stove temp indicator/alarm????

[FLINT]

Hey guys,

Last year I started using a stovepipe thermometer, and it really improved our woodburning experience.

I was thinking though, that it would be awesome if someone made something, where there was a temp sensor that would be located on the stovepipe that sent a signal to a LCD that could be located anywhere in the house, and that would maybe beep at set temp points - like at 500 so you know when to turn down the damper.

as it is now, some times it takes longer for the stove to get up to temp before I turn it down, and I can't always just sit and stare at the thermometer for a half hour or so.

and some times, the wood will burn such that it will start getting hotter all of the sudden, and as it is, when we have a fire going, I'm always walking over to check the temp to make sure all is well - not too hot or too cold.

Am I the only one who would like to know their stove temp when they are in another room of the house? why isn't there such a product, or is there and I just don't know about it.

Thanks!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Flint, it sounds to me like perhaps you need to learn the stove and your wood a little better. Different types of wood burn much different than others. For example, you can not compare pine vs. oak or elm vs. ash. They all burn differently. As for the stove, it should not take that long to get up to temperature. Perhaps you are leaving the draft full open too long which allows more heat to go up the chimney so then the stove doesn't heat as well. Also, as you very well know, the stove will react differently when it has a nice coal bed. I hope this makes sense to you.

 

[WES999]

Hey guys,

Last year I started using a stovepipe thermometer, and it really improved our woodburning experience.

I was thinking though, that it would be awesome if someone made something, where there was a temp sensor that would be located on the stovepipe that sent a signal to a LCD that could be located anywhere in the house, and that would maybe beep at set temp points - like at 500 so you know when to turn down the damper.

as it is now, some times it takes longer for the stove to get up to temp before I turn it down, and I can't always just sit and stare at the thermometer for a half hour or so.

and some times, the wood will burn such that it will start getting hotter all of the sudden, and as it is, when we have a fire going, I'm always walking over to check the temp to make sure all is well - not too hot or too cold.

Am I the only one who would like to know their stove temp when they are in another room of the house? why isn't there such a product, or is there and I just don't know about it.

Thanks!

No, your not the only one who would like to know their stove temp when they are in another room of the house. To my knowledge there is not anything commercially available.
I designed and built a stove monitor alarm for my stoves, I actually have two monitors on each of my stoves, one for flue temp and one for stove top temp. I find having flue and stove top temp a very valuable feature. Mine does not have remote capability but I can hear the alarm from most anywhere in my house ( it's a small house). The alarm will sound when the preset temp is reached, I burn a lot of pallet wood so it is important to monitor stove temps so you don't overfire.

Here are some pics and a vid. If you have any questions or you want one PM me.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/32390/#342638
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXMpyJ6c150

 

[PunKid8888]

Beleive it or not, but most times I can go by smell. Right around 600F (stove top) I will get a smell of really hot metal. and I can usually pick it up in the other rooms. When I smell it I turn down the air control to 1/4 or lower.

 

[FLINT]

Wes,

Yes! thats exactly what I'm talking about. I'll send you a pm about specifics and parts.

Also, its not that I don't know how to run my stove, i understand how different wood burns differently and all that, but with two young boys (4 and 6) I can't always just hang around the stove all the time keeping track of it.

and yes, after the first starter load burns down to coals, its easy from there out, just add new wood and you can turn the draft down right off, but this time of year, in VA, we don't need to run the stove 24/7, so we are starting fires in the morning and evening usually, and with mixed types of wood, every load can burn a little differently.

 

[n6crv]

I use a Whistling Tea Kettle. When I hear it starting to "whistle" I know it is time to check the stove.
Don

 

[Danno77]

what I want is to be able to check it from work. I've looked online and stuff seems expensive, haven't really stumbled on a DIY cheapo sensor project. I've been thinking about a hooking an old laptop up to the net with a webcam focused just right so I can see the fire itself and the temp gauge (or at a minimum the temp gauge). does anyone know a good FREE method to monitor a webcam from work? Might be nice to have another one aimed at my woodpile, another one aimed at the driveway, etc etc. (I am a computer hoarder of sorts)

 

[mellow]

Just get a Panasonic BL-C131A pan/tilt camera, it is IP based and you can just forward a port on your router and watch stuff from at work, it is wireless as well so all you would need is power to it.

I to have looked for a remote monitoring system and the ones I found were from Omega, and cost a pretty penny: http://www.omega.com/pptst/iSE-TC.html

 

[Danno77]

I got it. My solution is so simple that I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner. SKYPE!

You can set up a laptop with skype and a webcam near your stove. Change settings in skype to auto answer from people in the contact list (only person in the contact list is ME).

at work I just installed skype and now I can just call up the other computer. I can even hear the fire burning on the other end and if it looks out of control and my wife is in the other room I can just start yelling that she needs to come tend to the stove. How awesome is that!

(I say "i can do this or I can do that" but in reality I only have the camera set up in my other living room, so right now all I can do is look at the couch...UNTIL i move the computer to the other room)

I have three more computers and only one more webcam, so I need to see if relatives have ditched any old ones so I can aim at my woodpile, or driveway, or whatever else I wanna see...

it's not what I'd be doing if I had a lot of cash, but man it's pretty easy and you can't beat FREE!!

 

[woodgeek]

Anyone thought about using a wireless grill thermometer?

Shopping around, I found this one, for $40:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RL2ZGO...e=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B000RL2ZGO

It says the probe reads up to 592F, and has a beep/verbal alarm setpoint. Since its a grill thermo, it has a bunch of preset meat doneness temps, but I read the manual and it said it has a 'manual mode' where you just set a temp point for the alarm, doesn't say if that can be 550 (which is a very well done hamburger). 592F seems a little low, but not hopeless. I suspect any of us could place the probe on a 'cooler' part of our stoves if needed.

I suspect that continuous duty would do it in pretty quick, or at least go through a lot of batteries. Alternatively, my wireless indoor/outdoor thermo from the same company runs a couple years on a set of batteries....

Needless to say, I would NOT want to rely on it for safety on a regular basis (as the OP wanted)--will the batteries go dead or will the probe fry and then you don't get your signal and overfire? It also has a timer, so that could useful--set it to go off after 45 minutes as a reminder whether it thinks it reached temp or not?

Looks good for gadget entertainment factor, perhaps I'll grab one and let y'all know how it goes in extended use....