blaze king cat temp at low burn

[bomook81]

Hi all!

What cat temp do you guys get in lower thermostat setting (between lowest to 3:00 postion)?

No matter what the outside temp is, for me, below 3:00 setting, it goes down to 10~10:30 and stays like that until the most woods are burned, which is not really useful heat for my house.

My steel cat doesn't glow with low setting. Should I change my cat to ceramic one?

I am not sure if it's normal for the steel cat for Blaze king.

Thank you.

 

[kennyp2339]

Active cat will burn at 500deg f and above, if you need more heat bump the t-stat higher, I like running my stove with small candle like flames on top of my wood, gives me a consistent 600 deg stove top and about 12hrs of solid burn time - oak, ash, mape

 

[MissMac]

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, but I can tell you that the catalyst doesn't have to be glowing to be working. Additionally, so long as the cat probe indicates that your cat is in the active range, it doesn't really matter where it's pointing - it's working. This is assuming that your cat probe is calibrated and that your stove is otherwise serviceable. As others will tell you, the cat probe that comes with the stove is not supposed to give you precise temperature measurements - it is an active/inactive go/no-go gauge. If you want to get one that shows temps, I believe I've seen @Highbeam suggest a condor probe for the cat probe hole.

 

[MissMac]

if you need more heat bump the t-stat higher,

this

you can also try running the stove fan (if you have one) to help move heat off the stove out into your home. i find it makes a tremendous difference in my house.

 

[bomook81]

thank you guys.

I hoped to get long burn like 24 hours with my cat glowing. when cat continuoulsy glows, my house is kept around 72.

 

[Woody Stover]

You can only run a cat so low..below that it will stall. Your minimum air setting will depend on your individual setup; Turns in the pipe, chimney height, etc. which affect the draft.
The moisture content of the wood you are burning also comes into play. You need wood below 20% moisture content, measurable with a moisture meter, for the cat to light off strong and easily. If your wood is a bit wetter, you'll have to give the fire more air for a hotter burn to deal with that moisture and keep the cat burning.

 

[MissMac]

thank you guys.

I hoped to get long burn like 24 hours with my cat glowing. when cat continuoulsy glows, my house is kept around 72.

Long burns are definitely possible if your stove is operating properly and you're burning seasoned wood. However, how long you can stretch a load and what heat output you need to stay comfortable in your house are not always compatible. I see you're in Alberta - I think it's unlikely that in the middle of winter you're going to get the heat you want with the t-stat on minimum. And i'm fairly confident saying this not even knowing anything about your house. The only way you can run on low when it's super cold out is to supplement with your furnace or whatever to make up the difference, or be okay being chilly (lots of factors in play here).

It's not realistic to think that you're going to get a toasty 21*C house riding the hole in the middle of the winter in Canada (excluding those mild non-winters on the west coast @AlbergSteve ). Shoulder season burning is where you'll be able to reap the benefits of the long burn times, if your intention is to heat solely with the stove.

Also, as I said before, the cat doesn't need to be glowing for your stove to be producing heat and for the catalyst to be active.

These stoves are pretty great, but they're not super magical.

 

[spudman99]

You are going to have to experiment as every installation is different. Wood species, draft, insulation, wind and temperature. I offer this.

Last night it dropped to around 26deg with a steady 20mph wind. My 40 year old house is not that tight (as I am finding out), when I shoot the IR gauge on the walls they read 60deg or so at eye level. My insert can be at 600 deg but that kind of wall temp is gonna make it hard to hold heat in the house. I was burning ash under 20%. I have a 30' chimney but the draft was 0.2in on the magnehelic which is well above BK specs. I also suspect that the high draft shortens my burn time even though I do not have fly ash on the cat or clogging yet. My install is only 4 months old. (my exterior walls in this Toll Bros home has celotex panels, 31/2 in insulation and aluminum siding, well below what modern homes now come with).

 

[Highbeam]

Want more heat? Turn up the thermostat. Your burn time will be less because of that choice but never less than any other stove producing the same amount of heat.

To answer your specific question, my cat meter is way up near the hottest part of the range when I’m on my low setting until the fuel turns to just coals after 12 hours or so when the meter might drop down to about half. This is burning dry evergreens, hardwoods might be different. Yes, I have a meter with numbers and it’s fun but not required.

A hot cat makes most of the heat at low settings but as you increase the thermostat setting you won’t see the cat temp go much higher, instead the primary fire in the box begins to make up a larger portion of the total heat output.

 

[bomook81]

Want more heat? Turn up the thermostat. Your burn time will be less because of that choice but never less than any other stove producing the same amount of heat.

To answer your specific question, my cat meter is way up near the hottest part of the range when I’m on my low setting until the fuel turns to just coals after 12 hours or so when the meter might drop down to about half. This is burning dry evergreens, hardwoods might be different. Yes, I have a meter with numbers and it’s fun but not required.

A hot cat makes most of the heat at low settings but as you increase the thermostat setting you won’t see the cat temp go much higher, instead the primary fire in the box begins to make up a larger portion of the total heat output.

That's what I was expecting from my Chinook30. but with low setting for mine, the stove doesn't put out much heat even though cat is still active. Based on my experiment, the cat temp equals the heat output from the stove. could it be due to leaking bypass gasket? If the smoke escapes through the bypass, cat doen't have enough smoke to burn. I found if I close the bypass handle all the way, the smoke escapse more though the chimney. So I just let the weight of the bypass door seal the gap instead of pushing it to the end until it clicks. I tried to readjust the bypass door, but the bolt doesn't move...

 

[Highbeam]

That's what I was expecting from my Chinook30. but with low setting for mine, the stove doesn't put out much heat even though cat is still active. Based on my experiment, the cat temp equals the heat output from the stove. could it be due to leaking bypass gasket? If the smoke escapes through the bypass, cat doen't have enough smoke to burn. I found if I close the bypass handle all the way, the smoke escapse more though the chimney. So I just let the weight of the bypass door seal the gap instead of pushing it to the end until it clicks. I tried to readjust the bypass door, but the bolt doesn't move...

Are you really worried that your stove makes low heat at low settings? That’s how it’s supposed to work. Maybe I misunderstood? Is it now making less heat than it used to?

Your c30 works like all of the bk cat stoves. Higher stat settings make more heat. Do click the bypass in place, if it makes a click then it doesn’t need adjustment. You can ignore the cat meter other than knowing when to engage the catalyst and being sure that it stays above the active line. Some bk inserts even have an idiot light on/off indicator. Cat temp is just one factor in heat output.

You’re seeing smoke, lower cat meter
and less heat. Is this an old install? Like more than 2 years?

 

[bomook81]

Are you really worried that your stove makes low heat at low settings? That’s how it’s supposed to work. Maybe I misunderstood? Is it now making less heat than it used to?

Your c30 works like all of the bk cat stoves. Higher stat settings make more heat. Do click the bypass in place, if it makes a click then it doesn’t need adjustment. You can ignore the cat meter other than knowing when to engage the catalyst and being sure that it stays above the active line. Some bk inserts even have an idiot light on/off indicator. Cat temp is just one factor in heat output.

You’re seeing smoke, lower cat meter
and less heat. Is this an old install? Like more than 2 years?

no it's new. I installed it last year. What I was expecting from it was as yours, the hight temp cat with glowing red even with low setting since that correlates with the heat out of the stove. When the cat glows, the cat temp stays around 12pm which put out the enough heat to keep my house warm. When the cat thermometer is at 10:00, the cat doesn't glow and heat out put is poor. And cat glowing fades off right away as I set the thermometer in low setting, like 2:00. to have the cat glows, no matter what the outside temp is, I should set the thermometer at 3:00 or higher.

 

[Highbeam]

What if you ignore the cat glowing and instead just turn the thermostat up and down to get the heat you want? Lots of cat stoves are built so you can’t even see the cat and glowing is not required.

There’s always a chance that the cat is clogged as this is becoming more common with the steel cats. I’ve never had that problem so I’m not familiar with the symptoms.

 

[MissMac]

What if you ignore the cat glowing and instead just turn the thermostat up and down to get the heat you want? Lots of cat stoves are built so you can’t even see the cat and glowing is not required.

Yes.

When the cat glows, the cat temp stays around 12pm which put out the enough heat to keep my house warm. When the cat thermometer is at 10:00, the cat doesn't glow and heat out put is poor.

As Highbeam has said, ignore the cat glowing. It doesn't matter. Set the dial at the temp output that makes your house comfortable, and make a note of what that setting is in comparison to the weather outside so that you've got an idea of what setting it takes to keep your house warm and cozy when it's a given temp outside. Really, let the cat glowing thing go, and start to learn where you should dial for different conditions in your home. It's the t-stat setting that will give you a certain heat output.

 

[moresnow]

no it's new. I installed it last year. What I was expecting from it was as yours, the hight temp cat with glowing red even with low setting since that correlates with the heat out of the stove. When the cat glows, the cat temp stays around 12pm which put out the enough heat to keep my house warm. When the cat thermometer is at 10:00, the cat doesn't glow and heat out put is poor. And cat glowing fades off right away as I set the thermometer in low setting, like 2:00. to have the cat glows, no matter what the outside temp is, I should set the thermometer at 3:00 or higher.

Sooooo. In a nutshell it sounds as if you are trying to operate the stove at a setting that is below its capability to produce your required heat. The only time my cat glows is during the first 20-30 minutes on a reload at wide open stat setting. Almost immediately after setting stat to my low position I lose the glow. I have figured out where my low setting needs to be to keep my stove top temp between 400 and 600 for the longest stretch of time. This setting also keeps my cat probe at noon or much higher for the longest term.
My stat never is set below 3 which is my low, long burn set point making the required heat. Lots of new BK operators have a tough time figuring out that they are really only going to use a very small portion of the available adjustment. Hopefully some more fine tuning will result in the happy setting your place requires!

 

[bomook81]

thank you guys! I am still learning for my Chinook30, but this is the fun part!

cheers

 

[MissMac]

There are a lot of super knowledgeable people on this forum that can help you. I have learned so much just by cruising this website over the last 3 years. You'll get the hang of your stove the more you use it. If you have time, try keeping a diary of your burns. I did that my first winter of burning, and it really helped me tweak how I used the stove, and achieve predictable results.

I would keep track of outside weather parameters, where the needle was (precisely) on reload, how much coals were there, how many/what size splits i put in, how long i left the bypass open, how long i burned on high, timing of dial down, total cruise time etc.

Anything about the burn that i could observe and record I did (except for draft), and it really helped me see some patterns.

 

[ohlongarm]

Active cat will burn at 500deg f and above, if you need more heat bump the t-stat higher, I like running my stove with small candle like flames on top of my wood, gives me a consistent 600 deg stove top and about 12hrs of solid burn time - oak, ash, mape

Good answer ,am in complete agreement with you.

 

[black smoke signals]

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, but I can tell you that the catalyst doesn't have to be glowing to be working. Additionally, so long as the cat probe indicates that your cat is in the active range, it doesn't really matter where it's pointing - it's working. Miss Mac totally agree with this post But I have a question what do you do when your cat probe (higher) reading is starting to go past 4 o’clock let it go or try to save the cat by opening the bypass and turning T/Stat down.?

 

[Highbeam]

Do not open the bypass when you feel that the cat is too hot. Turn down the thermostat, the cat will get a bit hotter and then begin to cool.

 

[black smoke signals]

This has always been a problem for me set and forget it Catalytic reaction maxes out at about 1300° Fahrenheit through any combustor. Exceeding this temperature is destructive to the combustor and to the components of your stove.

 

[Highbeam]

This has always been a problem for me set and forget it Catalytic reaction maxes out at about 1300° Fahrenheit through any combustor. Exceeding this temperature is destructive to the combustor and to the components of your stove.

Well, the actual temperature is 1600 for "extended periods" where damage can happen. If you have an aftermarket cat temperature measuring device that you trust then you will see that your stove is designed (if properly maintained) to prevent the cat from hitting those unsafe temperatures.

My cat loves to hang out between 1200 and 1400 for the majority of every burn cycle. I have an aftermarket condar cat thermometer with actual numbers.

 

[black smoke signals]

Comparing temperature gauges At 3 o’clock I agree with you as my stove most of the time is 1200-1400 but sometimes my gauge will show 6 o’clock (arrow pointing straight down) now maintaining my stove. Clean my 20ft pipe once a month including B/K gauge stem average 8-14 percent wood averaging 6 hr burn time I check behind the cat no build up no ash build up instead the cat. Bypass passed the dollar bill test and so does the glass door 500 degrees bypass shut then burn wide open 45-1 hour Start turning t/stat down Spruce and ponderosa good and charred. T/stat most of time set to 2-4 sometimes is what I want to improve on and not see 6 o’clock Any suggestions

 

[black smoke signals]

Comparing temperature gauges At 3 o’clock I agree with you as my stove most of the time is 1200-1400 but sometimes my gauge will show 6 o’clock (arrow pointing straight down) now maintaining my stove. Clean my 20ft pipe once a month including B/K gauge stem average 8-14 percent wood averaging 6 hr burn time I check behind the cat no build up no ash build up instead the cat. Bypass passed the dollar bill test and so does the glass door 500 degrees bypass shut then burn wide open 45-1 hour Start turning t/stat down Spruce and ponderosa good and charred. T/stat most of time set to 2-4 sometimes is what I want to improve on and not see 6 o’clock Any suggestions

 

[Highbeam]

Comparing temperature gauges At 3 o’clock I agree with you as my stove most of the time is 1200-1400 but sometimes my gauge will show 6 o’clock (arrow pointing straight down) now maintaining my stove. Clean my 20ft pipe once a month including B/K gauge stem average 8-14 percent wood averaging 6 hr burn time I check behind the cat no build up no ash build up instead the cat. Bypass passed the dollar bill test and so does the glass door 500 degrees bypass shut then burn wide open 45-1 hour Start turning t/stat down Spruce and ponderosa good and charred. T/stat most of time set to 2-4 sometimes is what I want to improve on and not see 6 o’clock Any suggestions

So BSS, do you own the condar cat meter with numbers? It is wrong to assume that the BK cat meter is wound the same as the condar meter. Those of us that have installed a condar meter have found that the needle is way less likely to peg out. It's a different calibration even though they look similar so with the BK meter you really have no idea how hot your cat has been getting. You seem like a good candidate to get a condar cat meter with numbers, it's a lot of fun and since BK tells you things like don't exceed 1600 I feel the information is relevant to the operator.

What I recommend to you because we burn similar fuel is to stop letting the thing burn wide open for an hour after cat engagement. Limit that char time to a much lower 15 minutes or so. The softwoods seem to really chooch a lot faster than oak and then when you chop the throttle there is too much fuel for the cat to eat without going nuclear.