How warm should the chimney blocks be?

[ikessky]

I think I'm just overly nervous because of the crumbling crown and now my mind is playing tricks on me. How warm do your chimney blocks get in the area right around where your thimble passes through the masonry? I have a liner inside the clay flue and the masonry really seems to be soaking up the heat.

 

[Hogwildz]

I think I'm just overly nervous because of the crumbling crown and now my mind is playing tricks on me. How warm do your chimney blocks get in the area right around where your thimble passes through the masonry? I have a liner inside the clay flue and the masonry really seems to be soaking up the heat.

It will get fairly hot, and is soaking up some heat.
Had the same thing here before installing my insert with new liner. Now it is warm at best to touch.
The back is now in my new bedroom and I have installed mesh over the block and cultured stone over that.
Also framed out and boxed in where the steps outs were on each side and durocked over the steel studs and that is also part of the cultured stone.
Turned out real nice. The cultured stone gets slightly warm to the touch on the shallower pcs and at in the flats of the joints. I can barely notice a dif in warmer temp when I go out there to smoke.
Not finished, no heated yet.

 

[summit]

90 degrees over ambient is a usuall acceptable construction standard,, thus an 80 deg room with a chim block temp of 170 is ok, or so they say....

 

[ikessky]

OK, I'm just being a worry-wart then. I can hold my hand on the blocks, so it's not bad at all. I haven't changed anything in the system that would affect this compared to last year, but maybe I just don't remember this. Dumping in some perlite once the weather gets warm should mostly take care of it anyway.