Low Burn Why A CAT Stove?

[leeave96]

I have been reading answers to some of my posts, in particular the one about small house with a small room and some of the response sounds to me like for slow burns, a cat stove might be the answer.

If you turn your stove down - like at night after loading it up, to get an all night burn, why would a cat stove be better than a non-cat?

In my case, I might have a larger stove for burn time, but to keep from opening the windows and doors of the house to keep the room temperature down to a reasonable level, would need to turn the stove down - which from what I am reading a cat stove would be best. My question is - why?

I am learning a lot, I appreciated everyone's answers.

Bill

 

[Todd]

Cat stoves only need to reach internal temps of 500 degrees to maintain a secondary burn while non cats need to obtain 1100 degrees for secondary burn, so the cat stove will burn longer because it requires less air and will burn relatively cooler. More air equals hotter shorter burns. For example, Woodstocks Keystone has a 1.5 cu ft fire box and will burn for 8-12 hours according to people here while a similar sized non cat like the Lopi Answer will be lucky to go 6-8 (my experience). Both will produce about the same BTU's but the Keystone will draw them out for a more even or longer burn.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Big cat stoves give you a lot of flexibility this time of year. I have been doing 24 burn cycles with junk wood the past few weeks. Reload in the evening when I get home from work, turn it down for the overnight, crank it up first thing in the morning, then turn it down again for the day. No need to open windows, just adjust the thermostat on the stove.

 

[BrotherBart]

Cat stoves are magic. :lol: Everybody should have a cat stove. Well, except me.

 

[sixman]

Why not you?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Why not you?

BB likes it hot!


Matt

 

[BrowningBAR]

Why not you?

Cat stove don't work in Virgina.

 

[BrotherBart]

Why not you?

Got a big non-cat that just cruises along and keeps the house warm on half to three quarter loads of wood with twelve hour+ burn times and gives off heat for hours after the wood is down to coals. Don't see any reason to do it any other way. And it heats the joint on two and a half to three cords of dry wood a season for the last four seasons. For a grand.

Can't see another thousand or two for bragging rights. :coolsmirk:

 

[REF1]

Oh yeah, man. Cat stoves work GREAT in Virginia. :cheese:

 

[Slow1]

If you turn your stove down - like at night after loading it up, to get an all night burn, why would a cat stove be better than a non-cat?

In my case, I might have a larger stove for burn time, but to keep from opening the windows and doors of the house to keep the room temperature down to a reasonable level, would need to turn the stove down - which from what I am reading a cat stove would be best. My question is - why?

Todd pretty much answered it. Slightly different angle -

You can 'turn down' a non-cat stove as well. However, you do run the risk of burning less clean when you do so. EPA stoves aren't supposed to let you smolder the fire of course - thus they limit how much you can reduce the air (they all have a minimum amount of air they allow in), but even so it is possible to get a smoky fire going. Generally speaking, a good cat stove once you engage the cat you can turn the air down and run low and the stove will keep burning clean for the rest of the burn since the cat will consume whatever smoke is put out by the fire. So you simply get a very predictable clean burn out of it. For me this was one of the major draws as I'm fairly concerned about how much smoke I spill into my neighborhood (rather dense area here - don't want any complaints!).

As has been said in other threads - whatever stove you have, there are is only so much energy in a given load of wood that can be released as heat. The Cat stoves generally speaking have the ability to release this heat over a longer period of time than the non-cats while maintaining a clean and efficient burn. This is a great thing when running said stove in this manner. If you are running the stove at max rate (i.e. burning hard and fast) the marginal value of the cat goes down rapidly. Thus if you buy a cat stove that is barely large enough to heat your space and run it 7x24 at max output all winter you aren't going to really be appreciating the full value of the cat over non-cat. However, if you have it installed well within the operating specs of the stove and/or run it at less than 100% burn capacity much of the time you will likely be able to appreciate the difference. In any case, in the spring and fall seasons when you seldom need a lot of fire it is very nice to load the stove once a day and let it cruise at 300* surface temp all day instead of having a shorter spike of 650* that overheats the house for a few hours.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

With our cat stove, after 2 full years burning (our only source of heat) we "cleaned" our chimney....and got less than a cup of soot; no creosote. We burn ours on low most of the time. I like being able to do that and not have to worry about a dirty chimney. We don't have to worry about dirty glass either. We'll get a haze from fly ash but no black.

 

[sixman]

I live in Texas and I can see the need for low burns in my well insulated 1500 sq ft brick home. Had planned on a Lopi Endeavor but this post is making me think about a cat stove instead. Lots of days here will only require small amounts of heat to stay warm.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sixman, with your location and size of home I would highly advise you look strongly at the Woodstock line. I think the Fireview is the best and prettiest of the lot but some like the other models. You can send for some literature or just look on their web site:

Woodstock stoves

They are second to none on quality and service. No high pressure and thousands of very satisfied customers. Warning: their stoves are heavy beasts! The Fireview weighs in at 485 pounds but packs a good wallop when it comes to heat. On top of it all, they have a 6 month guarantee. Buy it, use it for 6 months and if it doesn't work out for you, send it back for a full refund. How many will stand behind their stoves like that?

Look at their website and/or call them at 800-866-4344

 

[sixman]

That is a nice looking stove but I need one that has the flue coming out the top due to clearance issues. Coming out of the back would put it too far into the hallway or living room depending on which way it was turned. I am not sure if they make a cat stove with the flue on top.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Woodstock's new stove which will be introduced this year will have either a top or rear exit for the flue. It will also be a larger stove than the Fireview.

 

[sixman]

I found them, the Keystone and Palladian. The 8-10 hour burn time listed is not any longer than the non cat Endeavor for some reason. Two down sides is larger more expensive 7 in pipe and only 16 inch wood. They are nice looking stoves compared to the Endeavor.

 

[sixman]

I also like the fact that you can go to the manufactures web site and get prices and a phone number to call.

 

[Todd]

I found them, the Keystone and Palladian. The 8-10 hour burn time listed is not any longer than the non cat Endeavor for some reason. Two down sides is larger more expensive 7 in pipe and only 16 inch wood. They are nice looking stoves compared to the Endeavor.

That's because the Endeavor is a larger stove at 2.2 cu ft fire box compared to the 1.5 cu ft Keystone. Woodstock also has an adapter to use 6" pipe.

 

[Gridlock]

Woodstock's new stove which will be introduced this year will have either a top or rear exit for the flue. It will also be a larger stove than the Fireview.

I spoke to someone at Woodstock yesterday; was told that the new larger stove will NOT be introduced this year.

 

[ChillyGator]

Why not you?

Can't burn pine in a cat stove :lol:

 

[Pagey]

You should always cook cat over a low burn. This brings out the natural flavors and juices in the cat.

 

[Todd]

Woodstock's new stove which will be introduced this year will have either a top or rear exit for the flue. It will also be a larger stove than the Fireview.

I spoke to someone at Woodstock yesterday; was told that the new larger stove will NOT be introduced this year.

Bummer, did they say why?

 

[Highbeam]

The rear vent fireview is a gem but the rear vent means it has to stick way out into the room. The keystone/palladin has tougher cat access, is a little less attractive IMO, is pretty dinky, and has huge rear clearance requirements so the top flue benefit is thrown out the window.

I burn a non-cat stone stove from the other company and when we only need a little heat during the day then I build a short, fast, and hot fire to just charge up the stone and it stays warm long enough to keep the house comfortable all day. It's been 45-60 here the last few weeks and I burn one fire at 7:30 PM when jeapordy is on. That one fire heats the house until the next day at J-time. This would be tougher with a steel stove, the stone benefit is great.

The 7" oultet on the keystone is a relic of the past. You're suppsoed to be able to adapt right to 6" without much ugliness. Since you will likely want to go into double wall pipe, the 7" OD of the flue collar will match right up.