Heat2012 said:
Anyway from someone that owns a CAT stove:
1. How long does a CAT usually last?
2. How difficult is it to take out and clean the CAT?
3. Does a CAT stove burn dirtier than a non-CAT stove?
Any recommendations, because I was all set to buy a CAT stove and really like the idea of being able to regulate the burn and temp in the BK. I do not know of anyone that owns a CAT stove, so I need as much advice (pros/cons) of owning a CAT or not. Thanks.
Mark
1. Use determines life of the combustor. One study I read said 10k to 12k hours but didn't report what efficiency they used to determine it was time for replacement.
2. I changed mine, took a few minutes, bought it from BK dealer so it was old one out, some cleaning & new one in.
I put in a ceramic, original in the stove was Stainless steel. New one came with gasket taped on so all I had to do was slide it into place.
Some have posted that the ceramic ones are brittle & break very easy when taking them out.
My "learning curve" plugged the SS one. Now I have it as a spare, ready to go.
Ref post when I replaced it:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/70546/
3. Buy all studies I've read, cats are the cleanest burning. Rated high by the EPA.
Ref EPA rated wood stoves, emissions & efficiency chart:
(broken link removed to http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/resources/publications/monitoring/caa/woodstoves/certifiedwood.pdf)
I reduced my wood consumption by more than 40% when I went to the BK-K Cat stove. (9-10 cord per yr to 5 - 6 cord per yr.)
Cleaner burning, better control, more better heat in the house not up the chimney.
Took a while to learn to burn with a cat stove, the operations manual instructions were good (when I finally read them).
I get well over 20 hour burns with good heat output the whole time on outside temps above 20°f,
Shorter burn times when sub zero temps ( 12 hour is about the shortest) but really cranking out the heat for 12 hours
Dry wood is key. I found 2 years to season birch & I get real good performance, 1 year seasoned (recommended) did OK, The 2 + year seasoned, dry wood is a very noticeable difference.