Here we go....again. Let's talk from real world experience with both kinds of stoves.
We heat a ~ 1800 ft² well insulated, self-built home with two wood stoves heating similar sized areas. The cat stove, a VC Encore has been working 24/7 (winter) since 2001. A non-cat Jotul Oslo for the past 5 years. No central heating or any auxiliary fossil heater on such as "set for 65 F ".
The Encore is the third Encore used since 1989 having rebuilt (unfortunately
) 2. When not overseas, we've been fortunate to be able to use wood stoves since the late 70's.
There are a few quality manufacturers of cat stoves such as Woodstock in N.H. The principles of cat stoves are simple: get the noble metal(s) in the cat to ignite like your catalytic converter in the exhaust system, then thru various damping paths, the gases are "reburnt", recirculating the heat, then sent to their clean death up your flue ( no banjo comments please :jester
. Cat wood stoves usually have a thermostatic air control that can be nearly shut completely off, and usually a thermostatic secondary air control in order to keep the cat "lit" with O2 (air). There is an extra step in the burn cycle to get the cat up to temperature ~1200 F. It is this last extra process in using the stove that users (us) either didn't do right, or found to be too much effort. The wood stove industry is tiny. They needed to market to consumers who wanted simple. Cat stoves are complex and high maintenance IF things are not right.
Ergo, the non-cat development in the 90's to reach clean burns mandated by the EPA here and pollution agencies in other countries.
Non-cat stoves are simpler, user friendly in that there is one air control. The recirculating and reburn of the incomplete combustion is done by heating up burn tubes. Also the air control is a mommie device: not too much primary air, AND not too little. The non cat burns faster in our experience. No cat to replace or clean. Although, the "burn tubes" do wear.
Result from the two kinds of stoves after 5 years, and perhaps 30+ cords : the cat Encore puts out ( no banjo comments:jester
more heat, same BTUs for similar space; with similar mass and fireboxes, the Encore uses less wood. How much less ? A ballpark estimate is +/- 2/3 of the wood used by the Oslo. Remember that the cat Encore ( Woodstock, Blaze King, etc...) can be damped way down ( no 80 hour burn in anyone's lifetime! ), and the cat will operate as it should for close to 10-12 hours heating. Any more than that is just a bed of cool coals ready for the next load.
Cats have a life of ~ 12,000 hours which for us is slightly over 2 seasons. For the extra BTUs, the ability to damp primary air way down, AND the savings of my back, it's a miniscule maintenance expense. It's like changing brake rotors, or cleaning your weapon.
JMNSHO
We use both kinds because....................just because.