Is this normal for stove top temperatures?

Hi guys

Quick question: whenever I burn, my stove top tends to want to get hot...fast! My thermometer is in the middle of the stove. I end up using a tripod fan pointed at the stove top in order to keep it around 700 degrees. Some times it reaches 850 if I don't turn the fan on. The blower does not blow air accross the stove top so I find it a PITA since all it does is cool my stove pipe instead.

Is this normal?

With my flu gas temps around 400-500 my stove can reach 900 (if it starts to go thermonuclear) without a fan. I don't often let it get that high..perhaps 2-3 times since I have owned the stove. I want my temps between 650-725 max.

Thanks!

Andrew

Any suggestions for a decent IR gun at a reasonable price?

Fredo: is 275 degrees on the flue not on the low side?

It's funny because the 2300 manual does not mention s flu temperature of 900 degrees. It says "The ideal temperature for these gases is somewhere between 275o F and 500o F. Below these temperatures, the build-up of creosote is promoted. Above 500 degrees, heat is wasted since a too large quantity is lost into the atmosphere"

Nowhere does my manual mention stove top temperatures. Yet I don't think it is possible to have a flu temp of 500 with a stove top temp of 500.....I only get a stove top temperature of 500 when the secondaries are not burning and I have a big pile of coals...

Andrew

k9brain: the only time I get a burning paint smell is when I leave (forget to close) the bypass open too long on a reload. I have seen my inner liner of the double layer stove pipe glow red a couple of times...but that's it, never from the stove.

I have never thought about putting the thermometer in my oven..that is a damn good idea! Next time I bake, it's going in!

HotCoals: never seen the stove glow red....that is why I am wondering it is a fair reading.

Fredo: keep me posted to what Ray tells you, I am curious.

A