Question cat vs non cat

[Wolves1]

Been burning non cat most of my 17 years burning experience. I know with non cat it’s important to have a flame what about a cat stove and having a no flame and what about blacking of glass with no flame. Just curious to know what peoples thoughts are.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

If your stack is to spec and your wood is truely dry, below 20%mc. Then most of the time with a cat stove you are looking at a dark stove with glowing coals on the bottom. I have a short stack but my wood is dry so I don't have much problem keeping my glass clean. The only time my glass gets real gunked up is when some questionable wood finds its way in the stove or I choke it down to far. If I keep the stove top above 400 I'm good.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I have a cat stove. My glass gets a little dirty when doing overnight burns. Its just he way it is, but in the morning when i fire it back up from coals ii take it to 550/600 degrees and the glass is Crystal clear. Most of the time i have the cat engaged the air is like half way so i see glowing coals and secondary flames mid way to the top of the box rolling by. As for when the air is turned all the way back for over night burns, i dont see much just a verry light glow at the bottom. Not much action in super economy mode.....

 

[kennyp2339]

Not all cat stoves are created equal. I own and run a BK princess, the stove is controlled by a t-stat and is designed to be able to burn low and slow which leads to dirty glass, heave creosote build up in the firebox but a clean chimney, I can get burn times of upwards 24-28hr per load doing this (perfect for when the temps are in the mid 30's and up) I can also turn the t-stat up and get a raging fire, have clean glass, plenty of heat when it gets real cold and have equal burn times of 8 to 10 hrs per load like a epa tube stove. So to sum it up the BK gives its user the best of both worlds.
Other cat stoves like the Woodstock progress hybrid can give similar results of the BK, now my friend own a cat version of a VC Dutch West and he cannot turn that down like I can on the BK, he will stall his stove out or gum up his chimney, he still needs to burn or keep his fire box in the 500 - 650 deg range to have a clean stack, so his burn times are a little shorter than mine.