What is the ratio of CAT vs Non-CAT stoves out there?

[ControlFreak]

Does anybody know what this would be?

What about new stoves sold today?

Are CAT stoves on the increase?

 

[webbie]

my guess is at least 90 to 10, maybe more. Cat stoves are not on the increase.

Price is a big part of the game, and a small extra expense at the point of manufacture translates into a very large additional cost to the consumer. Therefore, the added cost and complexity (bypass, etc) of a cat works against it from a sales viewpoint.

 

[ControlFreak]

Craig,

You mean 10% CAT, 90% Non-CAT?

Dan

 

[webbie]

yes, many more non-cats.....most companies do not even sell cat models.

The encore and intrepid are probably 1/2 or more of the entire cat market - add woodstock and blaze king and that is most of the cat number. But that does not compare to the many companies like Regency, Travis, etc. all selling many tens of thousands (each) of non-cat models.

 

[Eric Johnson]

What's your preference, Craig?

I think I would probably be a cat guy just because it seems more sophisticated, but if you can accomplish the same thing without the wear parts, why not?

 

[webbie]

I think all this stuff becomes regional in nature. Most of the customers we had in the 80's and 90's in southern NJ were not 24/7 diehards, so I preferred non-cats since there were fewer user education and service issues - and non-cats seemed to put up with marginal chimneys better (because they put more heat up the flue, thereby warming it).

But I was one of the first dealers in the US to really push cats...way before EPA.....the Concorde Catalytic, the Russo and many others. They worked great! It was really mind blowing back then to see the amount of extra heat that was able to be reclaimed!

It is so frigid here...that it is easy to forget that much of the country is temperate. In those climates, a smaller stove and softwood does the job really nicely. However, if I was going to go 24/7 and heat a vast area those Blaze Kings would start looking good. There is something to be said about not having to load the moment you go to bed and again the instant you wake up.

 

[eernest4]

There is something to be said about not having to load the moment you go to bed and again the instant you wake up.


Amen to that !!

I seem to resemble that remark more that I care to!

 

[Ken45]

There is something to be said about not having to load the moment you go to bed and again the instant you wake up.

I believe you are saying that cats burn longer so you don't have to jump out of bed and reload them?

But from what I think I understand from reading here, you are not supposed to add additional fuel to a cat until it has burned way down? Doesn't that make it harder to load it up at bed time? Doesn't that pretty much tie your schedule to the stoves burn schedule?

I'm new here so please forgive me if I'm all confused!

Ken

 

[stoveguy2esw]

cat stoves do tend to burn a bit longer IMHO although new tech type non-cats are getting some pretty good burn times as well. firebox size is the big key though a stove must burn a certain amount of wood per hour to maintain , so the larger the firebox the longer the burn due to more wood fitting in it. with a cat stove or a newer type non-cat the primary air can be dialed back to where just enough air hits the wood to maintain and the "secondaries " (the cat , or the reburn process of the non-cat covers the heating "load" needed to warm the structure. taking over from the "primary fire" allowing long burn times

 

[jpl1nh]

There is something to be said about not having to load the moment you go to bed and again the instant you wake up.

I believe you are saying that cats burn longer so you don't have to jump out of bed and reload them?

But from what I think I understand from reading here, you are not supposed to add additional fuel to a cat until it has burned way down? Doesn't that make it harder to load it up at bed time? Doesn't that pretty much tie your schedule to the stoves burn schedule?

I'm new here so please forgive me if I'm all confused!

Ken

In my experience that is not necessarily true. There are times when I reload my cat stove partway through a burn for various reasons. In general though for the longest burn, you need to start with a fresh load in a relatively empty stove. It is my suspicion that you can run a cat stove cleanly at a lower firebox temperature than a secondary burn system and therefore tend to acheive somewhat longer burn times. I think Craig's point about cats working best for 24/7 burners is true to. Loading in a already warm stove allows you to re-engage the cat quite quickly, in a cold stove it takes a while to get warm enough to engage.

 

[Pine Knot]

The long burn times of my cat stove provide welcome flexiability as to when to load at night and reload again in the morning. It just takes some of the pressure off of my early morning routine.

 

[jpl1nh]

with a cat stove or a newer type non-cat the primary air can be dialed back to where just enough air hits the wood to maintain and the “secondaries “ (the cat , or the reburn process of the non-cat covers the heating “load” needed to warm the structure. taking over from the “primary fire” allowing long burn times

Mike, sounds like you're seeing the secondary technology improving to the point where it is almost as good as the cats in being self sustaining at very low burn rates?

 

[raybonz]

The long burn times of my cat stove provide welcome flexiability as to when to load at night and reload again in the morning. It just takes some of the pressure off of my early morning routine.

What vintage is your large Dutchwest cat stove?

Ray

 

[Pine Knot]

New last fall, and a big improvement over what I had, a Drolet Adorondack. The Dutchwest is cleaner, puts out steady heat, and requires less tending to. The Drolet was a noncat and the secondary burn worked well, but it had other issues, short burns, ash removal the main short comings.

 

[raybonz]

New last fall, and a big improvement over what I had, a Drolet Adorondack. The Dutchwest is cleaner, puts out steady heat, and requires less tending to. The Drolet was a noncat and the secondary burn worked well, but it had other issues, short burns, ash removal the main short comings.

I do get long burn times and pretty controllable heat with my large Dutchwest stove.. Generally it will burn 8-9 hrs. and still be catalytic in the morning.. I reload and within 1/2 hour when I leave she is cruising again.. The only downside which I don't care about is black windows from choking it down all night which I let self-clean.. Like this AM it was 69 upstairs and 71 downstairs after loading it at 10 PM and I got up at 6AM (it was 20 degrees outside when I got up) .. The key to this cat stove is good dry wood ( 95% oak).. Last time I got a little puff was 2 weeks ago.. I cured that by moving the wood a little bit and it was fine after that.. Can you choke down a non-cat stove and get controllable long burns like that? That is important to me because I do like to run 24/7 if it stays cold enough.. Amazingly I can heat this 1632 sq. ft. log home on 3 cords a year and I have 8' ceilings both up and downstairs and it can get pretty cold here in Mass. I keep the temp about 75 downstairs and about 71 upstairs.. I just replaced my baffle which cost less than $25.00 and one cat for $100.00, the only parts I have needed in 20 yrs. other than a door gasket once... I do like the non-cats but I wonder if they can run like a cat stove does..

Ray