Emergency Heating Question

Hey guys, as you know the Northeast is under a blizzard watch. I recently bought a new cat for my woodstove but it hasnt arrived yet. Since the old one was junk its not at the landfill. Is it ok to run my stove without the cat? Obviously the damper would need to stay open.

I have electric heat in the house and my generator can not power it. Worst comes to worst I`d like to use the insert to heat the house. I havnt used it in a week since I`ve been waiting for the new cat to come in. It was supposed to be here today but because of the storm it got delayed.

Thanks in advance!

not sure about your VC,
blazeking told me it was ok to run their cat stoves w/o the cat though... with bypass open or closed.

i'd be careful about letting too much flame rip up the pipe where it could ignite existing creosote.

I've actually been running my Vermont castings encore 2550 without the cat lately, since the old one fell apart, and I'm planning on replacing the stove. It actually burns pretty good without it, I close the damper when it gets hot, so i don't loose too much heat strait up the chimney (and to avoid a chimney fire). Don't let it burn too low, since creosote will be an issue without the cat. Plan on going through a lot of wood.

Thanks guys!

Oh, I also cleaned the chimney and liner last week so I should be good to go!

For sure burn it. You may have to do some extra cleaning when the new cat gets here but no reason to be cold while waiting.

I just want to thank you guys. We had no power for 2 days and lows at night of 6*. The house stayed in the mid 70s to low 60s throughout the weekend. The fiance"s parents even spent the night. The generator kept my house live with power and I was able to watch my sat tv and enjoy some great wood heat. I also got to play with all my toys all in the same weekend. Generator, wood stove, 4x4 truck and the snowblower!

Sweet!