Backwoods Savage said:
Okay Soupy. That quote was from me so please allow me to explain what we do and how our stove does its job.
With a cold stove or on reloads, we bypass the cat (turn it off). This is done very simply by moving a lever from the down position to the up position (Some on this forum thinks this is complicated!). The reason we bypass the cat is to bring the stove temperature up to about 500 degrees (interior). That temperature is needed before the cat will light. Once the stove is to that temperature we then move that lever down (or turn it on. Complicated?). This is at the same time we dial down the draft.
In short order the cat begins to do its work (burning the smoke). Most times it will give a very bright red glow. When that happens the flame will change and it is pretty to watch. Usually in a few minutes we will dial the draft down further. Each installation might be different and no doubt the type of wood makes some difference too. With our stove we usually dial the draft down to around .25. That is with a scale of 1-4. So you can see we have the draft almost shut and in fact there are times when we do have it shut and the stove still burns great.
I'll never forget the first time I got up during the night and was shocked at what I saw. Whenever I do get up during the night it is normal to check the stove. Well, I went to the room with the stove and I thought the danged thing had went out as I could see no flame at all. Yet, the house was toasty warm. As I got to the stove and looked in the glass I could not see even one spot of red coals! Well, the glass was not dirty but what is going on? There was this red glow I could tell was coming from the cat area so I bent down to look and that cat was really bright red. The stove top temperature was sitting at 650 degrees! Well, how can this be? No flame. Just a smoldering bunch of wood with the cat burning the smoke.
That has happened so many times it is old hat now. Most times we will have either a small flame or shortly after the reloads we get what looks like the Pits of Hell itself. But the flame is really pretty with it lifted above the wood and it appears to be rolling. A sight to see indeed.
So naturally many will wonder if we have some big time problems with creosote. I'm glad you asked. We heat 100% with wood using only the Fireview. Our chimney runs up the outside wall of the house and is not surrounded by a chase. We have burned wood in this stove for 3 full winters. We have got approximately a cup of soot from the chimney. That was a year ago when I cleaned. We did not clean after last winter and the chimney still looks clean.
We have cleaned the cat twice each winter but this year will probably be once during the winter and again when the summer cleaning happens. Cleaning the cat is very simple and takes 2-3 minutes.
So with the way the cat works, we can and do burn with smoldering fires and it works very well.
Best use explanation yet ! Good job. :exclaim:
The extra step ( 1 only ) and extra care checking the cat "light off" at reload is exactly why stove engineers designed non-cats to satisfy EPA particulate requirements. The platinum or paladium coating needs a high temp.
Users just did not bother to use the cat stoves as speced.
As BS explained, once the cat is "lit" to burn the non combusted smoke products, it will continue for the cycle.
Think of the catalyst in your vehicle, it lights immediately due to the high combustion temps. No need for any "reload" higher temperature delay.
It's the extra steps and care that many cat users didn't do. And, as he said, at first it's a kick to run out to see the "no smoke" from what some are calling a smouldering fire. At first.
For you cat users remember that the combustion life of cats is ~ 12,000 hours of burn time, whether you clean it, bathe it in hot vinegar (yes, the Corning method), use unseasoned wood, or leave it.
Don't throw the cat out (many do) , and burn without it. The cat stoves are designed for use WITH the catalyst.
For 24/7 wood heat the 12K hours is for us close to 2 years of burning. Still, cats are nice long steady heat. The last catalyst bought last year was the steel cat from
SUD-CHEMIE in Mass.
While we enjoy the Oslo, the burn cycle is not as long, or steady. Those burn tubes in the Jotul will stay hot enough to gas off, but nothing like the efficiency of our cat stove. Same wood, same spaces, similar insulation,same bodies. Over the 4 years with the Oslo and the Encore, the Oslo uses ~ 1/4 more wood for the same BTU's. The unscientific experience for 100%, 24/7 heating in northern Maine.
