The end of the monstrous burn.

[rdust]

In my personal experience I honestly think a lot of cat stove owners make way to big of a deal out of non cat stoves being uncontrollable! I have had both types now and I will say without a doubt I would not go back to my Dutchwest. My living room temps are never over 75 and usually never fall below 70. I don't think that is a huge temp swing and I have no problems maintaining that temp. As far as burn times go my T6 burns every bit as long if not longer than my Dutchwest XL. I easily do 12 hour reloads on this stove for the majority of the winter and lately I have been getting close to 16 without a problem and the stove top temps are around 250 at the end of the burn.

I think both cat and non cat stoves have there places and I wouldn't hesitate to have another cat stove if there was one out that I wanted. In a house like mine that requires some btu's to keep up even on a fairly warm winter day the benefits of the cat are kind of a moot point. That being said if I had a house that needed less than a 2.0 cu ft firebox stove I would put a cat stove at the top of my list for the burn time since it seems like most non cat stove with small fireboxes (less than 2.0 cu ft) are lucky to get an overnight burn.

I really think the PE stoves are a notch above the rest non cats after reading the posts from a lot of the users.(I'd love to try a Summit)

With my Endeavor I had absolutely zero control of the burn, air all the way down secondaries going crazy and a 750 stove top. Lets not even talk about loading on a hot coal bed with a 300 plus stove top! A hot stove is fine when I need heat but the shoulder season was terrible. I bought a cat stove for the shoulder season since that makes up a large part of the heating season I felt my Endeavor was great for the meat of the winter but having to regulate heat output with the amount of wood I put in got old. If I was retired it would be different but I work so that's not an option.

 

[daleeper]

In my personal experience I honestly think a lot of cat stove owners make way to big of a deal out of non cat stoves being uncontrollable! I have had both types now and I will say without a doubt I would not go back to my Dutchwest. My living room temps are never over 75 and usually never fall below 70. I don't think that is a huge temp swing and I have no problems maintaining that temp. As far as burn times go my T6 burns every bit as long if not longer than my Dutchwest XL. I easily do 12 hour reloads on this stove for the majority of the winter and lately I have been getting close to 16 without a problem and the stove top temps are around 250 at the end of the burn.

I think both cat and non cat stoves have there places and I wouldn't hesitate to have another cat stove if there was one out that I wanted. In a house like mine that requires some btu's to keep up even on a fairly warm winter day the benefits of the cat are kind of a moot point. That being said if I had a house that needed less than a 2.0 cu ft firebox stove I would put a cat stove at the top of my list for the burn time since it seems like most non cat stove with small fireboxes (less than 2.0 cu ft) are lucky to get an overnight burn.

BK folks make a big deal out of the thermostatic control, because most of them did not have that kind of control with their previous stove.

I agree that both stove types have their place. What I don't like is that there seem to be more misconceptions thrown around about the cat stoves. Dealers that continue to discredit the value of the cat stove because of problems that early stoves had, and based on experiences that poor/inexperienced stove operators had with cat stoves, and the fact that they do not have a cat stove to sell.

Not all folks need or want a stove that will burn low and slow, nor do some want one that will burn them out of the house. I like my cat stove, because for my application, I don't believe any non-cat stove could possibly out-perform it (in my application). I value function over fashion. I want a stove that can be loaded 1 or 2 times a day, set at a comfortable level and left for the day. It needs to burn cleanly, and with good efficiency. My stove does that for me.

 

[ScotO]

Don't have a spare cat on hand, bought the stove used, don't know how old it is, cleaned it, stuck it back in, ran it 2 years 24/7 from Dec to March so far with no problem and $10.00 for the gasket. I keep hearing that tubes are a non-issue, but some have had. Had your baffle not been covered by warrenty, it would have cost half the price of a cat to replace.

Anyway, I know non-cat folks are going to disagree, and I'm ok with that. Most that do a good job of maintenance with a non-cat will point out that cats are high maintenance, and ignore the fact that a cat stove operator that is running their stove properly will have low maintenance costs also.

Also, thank you for reinforcing the fact that the looks of a stove are opinion based, and some of us like the look of the BK and other steel stoves. Englander has never been a real looker in my opinion, but you don't hear that stated around here often, because they hold an important place in the market (great heater for the money). Why not allow BK to do the same in the low and slow end of the market?

I'm not tryin to bust yer chops, DA, I have said many times that I would consider buying a BK if they had one that appealed to me. This Scirroco is a nice looking stove, but too small for what I would want it for. Once my Napoleon NZ300 ZC fireplace is finished (God willing sometime this spring), I will have two heaters in the house and I will be watching for a 'low and slow' stove, such as a BK. And you are right, both types of stoves have their place. The baffles are a lifetime warrantee for my Napoleon, so the only maintenance items I really need to ever worry about are the brick and gaskets, maybe a sheild down the road. Either way, I like the performance of the BK stoves (as well as some other CAT stoves) just not sold on the appearance yet......

 

[chuckie5fingers]

Im sitting here thinking "dang I want a 24 hr. + burn time. " (He's got a hunnert pounds in there). I can put 40 pounds in my clydsdale and get about 9+ hours. SO, that 100 lbs would be 2 1/2 full loads for me and that would equal about 24-25 hours with enough to relight on easy!! I guess it all in how ya look at it..

chuck

 

[eclecticcottage]

Have you looked at the Sciracco? It's actually not all that bad.

Its getting better, but that is a little stove. 1.8 cuft firebox isn't even a consideration for me. 18" log max. I'm looking for a big ol honkin' box (like the king) that has the operation of Blaze King and the looks of a classic cast stove (like the Isle Royale).

Well, at least it's a step in the right direction. We only have @ 700 sq ft so it's a good size for us.

 

[rdust]

Im sitting here thinking "dang I want a 24 hr. + burn time. " (He's got a hunnert pounds in there). I can put 40 pounds in my clydsdale and get about 9+ hours. SO, that 100 lbs would be 2 1/2 full loads for me and that would equal about 24-25 hours with enough to relight on easy!! I guess it all in how ya look at it..

chuck

He also torched that wood at a pretty good clip. That's a 40 hour burn on "low" he burned it up on what I consider "medium". You're only going to get some much heat out of a stick of wood, the difference for me is how the BK gives you that heat. I can take it hot and fast or I can make it low and slow. Not having to touch a stove for 24 hours is also nice, how much time in your day do you waste loading three times. I agree it's all how you look at it!

I'll be banging the BK drum until something better comes into my life. :lol:

 

[nate379]

I grew up heating with a homebuilt "smoke dragon" (though it hardly smoked though). My Dad didn't really believe me when I told him that I was heating the house with 2 loads of wood a day. I usually load it up before I leave for work and then after when I get home (I'm gone usually for 10-11hrs a day)
I wouldn't be able to heat with wood if I had to tend to the stove every few hours.

There is no reason to keep a spare CAT on hand. Unless you are burning wrong it's not going to just stop working one day. Not to mention you could just run it with the CAT bypassed if you really had to.

The stove is what I heat my house with as well. It's winter here easily 6 months a year...