Dont have thermometers yet so i pose this question since secondary stoves are new to me. If i have secondary flame from the tubes does that mean i am burning efficient? I keep wanting to run outside and check for excess smoke. Does blue flame mixed with the orange mean im burning good?
burning efficiently
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Skinny your description sounds to me that the secondary burn in you stove is working...but you really should get a 10dollar or so magnetic thermometer and place it on the stove top by the front door. It really saves a lot of guess work and I think you'll be very please with having one. They can be easily picked up at the local hearth shop, hardware store, and the BB stores. And while your there get an appliance to specifically hold water on the stove without letting it boil if you don't have one already.
Yep, get a thermometer like this one or other brands. If Rutland, this particular model from them is made in the USA! Some are not. And it has excellent accuracy for what it is, as I regularly check it against a laboratory thermometer.
I also have an old Vermont Castings stove-top thermometer which has similar accuracy. Also search the forums on this very fine Hearth.com for lots of info on thermometers and their use.
Choose wisely, return it for exchange if it is not accurate and use it carefully.
I also have an old Vermont Castings stove-top thermometer which has similar accuracy. Also search the forums on this very fine Hearth.com for lots of info on thermometers and their use.
Choose wisely, return it for exchange if it is not accurate and use it carefully.
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Valhalla said:
Is your old VC thermometer one from SandHill with a white face and glass dial? I've held onto mine since 1979, came with the original Resolute. It's still very accurate.
oilstinks said:
As in drive "carefully." Burn carefully, as these metal boxes called wood stoves come with no instrumentation, but they are capable of temps of 1000 degrees F. New stoves should have a thermometer included as part of the delivery on every stove. Our cars and trucks come with speedometers and tachometers. I believe that a stove thermometer is a critical instrument that every wood burner should have and use carefully. All for safety, functionality and stove life.
BeGreen said:
That is the one. A terrific measurement device for the price and its age and use. It is great. It came with my 1980 Vermont Castings Defiant that I ordered from VC direct to my home.
oilstinks said:
It wouldn't be sooooo funny if it weren't sooooo true!!
In the early stages of your burn the secondary combustion will be mixed in with the bright flames from the wood as the gasses are released. It will look like the pits of hell in there. It'll burn like this for a while, and then slow down a bit. The secondary burn may be very faint and hard to see at times. As the burn progresses, and there are less volatile gasses being let off, and the flames will die down and you'll be left with charcoal.
You'll get to know this cycle well.
If you're not burning clean, the glass will get dark and you'll get lots of black around the inside of the stove.
If you're stove is burning hot, and you're not getting any smoke out of the stack, you're in good shape.
-SF
I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one pre-occupied with looking at my chimney . . . I'm always looking at my chimney and then rushing inside to look at the fire . . . like bbc557ci I am also a bit amazed even now when the fire is going strong and there's no sign that there's a fire in the stove when you're outside looking at the chimney.
What I find amazing is that when the stove top temp drops to 300F and I go outside to look at the chimney there is still no visible smoke. Also havn`t had to clean the glass for nine days straight of approx 16/7 burning.
The stuff that causes smoke and blackens glass burns off before peak temp with dry wood, so later when it's cooling back down it's not going to smoke.
Adios Pantalones said:
You have said this a few times and when I first read it a couple weeks ago, it really helped me to relax. Thanks for the knowledge.
A thermometer may help you burn EFFECTIVELY but not EFFICIENTLY.
You and your burning style are the biggest determinants of burn efficiency, no matter what kind of new fangeled stove you have.
Like, is your fuel dry? Do you start your fire hot by the "Top Down" method? Are you controlling he draft and incoming air properly? What size is your fuel load for the ambient temperature you wish to achieve? How have you stacked the wood in your firebox? Then there's always are you burning HOT fires? Are you damaging your stove by over firing it with fires that are too hot? Have you raked the hot burning coals forward in the firebox?
I dare say, these factors will be more important to an"efficient" burn than wondering what's happening by looking at a thermometer and secondary burn tubes...
Aye,
Marty
Grandma used to say, "Don't work harder. Work smarter."
You and your burning style are the biggest determinants of burn efficiency, no matter what kind of new fangeled stove you have.
Like, is your fuel dry? Do you start your fire hot by the "Top Down" method? Are you controlling he draft and incoming air properly? What size is your fuel load for the ambient temperature you wish to achieve? How have you stacked the wood in your firebox? Then there's always are you burning HOT fires? Are you damaging your stove by over firing it with fires that are too hot? Have you raked the hot burning coals forward in the firebox?
I dare say, these factors will be more important to an"efficient" burn than wondering what's happening by looking at a thermometer and secondary burn tubes...
Aye,
Marty
Grandma used to say, "Don't work harder. Work smarter."
_CY_ said:
Yes, trying to operate a wood heating device without a thermometer, much less a semi-accurate one, is like driving without a speedometer!
Valhalla said:
Oh, I've been there before . . . my old beater car's (a 1990 Toyota Celica) dash lights didn't work . . . not a problem in the Summer, but definitely an issue in the Winter when I would go to work in the dark and return to home in the dark.
I'm happy to say that I've since sold the beater car (too many other issues -- including floor pans rusting out, no radio, torn upholstery, leaking oil, etc.) and now have a vehicle that has everything working A-OK.
On the flipside after driving that Celica long enough I knew roughly how fast I was going even without the speedo . . . but if I had my druthers I would want a working speedo in a car and I definitely would want a thermometer on a stove.
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