I think your wood is fine. I run my Keystone all over the place. Sometimes at .5 and sometimes at 1.5 - depending on the need. I do know that draft will make a big difference in your stoves performance and really you need to think of air flow vs a static draft setting. So if the temps are warm outside, to get the same air through your stove as a cold January day, you are going to have to open things up a bit.
As far as the cat, the test there in the end is to look out the chimney. If you got smoke, it ain't fired-off because the stove isn't hot enough to do so or you got a bad cat. I had to replace my ceramic cat last year at the end of the season on my Keystone. It could have been thermal shock or a bad cat - I don't really know, but Woodstock sent me a new SS one to replace it and I like it so far.
BTW, these Woodstock stoves like the Fireview and Keystone have a nice window with andirons in the picture. Open things up and enjoy some flames. When I first bought my Keystone, I was obsessed with cat only burn - no flames. After a few weeks of that, I said to myself, NO FLAMES - might be OK for shoulder season or overnight, but I paid some serious $$$'s for this stove and I want to see and enjoy the fireview, and now that's what we do. A beautiful stove is even more so with that fireplace look going on inside.
You got a great stove!
Good luck,
Bill
As far as the cat, the test there in the end is to look out the chimney. If you got smoke, it ain't fired-off because the stove isn't hot enough to do so or you got a bad cat. I had to replace my ceramic cat last year at the end of the season on my Keystone. It could have been thermal shock or a bad cat - I don't really know, but Woodstock sent me a new SS one to replace it and I like it so far.
BTW, these Woodstock stoves like the Fireview and Keystone have a nice window with andirons in the picture. Open things up and enjoy some flames. When I first bought my Keystone, I was obsessed with cat only burn - no flames. After a few weeks of that, I said to myself, NO FLAMES - might be OK for shoulder season or overnight, but I paid some serious $$$'s for this stove and I want to see and enjoy the fireview, and now that's what we do. A beautiful stove is even more so with that fireplace look going on inside.
You got a great stove!
Good luck,
Bill