Flu too cool?

[MNSIU]

I have an Englander N-30. I'm running a single wall 6" flu pipe straight up approx. 6 ft. into the triple wall pipe that carries it up, through the ceiling and out the chimney. The stove seems to work just great I close the air down so the flames are just hanging below the inside top. I notice that when I place my thermometer about eye level on the flue pipe that the temp. shows just below the suggested burn range. Some say, that's the way it should be, the heat is staying in the stove and not up the chimney. Now, is the stove so efficient that it is holding the heat in the stove and not out the chimney and in doing so it is going to create creosote? The wood I'm burning is below the 20% moisture range and is Elm and Oak..... if I place the thermometer on top the stove and next to the flue collar the temp. shows in the correct burning range. Should I be worried?

 

[Squisher]

12-18"above the stove is about where you want to be measuring stovepipe temps I believe. Eye level seems like it would be higher than that depending on your setup so possibly that's why you're getting your lower reading. What type of thermometer are you using? The correct burning range shown on a stovepipe thermometer would not be the correct burning range for a stovetop.

 

[MNSIU]

Thanks Squisher.... I just purchased a lazer Temp. I checked the accuracy by aiming it at my forehead and it was within 2 degrees. Right now I have the air shut down half way on the stove. The flames (gases) are just dancing around the top. The top of the stove temp. reads 343' and the flu, at 18" reads 225' .I'm still wondering if the flue is collecting creosote at that temp? There is no sign of smoke coming from the chimney so I believe it's burning pretty complete. Oh, and the thermometer i'm using is a Rutland. It reads within 5' of the Lazer..... Comments please.

 

[baysideburner]

usually im hot with a FLU

 

[Squisher]

The temp seems lowish compared to how my stove runs but I've only got a magnetic flu temp about 14"s up on my single wall pipe. It stays above 230(creosote zone on my thermometer) until the coals are nearly burned right down. I read on here that if you have proper coals and your flue temps drop into creosote zone it shouldn't matter because it's already burned off the bad gasses by that point.

Hopefully someone with a similar stove will pipe in for you as mine cruises at those temps at almost no primary air.

 

[Squisher]

Flu, flue, hell its like I'm barely fluent in this language. Lol.

 

[BrotherBart]

All according to where you are in the burn cycle. On the 30-NC read the temps in the middle of the step bend in the the stove top. That is the hottest place on the stove. No smoke, no creosote. In coal stage it can be at 125 degrees and not be crudding up the pipe.

 

[begreen]

Seems a bit cool. The flue gas temps on the single wall stove pipe are about 1.5 to 2x the surface temp. So if you are reading 225F on the stove pipe at 18", figure the flue gases are somewhere between 337F and 450F. Whether that is too cool or not is going to depend on the amount of single-wall and whether this is an interior or exterior chimney. Check the chimney for build up after burning a cord of wood and see how much build up there is.