do I NEED a thermometer

[mlasko]

It seems like just about everyone on here has a stove thermometer....is this something I need? Obviously I don't want to overfire but I'm starting to think, I will I know without a thermometer?

If I do need one, what do you recommend?

 

[Adios Pantalones]

If you've never used a woodstove before then it's a really good idea.
I don't have one and I don't have any issues getting a clean burn.

The thermometer is a tool, not a rule. That's a poem for you.
However- at $10 or whatever- it's not a big investment, and you can find them at hardware stores and stove shops.

 

[SteveT]

The thermometer is - IMHO - essential, particularly while learning the stove. You'll develop an idea of how many splits and what size you need for a certain temperature. Then you can adjust to the burn you want. Without accurately knowing temperature it would be guessing and you could be doing damage to the stove. Or worse.

 

[The Dali Lima]

Always with the poems...

 

[EddyKilowatt]

If the owner's manual for your stove calls out surface temperatures (some do) and tells you where to measure (and maybe even what to measure with)... then by all means go for it.

If the manual doesn't say anything (many don't), then the absolute readings on a thermometer are less help in preventing over-firing... but the thermometer is still pretty useful because over time you'll build up a good feel for how the stove burns, how the surface temperature responds, and how warm the room gets as a result. You'll be able to do a much better job matching the output of the stove to your needs in the house. And you'll get much earlier warning if any funny business ever does happen (like an air leak that causes an overfire condition).

Without instruments, you're flying blind... not the end of the world, but for ten or fifteen bucks... why not *know*?

Eddy

 

[begreen]

It's not an absolute necessity, a good woodburner can work without a thermometer. Though I would sure miss it if I didn't have one. I've had one on a stove for the past 29 years and always burn with one. Without one you have your senses, but often they are not as informative as knowing what the temp of the fire is. With a thermometer, you can tell when your wood is not as good as you thought, how seriously the secondary burn is kicking in, when you are pushing the stove towards it limits, when you are likely running too cool, etc. The thermometer helps me read a place that's way too hot for me to hang out in.

 

[Jags]

Use the right tool and you won't be made a fool - there's another one you can have.

AP being the analytical type probably has a mathematic algorithm to figure out the internal burn temp of his fire box. ;-) For me, I can't look at a fire and say "uggh...burn'em at stove top be five hunert degrees". I just ain't that good. A thermometer makes me better.

Get one!

 

[kenny chaos]

There was a recent post about guys using various body parts (foreheads,fingers, wrists,toes) to get a sense of the temps in their stoves. Myself, a thermometer thank you very much!

 

[savageactor7]

What they^ said.

 

[Jclout]

My wife thinks I have too many thermometers or temp gauges. I only have 6 and asked today about getting a flue gas thermometer that I've had my mind on. What do you think?

 

[downeast]

The onamatopoedia here is astounding....poems even. We are duly impressed. :coolgrin:

Along with the O.C.D.'s associated with wood burning -- e.g. The Woodpiles, C.A.S. or Chainsaw Addiction Syndrome, and the everlasting T.A. or Tool Addiction to larger and larger splitters-- there is the T.A.S. or Thermometer Addiction Syndrome. Those afflicted including yours truly and many many others have the compulsion to have multiple thermometers on various stove and pipe parts. Oslo owners, due to the manual, may have at least two on the top of the stove , moving from corner to corner as the will demands. We have the need to constantly check on the relative temps at any time, any day, in any position. Partners continually ask "why" . :-S

You may send a donation to assist the afflicted. PayPal accepted....PM. :vampire: Happy Halloween

 

[Jclout]

Dear Downeast,
So what you're saying is that I should be grateful that Stovenuts addiction is not as expensive or frightening as the Chain Saw Addiction because most thermometers run in the $10 - $20 range? I was hoping for a little compassion and understanding but I guess the "brothers" stick together.
Mrs. Stovenut

 

[EddyKilowatt]

My name's Eddy and I have... uh... I have... (looks at ground, kicks dirt)... I have more than one thermometer. Um, I mean... I have more than *two* thermometers. And sometimes.... um... sometimes, I use 'em all at once!

:red:

 

[Bigg_Redd]

It seems like just about everyone on here has a stove thermometer....is this something I need? Obviously I don't want to overfire but I'm starting to think, I will I know without a thermometer?

If I do need one, what do you recommend?

No, you don't need one.

 

[woodjack]

Do you NEED a speedometer in your car?
Absolutely not. But, if mine broke I'd get it fixed quick.

If my thermometer broke the only tough decision would be if I should wait the extra week it takes on ebay to save a few bucks.

Splurge for the thermometer. You won't regret it for a minute.

 

[RedRanger]

Yes you should have one-specially if your stove has a fever :lol:

 

[woodjack]

Yes you should have one-specially if your stove has a fever :lol:

. . . or catches a cold.

 

[pyro68]

I would always recommend a thermometer for a soapstone stove, even for a cast iron one. On a steel stove it's more for curiosity. After you argue about thermometers, now you can argue about where on the stove is the BEST place to put it!! :lol:

 

[begreen]

While steel might not be as temperature sensitive as soapstone, it's as important on a steel stove, especially if one has strong draft.

 

[relax]

im in the have camp, 2 on the top stones ,and 1 in the the double wall pipe,, I e njoy checking them as i fiddle with burn methods to see whats works,,,i cant see with out eyes....

 

[eernest4]

I will agree with what every one says but you dont need one thermometer ,you need TWO Thermometers to do it right. $12.95 each x 2 = the best $26.oo
you ever spent.

One for the stove top and another one 18 inchs above the flue colar on the flue pipe. Then you compair the difference between the two thermometers to judge how well your secondary burn has kicked in & to fine tune your secondary burn.

A good secondary burn will give a flue temp between 300 and 450 with a stove top temp between 500 and 800, depending on your stove , your stove's settings of primary & secondary air & draft settings,species of wood & moisture content and loading (amount of wood) in the stove.

A wood stove only 3/4 full burns better & cleaner with less smoke that a wood stove chock full
because of leaving room for more combustion air around the wood. A stove 2/3 full burns better yet, but may not have the staying power for the long overnight burn.

I have fusy neighbors nearby & i don't want to have to hear about wood smoke complains, so I learnt to make as smokeless a fire as possible.

Most secondary burn stoves are not created equal & chimneys differ as well,so, there will be differences between my stove & everyone elses; therefore, the temps above are for relative references only & not some law or rule.

You can note by direct observation just exactly how your stove responds to what you do.

 

[kenny chaos]

I will agree with what every one says but you dont need one thermometer ,you need TWO Thermometers to do it right. $12.95 each x 2 = the best $26.oo
you ever spent.

One for the stove top and another one 18 inchs above the flue colar on the flue pipe. Then you compair the difference between the two thermometers to judge how well your secondary burn has kicked in & to fine tune your secondary burn.

A good secondary burn will give a flue temp between 300 and 450 with a stove top temp between 500 and 800, depending on your stove , your stove's settings of primary & secondary air & draft settings,species of wood & moisture content and loading (amount of wood) in the stove.

A wood stove only 3/4 full burns better & cleaner with less smoke that a wood stove chock full
because of leaving room for more combustion air around the wood. A stove 2/3 full burns better yet, but may not have the staying power for the long overnight burn.

I have fusy neighbors nearby & i don't want to have to hear about wood smoke complains, so I learnt to make as smokeless a fire as possible.

Most secondary burn stoves are not created equal & chimneys differ as well,so, there will be differences between my stove & everyone elses; therefore, the temps above are for relative references only & not some law or rule.

You can note by direct observation just exactly how your stove responds to what you do.

I've been trying for a month to wean myself down to one thermostat
but it doesn't tell me all I need, and want, to know. The old stove was easy, put one on the pipe and it didn't matter where the stove was temp wise. That's just not the same with my Lopi Liberty. I've found that if I adjust for both the flu temp and the stove temp, I can tweak it for much longer secondary burns at the heat level I want.

 

[woodjack]

A good secondary burn will give a flue temp between 300 and 450 with a stove top temp between 500 and 800, depending on your stove , your stove's settings of primary & secondary air & draft settings,species of wood & moisture content and loading (amount of wood) in the stove.

Can you explain the relationship between the stove temperature and the flue temperature (when the secondary burn is working properly?

 

[North of 60]

A good secondary burn will give a flue temp between 300 and 450 with a stove top temp between 500 and 800, depending on your stove , your stove's settings of primary & secondary air & draft settings,species of wood & moisture content and loading (amount of wood) in the stove.

Can you explain the relationship between the stove temperature and the flue temperature (when the secondary burn is working properly?

1st can you tell us what stove/insert you are using :question:

 

[wolfpuppy]

Hmmm....been burning wood for a couple decades here on the farm and over a decade at our last place. My opinion is, if you can see the fire, as we can through the glass in our standalone ashley wood stove, no. After you've burned a few fires, you can tell visually how the fire is burning. I try not to complicate it much more than that. It's only a fire, after all. Of course, if you have a wood burner like our last one, a jotul with no glass front, then a thermometer might be useful. But, then, a thermometer in the room would work as well, too. After one learns the best dampner positions, he or she pretty much has it down.