Progress Hybrid cat question / smoke smell

[fire_man]

Where do you run your air control at? Mine is usually just cracked open a bit from the closed position, enough to maintain some flame in the box at all times. On a hot reload, if there is plenty of secondary action I will shut it all the way down. Pretty rare for it to go above 425f on the stove top. At this temp it's heating the room just fine, just curious why others are seeing much higher temps.

I don't think if I tried I could hit much above 600F on my stove - even fully loaded with bone dry oak and with major flames in the box. I'm not sure how others get their's so hot. I crack the air open just a bit past the closed position to keep flames in the box. I guess I never needed to run it much more but the few times I did, it never got much above 600F.

 

[weatherguy]

Where do you run your air control at? Mine is usually just cracked open a bit from the closed position, enough to maintain some flame in the box at all times. On a hot reload, if there is plenty of secondary action I will shut it all the way down. Pretty rare for it to go above 425f on the stove top. At this temp it's heating the room just fine, just curious why others are seeing much higher temps.

I have to shut it all the way, if it's below 30 it'll just keep climbing if I don't shut it down. My draft is strong. Think I'm going to put in a damper.
Wherever you run it to maintain that temp try opening it just a hair higher to see if your temps climb. It's all related to draft, how long of a flue do you have?

 

[trguitar]

I've only had my Progress for a month, but my temps are consistently around 450 - 500. I did get it to 650 when it was very cold out. I was testing out the air control, and had it open about 1/4 for the whole burn.

My MO so far is to engage the cat around 300 stove top, then shut the air half way, and then when the stove top reaches the temp I want, close the air completely. It seems to sit right at that temp for a few hours and never climbs higher.

 

[fire_man]

I've only had my Progress for a month, but my temps are consistently around 450 - 500. I did get it to 650 when it was very cold out. I was testing out the air control, and had it open about 1/4 for the whole burn.

My MO so far is to engage the cat around 300 stove top, then shut the air half way, and then when the stove top reaches the temp I want, close the air completely. It seems to sit right at that temp for a few hours and never climbs higher.

How wide is your air while you are waiting for the temp to hit 300 before engaging, and how crazy are the flames before you cut back to 1/2 air after engaging?

 

[trguitar]

It's wide open. The firebox is usually full of flame.

To be clear, when I hit 650 I had the air control wide open for the reload. Stove top was about 250 at that point. I loaded up with wood, and engaged the cat at about 300, and immediately put the air control down to 1/4 open.

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

I usually run my stove between 450 and 500 degrees. That's where she likes to be. But when she was newer (stove & cat), if I fully loaded her with nice dry oak/hickory, let stove top temp hit 300 with air wide open, then closed bypass and left alone for 10 minutes and then turned air all the way down, she would go into full cat burn mode with no flame and easily climb into the 600's. Once I let it climb up to red line on the Woodstock gauge (675) and then opened the air 25% and she slowly came back down to 550. Now that my cat is older and tired, and I never load her more then 60% full, 600's is a distant memory. I have purchased a new cat from Woodstock and will install it next time I clean the stove.

 

[weatherguy]

I usually run my stove between 450 and 500 degrees. That's where she likes to be. But when she was newer (stove & cat), if I fully loaded her with nice dry oak/hickory, let stove top temp hit 300 with air wide open, then closed bypass and left alone for 10 minutes and then turned air all the way down, she would go into full cat burn mode with no flame and easily climb into the 600's. Once I let it climb up to red line on the Woodstock gauge (675) and then opened the air 25% and she slowly came back down to 550. Now that my cat is older and tired, and I never load her more then 60% full, 600's is a distant memory. I have purchased a new cat from Woodstock and will install it next time I clean the stove.

Keep a close eye on it when you put the new cat in, that's when mine took off close to 700, these new cats are different.

 

[fire_man]

Reading these posts makes me think I baby my stove too much. Even WS mentioned I need to burn hotter.

I have the kind of luck that the stove gets warped the one time I run hotter than normal .

 

[fire_man]

I think draft makes a big difference on max stovetop Temp on these WS stoves. My Palladian consistently touches the red 675F mark (just for a little while) no matter how I run it. It's got the longest chimney (23 feet or so) with respect to any other stove I had and I'm glad I ovalized that liner - I think it pevented the need for a damper.

I just barely hit the red mark every time I run that stove.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Keep a close eye on it when you put the new cat in, that's when mine took off close to 700, these new cats are different.

It seems to me that, in general, cats are relatively small and are likely the point of maximum restriction (other than the air inlet). A small change in the open area of the cat could significantly change the maximum burn temperatures achievable.

And yet I haven't seen aftermarket cat manufacturers (or OEM for that matter) provide relative specs for amount of restriction (ie, open area).

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

Keep a close eye on it when you put the new cat in, that's when mine took off close to 700, these new cats are different.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

I don't think if I tried I could hit much above 600F on my stove - even fully loaded with bone dry oak and with major flames in the box. I'm not sure how others get their's so hot. I crack the air open just a bit past the closed position to keep flames in the box. I guess I never needed to run it much more but the few times I did, it never got much above 600F.

If 90% of the time the stove was meeting my heating demands at lower stove top temps, I would be just fine with that. That's what sweatshirts are for. I say let her run where she and you are comfortable. Mine usually cruises at 450 - 500 and for my climate that is perfect. And she sips wood to boot. The few times I needed more heat due to extreme o/s temps (single digits), I just loaded her up full on a warm stove, put her in full cat burn mode (no flames), and let her rip. But I must say it was a little scary at 675 even though the stove handled beautifully.

 

[3fordasho]

It is connected to a 25' insulated liner in a brick fireplace chimney. Previously installed to a 15 or 18' Selkirk class A in an insulated chase.
The PH works better with the 25'er, it would clog the cat about every 3 weeks with the shorter set up, now it takes longer and only gets partially blocked.

I have to shut it all the way, if it's below 30 it'll just keep climbing if I don't shut it down. My draft is strong. Think I'm going to put in a damper.
Wherever you run it to maintain that temp try opening it just a hair higher to see if your temps climb. It's all related to draft, how long of a flue do you have?

 

[fire_man]

The PH works better with the 25'er, it would clog the cat about every 3 weeks with the shorter set up, now it takes longer and only gets partially blocked.

I agree - My PH experienced cat clog issues on my 14' flue until extended to 16'.

 

[weatherguy]

I agree - My PH experienced cat clog issues on my 14' flue until extended to 16'.

That's interesting, I thought it would be the other way around, maybe I'll leave mine alone. The old cat clogged much quicker than this new one, I haven't had to clean it yet.

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

That's interesting, I thought it would be the other way around, maybe I'll leave mine alone. The old cat clogged much quicker than this new one, I haven't had to clean it yet.

A few years back some were saying the clogged cats were somehow related to not having the ash grate system. Was that ever proved?

 

[weatherguy]

A few years back some were saying the clogged cats were somehow related to not having the ash grate system. Was that ever proved?

Not sure but I don't recollect anyone with the ash pan having a clogged cat. I don't think they know for sure but I've been out of the loop awhile. I know I was cleaning my old one every 2-3 weeks.

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

Not sure but I don't recollect anyone with the ash pan having a clogged cat. I don't think they know for sure but I've been out of the loop awhile. I know I was cleaning my old one every 2-3 weeks.

I have the ash pan and a 21 ft chimney. I only clean my cat at the end of the season and it is never clogged at all.

 

[trguitar]

I can be the test. My PH is brand new. I don't have the ash pan, and I haven't had any cat issues yet. I checked it after 3 weeks, and it was clean as a whistle.

 

[3fordasho]

A few years back some were saying the clogged cats were somehow related to not having the ash grate system. Was that ever proved?

I went from shorter chimney and no ash grate/pan to taller chimney and ash grate/ pan set up. Too many changes at once to isolate but the cat stays much cleaner now. The original install could almost completely plug the cat in three weeks.

 

[fire_man]

Now that you guys mention it, I did add the ash pan system at the same time as I extended the flue - which coincided with no more cat clogs.

I do remember a couple years ago when lack of an ashpan system was being tied to cat clogs.

I don't miss those days.

 

[weatherguy]

I can be the test. My PH is brand new. I don't have the ash pan, and I haven't had any cat issues yet. I checked it after 3 weeks, and it was clean as a whistle.

Sounds good, how long is your flue?

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

Do any of you guys have older PH stoves with the secondary plate warping problem?

 

[trguitar]

Sounds good, how long is your flue?

It's 20' at the most.

 

[weatherguy]

It's 20' at the most.

Mines 26 with a rear vent, no ash pan. If you've been burning over a month with no blockage yet you may be in the clear.