Cleaned Keystone Cat Today

You're burning without a screen all the time? I actually wish my screen would clog before the cat but the cats on these stoves are so easy to get at and clean I really don't mind doing every few weeks..
Anyone have any idea how much a PH cat cost?

 

Yes, I am burning without the screen all the time, with Woodstock's blessing. The surface clogging isn't harming the cat. Just a nuisance. A little one. 5 minutes every month or so. Not like the screen...

 

Why not? - Condor recommends it.

 

I'm amazed, fireman. Sure never needed to clean the cat period during the many years with the fireview. Checked it once a year......I would expect to have issues with the ceramic cat in vinegar. I think they become more and more fragile as they age. My attitude toward the ceramic is "If it isn't broke don't fix it"

 

Todd, when you get the steelie in there, I would simmer the old one out. I've only done it as a preemptive measure, so I wonder how much it could help if the cat had seriously dropped in performance. You're the perfect guy to conduct an experiment, nerd that you are. I think that in your case, though, it has probably taken a beating from the heat and is just worn out.

I think it must work or they wouldn't recommend it. If it degraded the ceramic in any way, they'd have to replace more of them on warranty so I don't think that's the case.

 

There's no doubt the Fireview has some extra arse, and sounds like you could use that when temps get low out, and when all that extra stone gets hot, that thing radiates like mad. I love the look as well, but I can't shovel 'em out, I just can't. I haven't simmered out the Ks ceramic I have, but other ones with interam gasket held up OK...

 

Had a cat stall yesterday trying to burn low and slow with a full load of Oak. I had her well up over 500 STT before turning it down to .5 but temps fell pretty quick after that and I started to get smoke.

Seems like I still need to give it a little more air than usual to keep that cat lit. She runs pretty well around #1 or if I keep a little flame in there but snuffing out the flames are a crap shoot.

 

I second that and don't want to ever shovel out ashes again.

I have been running the Palladian on a full load of oak with the draft a tiny tick higher than zero.I'm amazed the difference in running the Palladian into a 24' flue (easy light offs, never a stall, never a backpuff) compared with running the Fireview into a 15 foot flue (finicky light offs, constant stalls, frequent backpuffs). The other big difference is the Palladian has the SS cat, the FV had ceramic.

My Progress is now running into the same 15' flue as the FV did. It has stalled, backpuffed and had finicky light offs but all of these have definitely improved since I added 2' of flue.

The draft on my Palladian is so good the door actually sucks itself shut when it's almost closed, so I really think it's all about the draft.

 

I think part of my problem is a short 13-14' stack. I know even with a brand new cat I can't run much under .5 without it stalling or leaving an unburnt chunk in the back. I might look into a chimney extension.

 

Dennis believe me, I really tried and really wanted the shovel method to work.
No matter how careful I was,there were polluting ash puffs. No matter how hard I tried, I was shoveling out perfectly good hot embers.
With the ash grate, you just push the coals around and your done until you empty the tray, which is super easy. Never any mess, and never lost embers.

I did not want add the complexity of the ashpan with the extra gasket - that's the disadvantage. But Woodstock really does make a super good ash grate system that really works and its much easier on my bad back than leaning over with a shovel for so long trying not to make a mess and trying to separate the hot coals.

 

All I can say is I cannot believe how well the Palladian runs on such a low air setting. If you are running a brand new cat and stalling under 0.5, I would agree your draft is suspect.
Try a temporary cheap single wall extension like I did for the Progress.

 

Well said.
I shoveled ashes for most of my life and always had a light film of ash on the stove when I was finished trying to slide them off the shovel into a bucket. I'm not saying it can't be done cleanly, but I can't do it. I've also used stoves with a poorly designed ash pan systems, not fun.
With the KS, I can swap a full ash pan with an empty in a few seconds with zero ash floating around. Hopefully never going back.

 

Would extending the liner be difficult?
If the KS burns fine fine above ~.5, how about putting a stop in the slot for the draft control? My tractor has one for the 3 point lift, a bolt/wing nut in the slot that is easily adjusted.

 

I've tried an extra 2' section up there but couldn't tell any difference. I probably need 4-6' but it will look dumb on top of my nice brick chimney.

If I want 12 hour burns I need to go .5 or lower, 10 hour burns around .75 and I get about 8 hours out of a setting at 1.
I'm going to reinstall a thermocouple for my cat like I had last year, it'll tell me what's going on in there. Cats probably getting fussy and a thermocouple is so much quicker than relying on surface temps.

 

That kind of surprises me; These stoves are normally easy breathers. I had no trouble with the Fv or Ks rear-vented on my 16' stack, ran on zero or slightly open, and my BIL is now running that Fv on 13.5' which is about what Dennis has, I think, with no issues.

Right, especially when it's cold out and you want to get another load in there crankin', and you're trying to make room. Nice to just swirl that poker around in there a few times and see the entire coal bed sink down as the ash falls through.

 

It always amazed me how well Dennis' FV operated with such a short flue. The only thing I can figure is we are completely surrounded by really tall trees, and I need the extra height.

That's the best part!

 

Just curious. How much does a new one with shipping cost?

 

I just checked WS's website. The Progress add-on ash pan is $200 before shipping - probably not cheap to send to Michigan.
I struggled with the cost, but in the end I would make the same decision to buy it again in a NY second.

 

How's the new cat?