Cat stoves - batting zero

[Ashful]

Got talking with a neighbor woodburner over the weekend, and I had mentioned my stoves were both catalytic. He said his is, as well... but that he had been running it in bypass mode for years. He is an otherwise-intelligent and handy guy, but had assumed the catalyst was solely for the benefit of the environment, not any benefit to his own wood usage or heat output.

I mention this, because this has been the same response I've received from EVERY woodburner not a member of the hearth.com community, who has a catalytic wood stove. No wonder some manufacturers discontinued their catalytic stoves.

I wonder if it would be different, if they were to re-introduce them today. Information is much more readily available, thanks to the internet and forums.

 

[Highbeam]

At least you know someone who is even aware that a cat stove exists or has ever existed. I only know one other person who has ever used one and nobody else even knows.

I have to compare it to an automotive converter. Those things get dang hot right? Yep. You want that in your stove.

Yes, it is an emissions thing. Sometimes those emissions things also work to the advantage of the system efficiency.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Somehow I have to question the "intelligence" factor on this one. After all, when someone gets a new machine, they first have to learn how to use it...

 

[PapaDave]

Anybody else ever heard the term.....RTFM?

 

[Kevin Dolan]

Got talking with a neighbor woodburner over the weekend, and I had mentioned my stoves were both catalytic. He said his is, as well... but that he had been running it in bypass mode for years. He is an otherwise-intelligent and handy guy, but had assumed the catalyst was solely for the benefit of the environment, not any benefit to his own wood usage or heat output.

I mention this, because this has been the same response I've received from EVERY woodburner not a member of the hearth.com community, who has a catalytic wood stove. No wonder some manufacturers discontinued their catalytic stoves.

I wonder if it would be different, if they were to re-introduce them today. Information is much more readily available, thanks to the internet and forums.

Joful,
I have a non cat jotul 400 and love it. I am intrigued with all the talk on this forum about the cat stoves and wonder if I am missing something in terms of efficiency and burn times versus the non cat. If I was looking to replace my current stove I would definelty look at a cat stove based on what I have read here about longer burn times at lower temps. So I agree with you that there is tonnes of great info on cat stoves here and wonder why your buddy is not using his stove to its fullest.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Anybody else ever heard the term.....RTFM?

Not me. I don't know many of those things. People post here using that and usually I don't know what it means so I just go to the next post.

 

[Ashful]

Not me. I don't know many of those things. People post here using that and usually I don't know what it means so I just go to the next post.

Ditto.

I should add that he had initially tried using the cat, but noticed he got a smoke odor in his house whenever he did, so he just stopped using it. I described back-puffing, suspecting that was his problem, but he said he had not seen any "puff" type behavior.

 

[Locust Post]

Ditto.

I should add that he had initially tried using the cat, but noticed he got a smoke odor in his house whenever he did, so he just stopped using it. I described back-puffing, suspecting that was his problem, but he said he had not seen any "puff" type behavior.

Ditto X 2

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ditto.

I should add that he had initially tried using the cat, but noticed he got a smoke odor in his house whenever he did, so he just stopped using it. I described back-puffing, suspecting that was his problem, but he said he had not seen any "puff" type behavior.

Probably he put wood in the stove and engaged the cat right then, not understanding the proper method of handling it.

 

[Jon1270]

Not me. I don't know many of those things. People post here using that and usually I don't know what it means so I just go to the next post.

Read The F***ing Manual.

 

[mellow]

I think this is why you see so many Hybrids coming out, kinda like training wheels for a kid.

 

[Riggs]

Read The F***ing Manual.

hahaha......just laughed so loud when i got to this reply...i felt somebody's mother was yelling at them HAHAHA

 

[jharkin]

This doesn't surprise me at all.... People are lazy.

In engineering school I remember reading a case study about a lawn mower manufacturer. They would ship the mower with a quart bottle of oil in the box and a note in the manual to fill it before the first start. This company had a very high number of warranty claims for seized engines, because, surprise, customers wouldn't bother to fill the oil even when it was handed to them.

In the end they had to start shipping the mowers with the engine oil pre-filled at the factory.

 

[MasterMech]

Wood stoves are supposed to smoke right?

 

[MasterMech]

This doesn't surprise me at all.... People are lazy.

In engineering school I remember reading a case study about a lawn mower manufacturer. They would ship the mower with a quart bottle of oil in the box and a note in the manual to fill it before the first start. This company had a very high number of warranty claims for seized engines, because, surprise, customers wouldn't bother to fill the oil even when it was handed to them.

In the end they had to start shipping the mowers with the engine oil pre-filled at the factory.

Or better yet, buy the machine from a place that has assembled the unit properly and tested it to ensure you get a safe and productive piece of equipment right from the start.

Actually, I kinda like the built in safety mechanism there. If you isn't bright enough to at least check the oil prior to first start-up, you probably aren't qualified to operate the machine in the first place.

 

[Highbeam]

Warranty should be void if the mower was run without oil.

 

[oldspark]

RTFM is good, I like PYHO (pull your head out)!

 

[jeff_t]

In engineering school I remember reading a case study about a lawn mower manufacturer. They would ship the mower with a quart bottle of oil in the box and a note in the manual to fill it before the first start. This company had a very high number of warranty claims for seized engines, because, surprise, customers wouldn't bother to fill the oil even when it was handed to them.

My BIL is almost one of those people. They bought their first house last June, and bought a new mower from Lowe's. He did put the oil in it, but never checked it again. 'It's new, I didn't know I had to check it.' By September, it didn't start. I put a lot of oil in it, and got it to fire, but not run. It has some kind of easy start deal, so it's hard to get a feel for compression without a tester, but I'm pretty sure it's toast. I don't know why it didn't seize.

He never did take it back for warranty, and it's too late now. Good $300 learning experience for him.

 

[MasterMech]

Warranty should be void if the mower was run without oil.

No such thing (voided warranty) if you buy from a big-box. I swear they'd take christmas trees back on Dec 26th if you had a receipt.