Jotul C 450 - First Burn - Worrying

I burned for the first time in my new Jotul insert two days ago. The manual speaks to break-in and the fact that the unit may smell or smoke, but nothing more about break-in. I've read some where that you need three fires - 200, 300, and 400 degrees. I fired it up the first time and had temp up to 250 - magnetic jotul thermometer on the top of the door. The unit is installed in such a way that not much of the stove protrudes beyond the surround assembly. While burning, I noticed what looked like secondary combustion, and after the burn, I noticed paint flaking off the door near the glass (two-door model). Also, blower did kick on - don't know what temp you need to do so.

Questions are these - where is the best place for the thermometer to gain an accurate reading if I have such an insert, does the fact that what appeared to be secondary combustion mean that I overshot 250 by a long shot, and does the flaking mean anything necessarily.

I hope I haven't ruined the break-in process in some way.

Signed, worrying!

Thank you for the comfort - the flaking is on the outside of the door - on the decorative metal band in front of the glass.

Thanks CleanBurnin - yees, my stove is basically fully recessed or flush with the surround. I really don't know how to get an accurate temp reading unless I take off the surround itself.

Don't know what to do about temperature reads at this point. I guess just don't worry about it until I see the stove glowing??

Thanks Jaugust124 - do you mean between the stove and the surround - the gap where the air circulates out from behind the stove? If you do, that is an idea - I might be able to pull off the surround, place the thermometer in there, and then be able to read it with a flashlight as you suggest.

Thank you again, Jaugust124 - I'm gonna try it. I can't think of a better place for it.

You too Kyle19 - thank you for your advice. I'd rather not remove the surround.

And I must say, the worrying was worth it the other day. It was amazing to watch the secondary flames "floating" in the Jotul. Really beautiful. My wife and kids loved it almost as much as I did.

Thanks Luke