I have the opportunity to grab a CAB-50 at a really good price point. My question is whether the output with the "box" style heat exchanger will be the same as my current US Stove 5660 with the short tube exchanger? I have been running around 4 pounds per hour during the cold days with the dead dinosaurs helping a bit on the coldest mornings. (Maybe a sixteenth of a tank burnt) The cab can run up to 5.8 lbs per hr if needed so a bit of reserve there. The quad burnpot and three bag hopper are appealing and I can add some fins to the heat exchanger to extract more heat. Seems like a decent stove for the $$$.
Sounds like a really good deal to pull the trigger on. Did you research the stove any? I think the only real issue I remember is the door seal and vacuum switch maybe? I do have CRS syndrome though....
I'd much rather run the CAB. It's a heck of a stove and have seen and felt one personally. As well as as PS-50. Both are very well designed and have all Quad components, but lack the Quad exchanger. But the Heatilator holds its own.
The 5660 has 14 tubes each 7/8" inside DIA and nine inches long. By my calcs that is around 350 sq inches of exchanger area. By looking at the exploded drawings and dimensions in the manual, it looks like about 500 or so sq inches of exchanger area in the CAB50. The square openings are crying out for some 1/16 wall aluminum sq tube to be slipped in to increase surface area!!
CAB-50 is fine just like it is. I been burning one since they became available to me. For the money it is a great unit. Eric
