My flue thermometer is on crack

[cmonSTART]

I have about 7 good size splits in my stove, north south. The whole box is filled with flame, the baffles have a slight glow and it looks like I have a nice secondary going, yet it has just barely crested 300 degrees. That isn't even possible, right? The thermometer is about 18 inches up the stove pipe.

Anyone know at what temperature a flame first becomes visible?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

is it a cheapo magnetetic thermometer? if so, they are not usually accurate.. unless your stove is overdrafting and your sending all your heat up the flue...

 

[cmonSTART]

It is a cheap-o magnetic one. I need to find something better.

I doubt it's over drafting. My stove pipe makes 2 90 degree bends with about 4.5 or 5 feet of horizontal between them. It's a SS chimney up the exterior of our house. How would I know for sure?

 

[cmonSTART]

Courtesy of wikipedia.com

The temperature of flames with carbon particles emitting light can be assessed by their color:[7]

* Red
o Just visible:977 °F (525 °C)
o Dull: 1290 °F (700 °C)
o Cherry, dull: 1470 °F (800 °C)
o Cherry, full: 1650 °F (900 °C)
o Cherry, clear: 1830 °F (1000 °C)
* Orange
o Deep: 2010 °F (1100 °C)
o Clear: 2190 °F (1200 °C)
* White
o Whitish: 2370 °F (1300 °C)
o Bright: 2550 °F (1400 °C)
o Dazzling: 2730 °F (1500 °C)

So say the flames in my stove are 1500F, there's no way that after moving up the chimney 1.5 feet that they are going to have cooled off 1200 degrees.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

those are the colors of metal temps, not flames.
One of the most accurate ways to measure temp on a stove is with a flue probe thermometer. A infrared surface thermometer is a good way to measure surface temps, but stove material and thickness will affect the surface temp, so the flue temp is the most reliable way to measure how your stove is doing.

 

[Hogwildz]

Is the thermometer on double wall or single wall pipe?

 

[Corie]

My probe therrmometer right now, steady secondaries, just shut the damper is at 850 deg F and dropping. Should settle in to 400 deg F here shortly.

 

[cmonSTART]

Interesting. Wikipedia is on crack too then..

Hogwildz, it's on single wall stove pipe.

 

[Hogwildz]

Get a new thermometer. To test the one you have, set your oven to a certain temp and put said thermometer in and give it a few minds and see if the reading matches the setting for oven temp.

 

[begreen]

cmonStart, is this double or single wall pipe?

 

[cmonSTART]

single wall

 

[Hogwildz]

I think its echoing in here............... heloo heloo heloo heloooooooooo
Maybe you should bold " SINGLE WALL" LOL

 

[begreen]

Got it, got it, got it. For comparison, when I had the 602 on single wall it was not uncommon to see 750+ degree stack temps with a surface magnetic when the stove was burning hot. Sounds fishy.