Considering a cat stove

[bholler]

There is more than one and it’s unprofessional to name them. So I won’t. But according to the companies price sheets, there are 4 tubes and retail price is $80 per tube. Another example is a baffle plate for a top seller, $316.00 for the kit. There are dozens more.

The point I was making is what I posted earlier....not all cat Stoves are alike....not all non cats are alike with regard to quality, durability and the ability to maintain clean burning.

OK yes I would agree 80 a tube is not out of the question. But it is very rare that they need replaced so the price really doesn't mean much. I believe there may be some manufacturers who charge that much for a baffle but most do not. I have never replaced one that cost that much. And unless you abuse it there is no reason it should need replaced more often than 10 yrs.

 

[BKVP]

OK yes I would agree 80 a tube is not out of the question. But it is very rare that they need replaced so the price really doesn't mean much. I believe there may be some manufacturers who charge that much for a baffle but most do not. I have never replaced one that cost that much. And unless you abuse it there is no reason it should need replaced more often than 10 yrs.

You know BeGreen, I sat in during EPA sessions when one manufacturer testified they sell between $1-$1.5 million dollars a year in such parts. Rare is not accurate in the bigger picture. So while your experience is outstanding and the ultimate goal for all Stoves, it is not rare at all if just one company does that much volume.

If some parts were available on line by multiple resellers, it could drive down prices and make maintenance more enticing. That has worked in the cat side of the equation.

EPA has to get such information when reviewing cost versus benefit to the environment. There were just two rule makings and the 2023 NSPS isn’t far off....

 

[Highbeam]

Meanwhile at the highbeam shop, it’s brew day.

I love my cat stove, it fits my house application perfectly. My cheap noncat here is “rode hard” and the tubes and baffle are in great shape after 6 years. No parts cost. The last noncat I had in my house I owned for 30 cords over about 6 years and the tubes were perfect but I did stupidly break the baffle board which I replaced for 60$.

I would not recommend a cat stove because parts cost is less or even equal. No, but my experience is that the cost of cats is more than covered by the wood savings and the performance advantage is superb for me.

 

[bholler]

You know BeGreen, I sat in during EPA sessions when one manufacturer testified they sell between $1-$1.5 million dollars a year in such parts. Rare is not accurate in the bigger picture. So while your experience is outstanding and the ultimate goal for all Stoves, it is not rare at all if just one company does that much volume.

If some parts were available on line by multiple resellers, it could drive down prices and make maintenance more enticing. That has worked in the cat side of the equation.

EPA has to get such information when reviewing cost versus benefit to the environment. There were just two rule makings and the 2023 NSPS isn’t far off....

And how much is spent yearly on cats for bk stoves? Honestly without knowing the manufacturer and their sales volume the amount they make on parts doesn't mean much.

 

[begreen]

You know BeGreen, I sat in during EPA sessions when one manufacturer testified they sell between $1-$1.5 million dollars a year in such parts.

Wrong person, but I could see a giant company like Travis or HHT saying that. Their installed base of stoves, inserts and fireplaces is very large.

 

[bholler]

Meanwhile at the highbeam shop, it’s brew day.

I love my cat stove, it fits my house application perfectly. My cheap noncat here is “rode hard” and the tubes and baffle are in great shape after 6 years. No parts cost. The last noncat I had in my house I owned for 30 cords over about 6 years and the tubes were perfect but I did stupidly break the baffle board which I replaced for 60$.

I would not recommend a cat stove because parts cost is less or even equal. No, but my experience is that the cost of cats is more than covered by the wood savings and the performance advantage is superb for me.

I am not saying that buying cats isn't worth it at all. That is up to the user to make that decision for themselves. I just don't see much call for replacing the parts in question on noncats so I have a hard time believing allot of people spend more money properly maintaining noncats as they would on a cat.

 

[Highbeam]

I am not saying that buying cats isn't worth it at all. That is up to the user to make that decision for themselves. I just don't see much call for replacing the parts in question on noncats so I have a hard time believing allot of people spend more money properly maintaining noncats as they would on a cat.

My experience, though I’m just one nut in Washington, supports your theory. I don’t ever expect to wear out a tube. Maybe you east coast guys with your oak and locust are harder on tubes.

My current noncat has the baffle that just lies on the tubes. This seems to help since if I bonk the roof I just knock the baffle out of place. On the hearthstone, the baffle I broke was actually attached to the tubes so there was no give and the board breaks easily.

This is one obvious reason I like PE noncat stoves. Steel baffle and no tubes! Let’s hope the other noncat brands evolve similarly.

Whoops, need to add some hops!

 

[webby3650]

Wrong person, but I could see a giant company like Travis or HHT saying that. Their installed base of stoves, inserts and fireplaces is very large.

Not Travis. Their baffle is primarily fire bricks and steel angle supports. Their tubes are noticeably beefier than others too. It would be someone with a cast iron manifold and cast baffle plates is my guess. Their hybrids have a lot of expense in the baffle though.

 

[begreen]

Could be right. I was thinking there are lots of old Travis stoves that had mild steel tubes that gave out after 5-10 yrs use. The replacement tubes are stainless and beefy. Travis also makes fireplaces and hybrids so I was thinking big picture. It might have been Jotul or VC. Just saying that when you have a million stoves out there, the number of parts sold is going to be a lot higher. Jotul sells about 20K F3CBs/yr alone.

 

[Highbeam]

“Parts” might have included everything from gaskets to firebricks.

 

[Woody Stover]

Maybe you east coast guys with your oak and locust are harder on tubes.

You can burn low on Oak and BL, but point taken...burning harder in colder climes will heat-stress parts more.

Whoops, need to add some hops!

Just a heads-up; If you post off-topic about alcohol too much, your posts will disappear faster than Tulip Poplar splits in a pre-EPA stove.

 

[Bootstrap]

Can a BK Princess be purchased online? I bought my Drolet online and had it shipped to me.

 

[lsucet]

Can a BK Princess be purchased online? I bought my Drolet online and had it shipped to me.

No it has to be thru a dealer. Unless somebody is saling one on craigslist etc.

 

[Highbeam]

Just a heads-up; If you post off-topic about alcohol too much, your posts will disappear faster than Tulip Poplar splits in a pre-EPA stove.

There was no alcohol shown or even mentioned by me on this thread. There are entire threads about alcoholic beverages down in the inglenook if you need some info.

 

[Woody Stover]

There was no alcohol shown or even mentioned by me on this thread.

Except the hops...or do you use that instead of SuperCedars?

 

[Highbeam]

Except the hops...or do you use that instead of SuperCedars?

Hops can be used for lots of stuff. I actually ordered 5 hops rhizomes (plants) to plant this spring. My part of the country has a long history of growing hops. Sounds like fun.

What I made last night in that kettle was a sugary thing called wort flavored with hops. Zero alcohol was present in the ingredients or the completed mixture. Strange things might have happened overnight.