Hearthstone Clydesdale - Measuring Stove Temperature

Lambsalot · Dec 3, 2015

Hello All,

I am new to the forum & have been reading some other posts on the Hearthstone Clydesdale wood burning insert about measuring temperature & over-firing, but couldn't find an exact answer/experience with my questions so I figured I would try a new post out.

I live in CT & purchased the Hearthstone Clydesdale wood burning insert last year around the same time so I am on my second season. Up to this point and including my first year I have fears of over-firing the stove. I know this insert can put out a lot of heat & from what I've read it does have the possibility of getting way too hot. I would like to feel safe with my burning where I can get a good overnight burn, but at this point I find myself only putting 1 to 2 pieces of wood in at a time to just try and keep it from over heating.

I purchased an Inferno stove top magnetic gage last year and have been using that to tell the temperature of the stove top. I did some testing of different positions to try and find the hottest spot, which I found to be behind the top grill in the center at the point where the stove steps up. It appears to be the hottest part of the stove top, but reading the manual it suggests having the gage be on the "top front of the insert (firebox body under grill)" & not to exceed 600 degrees F. I tried to put the Inferno gage below the grate, but it is too thick and the grate won't sit properly on the stove top. I thought of just removing the grate completely and running without it, but didn't like the idea of not using as I am sure there is a specific design feature for it.

I recently purchase an IR thermometer to better understand how the insert is acting in different areas more instantly than the Inferno. I've found the the stove top area near the front as the manual says is about 100 - 150 degrees F lower than where I am currently measuring the stove top. Last season I started with loading the firebox as I believe the insert should be able to handle the design size of the firebox, but found that the back part of the stove top I am reading can easily get up to 600 - 700 degrees F. As soon as I saw this a few times I stopped loading the box & only used small loads and shorter intervals. This was even with the damper closed almost all the way. There was a good amount of secondary burning going on, which I liked because it meant it was burning efficiently but the temperatures just seemed way too high.

This is where my issue with overnight burns come into play. I want to have the fire going with a full or 3/4 full firebox, but just don't feel comfortable with the temperatures I am seeing at the current measuring location. My question is, are other owners of the Clydesdale seeing similar temperature differences between the stove top near the front of the insert below the grate vs. the back stepped portion of the stove top where I am currently using as my do not exceed 600 F limit?

Apologies for the long set of information, but wanted to try and get the best description I could the first time.

I've also read about the vibrating sheet metal fan support, which I too have had issues with. If it get the stove in those higher ranges 575 - 600 degrees F, I find that the sheet metal piece starts to vibrate, which then becomes impossible to stop. I tried to contact my vendor to come out and take a look at it, but haven't been having much luck getting them to set up a time to come out. I've read about the Hearthstone fix to the issue and would like to understand it better, but can't seem to get them to give me any attention.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

Also, I've attached a few pictures of my setup to help.

gls289 · Dec 4, 2015

I removed my grate for the first several years and had the magnetic temp gage right by the draft bolt. Seemed to work fine without the grate. Last year I switched to a digital Auber instruments unit but still have the sensor right next to the draft bolt. In fact the draft bolt holds the sensor down tight to the stove top. These setups aren't perfect but they do let you see when your temps continue to climb.

My Clyde can have a mind of its own fully loaded. Temps will climb to 650 even with damper fully closed and fan on high. My understanding is these EPA stoves do not allow you to completely shut off all the air. Like you I have never fully loaded her for this reason. I did bend the rear retainer clip for the stones in the stove. I think this happened due to over firing.

Lambsalot · Dec 4, 2015

Thanks for your response gls289. Sounds like I've had a very similar situation to what you've had. My back clip also has a slight bend to it which I think is most likely due to some type of over firing. Could be a bad made part, but seems more like over firing.

I had one night early on where I loaded the box like the manual says for an over night burn, went to bed, & woke up a an hour or so later sweating; went out to check the fire to see that the temperature was up around 700F. I instantly closed the damper fully, but the secondary burn just kept going and the temperature was actually rising. I opened the door fully to let the air escape and did the best I could to bring it back down, but I think this is when the back retainer was warped slightly.

I will try heating without the grate for a few fires and see how things work out, but I agree I don't think I will ever fill the box again at any time. However I would still like to do a little better than 1 to 2 pieces for an overnight burn. What temperature do you typically run at the damper bolt? For a decent secondary burn I would suspect you run around 450 - 500, but with the way my stove measures in the back it would be up over 600 at those temperatures in the front. This makes me nervous as I am not sure what the temperature in the back is supposed to be relative to the front/damper bolt.

gls289 · Dec 5, 2015

Oh brother I feel your pain. We hit 700 one night and that was not fun. I'm learning that I have to damper this thing down sooner when I reload on a hot bed. Guys on the forum say it's off gassing at higher temps that just feeds itself. You break that cycle by opening the door like you did.

Because that bolt is exposed directly to the fire I know the readings are going to be higher. I treat it like an early warning. I normally run in the 500 degree range to get the secondaries going. I just had a load hit 630 and is now dropping. Damper has been fully closed for an hour with blower on high.

Lambsalot · Dec 5, 2015

Thanks for the info; I was actually just running through the same scenario. Loaded the box with 2 average size pieces and one small piece (size I would use for kindling to start) when it was around 350 with just a small flame left; ran it with the damper from about 1/4 closed to start for about 20 minutes and it just ran up over 500. I shut the damper closed completely, but secondaries just filled the entire top of the inside. It got around 620 so I kicked the fan on full blast and about 15 minutes later dropped slowly. Once I saw the secondaries start to go down I opened the damper back to about a 1/4 from being closed. It's running around 500 and slowly dropping so should be good.

Thanks again for your help and information to give myself a little sanity check of what I am seeing/doing.

I may try getting a damper flow meter or something to try and see how the flow is on my setup; although I don't have anything to gauge it against since the manual says to contact the purchasing company, which hasn't been much of any help for me. I'll try the paper test tomorrow on the door seals, but I doubt they are no good with less than 1 season of heating.

gls289 · Dec 8, 2015

Something else to think about. How tall is your chimney? Mine is short but I understand the taller they are the more they draft after warmed up.

Clydeburner · Dec 9, 2015

I also have a bolt on K type thermocouple wired to a PID controller I got got off the internet for less then $30. While the fire/secondaries are ripping I will be approximately 50°f hotter on my readings on the thermocouple then the IR gun says closer to the front, the rar of the stove where you ate reading will be about 100°f-150°f hitter, as I close the primary air and the stove levels out into the burn I find the thermocouple gets closer in temps. I do find it gets much better secondaries around 500°f and will cruise along between there and 600°f for a few hours before descending. If I'm home I will open the primary to keep it hotter before reloading around 300°f. I have put about 12-15 splits ranging from 8" to 4" wide, touching the air tubes, and have also seen the temps go crazy, I've hit 675°f. I tested my draft found out I was a little strong(-.23, Ray at hearthstone states -.05 to -.08 is ideal) after some thought I put a flue damper in to control the exhaust, which has worked beautifully. If I close both the air and flue for an overnight burn it does produce a monster pile of coal in the morning though . The stove will usually be 150°f-180°f with the blower still runnng, I rake the coals crank the air and reload for the day.

bkclydes · Dec 21, 2015

All,
New to the forum though I've been a reader for last 2 years. This is my first post.

I seem to be having the opposite problem. I can't seem to get my Clydesdale to burn hot enough. Been burning my Clydesdale now starting 3rd year. Really like the aesthetics of the insert but just haven't seem to been able to get it to produce enough heat. Finally bought a thermostat to measure stove temp. My wood guy has been backed up and can't get me wood until after Xmas. So I bought a ton of Biobrick to bridge me. Burned it for first time today. Was told to be careful because they burn so hot. I just burned probably 10-12 bricks. Measured stovetop temp front under grill (per manual). Wide open damper. Watched it closely for fear of overfire. Temp never got over 400. Measured the airtemp coming out of the vent with the thermostat (wand) I use for my espresso machine. The air temp coming out when I've had it burning wood (in past 2 years), the hottest I can get it is about 220. Maybe a little more as it has been pegged a few times but thermostat maxes out at 220.

Tonight when stovetop was at 400, I measured the air temp in the same way I've done in previous seasons and air temp was 200-220. Not the hottest I've seen but pretty close to the max I've been able to get it in the past. I just can't seem to get it to burn any hotter than that. But this doesn't seem to be enough to heat my house. I've got about 2500 sq ft but only trying to heat max 2000-2100 of the 2500 sq ft (master bath suite, laundry rm and exercise room over the garage and pretty much closed off from rest of house). At Clydesdale rating, I expected to be able to heat the 2000-2100 but not coming close. Go through 4 cords a winter. Haven't seen any savings in oil bill the first 2 winters with the stove. Essentially it's been a wash. What I've saved in oil I've spent on wood. Enjoy the ambiance of burning but from an economic standpoint it's been a complete bust. I've also tried different fan configs and run the hot air HVAC system fan to move air throughout the house. No luck.

I do have a high chimney...I think it's 35ft. So I have a strong draft according to installer. Have tried maintaining open damper throughout burn. When I do this I tend to go through wood very quickly. Tonight after first burn with Biobricks, I just had to reload after a little more than 2 hours. Thermostat front top of stove was down around 300. I have tried to damper down halfway once I get strong burn going to leverage the secondaries. Seems to maintain at 400 or maybe back down a little for a little while before temp starts to drop. Just not sure what I'm doing wrong to get the most out of this stove. Have been questioning whether I just need to upgrade to a 'bigger' insert. Was looking at Pac Energy Summit.

Any advise would be very welcome. Thanks...

Clydeburner · Dec 21, 2015

bkclydes said:
All,
New to the forum though I've been a reader for last 2 years. This is my first post.

I seem to be having the opposite problem. I can't seem to get my Clydesdale to burn hot enough. Been burning my Clydesdale now starting 3rd year. Really like the aesthetics of the insert but just haven't seem to been able to get it to produce enough heat. Finally bought a thermostat to measure stove temp. My wood guy has been backed up and can't get me wood until after Xmas. So I bought a ton of Biobrick to bridge me. Burned it for first time today. Was told to be careful because they burn so hot. I just burned probably 10-12 bricks. Measured stovetop temp front under grill (per manual). Wide open damper. Watched it closely for fear of overfire. Temp never got over 400. Measured the airtemp coming out of the vent with the thermostat (wand) I use for my espresso machine. The air temp coming out when I've had it burning wood (in past 2 years), the hottest I can get it is about 220. Maybe a little more as it has been pegged a few times but thermostat maxes out at 220.

Tonight when stovetop was at 400, I measured the air temp in the same way I've done in previous seasons and air temp was 200-220. Not the hottest I've seen but pretty close to the max I've been able to get it in the past. I just can't seem to get it to burn any hotter than that. But this doesn't seem to be enough to heat my house. I've got about 2500 sq ft but only trying to heat max 2000-2100 of the 2500 sq ft (master bath suite, laundry rm and exercise room over the garage and pretty much closed off from rest of house). At Clydesdale rating, I expected to be able to heat the 2000-2100 but not coming close. Go through 4 cords a winter. Haven't seen any savings in oil bill the first 2 winters with the stove. Essentially it's been a wash. What I've saved in oil I've spent on wood. Enjoy the ambiance of burning but from an economic standpoint it's been a complete bust. I've also tried different fan configs and run the hot air HVAC system fan to move air throughout the house. No luck.

I do have a high chimney...I think it's 35ft. So I have a strong draft according to installer. Have tried maintaining open damper throughout burn. When I do this I tend to go through wood very quickly. Tonight after first burn with Biobricks, I just had to reload after a little more than 2 hours. Thermostat front top of stove was down around 300. I have tried to damper down halfway once I get strong burn going to leverage the secondaries. Seems to maintain at 400 or maybe back down a little for a little while before temp starts to drop. Just not sure what I'm doing wrong to get the most out of this stove. Have been questioning whether I just need to upgrade to a 'bigger' insert. Was looking at Pac Energy Summit.

Any advise would be very welcome. Thanks...

Can you describe the way you operate the stove better, if you leave the air full open more of the heat is going up the chimney then out into the house and will burn through your wood much faster. A moisture meter is key with any newer stove, wood less then 20% will burn much better. What type of thermometer are you using? Stronger draft would seem to cause less control over the burn even with the air control closed, I would think you would see much higher temps if that were the case.

bkclydes · Dec 22, 2015

Clydeburner said:
Can you describe the way you operate the stove better, if you leave the air full open more of the heat is going up the chimney then out into the house and will burn through your wood much faster. A moisture meter is key with any newer stove, wood less then 20% will burn much better. What type of thermometer are you using? Stronger draft would seem to cause less control over the burn even with the air control closed, I would think you would see much higher temps if that were the case.

At the moment I'm burning Biobricks to bridge me until I can get wood delivery after Xmas so moisture is not a problem. The wood I get is usually below 20%. When I had the installer come back last year for service he put moisture meter on the wood. Of course, that was the first thing he wanted to blame my problem on thinking I burning wet wood. It was well within 20%. I had to have him come out because the smoke was backing up into the house. Turns out the top of the stove pipe got completely caked with creosote. I was doing a lot of overnight burns last year where I dampered it way down. Thinking that was the problem with the creosote problem.

Last night I had it burning well. I burned the Biobricks until they burned well, then piled them up in the middle. Nice an hot...red coal and flame. I then built a wall around the center pile. Used about 10-12 bricks. Once those were burning at 400 I dampered down to half. Maintained for about an hour at 400 and then temp started dropping. After about 2 hours from building the wall, I again piled all the hot coals (broken up Biobricks, basically they start falling apart after a while and get loose and start to lose form). At that point I would throw 3 bricks on top of the pile. I would open the damper again until it got to 400 and then hampered down halfway again. Trying to get what the manual calls a medium (longer) burn. Same thing...once it gets to 400 and I damper it down to half, it burns for about an hour at 400 and then begins to slowly drop. At 300 I did the same thing. Push the pile into the middle and throw 3 more bricks on. Open the damper full until it gets to 400, then this time I dampered down almost all the way. At this point I saw your post so I dampered it down further trying to keep more heat in the room rather than going up the chimney. Same results as before.

I bought a Rutland Stove Thermometer. Instructions say to 'install on the vertical single wall pipe or stove top'. It has a burn indicator that shows burn ranges. Below 300 = Creosote. 300-600 = Burn Zone. 600+ = Overfire. So 400 is basically is just short of the middle of the burn zone.

I went through about 1 package of Biobricks last night over about 7 hours of burning. When I went to bed fire was working itself back down to 300 range again. I just half-dampered it and let it burn out overnight. At that rate, if I burn all day, I would go through a ton in roughly 16 days. The Biobrick pitch is that 1 ton of Biobricks = 1 cord. Normally I go through a cord in about 1 month. So not sure if it's the insert, the way I'm burning, the Biobricks or what. But I can't get the stove to burn higher than 400. And at the rate that I am burning to get it to 400, I seem to go through Biobricks and wood very fast.

Just feel lost at this point...

HappyCamperMan · Dec 22, 2015

Can you post a picture of the unit showing where the Rutland Stove Thermometer is located? Is your insert flush or did the installers install the unit out on the hearth?

Clydeburner · Dec 22, 2015

At what setting are you running the blower speed, I usually only run mine on medium-high to high when the temps get to close for comfort. Most times I have is turned back 2 times from the lowest setting, seems to move plenty of air and much more heat.

Another couple thoughts that have been run over by a bus or two here, when the unit was installed was there an insulated block off plate of some sort put in?, is your chimney on an outside wall?, if so, is it insulated to help keep the chimney warm for better draft and hopefully less creosote. The top of the chimney will be the coldest point for faster creosote build up.

I used a bat of Roxul and stuffed my chimney around the liner and then wrapped the entire fireplace behind the stove with the rest, i dont think i am losing and heat that way.

bkclydes · Dec 22, 2015

Here is a pic of the stove. You can see the thermostat on the top. I took off the grill for now until I can get a sense for how the temps are running. You can see I'm just starting the fire now. The top of insert sits about 6in into the room. I wanted it as far into the room as possible to get as much of the radiant heat as possible from the stove into the room.

The fan just kicked on with the thermostat reading about 275.

bkclydes · Dec 22, 2015

bkclydes said:
View attachment 169961
Here is a pic of the stove. You can see the thermostat on the top. I took off the grill for now until I can get a sense for how the temps are running. You can see I'm just starting the fire now. The top of insert sits about 6in into the room. I wanted it as far into the room as possible to get as much of the radiant heat as possible from the stove into the room.

The fan just kicked on with the thermostat reading about 275.

After getting starter fire going. I moved and piled the starter bricks in the middle. I added 3 bricks more on top once it was burning solid for a while. Interestingly the 5 initial bricks by themselves got the temp up to about 300 on their own. At first the fire started smoldering (user error) but I then added 6 more bricks in front. I quickly got it to about 400 where it was yesterday damper fully open. Dampered down to half but couldn't get it any higher. Fan was running somewhere just less than half. I then wanted to see how hot it would get if I turned the fan off. Went up to 475-480 which was as hot as it would get. I then turned the fan on and adjusted to lowest setting. Temp maintained at 475-480 for about an hour and then slowly started to decline. Had to open damper to half. Still slowly falling temp. About 2 hours into burn and seems to be hovering around 400. Temp seems to be falling more slowly than yesterday. 2.5 hours probably at 375. Re-load at 300 about 3 hours in.

Clydeburner · Dec 22, 2015

I can't say for use of any of the bricks and how they should/could burn, but my restart fire usually gets my temps easily up to around the 400°f mark and even with some flames going I will stir up the coals pull them to the front and load up a few or more bigger splits. This seems to allow the stove to stay at a hotter temp when the fresh wood is trying to cool it down and also gets the new load going quicker. I can then damper sooner and let the secondaries provide the heat. Tonight's went... start fire 8pm, kindling and 4 small splits air full open, flames present enough, stir coals and add 3-4 med splits (temps around 325°f- 350°f ),set air to 3/4 open.I let that burn until around 9pm and then loaded the stove(temp around 400°f) with 6 larges splits for the night, re-open air to initiate burn (temps dropped back around 350°f-375°f). After about 10 mins I'll close the air down to 3/4 again, five mins close a little more, maybe about half. Depends on the wood and weather a lot how the stove will react. Now the temps were back in the 450°f range so I will continue to close down the air until about 1/8 open or fully closed and the stove settled in around 500°f with good secondaries. It has been running for a little over an hour just above 500°f. All this time the fan was a med-low, low.

I have also reloaded at 500°f which allowed the air to be closed down sooner because the fire box temps were high enough to start the secondaries sooner, this prolonged the burn quite well.

I am not very concerned about seeing 500°f-600°f maybe even 625°f operating temperatures, it is when I see 675°f and up that I get a little worried. The fan speed has quite the control on the stove temp and thus the burn in my opinion. I think maybe you should try to reload a a higher temp and close the air sooner to get the stove hotter that way.

My wife always say "is there wood in the stove?" Me "Yes", Wife "is it putting out heat?", Me "Yes" , Wife
"Then leave it the hell alone and quit messing around."

You didn't mention what your chimney layout was or if you had a block off plate to prevent a lot of the heat from behind the stove from disappearing up and out the chimney....

bkclydes · Dec 24, 2015

What is the draft sampling access port? I noticed the bolt was not tight. Should it be snug? I screwed it all the way down but it did not seem to want to tighten. So I screwed it down so it's flush. Could that be impacting my draft regulation somehow? Also I noticed when I look horizontally past the draft sampling access port, I can see the connection of the stove exhaust pipe to the liner pipe. Should I be able to see that? Above the rest of the stove though the firebox/chimney is blocked off by the face plate/housing of the stove.

The chimney is an external standard masonry chimney. I think the installers measured it at 35ft. I think that's also part of the creosote problem I had last year. I think the liner might be cooling down by the time it gets to the cap.

By block off plate, I'm assuming, yes, I have that. I can't see up there now but I had a flue damper in the firebox that I had to open when I wanted to burn a fire in the fireplace (pre-insert) and then I would close it the next morning. That's the all that opens to the chimney. The liner is fit through that damper now somehow. I don't think they made any structural changes to the masonry when they installed the liner.

And by lowering the fan down to the low setting, it seemed the stove was running hotter. 450-475°f versus 400°f. Even though the stove is running hotter, am I reducing the amount heat I'm putting into the room? Am I reducing the airflow/exchange in the house with the low fan setting? When fan was running at medium setting, I noticed that the air exchange would be pretty good since the ceiling fan would start turning on it's own just from the air exchange.

And thanks for the comic relief of your conversation with your wife. That is exactly the conversation I can see having with my wife. In fact, I would be surprised if we didn't have that exact exchange at some point in the past 2 years since I've had the Clydesdale!

And Merry Christmas!

Clydeburner · Dec 26, 2015

Merry Christmas to you and yours,
Hope you holiday went well,

My draft bolt is an Allen head instead of an actual bolt, from what I've read it could come with either. It also doubles as the rear leveling adjustment for the warming grill. I don't feel that the screw/bolt not being snug to the stove top would have an effect on the draft, it's more for sampling the draft.
The flue collar /connection is in the center of the stove either straight up or in the 30° offset positions, and yes you can see that through the the surround and stove top. It should have some cement to help seal the collar and flue liner connections and screws. If you have a day to let the stove die down you can lift the surround up and off to further inspect the flue. This should also allow you to see where the liner goes through the flue damper from the fireplace(may be removed or locked open now), there should be a block off plate made of metal with or at least fire resistant insulation (like Roxul). This seals the chimney around the liner not allowing the heat to rise up the chimney, thus keeping it in to the house.

If the chimney liner is not insulated on an external chimney like you have it is more prone to the effect of the outside temperature. The colder it is outside the more the chimney will cool and build creosote and have a weaker draft possibly having smoke in the house on reloads. If it is insulated, the chimney will stay warmer allowing a stronger draft, on the real cold temperature days this may cause excess draft which could allow the heat to be sucked out of the stove too. Would think you would have an issue controling the fire even with the air closed all the way on these days.

Yes you will not have the same air exchange rate do to the lower fan speeds, but the air temperature will be warmer coming off the stove. If let to operate at these speeds and the hotter temps on the stove it should supply adequate heat but will take longer to get it around the house.
Usually my downstairs will warm up quick with a couple small split fires burning hot to prime the stove and chimney. The upstairs will take about an hour or so more. Will be nice to see what difference having a load of wood will make for you. Hope you're getting ready to kick off the new year.... cheers sir

Clydeburner · Jan 1, 2016

bkclydes have had any luck with your wood delivery? If so have you seen any improvement with your burns?

bkclydes · Jan 2, 2016

I did get my wood delivery. Unfortunately all he has left is red oak and it appears to be not completely seasoned. As you probably already know, the red oak tends to hold the moisture longer and typically needs to be seasoned longer. The guy told me it's been seasoned 12 months but I've read that red oak typically requires 18-24 months minimum. Thinking that since it was so dry this past year that maybe it's ok but it was pretty wet (at least on the surface) when it was delivered (it was raining) and when it's burning I can hear it sizzling and I have to keep it running wide open and can only get it running about 400° max.

I bought a moisture meter to check it before he dropped it but the stupid thing isn't working. Either that or the wood moisture content is reading above the high range (35%) or below the low range (7%). Have to bring the stupid thing back today.

I've gone back to burning the BioBricks. I can get the stove burning to 475-480° max. When I was at Dean's Stove & Spa, where I bought the moisture meter, they told me that I'm probably getting the most out of the Clydesdale. They recommended I should have bought a Travis. Too late now. I asked if they take trade-in but they said that's really only for the people that have the older stoves. He showed me the build of the Clydesdale and focused on the housing around the firebox and said it's just poorly designed and showed the gaps in the housing that let a lot of heat from the firebox escape into the chimney. He showed me how there are gaps in the housing of the Clydesdale whereas the Travis firebox is completely contained.

I don't know...bottom line...I can only get the thing to max out at 475-480°F no matter what I've tried. Frustrated...it's just not heating my house the way I would have expected.

FirewoodAddict · Jan 2, 2016

Lambsalot said:
Hello All,

I am new to the forum & have been reading some other posts on the Hearthstone Clydesdale wood burning insert about measuring temperature & over-firing, but couldn't find an exact answer/experience with my questions so I figured I would try a new post out.

I live in CT & purchased the Hearthstone Clydesdale wood burning insert last year around the same time so I am on my second season. Up to this point and including my first year I have fears of over-firing the stove. I know this insert can put out a lot of heat & from what I've read it does have the possibility of getting way too hot. I would like to feel safe with my burning where I can get a good overnight burn, but at this point I find myself only putting 1 to 2 pieces of wood in at a time to just try and keep it from over heating.

I purchased an Inferno stove top magnetic gage last year and have been using that to tell the temperature of the stove top. I did some testing of different positions to try and find the hottest spot, which I found to be behind the top grill in the center at the point where the stove steps up. It appears to be the hottest part of the stove top, but reading the manual it suggests having the gage be on the "top front of the insert (firebox body under grill)" & not to exceed 600 degrees F. I tried to put the Inferno gage below the grate, but it is too thick and the grate won't sit properly on the stove top. I thought of just removing the grate completely and running without it, but didn't like the idea of not using as I am sure there is a specific design feature for it.

I recently purchase an IR thermometer to better understand how the insert is acting in different areas more instantly than the Inferno. I've found the the stove top area near the front as the manual says is about 100 - 150 degrees F lower than where I am currently measuring the stove top. Last season I started with loading the firebox as I believe the insert should be able to handle the design size of the firebox, but found that the back part of the stove top I am reading can easily get up to 600 - 700 degrees F. As soon as I saw this a few times I stopped loading the box & only used small loads and shorter intervals. This was even with the damper closed almost all the way. There was a good amount of secondary burning going on, which I liked because it meant it was burning efficiently but the temperatures just seemed way too high.

This is where my issue with overnight burns come into play. I want to have the fire going with a full or 3/4 full firebox, but just don't feel comfortable with the temperatures I am seeing at the current measuring location. My question is, are other owners of the Clydesdale seeing similar temperature differences between the stove top near the front of the insert below the grate vs. the back stepped portion of the stove top where I am currently using as my do not exceed 600 F limit?

Apologies for the long set of information, but wanted to try and get the best description I could the first time.

I've also read about the vibrating sheet metal fan support, which I too have had issues with. If it get the stove in those higher ranges 575 - 600 degrees F, I find that the sheet metal piece starts to vibrate, which then becomes impossible to stop. I tried to contact my vendor to come out and take a look at it, but haven't been having much luck getting them to set up a time to come out. I've read about the Hearthstone fix to the issue and would like to understand it better, but can't seem to get them to give me any attention.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

Also, I've attached a few pictures of my setup to help.

View attachment 168530 View attachment 168531

I'm on my 2nd season with the Clydesdale and like you, felt like I was splitting atoms trying to get it right for most of last season! My findings are as follows:
Once installed, the power cord wasn't long enough to reach the outlet so I told the installer don't worry about it i'll get an extension cord and after he left I plugged it in and a big flash/pop occurred under the ash lip... wire was loose and shorted the blowers !!!

so for the first week until I got a new set of blowers I ran it like a normal stove (my Clydesdale is out as far as allowed since I want as much radiant heat as possible) On the 3rd day I got cocky and packed it to the gills, she got up to almost 800, I freaked, opened the door and full throttled slowly and agonizingly down to 650. I had the grate off and the inferno stove thermometer in the center by the bolt.

After I got the blowers and ran the rest of the winter she hummed along ranging from 400-700 but it all came down to the moisture content and type of wood I used. I primarily burned all ash as that is whats on my property and in plentiful supply due to EAB. This year I'm still buring primarily ash and early season poplar but am getting to the part of the wood shed that is ash/maple/oak so will be able to get longer burn times. I run it with the blowers at about medium/high.

I have absolutely no hesitation in packing it to the baffles every night. My routine is this: when the 2nd to last load is somewhat broken down to coals that are still in the shape as the splits, I break them down and ramp them up towards the front of the box, pull the damper full throttle for about 25 minutes until the coals burn down about half of what they were than do a final rake and play tetris with my splits until I have systematically loaded the box. Full throttle until it STARTS raging for maybe 2 minutes (I find that letting it rage for about 10 minutes makes a huge difference in what I wake up to) than I close it all the way. Once I close it down I will sit there and wait, making sure that there is still small flames at the bottom front where the air intake is. This is critical as you are letting the coals bake the wood you just put in and as long as you start seeing secondaries after about 10 minutes your in good shape. There are some times where I throttle down too soon and have to pull the damper for a few minutes but the best success/longest burns have been when I throttle down earlier than later. When I first got the stove I believe the manual states opening the damper for about 10-15 minutes to burn of any creosote build up but when I did that, I would almost over fire the stove every time and my burn times were significantly shorter and I attribute that to ash (dry wood, good btu's) When I wake up in the morning, I have a good bed of coals and that is the time i will load it with smaller splits about half way up and run that at full throttle for the entire burn to burn off the overnight creosote buildup and also get a nice hot bed of coals. Hope my 2 cents help. Happy Burnin'!

Clydeburner · Jan 2, 2016

bkclydes said:
I did get my wood delivery. Unfortunately all he has left is red oak and it appears to be not completely seasoned. As you probably already know, the red oak tends to hold the moisture longer and typically needs to be seasoned longer. The guy told me it's been seasoned 12 months but I've read that red oak typically requires 18-24 months minimum. Thinking that since it was so dry this past year that maybe it's ok but it was pretty wet (at least on the surface) when it was delivered (it was raining) and when it's burning I can hear it sizzling and I have to keep it running wide open and can only get it running about 400° max.

I bought a moisture meter to check it before he dropped it but the stupid thing isn't working. Either that or the wood moisture content is reading above the high range (35%) or below the low range (7%). Have to bring the stupid thing back today.

I've gone back to burning the BioBricks. I can get the stove burning to 475-480° max. When I was at Dean's Stove & Spa, where I bought the moisture meter, they told me that I'm probably getting the most out of the Clydesdale. They recommended I should have bought a Travis. Too late now. I asked if they take trade-in but they said that's really only for the people that have the older stoves. He showed me the build of the Clydesdale and focused on the housing around the firebox and said it's just poorly designed and showed the gaps in the housing that let a lot of heat from the firebox escape into the chimney. He showed me how there are gaps in the housing of the Clydesdale whereas the Travis firebox is completely contained.

I don't know...bottom line...I can only get the thing to max out at 475-480°F no matter what I've tried. Frustrated...it's just not heating my house the way I would have expected.

It definitely sounds as though your wood may not be premium, oak can typically take the 18-24 mlnths like you stated. I had some oak rounds 2 1/2 years old i finally split and it was still at 26%-30% moisture. Once you have gotten the stove in that 400° range have you tried to close the air down to half or maybe less to see if the secondaries will continue. These stoves seem to get hotter with the air closed allowing the secondary burn tubes to create all the heat apposed to having the wood burning.
Have you tried a couple biobricks and a couple splits to see if the ultra dry bricks would compensate for the possible wet wood?
I didn't notice if you mentioned that you had a block off plate or if you have insulated the fireplace behind the stove, these are key things to keep the masonary fireplace from soaking your heat up and releasing it to the outside. I feel my stove gets up to higher temps because of all the insulation I have packed behind/around it. The surround lifts right off so you can visually see. If you could maybe post a pic or 2 behind the stove, it might lead us to a more definitive answer. My guess is that you're losing the heat there.
I haven't found many clydesdale burners unhappy with its operation unless their wood was subpar on all the searches I've done. This was not my first choice in stoves as I more settled on, but now am very happy with it. Originally was going to get the BK Princess but could not be installed with my chimney

.....
I had mine walk away from me this morning, I loaded N/S about 10 splits of oak and maple and she got up to 690° with the fan on high and the window open next to the stove. With it still climbing I tried the open door trick, but ended up having to throw a wet frozen round on top to get the temps back down, she dropped for over an hour. Been burning the coals all day so far. I jus got my flashing buzzer alarms I am going to wire one downstairs and one upstairs as an early warning system.

FirewoodAddict you say you run your stove 400°-700° on a regular, have you seen any ill effects from the super heat.... having mine only hit over 700° once or twice I have not seen anything that looks warped or over heated. For the cost of these stoves I'd hate to have to tear it apart to replace a panel on it ha

Lambsalot · Jan 2, 2016

gls289 said:
Something else to think about. How tall is your chimney? Mine is short but I understand the taller they are the more they draft after warmed up.

I have a 1 story ranch so it's probably standard size; they also didn't have to put any special length piping in when they did the install.

I've gotten to the point where I am content with how it is working and just using small batches and keeping it around 450 - 500 F where I am measuring. Disappointing that my over night burns are not longer, but it at least stays warm enough for the fan to stay on for 4-5 hours. That's my bigger problem right now. The fan vibration is driving me nuts. I've learned about hearthstones Technical Bulletin #122, where they basically wedged a high temp. silicone piece in between the sheet metal fan housing and stove piece. My unit has this piece, but the install doesn't look very good and I'm not sure why the fix is only to put one piece on the left side. I get most of the rattling from the right side where it is still free to vibrate. I'm thinking of adding a second piece to the right side to see if that helps; just need to figure out what type of silicone piece they used.

Clydeburner · Jan 2, 2016

The fan vibration is driving me nuts. I've learned about hearthstones Technical Bulletin #122, where they basically wedged a high temp. silicone piece in between the sheet metal fan housing and stove piece. My unit has this piece, but the install doesn't look very good and I'm not sure why the fix is only to put one piece on the left side. I get most of the rattling from the right side where it is still free to vibrate. I'm thinking of adding a second piece to the right side to see if that helps; just need to figure out what type of silicone piece they used.[/QUOTE]

I ended up just pushing down on the shroud under the fan speed dial putting a slight bend in it and have not had any noise since.

Lambsalot · Jan 2, 2016

FirewoodAddict said:
I'm on my 2nd season with the Clydesdale and like you, felt like I was splitting atoms trying to get it right for most of last season! My findings are as follows:
Once installed, the power cord wasn't long enough to reach the outlet so I told the installer don't worry about it i'll get an extension cord and after he left I plugged it in and a big flash/pop occurred under the ash lip... wire was loose and shorted the blowers so for the first week until I got a new set of blowers I ran it like a normal stove (my Clydesdale is out as far as allowed since I want as much radiant heat as possible) On the 3rd day I got cocky and packed it to the gills, she got up to almost 800, I freaked, opened the door and full throttled slowly and agonizingly down to 650. I had the grate off and the inferno stove thermometer in the center by the bolt.

After I got the blowers and ran the rest of the winter she hummed along ranging from 400-700 but it all came down to the moisture content and type of wood I used. I primarily burned all ash as that is whats on my property and in plentiful supply due to EAB. This year I'm still buring primarily ash and early season poplar but am getting to the part of the wood shed that is ash/maple/oak so will be able to get longer burn times. I run it with the blowers at about medium/high.

I have absolutely no hesitation in packing it to the baffles every night. My routine is this: when the 2nd to last load is somewhat broken down to coals that are still in the shape as the splits, I break them down and ramp them up towards the front of the box, pull the damper full throttle for about 25 minutes until the coals burn down about half of what they were than do a final rake and play tetris with my splits until I have systematically loaded the box. Full throttle until it STARTS raging for maybe 2 minutes (I find that letting it rage for about 10 minutes makes a huge difference in what I wake up to) than I close it all the way. Once I close it down I will sit there and wait, making sure that there is still small flames at the bottom front where the air intake is. This is critical as you are letting the coals bake the wood you just put in and as long as you start seeing secondaries after about 10 minutes your in good shape. There are some times where I throttle down too soon and have to pull the damper for a few minutes but the best success/longest burns have been when I throttle down earlier than later. When I first got the stove I believe the manual states opening the damper for about 10-15 minutes to burn of any creosote build up but when I did that, I would almost over fire the stove every time and my burn times were significantly shorter and I attribute that to ash (dry wood, good btu's) When I wake up in the morning, I have a good bed of coals and that is the time i will load it with smaller splits about half way up and run that at full throttle for the entire burn to burn off the overnight creosote buildup and also get a nice hot bed of coals. Hope my 2 cents help. Happy Burnin'!

Ouch with the short on the fan, nothing worse than having the stove installed but can't use it with all it's features; I had to hold off from using mine once it was installed because I was still waiting on my extension stone surface since my hearth wasn't long enough per the regulations. Also after the town inspected it they told me I couldn't use an extension cord for this type of install so I had to have an electrician come in and put an outlet close enough for the cord; not a huge issue because I wanted someone to come it and add one on the wall for my TV.

Where do you measure your temperature on the stove? I mentioned earlier I measure on the back side of the stove as my magnetic gauge is too large to fit underneath the grate on the front top, but from what I'm reading I may be a little over cautions being concerned with the temperature at this part of the stove. I may run without the grate from now on and just check the temperatures right next to the damper bolt. I purchased an IR temp. gauge but find it difficult to get a good measurement under the grate with it on.

I do agree with the high burn rate that the manual mentions as being too much. I did this once last season with the stove packed (high burn for about 15 minutes), only to wake up sweating & the stove over 700 F. Scared the crap out of me and have been nervous ever since.

With a bunch of coals I usually rake them all to the front and make a clearing in the center to let the damper flow to the rear more freely and place just once piece of split in there; this usually does the same effect as you with opening the damper all the way.

Thank you for the input on your overnight burn; maybe one of these nights I'll overcome my fears and try again. Interesting that you close the damper completely; do you end up with creosote build up on the soapstone in the morning? I find that if I don't have the damper open ab out an 1/8th of the way or more then I end up with build up in the morning.

Lambsalot · Jan 2, 2016

Clydeburner said:
The fan vibration is driving me nuts. I've learned about hearthstones Technical Bulletin #122, where they basically wedged a high temp. silicone piece in between the sheet metal fan housing and stove piece. My unit has this piece, but the install doesn't look very good and I'm not sure why the fix is only to put one piece on the left side. I get most of the rattling from the right side where it is still free to vibrate. I'm thinking of adding a second piece to the right side to see if that helps; just need to figure out what type of silicone piece they used.

I ended up just pushing down on the shroud under the fan speed dial putting a slight bend in it and have not had any noise since.[/QUOTE]

Is the left side of your sheet metal housing more rigid than the right? or maybe the bend you put in gave it a little more rigidity? Mine is just significantly more free on the right side that it just hums like crazy & gets even worse every time I touch it when it's humming. I'm going to try a few ideas to see if it helps but have another idea thanks to you; hopefully a simple bend will do the trick, thanks!

Hearthstone Clydesdale - Measuring Stove Temperature

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