How much of a pain is a catalytic stove to maintain vs a non cat? I was reading that thread over at hearth about the tax rebate and in looking at a few stoves, it appears that the cat models are more likely to meet the requirements and be more efficient too.
This has gotten me thinking about installing a tankless water heater.
Ian
Got both cat and non-cat running full time. Yes, the cat takes more fussing, BUT for the extra heat, efficiency, and air control it's worth the tiny extra.
Both stoves heating ( no backup or "from 68 F up" on a gas or oil furnace ) the same space with similar insulation, the non-cat Oslo needs loading close to 2X the Encore cat for similar heat. There's no way to get down and dirty scientific about it.
The non-cat is an easy load: fill the stove, wait 'til the temp rises ( ~ 500-600 F ), lower the air. The cat stove needs one extra step ( two if you're counting or have O.C.D. ) : load with full air, get the temp up, then drop the damper bypass for the cat, wait until the temp rises again to "light off" the cat, THEN lower the air. Simple really. We usually use an alarm for a reminding.
Routine yearly maintenance is the same except for the cat. It needs checking and cleaning each year. We replace the cat every 3 years or so if it's not lighting off after the vinegar bath cleaning ( again simple but smelly ) to restore and clean the paladium coating on the cat cells.
The VC cat stove parts are $$$$, and PITA to install.
Now for the tankless water heater: do it. Total cost around $1500. ( if you don't do it yourself ). Forget any real payback compared to gas or electric tankers, since you have unlimited hot water. Great for kids in the house. The bennie of long showers and running mulitple appliances at the same time make up for the savings.