Which one & Where to Put Therometer

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Tyler

Tyler

Member
Nov 17, 2013
106
Southwest, Ohio
Have a PE True North ordered at the local Amish stove shop. Still waiting for it to come in. It will be going in my garage that has 10ft ceilings and pipe will sticking 5ft above metal roof. I will be running single wall pipe to the bottom of the truss. Then SS from there Up through the roof.

Question is what type of thermometer(s) should I use to check heat of pipe and stove temperature. Also what are the top brands and correct placement on the stove and the pipe. Front of stove, top of stove, center of top of stove, etc?

Looked in the sticky's already and couldn't find an answer.
 
A stove top thermometer would be most helpful starting out. Condar sells them direct. I would locate it in front of the flue a few inches.
 
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begreen said:
A stove top thermometer would be most helpful starting out. Condar sells them direct. I would locate it in front of the flue a few inches.
Click to expand...

Ok and what about one for the stove pipe? Is that necessary or just needed to see how much heat is going up the pipe?
 
There's not a whole lot you can do about the heat heading up the pipe. It is useful info as you learn the stove, but not necessary. The stove top thermometer can be put on the pipe temporarily to see how it is doing, but I would go for the stove top first. If the stove is connected with double-wall pipe then a surface thermometer is pretty much useless on the pipe. You will need a probe thermometer if interested.
 
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I'm kind of partial to Condar thermometers as the one I have is pretty close in temp when I shot the same area with an infrared thermometer.

I also like having one on the stove and one on the stack . . . the stove lets me know if I'm getting the stove too hot and the one on the stack lets me know if I'm burning too hot, too cold or just right. Truthfully . . . I rely more on the thermometer on the stack to run the stove in terms of knowing when to start cutting back on the air control.
 
firefighterjake said:
I'm kind of partial to Condar thermometers as the one I have is pretty close in temp when I shot the same area with an infrared thermometer.

I also like having one on the stove and one on the stack . . . the stove lets me know if I'm getting the stove too hot and the one on the stack lets me know if I'm burning too hot, too cold or just right. Truthfully . . . I rely more on the thermometer on the stack to run the stove in terms of knowing when to start cutting back on the air control.
Click to expand...


Any idea the lowest temp you would want to burn a steel stove like what Im going to be using. Is it different for cast iron compared to steel? The max is around 650-700 right?
 
After a short time, you'll get a better feel for what the max is but you are correct in the 650-700 range. When you turn the room lights off and you can see any part of the stove glowing, you are too high! The difference is more about how well the stove is made and the thickness of the steel rather than steel/iron but that's my opinion, not fact.

I posted many times that the Auberins probe is the best way to go. It gives you an instant digital read-out and can be either surface mounted or as I use it, a probe in the flue at the stove connection. Surface thermometers are always a delayed reading as the steel/iron as to get heated first. I've got 2 surface thermometers, 2 IR guns and the Auberins. I use the Auberins most.

The other big plus on the Auberins is that you can set an alarm for the max. temp so if you forget to turn the stove down, it will alert you.
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=292
 
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Tyler said:
Any idea the lowest temp you would want to burn a steel stove like what Im going to be using. Is it different for cast iron compared to steel? The max is around 650-700 right?
Click to expand...

That's correct, but don't panic if there is an occasional peak of 750F on a fresh reload and don't worry if it only gets up to 450F with a small load during milder weather. Avoid getting to 800F and above and the stove should be fine. Typically with good wood you will be burning in the 500-650F range. Cast iron has similar limits.
 
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