What are YOUR usual temps? taking a poll

Ok. Right now, I have a 3/4 load, air shut down, clear vapors coming out of the chimney, healthy secondaries, and a stove top temp reading 325F (stove top thermometer). Has been running that way for about 1/2hr. Does this add up. Based on what I'm reading at that stove top temp, I should be smoldering, and have smoke coming from the chimney.

Note: Thermometer is an old grill thermometer reads to 800F

Infrared thermometers are great entertainment and not expensive, even if it confirms the temp on your old grill thermometer.

Im kind of in the same boat as you. I'm very curious to as why both our stoves run at much lower stove top temps. The inside is obviously blazing away, secondaries lighting off temps are probably well into the thousand degree range. Its putting out plenty of heat, stove room is scorching at 80+, most of the house, 1700 or so sqft worth is 70, the stove is in the basement and the unfinished is closed off and is probably upper 50's low 60s.

Idk why my stove tops runs that much lower, could is be different thickness of metal, where mine could be thicker so doesnt heat up as much? I'm curious to as if anyone smarter than me has an answer.

I usually cruise along around 550-650 for several hours, then fall back to 450-500 for another 3 hours or so. I only use the blower when it is REALLY cold out.

I try to peak out around 650-750 and drift slowly downward to ~300 over 6-10 hrs or so depending on how full I load it up and whether or not it's from a cold start or a hot start. I am referring to the temps. I get with an IR thermometer on the front glass, as the actual firebox is difficult to access. I recently got a Rutland magnetic thermometer and stuck it directly on top of the steel firebox. Can't really read it easily where it sits, but it seems to run a bit cooler than the temps I get with the IR thermo. on the glass.

Hampton HI-300 insert. Blower on low.

350-500.
We run a small fan next to the stove any time the stove is running.

400-600

Yea, I know a HVAC/R systems design engineer wouldn't understand that kinda stuff

450 - 650 NO BLOWER

Well in another 1/2hr in that burn the stove top reached 400F. At this moment I'm running the same size load, air all the way down, and am up around 400 (crazy good secondaries, it peaked at 425 earlier in the burn. I have a 2Ksqft house and we keep the farthest points in the mid 60's fairly easily. It's an old cape, 1961, and insulation is lacking, so I'm actually impressed we're doing as well as we do. My wood is mostly oak and is only one year seasoned. I hope and can only imagine next year reaching the higher temps. I have a sweep scheduled to come out do a mid year clean, and let me know what things look like. My limited experience, but diligence in checking the chimney at the start of burns tell me that I run clear quickly, even though I never get much past 400, and cruise around 350 to 400. I am hoping to hear that the chimney looks fairly clean.

Also just installed a flue thermometer (Chimgard model 3-4) and the flue temps are reading 350F, which is in the "good" zone on the face of the thermometer.

...hopefully design engineering modern forced feed systems vs the gravity feed systems which died out in the 1940's due to inefficiency!