Leaning heavily toward Lennox Villa Vista - should I worry about buying a Cat fireplace?

[PeteD]

I have decided that on most accounts (home size, heating potential, aesthetics), the Villa Vista is a better option for me over the Brentwood, even with the price differential. I have a small fireplace that I am replacing and not really any other options that I have found, even with a lot of looking.

I am slightly concerned about the bad things I have been reading about Cat stoves (even though i have a BIS), particularly VC stoves. There seems to be strong anti-Cat sentiment from a number of people, but they were focused on units that did not perform well. Also, cast iron system were harder to test than steel boxes.

Has anyone heard of problems with the Lennox Cat systems? Can I feel comfortable that it will perform?

How about the complaint of waiting for it to heat up and then having to close the by-pass? Is that something I will regret?

Thanks,
Pete

 

[jpl1nh]

I can't speak to this particular insert, but I'm a cat fan. OK, you have to wait for 15-30 mins from cold start to lift a lever that switches the exhaust flow thru the cat? How hard is that? And if you're loading a hot stove, it's more like 5-15 minutes. The advantage is the ability to run your stove at much lower temperature for much longer times. I like that a lot. Need it hot? open the air a bit and it's much more heat for a shorter period of time. Once you understand the concept of a cat, they can be awesome stoves.

 

[PeteD]

Thanks. That makes sense to me. I also wish that I could find one of these to look at in person, but they all seem to be special order. I have been making construction paper cutouts the size of the glass on these units to see how they will look. Less than ideal, but works OK.

Pete

 

[RedRanger]

Nothing wrong with cats.. Would have bought the Blazeking Princess if I could have afforded it. :down: