2nd day of new stove

[vixster]

Greetings.
I have spent a lot of time reading the forums. So much great info. I just had a Hearthstone Shelburne installed. Yay, today I am running it hard. After reading the forums I have decided I want to get 2 thermometers.. one to put on top of the stove and the other for the double walled flue/pipe. As for the top of the stove, has anyone played with what would be the best location to place it? Right now I have it centered and near the very front. Also, 2nd question, in order to keep creosote building up in the pipe, what would be a good temperate for this purpose? and how long? with the thermo saying 400 (on stove) is this sufficient? also, I may be opening a can of worms here but is one thermo more favorable? such as the Condar?
Thanks again for your wealth of knowledge.

 

[pen]

you'll need a probe thermometer if you want to place it on that double wall pipe.

Condar is one example.

(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/probe_meters.html)

(broken image removed)

If you do a search for probe thermometers you'll have some serious reading to get all sorts of opinions. In general, remember that they are meant to be used as a comparative tool (compare it's reading to some good common sense / actual evidence as found from frequent flue inspections)

pen

 

[cptoneleg]

O K first send us apicture of your new stove. My stove manuel told where to put it on top in one of the corners. Good Luck stay warm.

 

[vixster]

I have gone over manual several times. There is NO mention what the degrees for over firing is and NO mention of thermo and placement of thermo. Do you think 400degrees is hot enough (from stove) to keep creosote from building up? for my stove top thermo I have a simple condar "woodsaver" model.

 

[vixster]

Okay, as requested! Here is the photo. Please advise me what you think for placement of stove thermo

 

[BrotherBart]

Don't care about the thermo but I have always wanted one of those stoves. They are beautiful wood crunchers.

 

[Coach B]

Nice stove! I was very close to pulling the trigger on the Shelburne.

 

[vixster]

thank you coach and brotherbart! It is a woodcruncher! Now I must learn to move the air around the house, especially the next level. Main floor is nice and toasty but still chilly upstairs...

 

[soupy1957]

The Flue Thermometer that Pen has shown, is the one "I" chose for "my" double-wall Flue Pipe. It is recommended by the Manufacturer, that it be placed 18" above the stove top. The installation is simple: 1/8" hole thru both Flue Pipe walls, then followed up by a 1/4" hole ONLY IN THE OUTER WALL, directly in line with the 1/8" hole you first drilled. It mounts easily and works well. The Manufacturer recommends replacement every couple of years, (as I recall) and I plan to do so. It is only a reference tool. Common sense prevails (as was said before).

Temps (I have been told) should not exceed 900ºF in the Double Wall Flue Pipe (what they are max-rated for) and I would recommend as was recommended to me, that a "hot" fire (temp of the wood stove itself) is better, to reduce the potential for creosote build up. My "typical" temp in my flue pipe when at "cruising temp" is about 600ºF.

A "hot" fire is typically around 650 to 700ºF (in my stove). I have also had it stated to me that a MINIMUM temperature for a reading in the firebox, should go no lower than 250ºF (unless of course you are letting the fire die out, (but obviously it's all about sustained fire temps when the stove is crankin).

-Soupy1957

 

[vixster]

So where did you place the thermo on the stove? What's the best placement to gauge the temperature of the stove itself? or are you just using flue thermo?

 

[pen]

If you aren't sure where to put it on your stove, move it around during a consistent burn to find the hottest part. That's where I would want it. For me, that is center of the top plate of my stove, right at the edge of the step.

You can buy a condar from their website, or amazon, or a hearth store, a rutland from amazon or lowes/home depot, etc.

pen

 

[cptoneleg]

Nice set up you got ther thanks for the pictures, I set mine on top left of stove, don't have aflue -thermo not convvinced I need one.

 

[shawneyboy]

Vixster, first off welcome to the forum.

If you look on page 23 it tells you to put the stove top thermo on the top center of the stove. That being said, I know many people, and by your pic you have a humidifier on the top of your stove. If you can keep it off to the side a bit, and center the stove top thermo as best you can that will do.

Also I know that hearthstone does NOT give specific numbers on what an overfire is but...... read page 21 (burn rates) and page 22 (ovefire caution) in your manual for that info. Just so you know, in these sections there is also a reccomendation of having a near 600 degree fire at least once or twice a day, to minimize creosote. Having a hot fire for that reason is a matter of debate here, so I guess you will have to decide how you are going to handle that.

 

[pen]

Also I know that hearthstone does NOT give specific numbers on what an overfire is but...... read page 21 (burn rates) and page 22 (ovefire caution) in your manual for that info. Just so you know, in these sections there is also a reccomendation of having a near 600 degree fire at least once or twice a day, to minimize creosote. Having a hot fire for that reason is a matter of debate here, so I guess you will have to decide how you are going to handle that.

I would argue that a 600 degree burn should happen frequently because that is simply a good rate to burn at. If someone is keeping their stove consistently at 400 during the "active" part of the burn, then I'd say they are simply burning too cold. If having this low of a fire is necessary to consistently maintain comfort in the home, then the stove is too large for the application or too much wood is being loaded into the stove. Too often we hear of people who buy stoves too small and the problems associated with them and forget that going the other way can be an issue as well.

I purchased my 30 used as a result of someone buying a stove too large for their home. This thing was BLACK w/ a solid 1/8 layer of creosote covering virtually everything but the 2ndary tubes inside of this stove. I could only imagine what that chimney must have looked like!

So to me, a stove that sees 600 constantly, and you are comfortable, means you chose the right stove for your home in your climate.

 

[vixster]

Shawney: Thanks for that, I don't know how I missed that. That was extremely helpful. I suspect reading a pdf has it's faults vs the print medium!! This is what the manual says "Monitor the stove temperatures with a stove thermometer (available from your dealer) placed on the top center of the stove. The thermometer could read as high as 600F (427C) on high burn and 300-400 degrees F (149-204C) on low burn."
I just ordered a stove top thermo... condar... I'm psyched!

 

[soupy1957]

So where did you place the thermo on the stove? What's the best placement to gauge the temperature of the stove itself? or are you just using flue thermo?

If this question is addressed to "me" :

In the case of the Avalon Rainier 90 we own, the stove top Thermometer is placed on the lip that hangs over the front top face of the stove. This gives us the most optimum reading of the interior firebox temp.

-Soupy1957

 

[shawneyboy]

So to me, a stove that sees 600 constantly, and you are comfortable, means you chose the right stove for your home in your climate.

I would be hard pressed to argue with you there. I run at around 550 for a majority of the time. Now it is important to note I hit those temps with a full load and at air inlet closed. I use the step down method of course. The manual also states to hit those temps you would run a full stove with air fully open. I can tell you this much, I would NOT run my stove full with air wide open The thought of that scares the bejeezes out of me. I would most likely have full lift off with the Mansfield mission to Mars.

 

[Fsappo]

I'll tell you, the Shelburne is one of those stoves I love to sell as a mid sized radiant heater. Customers just seem to love em. Rest assured, you can monitor yourself to death, but if you burn seasoned wood, get the surface to 600 degrees or so before closing the air off , glance at your chimney top once in a while to make sure there is little or no visible smoke coming out, you'll be fine.

 

[vixster]

Franks: do you know if the shelburne fan attachment qualifies for the tax credit? and are you familiar with them? they do a good job circulating the air?

 

[OilNoMore]

I've had my Shelburne for 3 years now and run it 24/7 with no other heat source in our house. My stove top temps, as measured by a stove top thermometer that I bought for $5 at the stove shop, rarely break 450 degrees. This said, I have a hard time keeping my house under 80 degrees, as measured by a thermometer 12' from the stove. I think the set up of the air wash system in the Shelburne causes the stove top temp to be a bit lower than some others. My father has a VC Defiance and his stove frequently tops 600. My wood is fine, all ash, maple, oak and on cold nights locust...all dried 1 full year minimum. I'd be curious to poll other Shelburne owners and see what they average for stove top temps. Maybe my cheap thermometer is just off too; very well could be that. I have virtually no creosote build up in my chimney, averaging less than 1/3 cup of it cleaned out per month of burning.

My thought is that if 1) your house is warm enough and 2) you've got low smoke and creosote build up, the stove top temp matters little. Just my thoughts on this stove (which I love).

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah I think the Shelburne and the Bennington don't get near the press that they probably should. They get lost in the the Hearthstone soapstone jungle. There were some assembly quality issues early on but hopefully those are resolved. They should probably be looked at when somebody want a really nice iron stove.

 

[begreen]

+1 These stoves were on our short list.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I have two Condars for my Shelburne, one for flue temps and one for stove top (center, rear, by the flue collar). I just use the markings on the thermometers for "good range" vs. "too hot". They are consistent with the Shelburne manual. I also have the blower, which helps get the heat into the room more quickly, but I don't qualify for the tax rebate on any of it because mine is not in my primary residence.

I really enjoy the Shelburne and recommend it.

 

[vixster]

Dan, I ended up getting the fan and the 2 thermos. The fan is really great. I have seen a boost in getting the room warm quickly. I haven't mounted the flue thermo yet, (i'm a little scared) but did put the stove top one on the top in the middle, a little more towards the pipe. Thanks for the info. Being this is in my primary residence, I wonder if the fan counts for rebate? It would make sense because it make the stove more efficient, but takes up elec.

 

[DanCorcoran]

From what I've heard, the stove, all piping, installation, hearth pad, etc., all count for the rebate...whatever it takes to get the stove installed and operating. That would include the blower, since it's part of the stove, in the same way it would include a damper, if needed (my opinion). I opted for the enameled finish, which would also be included in the rebate.

As for the flue thermometer, I just drilled a 1/4" hole in the flue, cut off the probe with a hacksaw (so that the tip was in the center of my 6" flue), and poked it in. It's held there by a magnet. Works great.