Cat glowing??

[scojen]

I was wondering about the design of the FPX 36 elite catalytic system at my parents home. The cat is visible from the front of the insert and exposed directly to the flames as they travel up the front of the insert. I have a Country Flame stove insert at home that has a shield in place to protect the cat from direct flame contact(I am assuming this anyway). Is that right or is something missing from my parents insert?

The way you describe it sounds normal. Mine is directly exposed to the flames as well.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Cats basically need 3 things:

1. Temperature (minimum 500 degrees)
2. Turbulance. Increased turbulance of the flames enables more of the wood smoke to come into contact with the metals inside the cells of the combustor.
3. Time. Just needs enough time to burn the smoke while going through. This is why you need to turn the draft down else the smoke passes through without burning first.

 

[pgmr]

Cats basically need 3 things:

1. Temperature (minimum 500 degrees)
2. Turbulance. Increased turbulance of the flames enables more of the wood smoke to come into contact with the metals inside the cells of the combustor.
3. Time. Just needs enough time to burn the smoke while going through. This is why you need to turn the draft down else the smoke passes through without burning first.

They actually need one more: Air (tried to find a "T" synonym, but could only come up with "troposphere", which doesn't really fit too well).
Most (all?) modern cat stoves have a non adjustable secondary air supply (similar to the non-cat stoves) that ensures the cat has enough oxygen to burn the fuel passing through the cat.

 

[ecocavalier02]

on the blaze king on a new load i just wait for it to get going good then shut the bypass as long as its already in the active zone. thats what the manual seems to state as well. i dont think theres any need to let it burn for 10 min with the bypas open if its already burning good. what do you other blaze king guys do?

 

[Renovation]

Not sure about your stove, but my fan will come on long before its time to engage the cat. With dry wood, the cat lights off like this shortly after engaging the cat. With less than perfect wood, the light off will be spotty.

Oooh, thanks SW! I saved your photo to my "StovePrOn" folder. ;-)

I noticed the photo's name is "pellet light off". Any story behind that?