Dead cat

[Flatbedford]

Last winter, being our first with the Fireview, was a learning experience for us. It took some time to get used to the idea that there should not be raging flames in the stove. This learning took its toll on the cat combuster. I had it out for cleaning over the weekend and looked pretty beat up. Dusting it actually caused it to crumble. I put it back in and reloaded. Since then, the cat is clearly not working. Heat is way down, burn times are shorter, there is smoke coming out of the chimney, and the fire just doesn't look right. I called Woodstock on Monday and one of the new stainless steel ones is on the way. It is amazing how much of a difference the cat makes in the performance of the stove. Dead cat pictures are attached. I knew that it was pretty beat up going into this season, but figured I'd see what happened. I had a feeling that it was in bad shape because it was taking longer and longer to light off. As it got worse and worse we probably accelerated the degradation by using more and more heat to get it to light off. Thankfully the combuster is covered by a warranty so our learning experience only cost us $13 shipping.
While I was on the phone with Woodstock I asked if they were going to offer any kind of trade in/upgrade deal with the new stove. Unfortunately, the answer was no. Maybe we will have a 2 stove house soon.

 

[3fordasho]

I pretty much did the same thing to the original cat in my first fireview. I originally thought my less than perfectly seasoned firewood did the number on it but now I'm not sure. The replacement and the cat in my second fireview are doing better but they both are showing some minor cracking. The seasoning of the firewood should no longer be an issue as I am 4+ years ahead now.
I sure am interested in seeing how the new stainless cats are going to hold up because I think I'll be lucky to get more than 3-4 years out of the ceramic cats even with perfectly seasoned firewood.

I wonder what is worse for the cat- burning less than perfect wood (to much moisture content) or running with very little flame in the firebox and a red-orange glowing cat.

 

[Fsappo]

Thought this was about chinese food, moving along

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Geez Steve,


Should have bought an Englander.


Learning curves are rough.


Are you looking at another fireview for the 2nd stove?

Matt

 

[Danno77]

This forum has so many posts about dead cats that you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a thread about dead cats. or something like that.

At any rate, would that be an expensive lesson to learn the hard way if you didn't have warranty?

 

[Flatbedford]

I am thinking of replacing the Fireview with the new one and installing the Fireview in the other (cold) end of the first floor.

Without the warranty it would be $129 for the new cat. A small price to pay for a nearly $1500 savings in annual heating costs if you ask me.

My wood was well seasoned, my wife was resistant to change, and may also have been absent minded from time to time. :lol:

 

[Todd]

I replaced mine after the first year also but it was more the stoves fault than mine. The air slide was off it's track, must of got bumped during shipping or something, and it caused too much air to get in there, also warped the cat scoop. The cat was cracked all over, started to crumble and was smoking. Talked to Woodstock, solved problem and they sent me a new cat and scoop.

The following year I was paying real close attention to the cat and it started to crack but no crumbling and still worked fine. I was getting a little paraniod and told Woodstock about it and they sent me another new cat.

I have hairline cracks in this one as well but it's been working fine for 3 years so I'm not going to switch it out til it falls apart. I think it's normal to see some small cracks, the frame around it will hold it together and should keep working.

The new steel cats should be resistant to cracking and I bet Woodstock will save some dough in the long run by switching. I'm really tempted to try one but I'll have to wait.

 

[Todd]

I wonder what is worse for the cat- burning less than perfect wood (to much moisture content) or running with very little flame in the firebox and a red-orange glowing cat.

Woodstock claims they have tried ruining a cat with wet wood and couldn't. I think it would plug up fast with wet wood but direct flame contact and high heat is probably the worst thing you could do for it. By the looks of Flatbedford's cat, he was sucking in some flame. There has also been some discusion about potassium in the wood that breaks down the catalyst and there is something in the works to neutralize this.

 

[3fordasho]

I replaced mine after the first year also but it was more the stoves fault than mine. The air slide was off it's track, must of got bumped during shipping or something, and it caused too much air to get in there, also warped the cat scoop. The cat was cracked all over, started to crumble and was smoking. Talked to Woodstock, solved problem and they sent me a new cat and scoop.

The following year I was paying real close attention to the cat and it started to crack but no crumbling and still worked fine. I was getting a little paraniod and told Woodstock about it and they sent me another new cat.

I have hairline cracks in this one as well but it's been working fine for 3 years so I'm not going to switch it out til it falls apart. I think it's normal to see some small cracks, the frame around it will hold it together and should keep working.

The new steel cats should be resistant to cracking and I bet Woodstock will save some dough in the long run by switching. I'm really tempted to try one but I'll have to wait.

Good point about the air slide.. I noticed mine was off track at some point as well - perhaps that killed the cat. Have not noticed a warped scoop but perhaps I should check that out. Both the newer cats have the hairline cracking but nothing falling apart or crumbling. Hopefully they will stay functional.

 

[Boozie]

Thought this was about chinese food, moving along

OMG, thanks for a definite Laugh Out Loud. I thought it was truly about a dead kitty cat. I'm new here. Especially after reading one of the threads about shooting squirrels.

 

[Renovation]

Thankfully the combuster is covered by a warranty so our learning experience only cost us $13 shipping.

Wow! More "enlightened self-interest" points for Woodstock! I can easily imagine a more short-sighted company making the customer pay. Great to hear.

Hmmm... maybe I'll start a thread where people can report their company going above and beyond... That could be interesting.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

You know, I JUST watched "Boondock Saints" for the first time last night.. maybe a while before a "dead cat" thread makes me think of a stove part first..

 

[leeave96]

You know, I JUST watched "Boondock Saints" for the first time last night.. maybe a while before a "dead cat" thread makes me think of a stove part first..

I've had some pretty good flames going in my Keystone. Not sure if they reach the cat as it is well behind a shield and some expanded metal. The only flames I see "on" the cat are an occasional secondary flame-up inside the area where the cat is located. Don't know if that damages anything. So far the cat lights off, burns bright, the stove top gets really hot and can't see any smoke going out the chimney - just heat waves.

I'm not sure how the Keystone cat location/set-up differs from the Fireview, but I would think it would be hard to get the fire on the cat unless you open the damper such that the chimney draft is really pulling hard.

I really like the cat stove and the controll I have with it. Lots of heat generated from the smoke burning too.

It will be interesting at the end of the burning season to see how my cat faired too.

The Fireview is a really nice stove.

Bill

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Flatbed- fess up........PAINT KILL CAT.

 

[Slow1]

Flatbed- fess up........PAINT KILL CAT.

You mean I'm not supposed to paint my cat to match the stove?

 

[sauer]

woodstock has a great warranty on there cats. First year is free replacement. second is 50% off. third year is 25% off . Not shure if thoes numbers are totally correct but I think the warranty lasts up to 4 years,
cant beat that with a secondary tube.

 

[burleymike]

That looks like my old cat which died from flame impingement. The way the stove was designed it was right in the flame path with only a piece of steel mesh to keep the flame off of it. I did not know how important that mesh was and as it degraded more flame was able to hit the cat.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Our cat shows some cracking in a couple of spots but we hope to get a few more years from it. Slow1, if you remember what yours was like last summer, ours is about like that now or maybe just a little more.

 

[Slow1]

Our cat shows some cracking in a couple of spots but we hope to get a few more years from it. Slow1, if you remember what yours was like last summer, ours is about like that now or maybe just a little more.

Sounds like you are being nicer to your cat than I was - I do know how my cat looked.

So far this year I don't see much change in my cat - a few cracks may be larger but it is hard to really tell.

I had a smoke increase but I think it may have been due to my needing to adjust the cat lever (it wasn't snapping into place - in fact it would fall back sometimes). The working theory there is that I wasn't getting a good seal around that bypass inside and some smoke was getting around the cat. I've tightened that up and just haven't had the time to go outside and look for smoke at the right time (it is dark when I get home and too cold for me to run outside in my PJ's when I first load stove in the AM).

I do wonder if my running the stove so close to max so much of the time will degrade the cat faster - seems to make sense that it would. I don't think I get flames inside the scoop much, but it must be happening. This year I generally have flames in the box most of the time I'm burning in order to try and get a higher total BTU from the stove. House temp wise it is working it seems, but clearly I'm putting more air through the stove. Cat temps aren't high (generally 550-600 top of stove is the peak of a burn) so I don't think I'm stressing it, but the overall box is hotter all around with those flames inside.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It does seem that the cat life would be shorter with running it to maximum most of the time. How much shorter? Hard to tell for sure. Also, you should be able to get 650 quite easily on that stove. We got there quite fast this morning when I got up later than normal. It warmed up pretty nicely in here. Now the wife did a little bit of laundry and has some clothing hanging up to dry so the humidity level is right up there too. It is comfy in here.

 

[Todd]

If you guys would just go ahead and buy another Woodstock you wouldn't have to run them so hard and stress the cat. ;-P

I have both burning low and slow today, nice even heat in the upper 70's throughout the whole house. I did have a stall today on my fireview and was thinking about this thread and maybe it was time for a new steel cat but it just turned out to be engaging a little too soon with too little air burning that dense as hell Locust. Sometimes that stuff just doesn't like to take off.

 

[84td]

You know, I JUST watched "Boondock Saints" for the first time last night.. maybe a while before a "dead cat" thread makes me think of a stove part first..

LOL, I love that movie. "Is it Dead" "I cant belive that $%^& just happened!"

Seen it a hundred times

 

[Dave_1]

If you guys would just go ahead and buy another Woodstock you wouldn't have to run them so hard and stress the cat. ;-P

The rumors of my death have been grrr_ately exaggerated.

 

[Fake coal burner]

Get a dog. :coolsmile: No more dead cats.

 

[fire_man]

If you guys would just go ahead and buy another Woodstock you wouldn't have to run them so hard and stress the cat. ;-P

I have both burning low and slow today, nice even heat in the upper 70's throughout the whole house. I did have a stall today on my fireview and was thinking about this thread and maybe it was time for a new steel cat but it just turned out to be engaging a little too soon with too little air burning that dense as hell Locust. Sometimes that stuff just doesn't like to take off.

Todd: I learned the same thing with Locust. Wait even longer than normal before engaging or the cat will stall. But it's worth the wait - I did get high temps and long burns with Locust.