Stove Top Thermometer or IR Gun?

My stove came with a stove top thermometer. I like it because just a glance tells me the temperature at the same location on the stove. It is a consistent point of reference. I don't have to try to find it or carry it around.

Pre-stove, I had an IR thermometer that I used for energy conservation projects around the house. The IR is very useful with the stove as I can get temperatures at various locations on the stove and stove pipe. I examine the wall and floor surfaces in the vicinity of the stove. At the wood stacks this summer I was recording 130 °F on the splits in the sun on a routine basis. In short, the IR thermometer is a window on a world that I knew existed, but never really studied. My problem with the IR thermometer is I misplace it. Old age I guess.

IR would be my vote.

I would buy 2 thermometers, one for the stove top an one for the pipe( if it is single wall).
Then you will know at a glance what your stove is doing.
Then get an IR if want something to play with.

How many times in life have you ever looked at something and been surprised.Your oil level in the car,a low tire,a burner left on.At a glance you will know your temps which could be of importance if too hot damaging the stove or if too low and building creosote.Both aren't good.I'd go with the passing glance of a stove thermometer,they're cheap so why not get both,buy the IR and have fun with it.LEARN from it.
Hope this helped.

I would say it depends on how much you want to spend. My thermometer was $20 I believe and is more accurate than my IR gun, I think. If I turn my gun sideways I get a different temp in the same spot from the same distance. I think I only paid $50 or $60 for the gun, if I could do it again I would have got a more expensive one. This is just my experience

I use both and basically need to as I am not experienced enough yet with wood stoves in general or our wood stove in specific. As everyone already noted, having the stove top thermometer is nice because it is a single point of reference which you will glance at thousands of times and if out of that thousand something does surprise you and you act and prevent a problem that thing will be well worth whatever you paid.

However also having the IR thermometer really helps me to understand the various temperatures "zones" all around our stove, stove pipe and chimney pipe. I find it fascinating to scan temps all around the house too. I don't seem to have the accuracy problems that some spoke of with my particular IR thermometer (Fluke 561) and I also like that it has the adjustable emissivity and that helps to get more accurate measurements on my super shiny stainless steel chimney pipe!

Anyways, I'm sure I sound a fool to the experts who "just know" but I am no where near that level of experience and expertise so I'm simply using every tool in the toolbox to learn learn learn. I should add that the Rutland Stove Top Thermometer we have is surprisingly accurate as compared to the IR thermometer. Add I should add that on our wood stove in specific the stove top thermometer actually sits on an raised "cook top" above the actual "stove top". By using the IR thermometer (which has a handy laser for sighting), I can compare the cook top and the stove top. The stove top is typically 200 degrees F hotter than the cook top.

I use the stovetop thermometer and a stack probe thermometer for every day use. I have used
the IR gun to play around with finding the hotspots and coolspots on my stovetop. I consider the
probe more useful than the IR gun, particularly for watching startup.

HollowHill said:

I'm debating on which to purchase - a stovetop thermometer or an IR gun. I'm leaning towards an IR gun because it will be more broadly useful (can use for purposes other than just the stove) and I prefer the look of not having a stovetop thermometer on the stove. My stove will be a Woodstock soapstone, will an IR gun work with soapstone? Is a stovetop thermometer preferable for any reason? Do I need to have both? Thanks for your thoughts.

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HollowHill, your stove comes with a thermometer and I highly suggest you have them ship you an extra one. One for the stove top and one for the flue. You will come to use and read those very often. However, that does not mean you can't also have a IR (we have one too). You will find that you will get different readings on different parts of the stove. But, you won't use the IR much at all once you learn the best way to adjust the stove but for sure you will read those other thermometers a lot.

As for seeing the thermometers, you will probably barely notice them unless you want to read them. The one on the flue, just place so it isn't in the front but on the side.

I have always had 2 thermometers, one for the stove pipe and one for the stove top. I just got an IR, which is cool to play with, but if you made me chose I'd get two for the stove like I've always had. My setup isn't good for a probe, but I've been thinking that would be best when combined with a stove top thermometer.

So, I say aim at haing it all, but start with no less than two thermometers, one on the stove pipe and one on the stove top.

Some might say that it's redundant, but I swear that the thin stove pipe is more sensitive to the immediate changes within the stove, so if the stove pipe is too high, that means the stove top will be there in a few minutes. Also, I've noticed that these thermometers are inherently more susceptible to error, so being able to swap them back and forth to verify accuracy is nice (an IR gun will help even more there)

I have stove top and flue thermometers, as well as IR gun. The IR gun is great for making sure my walls, floor, furniture, etc., aren't getting too hot when close to the stove, as well as the myriad other applications mentioned above. The two on the stove are both for safety and learning how to operate the stove. I say "safety", because on more than one occasion I've been walking through the room and glanced at the flue or stove-top temp and said, "Holy cow!" (or an earthier variation), upon seeing that the temps had skyrocketed. I never would have picked up the IR gun to check on those occasions, so I'm glad I had those indicators just sitting there for me to glance at.

I use both - the stove therm stays in one location, and I use the IR to check the pipe or other areas when in doubt. The IR can be used for other purposes around the house (finding heat leaks, etc).

Good point on the leaks jaydee

I have both an IR gun and a stove thermometer. In the end, the best thing I did in my double-wall flue pipe set up, was install a flue thermometer. I find that gauging the temperature of the gases in the flue is good enough to control the whole system.

-Soupy1957