Power outage with cat stove and blower

[crater22]

Had a 3 1/2 hour power outage this week while using the insert. Is it best to leave the bypass closed (which I did) or open it. Probably a stupid question, but after 3 years I am still trying to get used to this stove and as of yet, have not had a over night burn.

Many thanks in advance

 

[black smoke signals]

May I ask what make model insert do you have?

 

[crater22]

Sorry, but it is a Buck 91

 

[Blazing]

Had a 3 1/2 hour power outage this week while using the insert. Is it best to leave the bypass closed (which I did) or open it. Probably a stupid question, but after 3 years I am still trying to get used to this stove and as of yet, have not had a over night burn.

Many thanks in advance

You did the right thing. Remember unless you are starting a new load and the temp isn't high enough to engage then the bypass should be closed. Any reason you haven't done an overnight burn?

 

[crater22]

You did the right thing. Remember unless you are starting a new load and the temp isn't high enough to engage then the bypass should be closed. Any reason you haven't done an overnight burn?

I cannot seem to find a way to keep the temp's of the insert steady. I can get a nice steady reading of about 1000-1200 on the cat probe but when the fire starts to slow down, the temps always climb up to about 1800 or so. Even during the day on some fires, I need to place a fan directly facing the insert to stop it from climbing. I am just afraid of that happening during the night while I am sleeping. Even during the day, if I need to leave for anytime, I wait until the temp is in the 1000 range for a steady period of time.

 

[black smoke signals]

I have this same problem with my BK Insert cat climbing to extreme temps but controlling high temp I set t-stat and walk away.The Life time of the cat at those temp I would think it will shorten its life. Sometimes I turn down the air just a tad not sure this will apply to your Buck stove. Chime in guys

 

[SuperJ]

I have this same problem with my BK Insert cat climbing to extreme temps but controlling high temp I set t-stat and walk away.The Life time of the cat at those temp I would think it will shorten its life. Sometimes I turn down the air just a tad not sure this will apply to your Buck stove. Chime in guys

I wonder if your stat is getting fooled somehow since you have an insert. Could it be picking up some cold from something? Or, maybe you have some sort of air leak? Have you done the paper slip test on the door and bypass? Do you have some insulation and a block off plate behind the insert?

 

[Highbeam]

On the bk, ignore cat temp. That’s why the cat meter doesn’t come with numbers. It’s either active or it’s not and the stove is engineered to prevent excessively highway temps. The thermostat controls stove temps.

 

[SuperJ]

On the bk, ignore cat temp. That’s why the cat meter doesn’t come with numbers. It’s either active or it’s not and the stove is engineered to prevent excessively highway temps. The thermostat controls stove temps.

I assume he meant it keeps burying the needle.

 

[Woody Stover]

Had a 3 1/2 hour power outage this week while using the insert. Is it best to leave the bypass closed (which I did) or open it

I would leave the bypass closed unless the stove or cat temp started going very high due to the blower being off.

I cannot seem to find a way to keep the temp's of the insert steady. I can get a nice steady reading of about 1000-1200 on the cat probe but when the fire starts to slow down, the temps always climb up to about 1800 or so. Even during the day on some fires, I need to place a fan directly facing the insert to stop it from climbing. I am just afraid of that happening during the night while I am sleeping. Even during the day, if I need to leave for anytime, I wait until the temp is in the 1000 range for a steady period of time.

I don't know if you read the particular Buck 91 thread where another tweak was mentioned for gaining the ability to cut the air further, since (on my 91 anyway) I didn't have the ability to slow the burn down by cutting the air. Instead, I had to build the fire in a way that didn't get too much wood gassing at once. I think it was coltfever who posted it, IIRC. Anyway, he opened the ash pan door and fan control door to access the plates on the right slider rod. He removed the screws holding the plates to the rod, then slid the rod out of the right side. He then bent the rod over his knee (SLIGHTLY, don't overdo it!) so that when reassembled, the plates would seal a bit more tightly against the air inlets, giving more control over the air, the amount of wood gassing, and hence the cat temp. I never got a chance to try that tweak at my MIL's before we sold the stove with the house, but it sure sounded like it would work.
If you don't feel comfortable trying the tweak yourself, maybe you have a friend who is pretty good with mechanical stuff, and could do it for you using this description..

 

[black smoke signals]

Just trying to help out the original poster so I will answer your question related to BK Cold air into the room I crack open a window 6 ft from the stove I have a tight sealed home. Dealer did the slip test its ok but said no need for insulation because I have a center located masonry with clay liner plus cinder block around the chimney to the roof. I shot the back side of the stove area and up into the outer area of the chimney and with infrared gun average temp is 100 degrees all the way to the top.Draft was checked also with 40mph winds with a vacu-stack cap which I removed replaced it with a standard cap.

 

[Woody Stover]

On the bk, ignore cat temp. That’s why the cat meter doesn’t come with numbers.

It's not a bk, it's a bUCk. And the cat probe has numbers. And if you read around, you will find out that you shouldn't run a cat over 1800 for an extended period of time, or damage to the cat can result. And didn't you crumble your ceramic cat to dust within two years? Your steelie may hold up longer, but we'll see. Sheesh, it's a lot of work constantly correcting the misinformation you continually spew regarding cat temps.

I assume he meant it keeps burying the needle.

If I got a BK (which ain't likely) I wouldn't bury the needle either, in spite of it having no numbers. I like to see that cat just a medium orange, not a blazing yellow-orange.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Are you using splits or solid rounds when this occurs? I get the impression from the manual that splits will make an extra hot fire and full rounds should be used for all night (&day?) Burns. From what I can tell from the manual (if applicable) the cat temps should be in excess of 1k* and if not over 500*(in addition to 1k?) Refer to trouble shooting. It looks like it calls for am 8 inch vent.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/110823/New-Buck-Corporation-91.html#manual

 

[VirginiaIron]

The power failures are one reason we went to a free standing unit. We had to get the insert pretty hot to get any heat from it when the power was out.

 

[black smoke signals]

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/110823/New-Buck-Corporation-91.html?page=23#manual

 

[Highbeam]

Both bk and bucks were talked about. I have no experience with bucks so I specified my advice for the bk. You woody have no experience with bk stoves and your ignorance shows. The bk is engineered to not allow the cat to hit 1800.

I never crumbled any cat. My last ceramic looked great after 18000 hours. Bk though.

 

[Woody Stover]

Are you using splits or solid rounds when this occurs? I get the impression from the manual that splits will make an extra hot fire and full rounds should be used for all night (&day?) Burns. From what I can tell from the manual (if applicable) the cat temps should be in excess of 1k* and if not over 500*(in addition to 1k?) Refer to trouble shooting. It looks like it calls for am 8 inch vent.

I've gone into some detail in various Buck 91 threads on how to build fires that don't get too much wood involved early in the burn. That approach is kind of tricky though, as you have to produce some decent flame heat to get this heavy stove up to temp for a cat light-off, yet not get everything in the box gassing at once. I'm convinced that once you have better control over the air on this stove, you can control the gassing by cutting air, even if you have a lot of wood gassing. That should provide better control over cat temps.
Yes, I found that a good sweet spot for cat temp is around 1200-1500. This applies to my Dutchwest as well as the 91. He does have 8" chimney on the stove..

 

[pen]

Let us make certain the thread stays informational and we not let the undies get bunched up.

 

[bholler]

On the bk, ignore cat temp. That’s why the cat meter doesn’t come with numbers. It’s either active or it’s not and the stove is engineered to prevent excessively highway temps. The thermostat controls stove temps.

Unless something is wrong which excessive cat temps would indicate.

 

[Blazing]

I cannot seem to find a way to keep the temp's of the insert steady. I can get a nice steady reading of about 1000-1200 on the cat probe but when the fire starts to slow down, the temps always climb up to about 1800 or so. Even during the day on some fires, I need to place a fan directly facing the insert to stop it from climbing. I am just afraid of that happening during the night while I am sleeping. Even during the day, if I need to leave for anytime, I wait until the temp is in the 1000 range for a steady period of time.

I of course don't have the same stove so just throwing ideas at you from here. I notice on my stove most of the off gassing happens at the beginning of the load. In turn the more I turn the stove down the more gas is trapped in the stove for the cat to deal with. Could you either burn hotter longer in the beginning or not turn the air down as far so soon? Now I realize this will cause more heat up front but I'm not sure if it would be to much or not.

 

[VirginiaIron]

There are time requirements to cat for startup and reloads.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Plus the company throws in "every install is different" - so happy experimenting.

 

[Blazing]

There are time requirements to cat for startup and reloads.

I wouldn't think time as much as temp would matter. I know a load of cold oak on a 50 degree day won't bring my cat into range anywhere near as fast as say a 30 degree day and hot reload.

 

[black smoke signals]

Just saying Buck Stoves using catalytic explained in 23-24 in the manual reads---
Do not "hot fire" the stove. For many years retailers and installers have advised customers to build an extra
hot fire to burn creosote deposits in the fire system. This advice may be acceptable for non-cat stoves, but
can be death to a catalyst. Why? Because the catalyst is reducing the particulate, or creosote buildup,
therefore the need to "hot fire" is eliminated. On page 24 it reads to not boil water soooo why is this? Aren't all cats made the same?

 

[VirginiaIron]

I wouldn't think time as much as temp would matter. I know a load of cold oak on a 50 degree day won't bring my cat into range anywhere near as fast as say a 30 degree day and hot reload.

Ok, Maybe I missed something. I didn't see anything in that manual that said shut the bypass at xxx degrees, just time- assuming time equals degrees. But that also relies on a wood supply that is dry, for a period of time, and not wet by rain.