Got some cat light off questions

[moondoggy]

of course.
1. when i close the damper to activate, normally around 540+ does the temp of the griddle HAVE to increase?
cause sometimes it stays at or only moves like 5 degrees.
2. if it drops say to 500 does that mean i'm not engaged?
3.i read someones post about being able to see the cat glow. in the intrepid is that possible? i dont see squat.

the only daylight i flipped the cat was on sunday, and there was no smoke so i assume it works. the past few nights when i do it the back and side get real, and i get the 'new stove stink' again, and some knocks and pings so i'm pretty sure it engages.

 

[jpl1nh]

Since the cat thrives on unburned gasses and smoke, once it's engaged and fired off, I get the most cat glow when my air is cut way back. In my Woodstock stove, the cat is near the fron where its easy to see it glowing. I believe the cat is located further back in the VC stoves so a glowing at may not be as conspicous. A cat fires off when the flue gas passing thru it are more than 500 degrees. That's the simple explanation. Learning when the flue gasses are 500 degrees isn't quite as simple and takes a bit more practice and playing. Stack and surface temps are a good indication but are not direct measures of the flue gas temp. I find that generally the flue gas temps are hot enough to engage the cat before the stack temp or stove top temp show that. When you engage the cat, it restricts air flow, so at first you could see a temp drop and you would see your fire die back a bit too. As your stove heats further and your wood is burning well, and you cut your air back further, you will generally see your griddle temps climb because there is more unburned smoke in your flue gas for the cat to feed on.

 

[kwburn]

generally my Intrepid stays very close to the same griddle temp after engaging. remember that the thermostatic air control is going to try its best to keep it about the same temp and will minimize the change. when the temp does start to slide downward after engaging you can try manually opening the air a bit and see if it maintains. but if it continues say downward 100 degrees or more i'll bail out and open the damper and air, bang the logs around to shake up the coals and get the party started again. Bring the griddle temp back up and this time go 50-100 higher than the last time you engaged and then try engaging again. Usually works.

 

[moondoggy]

i understand that. thanks.
i think i will get another magnet therm. for the elbow tomorrow.

i have yet to lower the air intake when the cat is on. i figured i would if i get too hot or the stove gets over 650+.
if i lower the air intake the temp wouldnt drop? i guess if i'm cutting oxygen more gas burns.
ok i got to try that.

 

[moondoggy]

generally my Intrepid stays very close to the same griddle temp after engaging. remember that the thermostatic air control is going to try its best to keep it about the same temp and will minimize the change. when the temp does start to slide downward after engaging you can try manually opening the air a bit and see if it maintains. but if it continues say downward 100 degrees or more i'll bail out and open the damper and air, bang the logs around to shake up the coals and get the party started again. Bring the griddle temp back up and this time go 50-100 higher than the last time you engaged and then try engaging again. Usually works.

you know i keep forgetting that. i dont expect it to do that and therefore dont remember. explains why i dont skyrocket like i think i would.

 

[North of 60]

i understand that. thanks.
i think i will get another magnet therm. for the elbow tomorrow.

i have yet to lower the air intake when the cat is on. i figured i would if i get too hot or the stove gets over 650+.
if i lower the air intake the temp wouldnt drop? i guess if i'm cutting oxygen more gas burns.
ok i got to try that.

MD Chek out Blazekings operators/install manual. PDF files. It tends to explain things better. It wont be gospel to your stove but it will help.
Also while on their site click on to the sudifed cat combuster site. This style keeps your cat lit @ 200F. Let me know what ya think.
Ya got nothin ta loose. N of 60

 

[moondoggy]

interesting stuff. couldnt find the sudified info.

in reading about it more to do with FLUE temp, I bought a second magnet temp gauge yesterday and put it on the pipe and WOW i'm learning more.
it should be a must for anyone with a cat.. at least a beginner like me.
interseting that jsut because the griddle is 550-600, does not mean the flue temp it the same. could be 550, could be 350.
that explains why sometimes i thought the CAT was activated and sometimes not.

i was simply astounded last night when i sat for almost an hour with the cat on and the wood bearly changed/disappeared.
think my load of wood lasted almost 4 hrs. (cat wasnt on the whole time)
however, i feel like i'm flying through my cord of wood.

 

[swestall]

Depending on what you are trying to heat, you will easily fly through 4-5 cords by spring if you are burning all the time. But, it will cost you much less than oil/gas and keep you a lot warmer.

 

[Todd]

Also while on their site click on to the sudifed cat combuster site. This style keeps your cat lit @ 200F. Let me know what ya think.
Ya got nothin ta loose. N of 60

Where is this sudifed cat info? Is this one of those new steel cats?

 

[Pine Knot]

Apparently there are no imediate clues to cat light off after closeing the bypass. High enough temp, and later absence of smoke and increaseing temp. at the combustor will finally tell us. But that takes several minutes and some times they are minutes we don't have to spare. So I guess the best advice is to get it hot enough the first time.

 

[tradergordo]

Also while on their site click on to the sudifed cat combuster site. This style keeps your cat lit @ 200F. Let me know what ya think.
Ya got nothin ta loose. N of 60

Where is this sudifed cat info? Is this one of those new steel cats?

Looking forward to this info also! Couldn't find it w/ google.
200 degree light off sounds too good to be true but I hope it is true.

 

[swestall]

I tried to google sudified cat and got some weird results...

 

[moondoggy]

yea i'm not sure what North of 60 was refering to.
i spent half of yesterday going through Blazekings website looking for 'sudified'

 

[swestall]

There was a thread recently where a comment was made about replacement CATs having a far better operating life than OEM.
I have been looking at CAT replacement sites and don't see any claims of new technology or longer life. Can someone post that if they have it?

 

[bmwbj]

I can say from day 1 my Intrepid II cat. (NEVER) worked. I replaced it with an aftermarket
cat. and it has worked every time I have engaged it so far.
I always thought it was me and or my way of operating the stove, but it has worked every time since
the replacement. I love it.

 

[North of 60]

Also while on their site click on to the sudifed cat combuster site. This style keeps your cat lit @ 200F. Let me know what ya think.
Ya got nothin ta loose. N of 60

Where is this sudifed cat info? Is this one of those new steel cats?

Looking forward to this info also! Couldn't find it w/ google.
200 degree light off sounds too good to be true but I hope it is true.

Sorry guys. Wrong name Blazeking also changed their website. Any how Here it is as I looked in my origional
owners manual. (broken link removed to http://www.sud-chemie.com) Well I was close. Sorry for the run around. When on the home page go to the search
area & type in woodstove combusters once its search is complete scroll down to about item 30 area. lots of stuff to click on
there. Good luck and again let me know.

 

[Todd]

Also while on their site click on to the sudifed cat combuster site. This style keeps your cat lit @ 200F. Let me know what ya think.
Ya got nothin ta loose. N of 60

Where is this sudifed cat info? Is this one of those new steel cats?

Looking forward to this info also! Couldn't find it w/ google.
200 degree light off sounds too good to be true but I hope it is true.

Sorry guys. Wrong name Blazeking also changed their website. Any how Here it is as I looked in my origional
owners manual. (broken link removed to http://www.sud-chemie.com) Well I was close. Sorry for the run around. When on the home page go to the search
area & type in woodstove combusters once its search is complete scroll down to about item 30 area. lots of stuff to click on
there. Good luck and again let me know.

I didn't find any info on steel combustors. They make the ceramic honeycomb ones. Try this site. www.advancedcatalyst.com

 

[North of 60]

Also while on their site click on to the sudifed cat combuster site. This style keeps your cat lit @ 200F. Let me know what ya think.
Ya got nothin ta loose. N of 60

Where is this sudifed cat info? Is this one of those new steel cats?

Looking forward to this info also! Couldn't find it w/ google.
200 degree light off sounds too good to be true but I hope it is true.

Sorry guys. Wrong name Blazeking also changed their website. Any how Here it is as I looked in my origional
owners manual. (broken link removed to http://www.sud-chemie.com) Well I was close. Sorry for the run around. When on the home page go to the search
area & type in woodstove combusters once its search is complete scroll down to about item 30 area. lots of stuff to click on
there. Good luck and again let me know.

I didn't find any info on steel combustors. They make the ceramic honeycomb ones. Try this site. www.advancedcatalyst.com

Didnt say it was stainless steel. MD had some combuster questions. Thought this site had some good operational info. Lots of titles to click onto. This is what BK uses. They talk about light off. 500+ , stays lit at 250+. This is internal stove / gas temps which is about 200 stove top. Most of you use stove top thermos. My cat thermo is a built in stove tope probe above the cat @ the cat outlet. My reference
thermo siting beside it on the stove top reads 200 when the cat probe thermo still reads in the active zone. ON start up I run it up to 500 on the stove top thermo. The cat prob is well into the active zone @ this time. Cat engagement has never been an issue yet
with this procedure. 3 yrs old now, 16 to 18 cords of pine and poplar through it so far. Hoping this helps moondoggy feel more comfortable with his stove operation. N of 60 :coolsmile:

 

[moondoggy]

i learn more and more every day.
knowing the flue temp now also helps.

but still, the biggest change is going to be when i get the ceiling fan in. (dont ask, had to order the the dang fan....)

 

[tradergordo]

Another source for the steel honeycomb combustors is:
http://www.woodstovecombustors.com
They manufacture steel combusters, and also sell some on ebay using the name "woodstovepro":
(broken link removed)

I talked to that guy recently, he said:
"The catalytic reaction of ceramic combustors occurs somewhere between 500-600 degrees. The reaction of the steel combustors is between 400-500 degrees.

We are the manufacturer but you can take a look at our other website (www.woodstovecombustors.com) for more information about combustors.

The warranty on the steel combustors is the same as the ceramic combustors (five years pro-rata) but since steel is more durable you can expect a longer life span. In general, a ceramic combustor should last five years or 12,000 hours of "normal" use and regular maintenance."

 

[Gooserider]

According to Elk, and I haven't verified it elsewhere, but tend to believe it. The OEM VC cats light off at about 500*F cat temp, and heat up as they burn, but go out once they drop back down. Elk claims that the Stovecombustor cats light off at 350* F allowing slightly earlier engagement, and theoretically staying lit further into the coaling stage of the burn cycle.

When we were at VC, their engineer told us that they had tried the stovecombustor cats, and that they were as good or better than the OEM cats, but that VC wasn't able to make a sufficiently good deal on them to use them instead of the ones they were using...

I'm not sure what the cat is in my stove, as it's the one that was in it when I bought it from Elk, and I haven't pulled it out to check it.

Currently I've been engaging when the griddle reaches about 500* on a cold stove start. When reloading I pretty much just open the air control until I get some good flames going on the new load, and a griddle temp over about 350* - then I engage and cut the air back down to a low level (minimum if it's above freezing, slightly more otherwise). Over time my temps will go up to about 500 or so, then drop back down to 350 as I go into coaling mode.

I do generally have light smoke, though lots less than the dragon made, and I think it's mostly steam (my wood doesn't hiss or bubble, but I think it may be on the damper side)

Gooserider