Highest stove pipe probe thermometer temp.?

I have been burning wood for 40 years but only in the last 5 years or so have I had any of the new fangled stuff. Just a wood burning box and a chimney. Always kind of went by my gut instincts. Now that I have all the "stuff" I am trying to correlate it to what I have always done in the past.

Tonight I put a load of ash in the stove and came in here to check hearth.com. Hadn't been very long and I smelled HOT. I have been burning oak and hickory and just got to a some ash in the wood shed. Well, that stuff takes off a lot faster than the oak and hickory and it took me by surprise. The smell was my stove pipe (double wall), It was 400 on the outside, 1300 inside, probe thermometer reading. Stove top was only 500. I shut it down and everything cooled off right away.

I have done that many times in the past but had no idea what the temp of HOT smell was. So, how high have you guys seen?

I have seen 1200 before by mistake.

Corey, 1200 was my high until tonight, both by mistake It cooled right down after I shut things down and I checked the class A in the attic and it was fine. Just as soon not do it again though.

I've GOT to install my probe thermometer. I'll do it tomorrow.

Double wall, and you were over three times the surface temp. I've had mine get to 350 surface...and that smells HOT...Sounds like it could have been close to 1100 internal flue temp....Not good. I really will install the probe thermometer. Doesn't do me much good sitting on the sofa table.

Thanks for the post, and the needed push.

Yeah i hope i don't see it again ether. But the other day it hit 800 with my air shut i have a pipe damper for when things really run away.

The internal flue temp was 1300

Yep, me too, shut the air down, pipe damper down and it didn't take long. 800 is my normal high when I start shutting things down.

Oh my. I've beaten that. I don't have an internal probe, but I had the double wall pipe temps hit 477 once. I wasn't happy with myself for letting that happen. Pipe and liner are fine, thankfully.

1200 on the probe with a load of silver maple.

Yes. I was referring to the internal temp MINE likely was.

Yeah BB I know what you mean about not being happy with yourself. Just shouldn't let that happen. But if you burn wood very long, it will. I really don't think those kind of temperatures really hurt anything. Every time I do it, I think back to my childhood when I loved to visit my Uncles wood shop. He had an old pot belly stove that he heated the place with and burned nothing but lumber scraps. And he didn't think that thing was going right unless the pot belly and the stove pipe where it came out were orange! The place is still there, but he is gone......loved that guy!

Rideau, I get it now....you were talking about yours.

With three stoves, at some point in the winter I'm running towards a stove forgetting to close a damper, the air, or something causing stove/pipe temps to be raging.

With each passing year it has happened less. With dry wood and longer burn times with these big stoves, it minimizes stove tending time for me. I've only had one dumbass moment this year when I loaded the 30, wife cam home, got lost in a conversation, and I realize that I never closed down the air. Came back to the 30 with a 790 stove top and a fiery train wreck inside the stove.

The glass was very clean at the end of that burn...

Yes, the clean glass is one good thing I have 2 stoves and know what you mean. Not sure I could handle 3

Funny, when I said this the other day I had a response saying " how can you over load/over fire your stove?" eluding that I was an idiot.
I hit just over 1300 my 3rd fire, with ash and pallet wood, dumb rookie mistake. I was terrified. Shut the air down, dumped flour in the firebox (I had nothing in the ash bucket yet) and ran out of my house to check the chimney as I screamed past my husband what was going on. Because the stove and chimney was so new, and we had painted shrouds throughout the house with the double wall inside, it STUNK in my house for hours. I sat with a flash light watching the flue probe go down, looking for anything glowing (never happened) i didn't light the stove again until my installers came out to inspect everything, they got a chuckle out of the flour in the firebox but all ended up being ok. Now I hit 1,000 every now and then but I don't reach for the flour, I just damper down and wait it out, a few minutes it calms down and so do I.

Here is your push, your stovetop temp is good to know if your cooking on it, knowing what flying through your chimney gives you a whole other layer of perspective and comfort. DO IT and post a photo or I will continue to pester you until you do

I'd blame it on the wife too.

Hearth Mistress, you are not an idiot for sure, unless we are all idiots, and then you are in good company!!

Now ya tell me

I, um, well, ... sigh. First year with the new liner and pre-EPA stove, had a chimney fire. Condor probe was well above 1600. Liner had a distinctive smell. And thus started the ritual of a monthly flue cleaning, as well as the ongoing quest for drier wood. With the old stove we intentionally aimed for 800-900 degrees and it wasn't uncommon to hit 1200 (the air intake would close 100%, so we could easily bring it back down). The new stove has never sent the flue higher than 600 (maybe 650, once), and the last pass of the chimney brush after 2 cord of wood yielded about a cup of dust. These newfangled air controls that know better than you (that won't shut all the way) concern me, but it hasn't been a problem.

1,200*-1,400* has happened a couple times. That's internal probe temp.

I try and stay downstairs. But sometimes you go upstairs just for a "minute" and forget.

Now, when I hit the top of the steps, I give my Wife a "Time". I will just say "5 Minutes". And in 5 minutes, I get a reminder to go check the stove.

And yes, at those temps, it smells "HOT" (Stove top over 800*).

I did have a timer app on my phone but the phone kicked the bucket so back to timer.

Tonight has been a challenge cause the wind is not blowing real hard but in a perfect direction to give me super drat.

When I reload I have to keep the air handle half way open and cat not engaged. The temps build up nice and the probe will get up to 1000 with ease and i engage the cat. If I dont pay attentiion and the air is all way open, the probe will hit 1300 fast and stove top only 400-500. My plan is never leave stove attended when cat not engaged and only open air half way with my dry seasond wood

definitely like that idea... this will go on my list of accessories for sure