Anyone used this stove pipe thermometer/alarm yet?

[Spinny]

Hi all, been reading for a while and decided to join.

I was going through threads relating to thermometers and found this setup and thought I would post it. It is made specifically for monitoring chimney stove pipe temps. It was only added to their catalog a month ago so I figured a lot of you probably hadn't seen it yet.

I am building a new house and have a hitzer wood furnace installed and was looking for a way to moniter my flue temp from the main floor and get alerted in case of overfire.

I came across this and plan on buying it. Only thing I don't like is that I would like to hard wire it in to my wiring and I'm not sure how I'm going to do that yet.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=292

 

[MnDave]

Only thing I don't like is that I would like to hard wire it in to my wiring

Best you can do is put a receptacle near the device and plug the AC adapter into it. That way you can unplug it in the spring so it is not being a parasite on your A/C power.

Under what condition do you think you would overfire skippy?

If you forgot to close your damper?

MnDave

 

[velvetfoot]

It looks one the the thermocouples could be bolted to something.

 

[MnDave]

It looks one the the thermocouples could be bolted to something.

I think the one with the eyelet is for surface mount. The other is obviously a probe.

MnDave

 

[Spinny]

Best you can do is put a receptacle near the device and plug the AC adapter into it. That way you can unplug it in the spring so it is not being a parasite on your A/C power.

Under what condition do you think you would overfire skippy?

If you forgot to close your damper?

MnDave

Yes, I have a very tall chimney that will pull a ton of air creating a very hot fire if I leave the pipe damper open. Also, sometimes I have trouble with my pipe damper staying in the closed position. It will sometimes get hot and then gravity and lack of friction will cause it to open again. It can be a dangerous situation because the chimney will pull all that heat very hard against the elbow on the flue as it comes out the side. It will get red hot and could potentially cause a rivet to peel out, the stove pipe would then fall off the side.

It would also be handy to monitor the temp of the fire, alert on overfire, alert on underfire (need fuel).

 

[begreen]

Thanks for posting! And welcome to the forum.

I haven't used one but it looks like a nice compact package. We get a lot of folks asking about this, particularly those that have basement installations. This could be a big help in monitoring a remote stove. They say that the buzzer cord is 3' long, but it can can be extended so that it passes through to the floor above. That's a nice plus. This device also could be useful for insert owners that have no place to attach a thermometer. The user interface is a little geeky, but passable. If you get one please let us know how it works out for you.

 

[Sprinter]

Another alternative would be to buy a PID controller, something like this: (broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/PID-Digital-Temperature-Control-Controller-Thermocouple-REX-C100-/260945367089?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc18e5031)
There are others available with varying features and prices.

Then get a suitable probe like this: (broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/K-Type-Thermocouple-High-Temperature-Probe-Sensors-/251202842078?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7cdb2dde)

And an alarm like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/110V-AC-22m...577?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19cae87dc1

This takes a little more wiring up on your part, but it's pretty simple to do.

 

[troydennis2]

I'm using a version of this device. A few months ago I ordered a thermometer with internal alarm from auber. I was using with a thermocouple attached to the woodstove surface with a high temp magnet(saw the idea on hearth.com). The digital readout of the thermometer was extemely helpful to determine stove performance from a distance of 10-15 feet. I had the alarm set around 700 degrees. High enough that it didn't go off daily but would alert me of a potiental overfire condition. My problem was that the internal alarm was not loud enough to be heard from the woodstove location in basement to the second floor bedrooms.

So auber offered the solution of a external alarm buzzer that is extendable up to 120 feet. They upgraded my device for a small fee and now offer it specifically for woodstoves/chimneys.

Pros:
Device is laboratory accurate. Makes mechanical temp guage look like a toy
High quality device. Has not skipped a beat in months
Digital readout can be seen from 10-15 feet like on couch or just walking by.
Alarm buzzer can be remote mounted 120 feet away. In bedroom or living room etc
Simple to set up and operate.
Draws only a couple watts.

Cons
Have to get creative to measure stovetop temp without drilling.
Dependent on AC power

I'm sleeping much better knowing this device is keeping watch on the temps.

Btw I have no connection to auber.

 

[MnDave]

Also, sometimes I have trouble with my pipe damper staying in the closed position. It will sometimes get hot and then gravity and lack of friction will cause it to open again.

Does your damper have a spring on it that is supposed to keep the plate from rotating freely? If there is no spring then I suggest you replace it with one that does. They cost $3.

Maybe your spring has lost its temper? Maybe you could put a new spring on or stretch the old one out a little to create more friction.

Having a monitor is nice but you will want to eliminate that known root cause if possible. You might not be home to hear an alarm.

MnDave

 

[Spinny]

Does your damper have a spring on it that is supposed to keep the plate from rotating freely? If there is no spring then I suggest you replace it with one that does. They cost $3.

Maybe your spring has lost its temper? Maybe you could put a new spring on or stretch the old one out a little to create more friction.

Having a monitor is nice but you will want to eliminate that known root cause if possible. You might not be home to hear an alarm.

MnDave

That is good advice. It does have the spring. I think I will try stretching it out a little bit to give it more ooomf.

My experience with my hitzer has been aweful thus far. I am new to wood burning and they give nothing in the way of guidance as far as what to do and what not to do. I overfired it many times from the getgo because they didn't explain the damper at all. Now I have a warped side on it. I think mainly because it went from cold to hot to fast.

 

[MnDave]

My experience with my hitzer has been aweful thus far. I am new to wood burning and they give nothing in the way of guidance as far as what to do and what not to do. I overfired it many times from the getgo because they didn't explain the damper at all. Now I have a warped side on it. I think mainly because it went from cold to hot to fast.

Is your damper built into the stove? If so, is it in the outlet connector? The reason I ask is that some stoves have a bypass damper which is not the same as a stovepipe damper.

Also, that warpage, if your stove is cast then you could have a gasket leak which will allow excess air in and cause the stove to be hard to control.

Quadra Fire doesn't provide great advise on how to use a stove either. They have a lot of air controls (3). On top of that I have added a stovepipe damper which I cannot say enough good about although QF does not think they are needed. IMO that is absurd.

I have learned a lot by reading posts here and applying that information to my stove. I try different things with the stove... cause and effect.

If you stay with it, you will be giving advise someday too.

MnDave

 

[Spinny]

My stove has 3 dampers.

1. on back of stove at bottom. This one is the main air intake that controls the stove temp. It is connected to a bimetal thermostat. Works good but is very slow to adjust to temps at startup
2. bypass damper. When open it helps to keep the smoke from coming out the front when the door is opened for refilling.
3. pipe damper

I am in the construction phase of my house right now so I only start it up in the evening when I go to work on the house. I am seeing now that this is not good as the stove/chimney is very cold. If the startup is to fast I feel like it makes the thinner metal box around the stove and the stovepipe want to expand and contract. At this time of year if I want to use it I think I need to start a very small fire and allow things to warm up very slowly. It isn't ideal for me to run it all the time as I'm not living there and the house is only partially insulated (it would be a lot of wasted wood to run it all the time.)

 

[MnDave]

I can see where this system would be tricky to bring on-line from dead cold.

Do you start with a small dry load and let it burn briskly with all the dampers open?
MnDave

 

[MnDave]

At this time of year if I want to use it I think I need to start a very small fire and allow things to warm up very slowly

Sorry. I missed that.

 

[MnDave]

Yes. That is a lot of metal. Large temperature differences will create more stress.

Maybe you could put an electric heater in the box and have it on a timer.

MnDave

 

[MnDave]

I belong to a snowmobile club that has a wood furnace in their warm-up shack. Anyone can show up and light-er up. I opened the door to the box the other day... talk about warped!

Speaking of snowmobiles... I have a sick one that needs attention. Later.

MnDave

 

[Spinny]

I can see where this system would be tricky to bring on-line from dead cold.

Do you start with a small dry load and let it burn briskly with all the dampers open?
MnDave

Yes. Having all the dampers open helps the fire get rolling much better. I just need to be sure not to give it to much fuel.

 

[Bluezx636]

I just got mine a week ago based off this thread below. So far I really like it. I have a high temp alarm set so I don't always have to get up to check on my insert it will let me know when its time to start closing primary air control and you can set a low alarm for reloads. Down the road I also plan to hook up the blowers to it to go on incase of an overfire and just to have more control over when they go on and off...
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/digital-led-temp-readout-and-alarm-installed.76244/

 

[northernontario]

Cons
Have to get creative to measure stovetop temp without drilling.
Dependent on AC power

I've seen magnets with the thermocouple mounted to it... stick it to your stovetop. I thought Auber sold one.

It's an AC wallwart converting to DC (likely 12v). Simple solution is a 12v battery. If you're worried about power outages and still having the alarm, use the wallwart (or an appropriate float charger) to trickle charge a small sealed 12v battery (lawn mower). Pull power from the battery for the alarm.

I've got a digital display on my stove using a PID controller from Auber. Measuring inner flue temps at ~18" above stovetop. Hooked to the alarm, it's very handy to warn me the stove is heating up and I need to damper it down. Stove lives in the basement, I'm the single dad making dinner upstairs.

I also much prefer the probe measuring inside temps instead of surface temps. It can take a while for the surface temperature to come up on stove pipe (as displayed on my magnetic coil thermometer)... the probe to digital display is instant.

Would love if someone would release a wireless version... like the wireless thermometers that display the temp in another room... let me monitor woodstove temps from another room! Soon enough, it'll be feeding directly to wifi and viewable on a smartphone app.

 

[MishMouse]

I use a BBQ therometer attached to a regular magnetic therometer.
Since it has a wireless remote to it I just keep the remote upstairs.

 

[northernontario]

I use a BBQ therometer attached to a regular magnetic therometer.
Since it has a wireless remote to it I just keep the remote upstairs.

What's the range on the thermometer?

 

[MishMouse]

It is only a max of 375 or there abouts. Since it is on my double wall pipe I set it to beep at 350.

 

[Treacherous]

Might have to pick up one of these for the flue.

I have unit listed in my signature for my stovetop temps. It's nice to be able to see the temp status from across the room.

 

[Gadget]

I've been wanting something like this. Glad to know such a device is available. I may have to get one soon.

 

[nate379]

Had that happen at my friends camp while we were sleeping. Woke up to the whole building rumbling and the stove pipe was so hot it was white and you could darn near see right through it. I'm not sure how that pipe didn't melt or the place burn down!

Also, sometimes I have trouble with my pipe damper staying in the closed position. It will sometimes get hot and then gravity and lack of friction will cause it to open again. .