I have a blaze king princess insert that is 2.5 yrs old. Burn well seasoned wood. Have noticed this year that when I turn the fan on low that the CAT cools significantly to the point where it is almost out of the active zone. Anyone have any suggestions why it is doing this ? Thanks Pete
Blaze king princess insert CAT ?
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How hot do you get the cat when your cruising?
I usually get mine between 1200-1400, turning the blower on knocks it down a couple hundred degrees but Ive been told its not really cooler, its just the air cooling the air around the thermo. After a few hours I turn the tstat up as the load burns down so even at the end Im at about 800 on the cat.
I guess I need to get a cat probe with the temps on it. The CAT temps stays at the 12 o'clock or higher range until I turn the fan on. Also, my wood is really dry so it I guess it could be that once the load burns down it is giving off much for the CAT to burn.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
There is a process of boiling the cat in a 50/50 mix of distilled water and vinegar to "recondition" it, which some cat manufacturers recommend every 2 years. I'd get a cat temp probe, to see what it's really doing, but this can't hurt:
(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/combustorcleaningmanual.pdf)
(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/combustorcleaningmanual.pdf)
The Buck does the same thing; Turn on the fan and the probe temp drops. So far, I've not been turning on the fan until I see the glow. It needs to get to 1000 before it really starts eating the smoke. Once it's glowing, I haven't seen that turning on the fan will cause it to stop glowing. Even if it did, I would assume that the cat is still burning the smoke. If I see that happen sometime I'll go out and look at the stack...
Who really knows? Maybe you are burning a lower BTU wood?
Turn the t-stat to a higher level or turn the fan down or off.
You could try and use smaller splits to get a higher temp in the fire box.
For a true cat temp (as others have said) you need the fan off.
Mine burns hot, too hot, because my splits are small (I think). I wanted them to have a lower moisture content while they where drying.
Anyways if it keeping your house warm its all good.
The CAT was warm last night and i had no flames except for the flare up and flames dancing across the top when the smoke is being ignited. CAT was glowing red. Turned the fan on the lowest setting and within 30 minutes the CAT temp probe was just above active.
Maybe your thermometer has gone bad? If it's way up in the active zone before the blowers come on then drops quickly when you turn it on it's most likely the thermometer. Does the stove stay in the active range most of the burn without the blowers on? Also check your chimney for smoke.
It stays in the active range for the entire burn with out the blower on. I will try a new temp probe and see what happens. Any suggestions on where to uy one online? Also, no smoke from the chimney !
the 12 oclock position is only about 800, you can easily go to about the 3 oclock position, also the cat doesnt have to be glowing to be working, if your not getting any smoke out your stack its working. As Todd said maybe your therms not set correctly, I know I had to recalibrate mine when I first got my stove, I then switched over to a Condor with numbers.
clemsonfor
Minister of Fire
I can turn my fan on and always have it on usually medium to high on the rheostat unless were sweating then its off or low. But That thing without the fan will go nuclear at 1700 or more with hardwood. and around 1500 with a half load of pine. With pine it will usually cruise around 1000-1300 on the cat with fan near 3/4. but with similar HW it will get in the range of 1300 to 1600 with fan in similar location.
I have noticed that with more wood in the box its way easier to get the CAT temp up and active than with say 4 pieces in the stove.
I have noticed that with more wood in the box its way easier to get the CAT temp up and active than with say 4 pieces in the stove.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Merry Christams to all!
I posted this observation previously, but it appears it may need reposting. On the bottom of the cat therm is a bimetallic coil spring. When the fans are on, the fan air hits the spring and produces a "false" reading. Simply turn off the fans for a short period of time (say 5-10 minutes) and you will get the correct reading.
In short, the cat's are fine, the temps are fine, but the air movement is the trouble. We are working on a new design to avoid this, but todate the fix is a bit ugly. So we will continue.
God Bless all during this Holiday Season and stay warm!
Chris
I posted this observation previously, but it appears it may need reposting. On the bottom of the cat therm is a bimetallic coil spring. When the fans are on, the fan air hits the spring and produces a "false" reading. Simply turn off the fans for a short period of time (say 5-10 minutes) and you will get the correct reading.
In short, the cat's are fine, the temps are fine, but the air movement is the trouble. We are working on a new design to avoid this, but todate the fix is a bit ugly. So we will continue.
God Bless all during this Holiday Season and stay warm!
Chris
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Likewise! Any photos of the Ashford 30 ready to share, yet? I love my old catalytic Jotuls, but I'm also itching to try something different.
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