The Ashford is pretty cool on the sides compared to the top. So are the Ultra models, but that is because of the side heat shields. The Ashford is no different, it has cast iron shields. The Cape Cod will blast out more heat from the body of the stove for sure, but it has no side shields. It will run hot and steady for about 5 hours, then it falls to an unusable amount of heat at about the 10 or 12 hour mark.
Anyone put in a catalytic and a non-catalytic and compare them?
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So, the top is the real heater on the BK? I was wondering about that. Seems if you're just using the combustor for heat that the area around that would get really hot but that it would be pretty cool, relatively, on the rest of the stove. That helps to explain why you can keep it at that high surface temp for so long on one load of wood.
This has a lot to do with the shields. The Parlor model has no shields at all and the entire body cranks heat just like other stoves. The Ashford and the Ultra models are more of a convection stove, they will excel with a blower. I'll be giving it a try with the blower in few weeks!
Huh, so the Parlor gets pretty hot on all surfaces when you run it at 600F on the top thermometer? I would assume that the heat shields on the Ashford and Ultra would force more of the heat up into the top plate, making them run with less overall heat output for longer times.
It's not like the heat is trapped, or lost in some way. It's just softened by the shielding on the sides. That's why a blower makes a big difference. Don't get me wrong, the sides will still burn your hand, it won't blister you though.
Wow, this topic has gotten a bit personal! Ford, Chevy, Dodge. We can all have a cold one to the fact that most quality stoves sold are made in the USA not China.
With that said, there are so many variables to consider which makes the hearth such a great personalized addition to our homes.
For me, I have a tall stack with a lot of draft. The fact that my woodstock has only one air inlent as opposed to unregulated secondary air that my harman had gives us much more control, in turn better burn times.
My wife has confidence in loading a morning or overnight burn and setting the air. The other stoves previous to this one, she would not touch em. The other features and benefits were just a bonus.
I am not sure why some are saying a cat stoves don't put on a fireshow? I get great secondaries for hours, sometimes I find myself staying up to late just enjoying the show. Maybe the blaze kings are different with trimming the air down further with the thermostat. Sure if I slammed my air control shut, I would just have a boring cat burn, but I find a bit of flame as others have suggested gives the optimum efficiency and heat output.
With that said, there are so many variables to consider which makes the hearth such a great personalized addition to our homes.
For me, I have a tall stack with a lot of draft. The fact that my woodstock has only one air inlent as opposed to unregulated secondary air that my harman had gives us much more control, in turn better burn times.
My wife has confidence in loading a morning or overnight burn and setting the air. The other stoves previous to this one, she would not touch em. The other features and benefits were just a bonus.
I am not sure why some are saying a cat stoves don't put on a fireshow? I get great secondaries for hours, sometimes I find myself staying up to late just enjoying the show. Maybe the blaze kings are different with trimming the air down further with the thermostat. Sure if I slammed my air control shut, I would just have a boring cat burn, but I find a bit of flame as others have suggested gives the optimum efficiency and heat output.
I agree. We have a ton of great options to put on the hearth these days. Its fun thinking about all of the possibilities! Sounds like you can get some nice flames from a cat if you are willing to run it hotter, but it also seems the most efficient burn would be one that is dampered down completely. A little flame might we worth the tradeoff at times though. I am just curious about how the 2 types operate in the same situation for informational purposes and to learn something.
There is a BK owner on here with an infared image of his princess as his avatar. This photo really shows how the heat is disbursed and as you would expect, the cat is the main heat source and not the fire. I do not believe that the cat and non-cat stove bodies run the same temperature under the heat shields. This is because there is very little "fire" occuring in the stove of a cat stove.
That's what I would expect based on the location of the cat. comb. and from what Webby was saying. He also said the Princess radiates pretty well from all sides though. I guess you'd have to take various measurements with an IR Gun (or thermometer) to see what the variability is over the stove if that is of interest. Of course, all that matters is that you can get enough heat into the room. It makes more sense to me now that the blower fan could be a very big part of running a cat stove, as you would be pushing cold air over the hottest part of the stove. Then, it would take more oxygen (faster burn rate) to keep the stovetop at 600F. If you didn't use a blower, you might not get enough heat into the room.
I have both (see signature). I'm still learning the idiosyncrasies of the Drolet but, to date, I prefer the DutchWest w/cat. But, I have lived with the DW for 16 years. 
The good news is that we have new members as well as new stoves and new technologies to bring to the party.
But, the threads will remain the same.
"My stove is better!"
"No, mine is!"
"Mine is made out of magic!"
On a related topic, I need more people to buy BK stoves in the Northeast so the used market improves.
Well yes, of course, the best answer will continue to be BK but now we have more folks shooting for second place!
Parallax
Minister of Fire
This is such a great topic for someone like me, still deciding which first stove to purchase. Now the problem is finding an Ashford that I can see in real life. At this moment, this magic stove is rather elusive. Like trying to spot a leprechaun.
really interesting finding out about BK using a bi-metallic thermostat to control air intake. it's the cat that's producing the heat not the fire underneath.
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Ashfords are folded into shape by Lephrechauns at the end of the rainbow. You can only find one there....
I would really like to try a cat stove (has to be a 6 inch chimney) which one would be the best to try, it has to put out a lot of heat for the below 0 temps, the Summit works great until the below 0 temps hit.
The summit is a large 3 cu ft stove. If it struggles when it get really cold your only solution is to go larger. That would mean the BK King.
Seems like with a pure cat. stove, if you want high heat output at times then you need to get the biggest one you can find and/or get one with a blower on it?Wrong answer I have a 6 inch chimney.
Well, not really. Cat stoves excel at running at a controlled and efficient lower temp. But, like any stove, it can only do so much. If Old Spark bought a 3 cu ft cat stove to replace his 3 cu ft non-cat stove he would see longer burn times during milder temps, but about the same burn times during cold temps when the Summit also struggles.
In order to meet his needs during colder temps he will need a larger stove, whether it is cat or non-cat stove.
I'm looking for a used King and I'm going to give it a try with a 6" liner.Wrong answer I have a 6 inch chimney.
Cool, looking forward to hearing how that works out, I guess its going to depend on the height of the chimney on how well it works.
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