How many satisfied Cat owners out there?

[jpl1nh]

Was reading North of 60's Blazeking thread and saw ansehnlich1's response with fond memories of his old VC cat. Got me thinking that for all the questions people have about the work or problems or whatever of using a cat stove, seems to me that all us cat users love them. I for one would probably never use anything else now that I've used one.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I burnt with a Dutchwest Rocky Mountain for a while. I didn't have too many problems with it, but my wife had trouble with all the steps involved with opening the damper, closing the damper, watching the cat engage, etc.

Like anything, cats are probably for some people and not for others.

Matt

 

[bmwbj]

I know with all the issues I have had with my Cat stove, I will never own another one.

 

[Todd]

I feel the same way jpl. Couldn't be happier. Even the wife thinks it's easier to burn than the other non cat stoves we have had. Cats got a bad rap from the old retrofit bandaid fixes the first few years the EPA standards went ito effect. I hope they don't become extinct, I know there is room for this technology to improve, like the steel cats that recently came out or some kind of downdraft/cat hybrid.

bmwbj, what kind of issues are you having with your stove?

 

[jpl1nh]

I know with all the issues I have had with my Cat stove, I will never own another one.

I looked up some of your previous posts and added your thread link here about the issues you are having. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/14779/. You're obviously a technically oriented guy but as stupid as is it seems my first thought is it sounds like you almost have engaged and disengaged reversed! At 700 degree griddle temps it seems hardly possible you could have smoke either way. With a brand new cat you certainly should have light off at 700 unless you have virtually no air flow thru it. The manual mentions deterioration of the thermostatic probe sensor as a potential issue which I would think would really screw up the secondary air the stove relies on in combustor mode, Also mentions carefully vacuuming out the left and right exhaust pockets of the refractory chamber when you replace the cat. What do you suspect? How did the stove operate for the first couple of years you had it? What happens to the griddle temps when you engage and your chimney starts belching smoke?

 

[bmwbj]

JP, I have really never had great luck with my stove. As I have previosly posted,
it seems the cat just doesn't want to "light" off as it should. My secondary probe is clean,
my refractory chambers are spotless and so is the cat. The stack is clean as a new install,
and I have burned a 3" coal bed for about an hour. I have always waited untill the temps on both the
stack (18" up) and the center grittle are both arount 700*, and it still doesn't light off when I engage the
cat as instructed. The stove worked perfectly every time for about 10 burns, when the stove was new
4 years ago and when I recently replaced the cat. Either I have been doing something wrong all along or
this stove really sucks. Pardon my additude, but I think you can see my frustration. It also seems that no one
from VC really wants to help. I have given up with Cat. operations and only burn the stove like an old "smoke dragon". At the least I have heat...

 

[kellog]

I've been burning cat stoves since 1982 and have two of them installed now. Never had an issue with them. If designed right they have to be better at reducing whatever bad things go out the chimney. In reducing these bad things they give you more heat.

I'll bet there were some of these stoves that were not designed right in the past. I think since the EPA rules came into effect most have likely been designed well because it costs so much to test and certify the designs.

 

[Todd]

JP, I have really never had great luck with my stove. As I have previosly posted,
it seems the cat just doesn't want to "light" off as it should. My secondary probe is clean,
my refractory chambers are spotless and so is the cat. The stack is clean as a new install,
and I have burned a 3" coal bed for about an hour. I have always waited untill the temps on both the
stack (18" up) and the center grittle are both arount 700*, and it still doesn't light off when I engage the
cat as instructed. The stove worked perfectly every time for about 10 burns, when the stove was new
4 years ago and when I recently replaced the cat. Either I have been doing something wrong all along or
this stove really sucks. Pardon my additude, but I think you can see my frustration. It also seems that no one
from VC really wants to help. I have given up with Cat. operations and only burn the stove like an old "smoke dragon". At the least I have heat...

Are you saying you wait til 700 degree griddle temp before engaging? At that temp you should be well over the internal 500 degree required light off. Have you tried lighting off at 500 degree or less griddle temp? The stove top should rise and the stack temp should fall a few minutes after light off. I'm guessing that stove should run between 500-700 with the cat engaged, if it's already at 700 when you light off it will probably drop off some and level out.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Was reading North of 60's Blazeking thread and saw ansehnlich1's response with fond memories of his old VC cat. Got me thinking that for all the questions people have about the work or problems or whatever of using a cat stove, seems to me that all us cat users love them. I for one would probably never use anything else now that I've used one.

Getting back to the original thread, here is another happy cat. owner.

We naturally were concerned when looking at the new stoves that some had cats. and some did not. Then we got gun shy about the cats. That was wrong. We did end up buying a cat. stove and could not be happier.

On ours, when the stove top reaches 250 degrees we engage the cat. Yes, within a few minutes the stove temperature goes up and the flue temperature goes down. It still amazes us that we can have over 500 degree stove top temperature and not even see a fire in the stove! Makes a very efficient stove and we burn maybe 50-60% of the wood we used to burn. I'll have a better handle on the percentage after the end of this heating season (May).

 

[bmwbj]

Todd, I don't want to steal this thread, but I always get smoke after engaging the cat.
Even with higher temps. The stack temps will drop from 700* all the way down to 200* if I leave the cat engaged, and the smoke will never dissapear, the grittle temps will rise if I don't cut the primary air back
to about half way. I really believe I have a bad stove...

 

[swestall]

bmwbj it sounds like your cat is not burning for if it was there would be no smoke.

ON CATS, I had the VC Defiant and Encore CAT stoves, they both worked very well. Then the Defiant Everburn, which didn't work much at all. Now, the Hearthstone Mansfield, a totally different animal which I won't be changing out for anything. And if it breaks, then another Hearthstone or just rebuild.

The only thing I didn't like about the CAT was replacing it now and then; looking back, that was short sighted. It cost me a bundle to try the Everburn and then move on to the Mansfield. The CAT stove was great for 20+ years and actually, the maintenance wasn't that bad.

I had the CATs running on an 8X12 clay flue, no problem. I don't think the draft requirements on the new stoves will allow that. I think it was because the CAT was burning the smoke and it drafted easily because it was hot and clean.

So, as long as they continue to improve maintainability, CATs might still have a chance. I think they are just about VC's only chance in the short run. And, I hope they figure out how to get a secondary burn technology that works without intensive user effort in the long run..

 

[Pine Knot]

Count me among the satisfied cat owners. This is my first winter using a cat stove, and i'm very pleased with mine. First, it burns very clean. I took pipes down and inspected last week. A light thin coating of loose material, easy to clean. Second, it provides a steady heat output that, after cat light off, requires very little attention until time to refuel, usually just adding more primary air when wood has reached charcoal stage. Third, long burns, four loadings a day and always plenty of coals to restart the fire quickly.
Yes I'm a very satisfied cat owner.

 

[elmoleaf]

I'm satisfied with the cat.
When it's not engaged, I get a fair amount of smoke which can stink up the neighborhood. With it running, I get more heat and nobody has to smell or see the smoke.

 

[North of 60]

SURPRISE :coolsmile: Count me in as satisfied.

 

[Heat Miser]

My VC Defiant Cat is working fine. I was thinking of an upgrade but the cat just chugs along and holds a solid stable temp during the burn cycle. When I look at my chimney all I see are waves of heat coming out of it.

 

[kgrant]

Raise hand. BlazeKing King Classic

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

Very interesting thread....
I've always been interested in Cat technology.
For me, if I can get a extra hour or two of burn time,
that would be fantastic. My lovely wife, who ends up being
the "fire chief" while I'm away at work, is a bit of a hard sell
on them, due to her beliefs that they may be fussy. But, of late,
I've gottem her interested in VC Intrepid II, and its self-regulating
(thermostatic) air controls. Well, to be honest, she is more interested
in how it "looks".

I'll keep you informed how it goes...

Rob

 

[Mandoo]

I will be happy to replace my element every few years! I read about other folks burn times and stove usage I also read between the lines. My extended burn times like I've posted before 10++ hours holding an average temp of 500-600 are real and I am no longer a slave to the stove!

The only strange downside is that my wood is free do to a storage barter I have worked out, guess I better ask for some cash too since my wood usage is way down!

Can you tell I'm a happy Cat owner!

I am still convinced proper draft "Appliance specific" is the key and giving a lot of great stoves a bad wrap.

 

[moondoggy]

you know what i love..... that almost candy type smell you get outside the house from a cat burn.

 

[Diabel]

I will be happy to replace my element every few years! I read about other folks burn times and stove usage I also read between the lines. My extended burn times like I've posted before 10++ hours holding an average temp of 500-600 are real and I am no longer a slave to the stove!

The only strange downside is that my wood is free do to a storage barter I have worked out, guess I better ask for some cash too since my wood usage is way down!

Can you tell I'm a happy Cat owner!

I am still convinced proper draft "Appliance specific" is the key and giving a lot of great stoves a bad wrap.

This is definitely an interesting thread. Mandoo when you say your avg. temp over the 10++ burn is 550-600, then what is your peak temp & what is your low temp at the 10++ hrs mark (reload)?

 

[Mandoo]

Peak is 650 to 700 low is 400 to 450 These are stove to griddle temps. of course the stack is a lot cooler. If I have my secondary air turned up It will run up above 750 but that's rare I would normally have the air shut down by then unless I get side tracked.

I just looked and I'm around 475 and climbing. I loaded two large splits a little over an hour ago (normal would be fill it up tight but it's getting warm today) The temp was 400 when I loaded on a tall bed of coals. I'm guessing it will only peak to 550 or so with the small amount of wood.

 

[Diabel]

That is impressive! After 10+ hrs all I have is a bit of coals, enough to restart but my griddle will only read 225-250. Pretty much very little heat at that point. Yeap I am convinced that cat stoves provide longer burn over NC.

 

[Mandoo]

Just got home and found a couple of red hot coals! No griddle temps to speak of but for two logs and to still have a couple of red hots after that many hours says a lot.

I have a couple of splits burning and will have some fast overnight heat.

What time was my last post? and that was only 2 or 3 pieces of wood. I have to say this stove or should I say set up kicks but!!

 

[Mandoo]

edit

 

[Heat Miser]

My VC Cat Defiant goes 8-10 hours between loads. I burn softer woods where I am here in the Pacific NW. At eight hours I have a lot of hot coals left and a stack temp around 250. It is easy to get going again with some small/medium splits in about 15 minutes. At 10 hours I have a good number of hot coals (enough to restart without too much hassle), but the stack temp is probably 150-200. It may take 15-30 minutes to get it hot enough to start the cat again. I'll still have some coals at 12 hours, but they are really only enough to get kindling/small splits re-lit and takes about 30 minutes. The stove temp is still too hot to really touch, but the heat output is too low to really matter for heating purposes.

I've never used the thermostatic controls on non-cat stoves, but this stove will hold a steady temp for six or seven hours before starting to taper off on low burn. On high temp it will burn for about four hours and maintain a constant temp with no babysitting. I can easily run the stove overnight (I do this all the time during the winter). By the morning it has plenty of coals to start again easily.