Multiple thermometers?

[bluedogz]

Well, since this weekend is the big reline project, I've been using the time to do some learning...

I have learned a lot by placing a magnetic thermometer on the stovetop and watching what it does and when.

My setup is double-wall pipe 18" up to a 90, then 18" horizontal into a what is now a masonry thimble but will be 6" SS insulated liner on Sunday.

I have never measured stack temps in any way. Not even sure how, or what they might tell me.

Any ideas, anyone?

 

[shawneyboy]

I have both a stove top and a flue gas (probe) thermo in my double wall. I like to think of it sorta like a Speedo and a Tach in a car. Both have different info dealing with how the vehicle is running.

The probe thermo tells me how many BTUs I am sending up the stack, it allows me to tweek my burning to maximize my burn. TBH I rarely look at the stove top thermo anymore, if I want a number it is the flue gas temps I am looking at. It also serves as a way to make sure I am not risking a fire in the pipe.

The stove top thermo is just for information to know I am not overfiring the stove.

 

[bluedogz]

Well said...

Does it matter WHERE in the flue the probe is placed?

 

[Hogwildz]

I use two on each side of the face of my insert. More just to regulate the accuracy or not.
Theydo tell me if one side of the firebox is hotter then the other, but once everything is settled in, they run fairly the same temps.
Thermos, are a nightmare when first learning the stove! Flip on the lights every 5 minutes, or grab the flashlight, look at the thermos, back 5 mins later doing the same, over and over, worrying, wondering, obsessing.
Then you get to be "one" with the stove, and then merely use the thermo basically for monitoring temps at start up, and once in a while to see if she is holding steady, rising, falling.
They are somewhat an evil kind of necessity, but not really.
Merely for reference. In time, you will know just by looking at the load, the flamage, or lack of, and the different stages just by peering through the glass.
Don't let them drive you nuts the first few months, but they will, trust me.

 

[shawneyboy]

Well said...

Does it matter WHERE in the flue the probe is placed?

I believe the instructions with my probe said to place it at 18". Since you may not be able to go that high, you said you have 18" of double wall, I would go as close to 18 as you can.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For what its worth I've ran wood stoves for 50+ years. When we installed the Fireview in 2007 that was the first time I've ever used a stove thermometer. We used it because it came with the stove. Then we ended up getting another for the flue and now I'd hate to burn without them. They can really tell a more complete story about what is happening in there. And double wall, yes, probe is necessary.

 

[firefighterjake]

I have both a stove top and a flue gas (probe) thermo in my double wall. I like to think of it sorta like a Speedo and a Tach in a car. Both have different info dealing with how the vehicle is running.

The probe thermo tells me how many BTUs I am sending up the stack, it allows me to tweek my burning to maximize my burn. TBH I rarely look at the stove top thermo anymore, if I want a number it is the flue gas temps I am looking at. It also serves as a way to make sure I am not risking a fire in the pipe.

The stove top thermo is just for information to know I am not overfiring the stove.

I couldn't have said this any better . . . in fact I've used that very same analogy of the speedometer and odometer . . . and I too rarely look at the stove top thermo . . . but it still is handy when you have a question about the temps. Of course you know you're really bad off when you also spring for the IR thermometer.

 

[woodmiser]

How do you use flue temp to understand the fire?

 

[pen]

How do you use flue temp to understand the fire?

Same as you use the glass door, it's just another piece of information. Use it compared to what you are seeing into the stove, vs stove top temps to make an assessment on what is or is about to do.

Often times, I only use the flue thermometer to tell me when to turn the stove down when first loading it on a cold stove. The probe acts a lot faster than the stove top. After that, I may look at it just out of curiosity, and it may even raise an eyebrow if it's out of the norm, but once I start turning down the air, my attention turns to what I'm seeing in the stove and the stove top thermometer.

pen

 

[firefighterjake]

How do you use flue temp to understand the fire?

Same as you use the glass door, it's just another piece of information. Use it compared to what you are seeing into the stove, vs stove top temps to make an assessment on what is or is about to do.

Often times, I only use the flue thermometer to tell me when to turn the stove down when first loading it on a cold stove. The probe acts a lot faster than the stove top. After that, I may look at it just out of curiosity, and it may even raise an eyebrow if it's out of the norm, but once I start turning down the air, my attention turns to what I'm seeing in the stove and the stove top thermometer.

pen

What he said . . .

 

[shawneyboy]

How do you use flue temp to understand the fire?

Same as you use the glass door, it's just another piece of information. Use it compared to what you are seeing into the stove, vs stove top temps to make an assessment on what is or is about to do.

Often times, I only use the flue thermometer to tell me when to turn the stove down when first loading it on a cold stove. The probe acts a lot faster than the stove top. After that, I may look at it just out of curiosity, and it may even raise an eyebrow if it's out of the norm, but once I start turning down the air, my attention turns to what I'm seeing in the stove and the stove top thermometer.

pen

What he said . . .

Yup... What they said ....