bk owners with (update w/ new cat ?)

[weatherguy]

Dave you are right. before i knew more about what to burn and what not to burn.i did burn a lot of oak pallets which were nailed together last year. plus a lot of the kindling i used also had nails. the cat does stay in the active range the whole time though. The new cat will he here monday and i will throw it in..no biggy. im almost positive its the cat. i will take a picture of the flue when i get out of work. i have double wall as well with two 45’s about a 3 foot rise into the chimney then a about 25 feet of a steel liner insulated up to the cat. which i believe is a pretty solid setup. also i have read that woodstove combusteor web page within the last few days. wish i would have read it 2 years ago.

Eco, did you get a steel or ceramic?

 

[ecocavalier02]

Dave you are right. before i knew more about what to burn and what not to burn.i did burn a lot of oak pallets which were nailed together last year. plus a lot of the kindling i used also had nails. the cat does stay in the active range the whole time though. The new cat will he here monday and i will throw it in..no biggy. im almost positive its the cat. i will take a picture of the flue when i get out of work. i have double wall as well with two 45’s about a 3 foot rise into the chimney then a about 25 feet of a steel liner insulated up to the cat. which i believe is a pretty solid setup. also i have read that woodstove combusteor web page within the last few days. wish i would have read it 2 years ago.

Eco, did you get a steel or ceramic?

ceramic

 

[weatherguy]

Dave you are right. before i knew more about what to burn and what not to burn.i did burn a lot of oak pallets which were nailed together last year. plus a lot of the kindling i used also had nails. the cat does stay in the active range the whole time though. The new cat will he here monday and i will throw it in..no biggy. im almost positive its the cat. i will take a picture of the flue when i get out of work. i have double wall as well with two 45’s about a 3 foot rise into the chimney then a about 25 feet of a steel liner insulated up to the cat. which i believe is a pretty solid setup. also i have read that woodstove combusteor web page within the last few days. wish i would have read it 2 years ago.

Eco, did you get a steel or ceramic?

ceramic

I guess I'll be the guinea pig

 

[ecocavalier02]

Dave you are right. before i knew more about what to burn and what not to burn.i did burn a lot of oak pallets which were nailed together last year. plus a lot of the kindling i used also had nails. the cat does stay in the active range the whole time though. The new cat will he here monday and i will throw it in..no biggy. im almost positive its the cat. i will take a picture of the flue when i get out of work. i have double wall as well with two 45’s about a 3 foot rise into the chimney then a about 25 feet of a steel liner insulated up to the cat. which i believe is a pretty solid setup. also i have read that woodstove combusteor web page within the last few days. wish i would have read it 2 years ago.

Eco, did you get a steel or ceramic?

ceramic

I guess I'll be the guinea pig

I didnt see the option for the steel cat on Condars website for the princess.

 

[ecocavalier02]

well im going to get some pictures up of my setup. im curious as to how i can get in and maybe change out the gasket on my bypass. it did look really flattened out and also it doesnt feel really tight when i shut it. i mean it clicks but just feels like i could be tightened..

 

[ecocavalier02]

Heres some pics. i did have my stove pipe onto the stove kind of crappy. i tried to seal it with furnace cement and it was not on there good. how could i seal the stove pipe to the stove better? a gasket? with some high heat silicone?

 

[ecocavalier02]

well after i put the stove all back together last night got the stove pipe on there good and really brushed the cat good and also going in from the flue and brushed the backside of it off there were some clogged cells in there. i need to pick up a vacuum brush attachment. but i did a nice hot fire again for a while then lowered her down to 1.75 after an hour and a half or so and last night it seems to be working pretty good. with burning on three it will smoke for the first 25 30 min(light white smoke) then it fades away. but so far it seems to be doing pretty good. so i may hold off on putting the new cat it for now. time will tell.

 

[bogydave]

well after i put the stove all back together last night got the stove pipe on there good and really brushed the cat good and also going in from the flue and brushed the backside of it off there were some clogged cells in there. i need to pick up a vacuum brush attachment. but i did a nice hot fire again for a while then lowered her down to 1.75 after an hour and a half or so and last night it seems to be working pretty good. with burning on three it will smoke for the first 25 30 min(light white smoke) then it fades away. but so far it seems to be doing pretty good. so i may hold off on putting the new cat it for now. time will tell.

The light white smoke, is probably steam. Even dry wood has moisture, (if that makes sense) & it take a while to vaporize it.
Mine does the same, about an hour, then barely or no visible stack emissions.
But thats one of the good things burning with a cat, you get some steam but fewer of the bad. emissions,
The cat burns at a high temp, almost complete combustion of the smoke particles.

 

[nate379]

The CAT is in that shape after how many cords of wood though it?

As far as the pipe connection I don't have anything there to seal it... pipe is slid onto that collar and that's it.

 

[webby3650]

I can't speak for your brand of pipe, but we never have to use sealant. If everything is operating properly, no seal would be needed, any gap would simply suck some air, not smoke out.

 

[bogydave]

I can't speak for your brand of pipe, but we never have to use sealant. If everything is operating properly, no seal would be needed, any gap would simply suck some air, not smoke out.

You are right as long as the system is maintaing the proper draft at the stove like yours does.
Sucking air in thru the gaps reduces draft, & for some systems can cause problems. Like my basement install with a 30" horizontal thru the wall insulated pipe. Lifting 20 feet of cold air to get a draft started is tough with the horizontal pipe in my system, it takes some coaxing. But I've learned to deal with it & have CO monitors, just in case.
With catalytic's exhausting cooler temperatures, air leaks cool it down more, & if the long column of cool air weighs more than the warm air at the bottom ( at some point) it can cause the draft to reverse. Bringing cold air & CO down the stack & out any gaps.
So a tight system is good thing. Not that is has to be, but is more important with cooler exhausts (like burning on low with cats in some systems), long chimneys & cold outside air temps.
Straight up pipe all the way is best, any horizontal pipe is a "choke" on the draft.
Some system are more difficult to get a draft started than others, but once the fire is going, draft well.
Sounds like you have a good system like we all wish we had with out have to go thru the pains of double wall pipe with a good joint seals.
My BK manual calls for a minimum draft of .02" of water (using a water manometer). More is a good thing.

 

[webby3650]

I can't speak for your brand of pipe, but we never have to use sealant. If everything is operating properly, no seal would be needed, any gap would simply suck some air, not smoke out.

You are right as long as the system is maintaing the proper draft at the stove like yours does.
Sucking air in thru the gaps reduces draft, & for some systems can cause problems. Like my basement install with a 30" horizontal thru the wall insulated pipe. Lifting 20 feet of cold air to get a draft started is tough with the horizontal pipe in my system, it takes some coaxing. But I've learned to deal with it & have CO monitors, just in case.
With catalytic's exhausting cooler temperatures, air leaks cool it down more, & if the long column of cool air weighs more than the warm air at the bottom ( at some point) it can cause the draft to reverse. Bringing cold air & CO down the stack & out any gaps.
So a tight system is good thing. Not that is has to be, but is more important with cooler exhausts (like burning on low with cats in some systems), long chimneys & cold outside air temps.
Straight up pipe all the way is best, any horizontal pipe is a "choke" on the draft.
Some system are more difficult to get a draft started than others, but once the fire is going, draft well.
Sounds like you have a good system like we all wish we had with out have to go thru the pains of double wall pipe with a good joint seals.
My BK manual calls for a minimum draft of .02" of water (using a water manometer). More is a good thing.

I wasn't only speaking of my set-up, I install a few stoves every week, every day in the winter. The pipe we use fits so nicely there would be no room for any sealant. When you are going from a basement through a 90 and a tee, into a cold chimney, you are definitely gonna struggle, leaky pipe joints won't help but I think that would be the least of the problems associated with this type of set-up. All I am saying is that if you are leaking smoke, you got some other problem that needs addressed.

 

[bogydave]

I can't speak for your brand of pipe, but we never have to use sealant. If everything is operating properly, no seal would be needed, any gap would simply suck some air, not smoke out.

You are right as long as the system is maintaing the proper draft at the stove like yours does.
Sucking air in thru the gaps reduces draft, & for some systems can cause problems. Like my basement install with a 30" horizontal thru the wall insulated pipe. Lifting 20 feet of cold air to get a draft started is tough with the horizontal pipe in my system, it takes some coaxing. But I've learned to deal with it & have CO monitors, just in case.
With catalytic's exhausting cooler temperatures, air leaks cool it down more, & if the long column of cool air weighs more than the warm air at the bottom ( at some point) it can cause the draft to reverse. Bringing cold air & CO down the stack & out any gaps.
So a tight system is good thing. Not that is has to be, but is more important with cooler exhausts (like burning on low with cats in some systems), long chimneys & cold outside air temps.
Straight up pipe all the way is best, any horizontal pipe is a "choke" on the draft.
Some system are more difficult to get a draft started than others, but once the fire is going, draft well.
Sounds like you have a good system like we all wish we had with out have to go thru the pains of double wall pipe with a good joint seals.
My BK manual calls for a minimum draft of .02" of water (using a water manometer). More is a good thing.

I wasn't only speaking of my set-up, I install a few stoves every week, every day in the winter. The pipe we use fits so nicely there would be no room for any sealant. When you are going from a basement through a 90 and a tee, into a cold chimney, you are definitely gonna struggle, leaky pipe joints won't help but I think that would be the least of the problems associated with this type of set-up. All I am saying is that if you are leaking smoke, you got some other problem that needs addressed.

Oops, mis-read. My Bad.
If you are leaking smoke, yep you got problems.

 

[ecocavalier02]

The CAT is in that shape after how many cords of wood though it?

As far as the pipe connection I don't have anything there to seal it... pipe is slid onto that collar and that's it.

maybe about 8 cords. Like I said I feel i out I through hell. Seems ti be doing ok. Like dave said I think I am getting some steam. Also when u get down ti 1.75 I maybe see a whisp of white. An this sucks having no Internet. Typing everything on my phone lol. Going in day 4 of no power.

 

[nate379]

The ONLY internet I have is through my phone haha!

 

[ecocavalier02]

The ONLY internet I have is through my phone haha!

really? Why no Internet?

 

[BKInsert]

Finaly took pictures last night,

 

[nate379]

Costs too much.. $75 a month for fairly slow connection. The phone's internet is about 2x the speed. Only thing that sucks is the 4GB limit, but I have only hit that once so far.

The ONLY internet I have is through my phone haha!

really? Why no Internet?

 

[nate379]

Nice setup!

Without the fans running will it push out the heat ok still?

Finaly took pictures last night,

 

[BKInsert]

Thanks. Not sure, always used the fan even with my older QuadraFire. My guess is it will put out ~65% of heat without the fan, the manual says use same dial for fan as the thermostat, I find it pretty accurate.

 

[ecocavalier02]

Costs too much.. $75 a month for fairly slow connection. The phone's internet is about 2x the speed. Only thing that sucks is the 4GB limit, but I have only hit that once so far.

The ONLY internet I have is through my phone haha!

really? Why no Internet?

do u use your phone as a hub and run a computer off of that?

 

[bogydave]

Thanks. Not sure, always used the fan even with my older QuadraFire. My guess is it will put out ~65% of heat without the fan, the manual says use same dial for fan as the thermostat, I find it pretty accurate.

Wow, very nice. Great looking fire in there.
Nice set up
Stay warm!

 

[ecocavalier02]

Bk insert that does look very nice. I'm jealous if the insert. I would like ti have one if those In my fireplace upstairs someday.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Did you get the new cat in yet?

 

[BKInsert]

Thanks. Not sure, always used the fan even with my older QuadraFire. My guess is it will put out ~65% of heat without the fan, the manual says use same dial for fan as the thermostat, I find it pretty accurate.

Wow, very nice. Great looking fire in there.
Nice set up
Stay warm!

bogydave, Thank you, I am really happy with this stove, exceeded my expectations.

Bk insert that does look very nice. I'm jealous if the insert. I would like ti have one if those In my fireplace upstairs someday.

ecocavalier02, Thank you, yes the insert is really nice, but I think the firebox is a little smaller than the free standing Princess, even though on paper they are the same. But nevertheless the Insert has long burn times so definitely worth it. How big is your house that you need a second stove? Can't you divert the hot air somehow through floor vents or fans?