Operating a Cat stove

[Jackfre]

I have a new 2550 Encore. It is my first cat equipped appliance. The weather has been such that I haven't had much more than a dozen fires all season. I say "season" because I can't really class it as a "winter". Anyway, I get the stove top stat up to about 500 and engage the cat. My question is, how should this stove be operated in the cooling down period. All of my fires have been " let it burn out overnight and be cold in the morning". As the stove is around 500 when I go to bed, should I be bypassing the cat during that cool down period or just let it burn itself out with the cat engaged.

So far, I've been very pleased with this unit. Now, I will cross my fingers

 

[jeff_t]

At that point you're not making any smoke, so it really doesn't matter. Running it thru the cat should slow down the exit up the flue, though, holding more heat in the stove.

 

[Woody Stover]

At that point you're not making any smoke, so it really doesn't matter. Running it thru the cat should slow down the exit up the flue, though, holding more heat in the stove.

That's what I do; Stove top stays hotter with the bypass closed.

 

[BrowningBAR]

That's what I do; Stove top stays hotter with the bypass closed.

Keep in mind your stove is designed differently than the Encore. You can get the stove top of an Encore scorching hot with the bypass open due to the way the stove is designed. Also, the cat is located in the back of the stove and not the top like it is on the Woodstock stoves.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Simply leave the cat alone once it has been engaged. When it is time to reload, then it is time to open the bypass.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

the cat will stay active very until very late in the fire, and as it cools out of the "active" range it just goes inert, by this time any solid partculates should be consumed anyway and the only thing passing through the cat cells will be gasses released by whatever coals are still actively outgassing at this late stage, just leave it closed until you are ready to refire but dont forget to open before you start back up.

 

[Defiant]

the cat will stay active very until very late in the fire, and as it cools out of the "active" range it just goes inert, by this time any solid partculates should be consumed anyway and the only thing passing through the cat cells will be gasses released by whatever coals are still actively outgassing at this late stage, just leave it closed until you are ready to refire but dont forget to open before you start back up.

X2, I got 8 hour burns from the 2550, in the morning open the damper and primary air, put some splits on the embers and off she goes again.