help the new guy with a cat stove!

[ozarkjeep]

ok, so its installed
earth stove bv4000c

I cleaned the combuster, not broken up, was slightly black, its clean now, all passages are clear.

re sealed the door and glass.

air control works well, instant response, and almost able to snuff the fire.

getting top temps of 300 or so unless I leave the air intake open.
gets up to 500 top of stove temp after a while.

is it safe to engage the cat combustor with some questionable wood if the wood has been in there and is burning to produce these temps?
( its raining sleeting outside, so all of my wood is wet)

ive been splitting it up in the garage, but its wet on the outside.

here are some photos.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

one thing i have learned directly from a catalyst manufacturer (applied ceramics) do not throw wet wood on a hot fire and re-engage the catalyst( closing the bypass), while it is possible (just not fun) to get a fire started in a cat stove with wet wood, the cat is dormant when this happens and is less likely to have problems, if the cat is at temp and wet wood is added and the catalyst re-engaged, the resulting burst of steam will shock the catalyst and in some cases shatter it. bottom line, dont add wet wood, cats be expensive! i (when i was using a cat stove) kept the wood pile covered and also kept a couple days supply stashed in the garage in a portable wood crib (24 bucks at wally world) to avoid having to shut down and restart cold to save my cat. hope this helps.

mike esw

 

[Jay H]

O M G, wait til PETA hears about this.... :bug:

Jay

 

[ozarkjeep]

Gotcha.

I figured that, I actually meant like after an hour of burning, when its all black and coals.

surely its dry by then?

I closed the damper in a situation like this.

it got slightly warmer on the front of the stove, above the combustor, but got cooler faster than with the cat out of the stream.

and it was still smoking out of the chimney.

I think there is some leakage around my combuster, but I also fear its used up, or not as effective as it once was.

question for those with cat stoves.

do you engage the cat and leave the stove like that over night?

or is this just a peak burn type of thing?

one thing i have learned directly from a catalyst manufacturer (applied ceramics) do not throw wet wood on a hot fire and re-engage the catalyst( closing the bypass), while it is possible (just not fun) to get a fire started in a cat stove with wet wood, the cat is dormant when this happens and is less likely to have problems, if the cat is at temp and wet wood is added and the catalyst re-engaged, the resulting burst of steam will shock the catalyst and in some cases shatter it. bottom line, dont add wet wood, cats be expensive! i (when i was using a cat stove) kept the wood pile covered and also kept a couple days supply stashed in the garage in a portable wood crib (24 bucks at wally world) to avoid having to shut down and restart cold to save my cat. hope this helps.

mike esw

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i actually would get the stove up to temp, watching a probe type cat thermometer ( condar) until the cat temp reached the active zone (600 degrees) i usually fudged a bit higher than the 550 degrees listed, closed the bypass then let it rock, cat thermometers are a real plus, if your unit can accept one i would suggest getting it , makes it a lot easier to keep an eye on the cat , and also allowed me to kinda "dial in" the heat with my draft controls. as for the worry if the wood had dried enough , im sure that it had if the catalyst went active and had cooked out for that long. my earlier post concerned adding to an established fire with the cat above 500 degrees (active) then shortly after closing the bypass. this isnt a good thing. a little moisture isnt going to be a problem, but wood permiated with water , rain soaked through, can cause damage and should be avoided if possible.

mike esw

 

[ozarkjeep]

thanks for your input Mike,

my stove has a hole for a probe directly in the path of the exit of the combustor, and ive tried to locate the part, the one lead i had was nearly $100.
It isnt worth that to me at this point, possibly later though.

Im not sure if my catalyst was active or not, this is really I guess my underlying goal at this point, to figure out how to tell when its working or not.

I do have a non contact thermometer ive been using the last few days, a point and shoot infrared type of deal.

shooting inside with the door open, im seeing 700+ on the flame guard of the cat before Ive tried to engage it.

i actually would get the stove up to temp, watching a probe type cat thermometer ( condar) until the cat temp reached the active zone (600 degrees) i usually fudged a bit higher than the 550 degrees listed, closed the bypass then let it rock, cat thermometers are a real plus, if your unit can accept one i would suggest getting it , makes it a lot easier to keep an eye on the cat , and also allowed me to kinda "dial in" the heat with my draft controls. as for the worry if the wood had dried enough , im sure that it had if the catalyst went active and had cooked out for that long. my earlier post concerned adding to an established fire with the cat above 500 degrees (active) then shortly after closing the bypass. this isnt a good thing. a little moisture isnt going to be a problem, but wood permiated with water , rain soaked through, can cause damage and should be avoided if possible.

mike esw

 

[stoveguy2esw]

check out www.condar.com see if they have one cheaper , shoot 100.00 is right pricy , we carry one for our catalytic models for 36.39 and s/h , not sure if it is the right length for your unit but its still considerably less than a c note. anyway , shooting the impingement plate and reading 700 F is probably giving you enough of an accurate reading to know you are active so i guess that would work just fine too.


mike esw

 

[ozarkjeep]

I see this one.

http://www.condar.com/meters.html

3-12 cat combustor probe.

But, I need one that reads on the side of the dial, as the face wont be visible, the hole for the probe is in the firebox, the outer shroud is over it, and only about an inch tall.

if you can see in this photo, a dial that was read from above would be obscured from view.

check out www.condar.com see if they have one cheaper , shoot 100.00 is right pricy , we carry one for our catalytic models for 36.39 and s/h , not sure if it is the right length for your unit but its still considerably less than a c note. anyway , shooting the impingement plate and reading 700 F is probably giving you enough of an accurate reading to know you are active so i guess that would work just fine too.


mike esw

 

[elkimmeg]

Jeep glad to see you up and running for the non probe users using a stove top thermo I donot engage the cat till there is a decent bed of coals the wood has entered the second stage of burning if damp no more hissing is present and 500 + stove temps have beeen achieved I don't know what the temp is wnen measured off the soapstone call your manufacturer
Then I engage the cat and sit back and let it roll I might add or subtract fron the primary air inlet to get is cooking

 

[ozarkjeep]

Good info Elk.
Thanks!

Now, ive tried this, and its not really getting any warmer, and ive still got smoke outside.

does this mean my combustor is defective?

I guess Ill try one of those new fangled stovecombustors.com jobs.

In your own cat stove usage Elk, how long of a burn does the cat stay engaged for?
like several hours?

can you set it and goto work?
or overnight?

never messed with this type of stove before, just trying to figure out the usage.

THANKS everyone!

Jeep glad to see you up and running for the non probe users using a stove top thermo I donot engage the cat till there is a decent bed of coals the wood has entered the second stage of burning if damp no more hissing is present and 500 + stove temps have beeen achieved I don't know what the temp is wnen measured off the soapstone call your manufacturer
Then I engage the cat and sit back and let it roll I might add or subtract fron the primary air inlet to get is cooking

 

[stoveguy2esw]

once engaged the cat will stay active for hours with a good load of wood, ive hit 8-9 hours of useful heat from the 24-ac i burned usually the stove would still be active when i got up in the morning if i set it up just before i sacked out. i think you'll like it once you get a feel for it.

mike esw

 

[ozarkjeep]

great info, thank you!

once engaged the cat will stay active for hours with a good load of wood, ive hit 8-9 hours of useful heat from the 24-ac i burned usually the stove would still be active when i got up in the morning if i set it up just before i sacked out. i think you'll like it once you get a feel for it.

mike esw

 

[elkimmeg]

Let me refine my advice. say you start from kindling I then add 3 to 4 decent but not large splits (This info can also apply to all secondary burning)
I let them burn to a bed of coals, red glowing coals I then load up the fire box and keep the primary air open. I find many do not take the proper length of time to let things get established
they try to rush the closing the dampers and end up with less than desirable results
It could take 30 minutes to get the seconf reload going then activate the damper for cat or secondary burning. As the wood burns it reduces the volitals that have to pass threw the cat
E$ven when the fire box temps drop below the cat ignition range most of all particles have been burned off and will not clog the cat Onec you get it rolling 6 to 8 plus hours of productive heat should follow. As for the chimney still smoking after the cat is engaged again give it 20+ minutes to see if the skoke vollume has declined It is not instant. Like every new stove opperator there is a learning curb. Dryer wood is the key for sucess

 

[ozarkjeep]

gotcha Elk.

Ive owned stoved before, just never a modern effecient stove.
I completely understand about the bed of coals, and openeing the air for the reload wood to get going.

Ill continue some testing of this combustor, but im not getting very good results so far.
it SI possible I cant keep it hot enough to light with this barely seasoned, wood that now has 2 inches of SNOW on it.

schools cancelled, work ended early today.

NICE to have some flames licking the glass as I sit here and drink a cold beverage.