Power of the CAT

So, it's 21'F outside, and 72'F inside.

I look over at the stove and note I haven't seen any flame at all for a good while, as I'm watching the Beatles special on TV.

So, I note just a slight glow in the wood. But I look up inside and I see that nice bright orange square of a CAT doing it's thing. ...and then I look at the top stove temp and it's 600'F.

That stone is putting out the heat! ...and let me say, getting that 400lb plus stone up to 600'F STT is not like getting a steel or cast top up to heat. ...and it's not even breathing hard. ..and still creeping up.

It's almost like free heat.

 

Getting that 5/16" plate-steel top on the buck close to 600 ain't easy either, I can tell ya! Takes upwards of half an hour. My meter is on the stove front, so 350 there is about 600 if I shoot the inside top of the box with the IR gun. Gotta do that quick, before the gun melts.

 

I'll second that Woody.

 

That is sweet! Nice to have all the power you need.

 

Nice looking stove, and hearth to boot!

 

The magic of platinum (or palladium or whatever rare expensive stuff it uses). I do wonder why something more common and cheaper hasn't been found to act as catalyst.

 

I think that stove is great!

 

Woody, that's pretty amazing that the Buck has 5/16ths top plate. My Garrison One was maybe 3/8ths on the top and it was cold rolled still sides that we're maybe 1/4" or 3/8ths, tops.

How much does that Buck weigh?

 

Manual says 620 lbs Oldhip, but I'm not sure if that includes the firebrick. I would guess not, I know it was a beast to move on to the fireplace and they had the firebricks in so nice I did not feel like taking them out.

 

That is a monster/

 

I think the cat stoves are replacing many of the older stove, with good reason.
More efficient, cleaner burning, burn less wood & just put out lots of heat for a long time
I was a skeptic, but was shortly a believer after a few months.
Nice to turn out the lights & see the cat glowing

 

My first year or two with the Woodstocks, I wasn't getting the temps that Todd, Dennis and others were reporting. Now that I've got some really dry wood....no problem. I generally hit around 550. No need to push 'em any harder here, in most cases. This winter has been exceptional, though, and I've been burning my share of hot loads.
But I don't need it 80 in the living room, like that lizard Dennis.

Ahh.....6/16".....awesome.

I had the door off, brick out, cat frame out, and it was still a load.

LP, how are you liking the Buck now that you've settled in with it? I'm much more at ease this year; MIL is starting to jot down some temps for me when she gets a chance, and it looks like I've got the stove running well, cat usually around 1500 max, so I'm not concerned about the cat going high like I was in the past (Todd also said the old probes may be giving us a high reading, due to the fact that the new Condar probes appear to be re-calibrated.)
I really like the 91. There's just something about it. Part of it's got to be its bad-@ss looks.
The fact that it tosses the big heat doesn't hurt either.

 

Really like it Woody and this winter has been a good year to give it the maiden journey.

 

Glad to hear some happy cats out there.

Not seeing the 600 + temps on mine, but then again I usually have a small amount of flame or a bit of a rolling flame. I think I am pumping out more BTU with 450-575 stove top and the sides and back 400 + than just having a higher stove top and cooler sides.

Not complaining to say the least. About a week back when we had a high of like -4 I left for work and did not come back until 16 hours later, still had a 230 degree stove top, opened up the air all the way and climbed to 300 and loaded after a total of 18 hours of burn. Granted, it was loaded with a large Iron wood round and then mixed with iron wood and red oak. Lately I am ok with a bit more ash than usual in the firebox, think you can stretch the burns a bit more.

 

It's unusual that I cross the 600+ line on the stove top. Almost all my cruising is between 400-550'F. When I dip into my best wood, and reload I'll cross 600 everytime, but it doesn't stay there for more than an hour or so.

 

The Buck was at 650 this morning and the cat at 1750. I wanted to sit down in a chair and enjoy but dagnabbit you gotta keep the bill collectors off the door step.

 

Leave that part to me.. I'm pretty good at it.

 

I would have only sat there for a short time anyway before I was into something else if I didn't have to go to work.....probably would have been splitting LOL