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Well, I'd say you made the switch just in time, considering the winter we've had.

That may just say that there are different approaches to running the Buck, and that people are having success with a number of different ways....

i heat just over 1800sq feet with my cat stove. it has been undersized for below zero temps, but the stove still keeps the house warm enough in below zero temps. its the perfect stove as long as it above 10-15 degrees. I do wishi got a larger stove...but we can still fill the stove and sleep 8 hours and easily reload on coals the next morning. our only other source of heat is electric baseboard and we havent turned it on once. Our stove is only 2.3cuft

Creekheat said:

I had NO idea there would be this much to decide lol

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Don't rush your decision, especially if you have no dry wood. The season will be winding down soon. You can learn more, maybe find and end-of-season deal, stack some quick-drying wood and be ready to rock this fall.

Most full time burners would benefit from a cat stove. Im a part time burner and i still want one. Its on the bucket list.

I've had both and if you can't dry your wood for 2 yrs get a cat,if ya wanna burn less wood for more heat and ya want less creosote and fewer chimney fires get a cat.Control control control.CAT.

I converted my house stove from non-cat to cat a few years back so I've owned both and used both for primary heat in my home on the same hearth with the same wood. We burn 9 months of the year for heat, we spend a few weeks each year in the teens or even single digits but mostly it is 35 and raining. A well made cat stove (hint: I know of only two brands that make them) is far superior to a non-cat for full time home heating. There is no specification in which the non-cat is superior be it efficiency, wood consumption, range of output, or burn time. On my BK, the window gets a bit dirty and there is no pretty fireshow most of the time. It's job is to maintain 75 degree temps and it is ideal.

I'm not a putz, I know that there is a place for a non-cat so I own one of those as well. It's out in the 1800 SF detached shop and it does an excellent job of taking the abuse of being heated from 35 degrees to 750 within 30 minutes using whatever fuel I have that is unfit for the cat stove. It was cheap to buy, easy to operate, big firebox, big window, pretty fireshow, and I feel confident that it will last a long time. I just have to reload it every few hours to keep it hot while monitoring flue temps to be sure I don't melt the stove's innards.

The additional cost for maintenance is a myth, not a factor, don't fall for it. The cat element is warrantied for ten years, the fiberboard ceiling baffles of the non-cat have no warranty and will not last ten years. Proper operation of both technologies will result in similar costs over time.

Lastly, this topic comes up "perenially" and that is just fine. I like it that way since I like reading about stoves. If it bums you out then don't click on it.