Yikes; temperature of CAT probe hitting 2000 degrees!

[fbelec]

Our Encore CAT 2550 does the same thing (overfire the CAT) when too many logs are hot enough to outgas at once and then close the damper. The cat eats too much smoke and gets way hot.
The Encore is a smaller version of your 1945. Why torch all your fuel before closing the damper when your manual states:
"NOTE: If the remaining charcoal bed is relatively thick and if your fuel is well seasoned, it is possible to add fresh fuel (smaller pieces first), close the door and damper, and reset the primary air thermostat for the desired heat output."
(see page 23 of your user manual).
Also, you can shove most of your coals to the far left (or right) of the firebox before loading those 22 inch logs (tightly packed -no spaces between logs). This will make the fuel load burn from one end to the other end- like a candle. So on a bed of coals:
1. Shove all/most of the coals to the east or west end of the firebox.
2. Load 'er up with 22" logs, tightly spaced, no gaps between sticks.
3. Close the damper and set your primary intake to where it will cruise all night.
This method requires proper timing. The coal bed has to be down to where coals shoved to one side are 3" deep before reloading.
You bypass the charring of a new fuel load and don't overfire your cat. It's how we get a long even burn from our Encore 2550 cat.

Thanks much for the info and suggestion. So it seems based on your technique, that you are relying mostly on the CAT to produce heat, since if you aren't lighting up the wood on a new load, you aren't going to get much direct heat from it. I also wonder if this will produce an excessive amount of smoke, since the firebox may not be hot enough to burn a lot if it on its own, relying almost completely on the CAT. Then again, if you aren't charring all the wood, I suppose not much of it will be producing smoke at once.

Anyhow, it's certainly an interesting idea and I will try it later. By the way I think I hit a record last night: I briefly noticed 2100 degrees on the CAT thermometer and 750 degrees stove top at the same time... yikes!!

that must have smelt real good.

 

[webbie]

I've had cats up to 2000 degrees a few times - every time I did it was more because of the particular wood than any other factor. In some ways, a cat cannot help how hot it gets because if it has a vast amount of fuel (smoke, volatile gases) to burn, it must do so. It is a self-sustaining reaction!

If it becomes a problem, my solution would be larger splits of wood and maybe some less seasoned material - as well as mixing wood species if you find that one species tends to do it more. Each wood species has a different chemical makeup - i.e., some have more coals and some have more gases.

 

[Gridlock]

I've had cats up to 2000 degrees a few times - every time I did it was more because of the particular wood than any other factor. In some ways, a cat cannot help how hot it gets because if it has a vast amount of fuel (smoke, volatile gases) to burn, it must do so. It is a self-sustaining reaction!

If it becomes a problem, my solution would be larger splits of wood and maybe some less seasoned material - as well as mixing wood species if you find that one species tends to do it more. Each wood species has a different chemical makeup - i.e., some have more coals and some have more gases.

Thanks for the suggestion, Craig. I've been trying all sorts of things, but so far I've been having a tough time achieving a good balance. Last night I tried Gar's technique of trying to move the coals over to once side, and closing the damper immediately after loading. This seemed to work well for a while, but eventually all the wood ignited and I ended up with a similar problem. I had another thing happen yesterday where I had sudden explosive poofs in the firebox. I believe the smoke in the firebox was igniting suddenly. I had the damper closed and the temperature in the CAT chamber rose once again to over 2000 degrees; I actually saw 2250 briefly. I opened the damper and the air control to burn off excess smoke, then closed the damper again, at which point it appeared everything was Ok. Before this happened, I had the air control a bit over 1/3 open, so don't think I was choking it down too much.

I do wonder if this stove is overly touchy and if another CAT stove (like the Woodstock) would be less so.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I do wonder if this stove is overly touchy and if another CAT stove (like the Woodstock) would be less so.

I had similar experiences with my VC cats. The BK, on the other hand, is extremely predictable and controllable even with a full load of small split pine.

 

[Gridlock]

I just read the following sentence in the stove manual:

"Avoid using a full load of very dry wood in the firebox. This may result in continuous very high temperatures in the secondary combustion area and damage the combustor.".

Well, I didn't think my wood was very dry, but maybe that is the case. Any recommendations on a good wood moisture meter?

 

[Todd]

I do wonder if this stove is overly touchy and if another CAT stove (like the Woodstock) would be less so.

I had similar experiences with my VC cats. The BK, on the other hand, is extremely predictable and controllable even with a full load of small split pine.

I've had my cat get away from me a few times and every time it's been a fully loaded fire box, air shut down and no flame action. I found this won't happen if you wait 10-20 minutes to engage and when you do give it some air for 15-30 minutes before turning it down for those longer burns. I was told by the experts that the cat can handle those high temps for short times once in awhile but internal stove temps above 1400 can take it's toll on cast iron parts.

 

[Gridlock]

Well, today I've been enjoying a long steady fire without the excessive temperatures. The key seemed to be not to ignite all the wood at once. I pushed all the coals to once side of the box as Gark had suggested, and the wood seems to be burning more slowly from one side to the other with less smoke. Stove-top temperature has been a consistent 550 degrees, and catalytic temps have been ranging between about 1400 and 1700 (I actually am pretty sure the the measured catalytic temperature is reading too high). I just hope I can repeat this!