Well the weather outside is frightful...

Yes the Fv may do the trick for you... it is an uncanny distributed heat... right next to it it doesn't overwhelm but two rooms away it's heating the back bedrooms, and my full loft area upstairs. It's deceiving, it's never a blast furnace, but get it up to temp, engage the CAT watch the STT rise to 600+ and realize there's no blaze going on in the stove, Maybe just a little orange glow from a couple splits while they smoulder. Like Maina says it'll sit and cruise like that for hours and then very slowly drop down into the 5 and 4s and as it reaches low 4oos I will sometimes open the draft to 3.5 and let it burn the coals away for another 3 or our hours. If maybe were gone all day I'll come home and it'll be down to 200 and a hot bed of coals will be waiting for another load. It's pretty easy to live with.

 

Information like this is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks again Steve.

Maina, sorry for the derail of the thread.

 

Oh yeah, I’v been forcibly retired for almost 10 years now, so I’m around the house to feed it. I’m interested to see what we burn this winter as well but I have to consider that half a cord or so I wasted in shoulder season learning to run the thing and experimenting with the windows open. I’m over a cord now so we’ll see. I was adding a bit at a time during the day but now I typically load morning and evening with an occasional piece of pine to get a little more heat while the coals burn down. I’m trying to heat almost 2100 sq ft on 2 floors of a marginally insulated house. Tightening and insulating more are key priorities over the next few years so it’ll only get easier. Right now it heats the whole thing down into high teens but below that we turn the heat pump on upstairs to keep it above 68. On really windy days I probably burn an additional half load but most days 2 or a little less does it. Most of the stuff I started with was uglies and quite a bit of pine but now I’m burning some mixed KD stuff that’s at 15% and some beech that’s around 20% MC. Dry wood makes all the difference. It’s just the perfect stove for us, and so far we’ve gotten the same reaction from company. They just love the soft heat, as do we!

 

Oh man, you guys are killing me with this thread. Was just browsing CL And letgo, there are two seperate FV stoves for sale in my area. I really didn’t have any interest in changing out my stove but the asking prices are pretty good so that set the wheels in motion. My dream stove is the progress hybrid but would be overkill in my 1300 sqf. house. The FV would have to be set into my fireplace, not even sure if it’ll fit or how it would look. I’ll have to do some measurements. We rented a airBnB over the summer that had a FV and it’s really a good looking stove.

 

Beautiful stove!

No frightful weather here. Lame. Slightly moist and well above freezing

 

I know it wouldn’t meet the clearances to combustibles front or side but it’s a full masonry fireplace from 1940. Is it ok to to put it right up to the brick? I mean my insert has been in there for years and that butts right up to the brick. Then there’s the side loading issue. Also, I have a 5.5” liner in the chimney, it’s been no problem at all with my tube stove. Would that be ok with a cat stove? damm this site!!!

 

I don’t see any issue with setting it close to the stone depending how close combustibles are especially with the rear heat shield in place. Front and side clearance is another matter. I want good clearance by the loading door in case of sparks.
I can tell you a 5.5 is not recommended but I think I’ve read of them being run on that size flue, maybe on the other site? I thought briefly about a 5.5 and was told it would probably work but I’d be much happier with my stove with 6” so that’s what I had installed. I was preparing to break out the tile liner if necessary to make it work.

 

When I load the Fireview I like to pile 2-3 squarish splits against the back wall after I sweep the coals to the front. This is what’s left after 12 hours, the last 2 with the draft wide open, cat engaged. I took 2 shovels of ash out of the front, then I pushed the coals to the front and reload. It’s an impressive bed of coals and the STT is still 300 so I can close the bypass within seconds as the load is already starting to burn, and set the draft at 1.5. Over 10-15 minutes I reduce it to .5-.75 depending on weather. Last night I went to bed with it set at .25 but it’s usually just above .5.
So this is at least a 12 hour burn cycle.

 

Three hours later...this is where it topped out, draft set at .5 STT 675, flue 225, occasional ghost flames.

 

Beautiful stove. The second one down is my ideal setup but my fireplace is not that big and my hearth is even with the floor.

 

I really like the contrast of the black and white one.

That must be a special order fireview model in that last pic

 

Beautiful pictures Backwoods Savage. That last one must be one of those toasty bed warmers?

 

That’s one way to keep your buns warm!

 

Does Woodstock sell soapstone trivets for cooking?

 

I wouldn't worry about the liner at all. I mean usually the stove is turned down below 2 mainly 1 or below for cruising. So the airflow isn't taxing the chimney at all. You do need clearance to open the door to at least 90' to feed wood into the stove, Might able to get away with a little less, but that's the only clearance issue. I like a side loader, some like front loaders.. I've had both and like the side loader better.

A PH is too much for a 1300sq ft place. WAY too much. The Fv would shine there.

 

I have a nice glow going and it’s time for bed...

Thermometer says it’s right on the redline at 650 STT but my IR gun says closer to 550. Either way, it’s cranking out some heat for 3 splits.

 

Wow, it might be the lens you used on your camera but the cat looks a bit longer. I'd be interested in the dimensions?

I just ordered a new CAT and I still get a nice orange glow, but yours is much brighter. Might be because I have been burning with mine since 2013.

I let my stove go out yesterday as it got up into the high 50s here in north central Massachusetts.