I have a saw mill and I've been using my few month's old cedar and poplar left over stickers to get my cat going, fast. Both cedar and poplar burn fast and hot...I was surprised how hot. A small pile can get the cat up to temp in about 5 mins. I add some fat wood when it's just about there, close the door almost all the way and it's well in to the zone before I cut it to a smolder and let the cat do it's job. I find this is fast and keeps the cat going for a long time with a very hot temp and bright, glowing cat. While this seems to work great, is getting the cat this hot a fast a bad thing and is it potentially doing any damage? Performance wise it's fantastic and my cat seems to burn for much longer when it get it really hot before engaging it.
Quick hot fire to get cat up and running ?
- Thread starter dabbash25
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It may depend on how well the cat is protected from direct flame contact. If this is for a BK stove, then it should be ok.
Blaze King Ashford 25. It has a heat plate and I set the pile back so it's not directly under it. The flames really are not that close. I've read that despite the plate, direct flames can damage the cat. The original warped in the center - the newer same size cats use less cat material and have a metal column in the center so it was likely a defect in the design.
As long as the wood is dry enough (which the speed suggests it is), it should be fine.
I would close the door asap tho. It's better to close it as soon as the fire can sustain and grow with it closed.
I would close the door asap tho. It's better to close it as soon as the fire can sustain and grow with it closed.
Yes, stickers are at max 1x1 from a cant just under the bark. They dry very fast. Usually I crack the door an inch and then close it with the latch loosely holding the door somewhat tight, but yes, I suppose since it's going up in temp so fast, I could probably close it a big before. I'm also seeing a ton of smoke once that cat is going curling inside once I cut the air - this is where the temp gets hot and the cat gets very red - but I suppose that's the purpose for the cat. I going to time some burns - but I feel the cat is in the active zone much longer with this method.
If you see a lot of smoke inside after dialing down, you may be dialing down too fast or too soon. At least that is my experience. The cat may handle it now that it's new, but it's possible that when it settles down a bit, you're overloading it in this way.
No need to do that. I just light a firestarter in the wood (cold stove), close the door and set the thermostat to WOT with the bypass open. That gets it going without issues and I'm in the active range within maybe 15 minutes or so.
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