general temperature inquiry

knie0012 · Dec 7, 2009

Could somebody give me a general rundown of temperatures of a wood stove and chimney operations?

I know I should read the manual as every stove is different, but the manual does not give temp ranges...rather just fire sizes - high, medium, low, and over firing.

Now that I am up and running, I read a lot of posts regarding temps on pipes, and fire boxes....I have no idea what to expect, look for, or know. I asked around locally, and each shop said that the stove should handle the amount of wood (no hardwood available in these parts) that I can fit in is ok for the stove. After reading here, that does not seem to be the case.

What do you recommend for operating a Bennington cast iron -- double wall -- insulated pipe? The the double wall pipe I can't touch its so hot, the insulated pipe in the attic also is so hot I can't touch it (I inspected all during first few fires), and the insulated pipe outside is only warm to the touch, if that.

Just want to avoid a chimney fire, and damaging the stove. Do you suggest a thermometer on the stove and a separate one on the pipe? 18-24 inches up?

Thanks for the help!

Jason

Pagey · Dec 7, 2009

I'm not sure what to tell about you cast iron, but there are a ton of Jotul cast iron users here who could offer some insight. I would think a stove top temp of 600 or under would be good for cast iron.

As far as double wall stove pipe, a magnetic thermometer will be essentially useless. You'll need a probe type that you insert into the pipe after drilling into it. Condar makes a probe thermometer that is popular around here. A UL 103 HT class a pipe is rated for 1,000F continuous, but if you're sending that much heat up the flue, you're arguably wasting wood/heat up the chimney. As long as your flue gases are over 250F, you should be minimizing any condensation.

I only have a magnetic thermometer on the stove top, as I have not yet taken the plunge and installed a probe thermometer into my double wall stove pipe. You don't have to have both, but of course having both will give you more insight into what is happening with the system as a whole.

firefighterjake · Dec 8, 2009

knie0012 said:
Could somebody give me a general rundown of temperatures of a wood stove and chimney operations? Uh, not quite sure what you're looking for here. I can tell you that for some stoves there are certain temperature ranges which work best (for example, Jotul recommends the Oslo run a stove top temp around 400-600) and there are overfire temps (one member was told that running a stove top temp over 700 is not a good idea) . . . but these temps depend largely on what brand/type of stove you have . . . a soapstone stove may have very different temps vs. a steel or cast iron stove. Flue temps also depend on whether you have single wall or double wall pipe . . . with double wall pipe I try to run my flue temp 400-900 degrees (probe thermometer.)

I know I should read the manual as every stove is different, but the manual does not give temp ranges...rather just fire sizes - high, medium, low, and over firing. Ah, perhaps a bump here will get some other Bennington users here to chime in on what temps they run their stoves at . . .

Now that I am up and running, I read a lot of posts regarding temps on pipes, and fire boxes....I have no idea what to expect, look for, or know. I asked around locally, and each shop said that the stove should handle the amount of wood (no hardwood available in these parts) that I can fit in is ok for the stove. After reading here, that does not seem to be the case. You may find that in some cases some of the folks working in some of the shops can be rather clueless . . . me, I would want to have a better handle on temps . . . just like you are doing
.

What do you recommend for operating a Bennington cast iron -- double wall -- insulated pipe? The the double wall pipe I can't touch its so hot, the insulated pipe in the attic also is so hot I can't touch it (I inspected all during first few fires), and the insulated pipe outside is only warm to the touch, if that. I have no idea what stove top temp the Bennington should be running at . . . again, maybe some Bennington users will give their temps. I do know with a probe thermometer on double wall pipe you should be running 400-900 degrees to both avoid overfiring of the chimney and to reduce creosote build up.

Just want to avoid a chimney fire, and damaging the stove. Do you suggest a thermometer on the stove and a separate one on the pipe? 18-24 inches up? Yes. I highly recommend at least two thermometers -- a stove top thermometer to a) avoid overfiring of the stove and b) to give you an idea of what temp you are running (kind of important for secondary burning) and a flue thermometer to a) avoid overfiring the flue and b) reduce creosote build up. In your case, with double wall pipe you would want a probe thermometer . . . and yes, about 18 inches above the flue collar.
Thanks for the help!

Jason

Rick · Dec 10, 2009

I have a Bennington and I burn at between 500 and 600 with the thermometer placed right behind that open trivet area. I have never burned above 650, but i have gotten close many times. This temp works well for me, I would be surprised if I could fill a coffee can after a year of burning, which for me is around 5 cords. Welcome to the Bennington family here. There are many few of us, but now with the addition of you, we may be able to fill a booth at a diner at the next convention

.

knie0012 · Dec 10, 2009

Its always nice to here from other direct users.

I have since put in a probe thermometer, and a stove top thermometer.

The flue temp is about 650-700. Sometimes it rolls at 800.

But I can hardly every get my stove temp up that high. I would say the most I ever see is 400. And that is at full loads with a nice rolling fire. The hardest species of wood I burn, is some type of Birch, few and far between though. All that softwood equates into short burns and many reloads I feel. My thermometer is on the back left corner. I will try putting it near the trivet and read what I get.

Thanks for the info!

Jaosn

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general temperature inquiry

knie0012

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Pagey

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Rick

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knie0012

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