bk owners with (update w/ new cat ?)

[weatherguy]

Roughly 3 years is the life of a new combustor. If you abused it, probably shorter.
If you put the new one & & it does a better job we'll all know what to watch for when a cat starts becoming in efficient.
You're having doubts that the one in the stove is good.
I say go for it, install the new one & let us know the results. Gonna need a new one either way soon enough.
You have everything ready to go now. Start the clock, 10k to 12 k hrs it will be getting time to replace it again.

Im not sure its only 3 years, the one in my BK is warrantied for 6 years on a pro rated basis.

 

[North of 60]

https://blazeking.com/EN/warranty-wood.html

This should help. ;-)

 

[weatherguy]

https://blazeking.com/EN/warranty-wood.html

This should help. ;-)

Thanks N60

 

[bogydave]

My point for 3 years is that I've read that a combustor starts becoming less efficient after 10,000 hours of burning.
Roughly 14 months of 24/7 burning. For my locations that's about 3 years.
I burn a 5-1/2 to 6 months a year so I was referring to "replacement time" to have a combustor working a peak efficiency.
I learned from my BK dealer that the cat has to be sent to the manufacturer for any warrantee & tested before any warrantee is paid.
With shipping costs high, I just figured every 3 or 4 years most cat stoves combustors need replaced to work at peak efficiency.

 

[weatherguy]

My point for 3 years is that I've read that a combustor starts becoming less efficient after 10,000 hours of burning.
Roughly 14 months of 24/7 burning. For my locations that's about 3 years.
I burn a 5-1/2 to 6 months a year so I was referring to "replacement time" to have a combustor working a peak efficiency.
I learned from my BK dealer that the cat has to be sent to the manufacturer for any warrantee & tested before any warrantee is paid.
With shipping costs high, I just figured every 3 or 4 years most cat stoves combustors need replaced to work at peak efficiency.

Especially where you live Dave. They kind of make that warranty useless, what are you supposed to do with the stove while your cats being mailed and tested, Id rather just buy a new one and not bother, then again thats probably their plan.

 

[bogydave]

Being "Green" don't always seem to be economical. The warrantees weren't' set up to favor the consumer
But with some research before buying the stove, I knew the combustors needed replaced, just waiting to see ""when"" for my conditions & system.
But adding up the amount of wood saved with a cat stove, I still save quite a bit of $$ even replacing the combustor every 3 years of so.
The long burn times would be hard to give up now, I've gotten a little spoiled.

 

[ecocavalier02]

Being "Green" don't always seem to be economical. The warrantees weren't' set up to favor the consumer
But with some research before buying the stove, I knew the combustors needed replaced, just waiting to see ""when"" for my conditions & system.
But adding up the amount of wood saved with a cat stove, I still save quite a bit of $$ even replacing the combustor every 3 years of so.
The long burn times would be hard to give up now, I've gotten a little spoiled.

dave you dont think you will get longer than 3 years out of the cat? i know your season is considerably longer but with your good dry wood and good burning id think you might be ok. . even still every 3 years still doesn't really cost all that much if you were to compare that to oil or nat gas. doesnt even compare. im hoping i get 5 or 6 out of this one.

 

[rdust]

dave you dont think you will get longer than 3 years out of the cat?

He's going by this link that puts it at an expected life of 12000 hours at which point performance will suffer.

"Life-Span of Catalytic Combustors

Although precious metals are not consumed in the catalytic reaction, the coating slowly degrades as a result of friction from wood smoke. As the surface area of the coating flattens, the combustor gradually loses its effectiveness." Burning good wood isn't going to help with this one.

 

[bogydave]

Being "Green" don't always seem to be economical. The warrantees weren't' set up to favor the consumer
But with some research before buying the stove, I knew the combustors needed replaced, just waiting to see ""when"" for my conditions & system.
But adding up the amount of wood saved with a cat stove, I still save quite a bit of $$ even replacing the combustor every 3 years of so.
The long burn times would be hard to give up now, I've gotten a little spoiled.

dave you dont think you will get longer than 3 years out of the cat? i know your season is considerably longer but with your good dry wood and good burning id think you might be ok. . even still every 3 years still doesn't really cost all that much if you were to compare that to oil or nat gas. doesnt even compare. im hoping i get 5 or 6 out of this one.

I have no experience to know how long a combustor will last with my burning conditions.
I know how well the stove burns now & when/if it burns less efficient, I should start getting clues that the cat is not as active.
Like yours, you notice more smoke & it didn't glow orange like when new.
By the studies & the condor page, 10k to 12 k hours (14 to 16 months) of burning seem to be the average, but the test criterion wasn't given.
I hope for 3 yrs at least.

 

[ecocavalier02]

i would also say i really noticed it at the end of the year last year when it started to not act like it had use to. and it was at the end of last year that i really burned alot of those pallets with nails in them. and also then the ashes with the nails in them would stay in the stove for over a week or more just really screwing up the cat i believe. and even early on i used a lot of kindling that had nails it. plus the way i burn in the stove now is way different from when first got it.

 

[weatherguy]

i would also say i really noticed it at the end of the year last year when it started to not act like it had use to. and it was at the end of last year that i really burned alot of those pallets with nails in them. and also then the ashes with the nails in them would stay in the stove for over a week or more just really screwing up the cat i believe. and even early on i used a lot of kindling that had nails it. plus the way i burn in the stove now is way different from when first got it.

I think the bolded is the most important part, I know it took me a year to learn how to burn this stove the its full capabilities and to do it right.

 

[ecocavalier02]

i would also say i really noticed it at the end of the year last year when it started to not act like it had use to. and it was at the end of last year that i really burned alot of those pallets with nails in them. and also then the ashes with the nails in them would stay in the stove for over a week or more just really screwing up the cat i believe. and even early on i used a lot of kindling that had nails it. plus the way i burn in the stove now is way different from when first got it.

I think the bolded is the most important part, I know it took me a year to learn how to burn this stove the its full capabilities and to do it right.

yeah its an easy stove to run. but there is def some tricks to running it.

 

[ecocavalier02]

Well day 5 with the new cat. stove is performing awesome. cat staying up to temp now and wood lasting longer. 24 hour reloads are a breeze. doing a nice long burn off for an hour or so in the begging then cranking down to 1.5 and cat stays nice and warm for hours then wake up in the morning pull wood forward then crank down even lower and reloading again at night.

 

[BKInsert]

Well day 5 with the new cat. stove is performing awesome. cat staying up to temp now and wood lasting longer. 24 hour reloads are a breeze. doing a nice long burn off for an hour or so in the begging then cranking down to 1.5 and cat stays nice and warm for hours then wake up in the morning pull wood forward then crank down even lower and reloading again at night.

Great! That is good to hear you solved the issue. Aren't you too hot though? My stove was off for the last 3 days, way too warm to run it with temperatures in the 60's during the day...

 

[ecocavalier02]

Well day 5 with the new cat. stove is performing awesome. cat staying up to temp now and wood lasting longer. 24 hour reloads are a breeze. doing a nice long burn off for an hour or so in the begging then cranking down to 1.5 and cat stays nice and warm for hours then wake up in the morning pull wood forward then crank down even lower and reloading again at night.

Great! That is good to hear you solved the issue. Aren't you too hot though? My stove was off for the last 3 days, way too warm to run it with temperatures in the 60's during the day...

well it can get a little warm. i just didnt feel like stopping the stove and starting it again. i only load it right before bed so about 9 or 930. and i open the windows all the way. i keep my bed room door shut 3 floor up as well. but by morning stove room is about 73 74. 2nd floor about 71 or 2 and it stays like that all day. have to keep it a little warm cuz we have the baby. so the only time its really hot is in the beginning and thats when we shoot up to bed. where the windows open and 55 degrees. lol

 

[SolarAndWood]

Glad to hear the cat solved the issue. If the stove is putting out so much heat that you have the windows open, I doubt you have much moisture left in the wood. I'd back off the time on that initial burn a bit and see how it works out. If you watch the stove, you get a feel for when the load is ready for cruise control. For my setup with good straight dry stuff, that is maybe 10 minutes. Punk, chunk and ugly is touch and go but you can usually tell when it is ready to drop the tstat. I've been cleaning out the heap and have been refining that process as I probably have a half season of it easy to burn :shut: Downside of urban scrounging...

 

[ecocavalier02]

Glad to hear the cat solved the issue. If the stove is putting out so much heat that you have the windows open, I doubt you have much moisture left in the wood. I'd back off the time on that initial burn a bit and see how it works out. If you watch the stove, you get a feel for when the load is ready for cruise control. For my setup with good straight dry stuff, that is maybe 10 minutes. Punk, chunk and ugly is touch and go but you can usually tell when it is ready to drop the tstat. I've been cleaning out the heap and have been refining that process as I probably have a half season of it easy to burn :shut: Downside of urban scrounging...

yeah i have been turning it down a little sooner. burn it on 3 till cat is way high then crank down in to the 2 's for a little then shut her down. ive been mixing some cotton wood with some maple pieces and it lights off in about 2 seconds. but still able to crank her down and get 24 hour burn like cake. so its been working really well

 

[SolarAndWood]

Sweet. Thinking my cat might be close as well. I have 20+ through it and it was definitely abused when I bought it.

 

[bogydave]

You are back to being spoiled with the long burn times & lots of heat.
Good fix.
Add one more "learned the hard way", those are remembered forever.

 

[ecocavalier02]

You are back to being spoiled with the long burn times & lots of heat.
Good fix.
Add one more "learned the hard way", those are remembered forever.

yep. i think about 95 % of the things i do in life i learn the hard way. just ask my wife. lol makes ya tuffer.