CAT Stove

[Draughts15]

Hello all,

Quick question and maybe pretty easy. I have jjst ubder1500 sq feet main level, open floor plan house, 8ft walls. I've decided on the Kuma and have kiln dried wood that I would purchase for the next couple years until my split wood seasons. I'm going to go with either the Cambridge or Aspen. If the Cambridge is too big, are there any issues only throwing on a couple logs at a time and burning? I want the larger stove for n/s and down the road I also plan to finish my basement (another 1500 sq ft, 10 ft ceiling, uninsulated for now) and would explore options on circulating heat somehow. I know I've read its difficult but I plan on experimenting. I don't want the stove in basement. Thoughts on reloading a larger cat stove with a couple hardwood logs? Thanks.

 

[buc74]

I myself do small fires when needed. 2 splits N/S and 2 splits E/W then let her heat up, shut the damper and were good for 3-4 hours. Now I'm no expert here as far as good or bad for the combuster. Short term we've had no issues doing this with our Kuma Alpine.

 

[stoveliker]

You can, but efficiency and environmental impact get worse. Why not get a stove that you can dial down to a lower output. Maybe this one can - I don't know this stove. But for a well designed cat stove, the amount of fuel in the box does not determine the heat output. It is simply a fuel tank. So dial it down rather than putting in only a couple of logs. (And get longer burn times.)

 

[Highbeam]

You can, but efficiency and environmental impact get worse. Why not get a stove that you can dial down to a lower output. Maybe this one can - I don't know this stove. But for a well designed cat stove, the amount of fuel in the box does not determine the heat output. It is simply a fuel tank. So dial it down rather than putting in only a couple of logs. (And get longer burn times.)

Sometimes, even that minimum output level is too much heat over a long burn so you burn small load. I do it a lot in my BK during the shoulder seasons. No problem. I’m sure it’s fine in the kuma too. You’ll want enough fuel to get the cat active so it can self clean.

 

[logfarmer]

Cats really need to be filled up and turned down low to be efficient!