Respectfully
@bholler, we have met a few times and I know you are passionate about what you do and where you do it. You are a very talented, hard working dude. Your participating in forums is invaluable. However, your post is a bit too broad. Keep in mind we sell, service and support our products across the globe, not just PA.
So let me ask, how "many" is many? I respect immensely that some "cat stoves" are operated without a cat. How old are these stoves? Are they problematic designs? Are some of them from the 10-15 year era of poor designs?
Where is your emissions data showing loss in performance by combustors over a 10 year period of burning 3+ cords of wood from actual consumer homes? We have data from dozens of stoves, not just our models.
May I ask, on secondary stoves with tubes or baffles, what percentage do you remove during a cleaning and inspect for cracks or warpage? Are there some that sustain such damage, if so what percent? Do you have data showing what those damages can mean to the emissions profiles?
Do some owners of our stoves wait too long to replace the combustor? Yes! We and our dealers, sweeps and sites like this contribute to that education. See @Highbeams post that tells folks to go look for smoke?
We are advocates for clean burning and building stoves capable of doing so. So are all the other stove manufacturers. All technologies. We always admonish people to "Go out, look up". If there is smoke, fix the problem, no matter what your stove design.
Thank you for your contributions, experience and knowledge sharing.
