Fire view in a cat stove

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I actually like the flame show in a cat stove better than a non cat tube stove's gas grill like flames.



I agree those flames look good but are you running those stoves a bit on the warm side? I get loads of flames with the air all the way down on this stove and my cat stove usually was run very low with very little flames. I found my cat stove was most efficient run with little flame and efficiency was lower with a good flame show..

Ray
 
I actually like the flame show in a cat stove better than a non cat tube stove's gas grill like flames.



Wow i did not know a BK stove could burn like that.
 
I get very long burn times and a great fire show.. I could have gone 12hrs. on the last load easily.. The T5 and many other non-cats get over 80% efficiency on a low burn which produces lots of heat
Ray

Yes, that is inferior. How about 30 hours burn time and 87% efficiency? Actually the efficiency, though inferior with a non-cat, is not important in real life. Both technologies provide satisfactory results but for functional heating the cat is decidedly superior.
 
Yes, that is inferior. How about 30 hours burn time and 87% efficiency? Actually the efficiency, though inferior with a non-cat, is not important in real life. Both technologies provide satisfactory results but for functional heating the cat is decidedly superior.
I think i could get over a dark box when if i had a 20 hour burn.
 
I agree those flames look good but are you running those stoves a bit on the warm side? I get loads of flames with the air all the way down on this stove and my cat stove usually was run very low with very little flames. I found my cat stove was most efficient run with little flame and efficiency was lower with a good flame show..

Ray
That burn in the Bk was about a half load with the t-stat set a little under #2 and the Keystone was a low burn at .5, so no they weren't burning a little on the warm side.

All the Woodstocks except the classic have secondary air holes in the back of the air wash plate that give you those great looking floating flames. I guess you could really call them all hybrids.

The BK will give me a nice lazy flame for 6+ hours at #2 but it also cuts down on the burn time. I think the BK is set up to be most efficient with no flame in the box and the WS is more efficient with a little flame.
 
One can always find those who will say one type is better than the other type of stove for viewing flames. Each type of stove will produce the type of flames you want if you know how to burn them properly.

Our stove is a cat stove and we get plenty of flame, yet, if we want to really turn the thing down, in time the flame will die out but we still get lots of heat. I'll never forget the time I thought the stove was out. It was during the night and I could not see any reflection of flame when I walked into the stove room. I could not even see a red coal, yet the stove was producing heat like crazy. House was nice and warm. Before we had went to bed there was plenty of flame.

We have sometimes turned the stove down to no flame but then within perhaps a half hour, the flame again comes to life and during these times that flame looks like the pits of Hell for sure. Really wild.

Sorry but I've never taken a movie picture of our stove but I have seen some posted on this forum before. How many does it take?

Actually a thread like this serves no useful purpose and it usually starts arguments. If that is what folks like, okay, but....
 
Thanks ray,

Should I reload at that point, or milk a few more hours of heat out of the coals?
Not sure if your post is directed at me.. Could you rephrase your question as I am not sure what you mean..

Thanx,
Ray
 
This thread does serve a purpose for the OP. There are many people out there that think cat stoves don't give nice looking fires when in fact they do. I'm just trying to prove otherwise and show some truth to the OP.
 
It is a fine line between an argument, a debate, and a conversation. If you find yourself thinking that everything is an argument, or worse yet, that your answer is always right, then it is time for a forum break. The only worse thing is referring people to the "search" function because you are too lazy to answer their question yet are willing to make an effort to tell them how to find an answer for themselves.

Every so often the cat vs. non-cat debate will come up and fun will be had by all. Newcomers especially will benefit. If you aren't enjoying yourself then please don't post. The last thing we want is to force you to post, this is not a job.
 
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This thread showed me new things that i did not know and i enjoy this site.
 
On the line between cat and secondary burn. I was pleasantly surprised with the secondary action possible from a cat stove. With a little more air than shown in the video, full secondary "ribbons" of flame are easy. The cat doesn't glow during that kind of burn, leading me to believe the secondaries are consuming all the volatiles.
Edit:please excuse the wife's singing.
 
One can always find those who will say one type is better than the other type of stove for viewing flames. Each type of stove will produce the type of flames you want if you know how to burn them properly.

Our stove is a cat stove and we get plenty of flame, yet, if we want to really turn the thing down, in time the flame will die out but we still get lots of heat. I'll never forget the time I thought the stove was out. It was during the night and I could not see any reflection of flame when I walked into the stove room. I could not even see a red coal, yet the stove was producing heat like crazy. House was nice and warm. Before we had went to bed there was plenty of flame.

We have sometimes turned the stove down to no flame but then within perhaps a half hour, the flame again comes to life and during these times that flame looks like the pits of Hell for sure. Really wild.

Sorry but I've never taken a movie picture of our stove but I have seen some posted on this forum before. How many does it take?

Actually a thread like this serves no useful purpose and it usually starts arguments. If that is what folks like, okay, but....

Glad you posted tonight, Dennis. Merry Christmas to you and your wife, and I truely hope you have a healthy coming year.
 
We hope the same for you and all members of hearth.com. Hope this coming storm misses you rideau. It appears it will almost totally miss us. If we get an inch out of this that will probably be the most. That's okay with me too.
 
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....can any of you convince me with pictures or videos, that a cat stove doesnt look like a black box with a tiny dancing flame in the recesses? That's what I have seen in looking on youtube and such. Is this something where a non-cat very simply just has the advantage?

I have not run a non-cat stove, so I am unable to compare running a non-cat and cat in the same environment to compare apples to apples, but I know that my cat stove has a good flame show when I load it and get it set for a long burn. When I shut it down, depending on how low, the flames may disappear, or they may give out the neatest flame show on the top of the firebox with the gasses burning off. How much depends on how much heat you want.

How much flame show can a person watch anyway? I loaded my stove this morning at about 5:00, and here at almost 7, there is still flame enough for me. You can bet I'm not going to sit here all day and watch it. I will admit that I enjoy watching the fire when I get it started, but I can get along fine with what I have.

I don't have a problem saying that a non-cat has the advantage in flame shows, but I don't really don't call it as an advantage at all, I burn wood for heat. If all I wanted was a light show, gas would be so much easier.
 
I don't have a problem saying that a non-cat has the advantage in flame shows, but I don't really don't call it as an advantage at all, I burn wood for heat. If all I wanted was a light show, gas would be so much easier.

It's as simple as different people look for different things out of their stoves. For some they must look nice to them, have a nice flame show, be an easy to run stove etc. If everyone wanted the same thing or had the same goals we'd all have the same stove.

I had a non cat that was better on the eyes with a better flame show than the BK. After messing with it for 2 seasons that stove was moved out and a BK was moved in. When I started burning I didn't know what I wanted being my first go around. After a couple seasons I knew a non cat wasn't what I wanted. I wanted a stove that flat out heats, has a long burn time and was easy to run. "I" think I have the best stove on the market for that.
 
I actually like the flame show in a cat stove better than a non cat tube stove's gas grill like flames.




This shows me that there is more than just cat or non-cat technology fueling the flameshow. I can't get those awesome flames with the BK at the same settings. It must have something to do with the wood or maybe the draft? I get a large campfire in a box where Todd's show looks more like a secondary combustion event where clouds of wood gas are igniting. I do get a firebox full of flame for about 30 seconds when I go from lots of combustion air and close it down to lower input but they go away once the gasses are burnt off. Maybe Todd's fuel makes more gas.

So I ask that we leave some room in the discussion for variables other than cat or non-cat.

That Keystone makes a nice fire.
 
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This is how it is with my Sirocco. I currently see a wisp of a flame now and then when on low, but mostly a glow. What I am watching is my wood lasting a long time. Ideally I would never see the wood burn, my stove would keep the house warm, and I would never have to reload all winter.

How many square are you heating with it, and would you recommend it to others?
 
If I run my FireView at a number 1 setting, I have flames and a glowing cat.. it then looks like a regular stove burning.
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The Fireview seems to be a really nice stove... I hate the design of the door though. If you could put a Progress-style door on it.....
 
Here's some video on youtube of the Progress Hybrid buring.....









Looks like a sweet stove from everything I have seen of it... think its total overkill for me. I could be wrong. But I do recall seeing some of those Woodstock videos a while ago and being thoroughly impressed with the light show.
 
Can't say I've ever thought of my stove as much more than a"water heater". Don't really care what the fire looks like if its heating my house efficiently. This is the first stove I've run that has a window on it even,

Everyone runs one for different reasons, right? I will be redesigning my living room and transitional room into my kitchen... and a stove of later choosing will have a prominent visual placement in the room(s). I want one that not only walks the walk, but that also looks great doing it.
 
How many square are you heating with it, and would you recommend it to others?
1000sq drafty. Big improvement over my old Intrepid II. The intrepid made almost no creosote, cleaned it 1x yr. This stove is too new yet. First impressions have been favorable. I made the mistake of buying the convection deck/fans. Not needed at all for my application, but the deck adds some style. I would recommend the stove-for me, the only light shows I get are every 10 hrs or so when I reload. After that, it's just a red glow, occasional wisp of flame. It is 28 degrees and snowing here, stove turned to minimum, house at 79 degrees. No visible smoke from chimney.
 
The Fireview seems to be a really nice stove... I hate the design of the door though. If you could put a Progress-style door on it.....
Well the new stove that's coming out from Woodstock might just have the look you want...it suppose to be a no frills stove, yet still retain the Woodstock build quality. When I was there they were talking about exactly what you want, The Progress glass front on the Fireview,,, you never know.
 
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