Are there any cool gadgets where I can monitor my furnace from my computer?

[DeanBrown3D]

For example, I'd like to see the smoke pipe temperature from my living room.

 

[BrotherBart]

Are you listening stove companies? People really care about this stuff. Start putting temp gauges on the stove. Start making pipe flue gas thermos. Don't just tell people that "if it glows you are over firing"

Hello? Are you there?

Don't tell people like the tech support guy told me: "Most of our customers don't pay any attention to that stove top temp stuff. But 400 is about right". Yeah they would. They don't have anything to look for now but glowing metal! And give me a break that a EPA II stove is going into secondary burn at a 400 stove top temp. Yeah right. Come clean my chimney tech support boy!

 

[Mike Wilson]

I was going to suggest a wireless camera, so you can at least see what's going on inside the stove... but he wants temperature... don't know. As for an EPA II having secondary at 400... ha, not here, not now, not never. I don't get anything below 550, maybe 500, on a good day.

-- Mike

 

[JMF1]

Why not have the cam zero-in on the thermometer................that might do it.

 

[Roospike]

Why is it I always have to be the odd ball with the Summit ? :long:

********************************************************

Are you listening stove companies? People really care about this stuff. Start putting temp gauges on the stove. Start making pipe flue gas thermos. Don't just tell people that "if it glows you are over firing"

Hello? Are you there?

Don't tell people like the tech support guy told me: "Most of our customers don't pay any attention to that stove top temp stuff. But 400 is about right". Yeah they would. They don't have anything to look for now but glowing metal! And give me a break that a EPA II stove is going into secondary burn at a 400 stove top temp. Yeah right. Come clean my chimney tech support boy!

I was going to suggest a wireless camera, so you can at least see what's going on inside the stove... but he wants temperature... don't know. As for an EPA II having secondary at 400... ha, not here, not now, not never. I don't get anything below 550, maybe 500, on a good day.

-- Mike

 

[GVA]

For example, I'd like to see the smoke pipe temperature from my living room.

One could buy a small PLC add some analog cards to it run some thermocouples to various parts of the stove/pipe and a wireless network connection and check your stove temps from work...... Pricey though

Hey you asked :cheese:

 

[Mike Wilson]

Why is it I always have to be the odd ball with the Summit ? :long:

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Damned PE Owners...

Hey, as far as I am concerned, secondary should start at the same temperature on every stove, or thereabouts. Any discrepancies in that reading have to be because of thermometer placement, thermometer calibration, steel vs. cast, etc... or so I think. I can get secondary at lower than 500, but I don't consider it a stable thing... that is, I don't consider that when I can damper down for the night, etc. I run it up higher and then let it go.

So Roo, is that thermometer on the top of your stove? Looks like the left side?

-- Mike

 

[nshif]

If one has the money all of this is possible. try
http://www.omega.com/temperature/tsc.html
for lots of options. I used to make high temp curing ovens that were very precise with temp control.and we used alot of this stuff. But like I said big bucks. You could easily spend more then the cost of a quality stove.

 

[Roospike]

Why is it I always have to be the odd ball with the Summit ? :long:

********************************************************

Damned PE Owners...

Hey, as far as I am concerned, secondary should start at the same temperature on every stove, or thereabouts. Any discrepancies in that reading have to be because of thermometer placement, thermometer calibration, steel vs. cast, etc... or so I think. I can get secondary at lower than 500, but I don't consider it a stable thing... that is, I don't consider that when I can damper down for the night, etc. I run it up higher and then let it go.

So Roo, is that thermometer on the top of your stove? Looks like the left side?

-- Mike

The thermometer is on the top under the trivit ( trivet removed for pictures ) In the pic you can see the stove pipe on the upper right side and the edge of the stove on the left so its dwards the back between the edge and the pipe.
I have two thermometers and they both read the same , one is on the garage stove and i have compaired the two.

I do think that stoves light off secondary burn at or around the same internal temperature but the Summit being a 3/8' thick top plate is whats making the difference , keep in mind the Summit after an 8 hour + burn there is still coal in the ash and the stove top temp can/will read 180° - 215° after 14+ hours so its kinda like the soapstone properties with the thicker steel.

I can load the fire box almost full or full and run the stove at 600° but in a house of 1800 sf and the out side temp over 15° would run us out. We have the option to run the stove hotter for when its 15° ~ minus 20°

The attachment pic shows the placement of the thermometer under the trivet. The thermometer shows the same temperature everywhere on the stove top.

 

[mikenr1c]

I would like a big gage that I can see from 25 feet away. It could be mechanical or electronic. I don't care. But my stove top thermometer requires me to get up and walk across the room or the house to get a reading.

To get the reading on your computer you could use a wireless device or even a device that would act like a server. This is not really rocket science but I wonder how many people really would want to do this. Someone above mentioned a thermocouple and this is likely the best type of sensor.

BTW - My little Jotul 602 seems to run best at 600 to 700 F - measured on the top plate. At 600+ I think that there is secondary combustion in the firebox. No smoke from the chimney either. It also seems to "step-up" at 600F. Meaning that once it gets this hot it will overshoot briefly to 650 or 700.

To control it I have installed the standard flue pipe damper and also have two small plates that attach with magnets to the front air input control. I am surprised that I have to cover the input air with plates. I would have expected Jotul to make them really airtight without anything extra.

I always enjoy reading this forum.

regards, Mike

 

[Charlie0742001]

Roos to the recue again! I was at Home Depot yesterday and wanyed to buy a gauge but didnt know where to put it becuse i use double wall pipe. I'll go pick one up and put it under my trivet too on my tiny little Vista Classic! :ahhh:

 

[begreen]

For example, I'd like to see the smoke pipe temperature from my living room.

Condar probe has a long lead. What flue temps will you be running? How far do you have to run it to get it to the living room? Could you live with the readout being in the room right over the furnace?

 

[begreen]

And give me a break that a EPA II stove is going into secondary burn at a 400 stove top temp. Yeah right. Come clean my chimney tech support boy!

Have to say I'm with Roo on this one. The Jotul F400 starts firing off secondaries around 250. By 300 they're burning well. By 400 degrees it's blue flame territory.

 

[BrotherBart]

And give me a break that a EPA II stove is going into secondary burn at a 400 stove top temp. Yeah right. Come clean my chimney tech support boy!

Have to say I'm with Roo on this one. The Jotul F400 starts firing off secondaries around 250. By 300 they're burning well. By 400 degrees it's blue flame territory.

I must have weird air in this area. Neither of the Jotuls or the Englander bust off secondary until 450 t0 500. Oh up top action can be kicked off before that but there is going to be smoke coming out of those three chimneys until 450-500.

At 500 all three of them settle in, clean up and cruise. It is probably my wood or operator error. Or a little of both.

 

[begreen]

I had the same thought Bart. Went out and checked the stack outside. By then the stove top was at 400. No smoke. But today we have a nice high-pressure system and the stove jumped into action pretty quickly. Burning a combo of 2 yr old cherry and soft maple. Seems the F400 secondaries do kick in faster than the 3CB's. I remember the 3CB as needing higher temps too. Is there a draft damper on your 3CB?

Edit - The air control is much smoother in the F400 and at the bottom of the stove instead of at the top. I'm guessing that the bigger Jotuls preheat the secondary air better than the smaller stoves. Does that sound plausible? MSG any thoughts?

 

[begreen]

Back to the subject for Dean. Have you looked at diesel exhaust temp gauges? Good ones are pricey, but you can get one with a 55 ft. lead if desired. I could see making up a nice furnace monitoring panel with one of these and and a basement ambient temp unit. Lots of pyrometers for autos on eBay too.

http://store.bankspower.com/Categories.aspx?Category=acac5302-6ea4-4d11-a519-3a6bd9eae4b6

Or fancier yet:
http://www.raytek-northamerica.com/cat.html?cat_id=2.2.1
http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=OS550&Nav=temj11

and there's Fluke's digital thermometers (handheld)

http://us.fluke.com/usen/products/Fluke+50.htm?catalog_name=FlukeUnitedStates&Category=DTHE(FlukeProducts)

 

[Andre B.]

Bet these guys could put something together to monitor the stove and adjust the damper.
http://www.controlourjunk.com/index.php

__________
Andre' B.

 

[Czech]

There's a company named X10 (www.x10.com) that makes all kinds home automation stuff, I've used some of the gadgets and they are pretty cool.