Yikes... 1035F on outside of stove!

Well, it's been quite some time since I've sat up babysitting one of these stoves, but tonight I will.

I did my usual walk-by the stove to check the cat probe thermometer, on my way up to bed, and the meter just reads "OL". Uh oh... I stick my head in the fireplace to look at the back of the stove where the probe exits, and I see the rear sides of the stove are glowing... and not just faintly. IR gun shows them at 1035F... on the outside!

I'm running a pretty full load of medium and large oak splits, and because I had two odd lumpy pieces in the lot, they're not stacked tight. But that has never been a problem for this stove in the past, it has great control under all normal conditions.

The hot spots are the sides of the stove, adjacent to the refractory cat chamber, which sits behind the firebox. I suspect the 20 year old refractory is just coming apart, or I have more than the desirable amount of air getting in thru some failing seam.

I will let it run its course tonight (won't go to bed until it stops glowing), but will not load it in the AM. I'll fire up the other Jotul tomorrow after work, so I can get some comparative measurements on that one, and plan to tear this one apart on Saturday. If it needs any major repair, I might be wheeling the white one (spare) into position, or taking measurements for a BK Ashford.

Just recording this so I don't forget later. Temp on outside of single wall, 14" above stove collar, is almost 450F. That's noticeably hotter than my pipe usually runs, on this stove.

Would appreciate any ideas on what might cause the sides of the stove (and presumably the cat combuster) to run that hot. Cat has at least 2 cords on it, so not new enough to be so over-reactive. Stovetop is holding a tame 480F, so nothing of concern on that side of the box.

Cat temp just came back DOWN to 1876F, according to the probe. Once it's down to 1700F, I'll be heading for bed.

Cat probe now down to 1812F, glowing stopped. Now there's flame in the firebox, where previously there was none. Stovetop at 510F.

BrotherBart said:

Dang, you beat my 1,012 degree record by a few degrees.

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One side was only 1018F, if that makes you feel better.

Cat probe now down to 1570F, but stovetop has climbed to 550F with some fireshow. I think now I'm getting into the mode of noticing everyday normal behavior, to which I just haven't paid much attention in a very long time. Will wait until stovetop peaks and drops, then get some sleep.

First time it's ever happened with one of my Firelights. They're both 20 years old, and this one still has all original parts.

I think I know what happened, but will hold my tongue until I know for sure.

Tenn Dave said:

Generally will one time temps this high damage the stove or can she weather the storm?

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I do not expect that it will have damaged any major components / castings. However, I do suspect it could cause enough thermal expansion to cause the cement in the seams to fail.

spirilis said:

Crack in the castings or furnace cement resulting in unmetered intake air?

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Maybe we should make this a contest? If I can conclusively determine the cause of failure, I'll send a four-pack of some really special beer to the first person with the right answer. Duplicate answers will be credited to the first.

Like I said, I think I already know the cause, and anyone paying attention last summer might remember.

BrotherBart said:

You should see the size of his drum studio. I am still waiting on a video to see if he knows what to do with that excessive amount of hardware.

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LOL! I was a good drummer 20 years ago... and not entirely horrible as recently as 5 years ago. Now, the extent of my drumming is sitting behind the kit with a 5 year old on my lap, randomly whacking at things.

Yes, Jeff... having your stove inside a fireplace does give one some confidence that things can't go that terribly wrong.