Flue Probe

[bladeofanduril]

Hi all. Preparing for the second season with the Jotul F500 V3. The stove was installed with single-wall flex liner upon the recommendation of the installer and the dealer I bought the stove from running up ~27 feet of masonry chimney. New this year is a block off plate that I installed because I found out too late that my installer was a lazy bum and wouldn't install one, instead just stuffing insulation in the void.

Anyway... I'd like to run a flue thermometer of some sort, but have challenges... since the flue is single wall stainless flex liner, magnetic surface thermometers won't stick to it, and the probes all seem designed for use with double-wall. Now, the stove is set up for rear-exit into a tee. I'm wondering if I can install a probe type thermometer into the upper collar of the tee though the flex liner. Would that be "close enough" to double-wall for the probe to function properly? Here is a pic with red dot indicating possible installation location:

Thanks for any suggestions or feedback.

 

[Todd]

Looks to be about the only place it would work. It may read a bit high being so close to the outlet but it will still give you a good guide to what’s going on.

 

[EbS-P]

That’s where I put mine. With 27’ of liner you may find you need a damper. I certainly did on 23’.

 

[bladeofanduril]

That’s where I put mine. With 27’ of liner you may find you need a damper. I certainly did on 23’.

View attachment 317082

Thanks. What should I be on the lookout for to indicate if a damper is needed/would be beneficial?

 

[Todd]

Thanks. What should I be on the lookout for to indicate if a damper is needed/would be beneficial?

You should see nice slow lazy flames at lowest setting with flue temps in the 400-600 range

 

[EbS-P]

we don’t have much data on that stove. I keep my Drolet (try too) under 900 my alarm is set at 1050F. at the appliance adapter. Stovetop is around 400-499. Flames are lazy pipe is clean.

I have not seen good data on temps at the adapter and how they corrupt those measured 18 inches up. But it doesn’t really matter. You will measure stove top and flue gas. And see if your cat plugs with ash. Then you will know after about 59-199 loads how your stove runs best. Comparison of your numbers to others really isn’t as useful as understanding how your numbers indicate what your stove is doing.

Thanks. What should I be on the lookout for to indicate if a damper is needed/would be beneficial?

 

[EbS-P]

And read up on the ash door sealing issues that have been reported. Figure out if where /if you have boot air holes. They are gorgeous stoves!!

 

[bladeofanduril]

And read up on the ash door sealing issues that have been reported. Figure out if where /if you have boot air holes. They are gorgeous stoves!!

Oh yes. I let the ashpan fill up last season to seal off the compartment and plan to continue running it that way. Using the ashpan was leading to creosote buildup in the ashpan compartment.

 

[bladeofanduril]

You should see nice slow lazy flames at lowest setting with flue temps in the 400-600 range

Ok, I was able to achieve this last season, though without knowing the flue temps. I did have a fair bit of creosote in the liner when I cleaned it out, but seemed to be the powdery type rather than the sticky tar like stuff. Some of my wood was borderline seasoned and a few times I probably ran the stove too cool. It's a learning experience.

 

[bladeofanduril]

we don’t have much data on that stove. I keep my Drolet (try too) under 900 my alarm is set at 1050F. at the appliance adapter. Stovetop is around 400-499. Flames are lazy pipe is clean.

I have not seen good data on temps at the adapter and how they corrupt those measured 18 inches up. But it doesn’t really matter. You will measure stove top and flue gas. And see if your cat plugs with ash. Then you will know after about 59-199 loads how your stove runs best. Comparison of your numbers to others really isn’t as useful as understanding how your numbers indicate what your stove is doing.

Yeah, already had to replace the cat (covered by warranty) because it got plugged up.... on the back side... where I couldn't see it. Not exactly sure how that happened. I think this year I'll be blowing it out periodically with compressed air.

 

[EbS-P]

Yeah, already had to replace the cat (covered by warranty) because it got plugged up.... on the back side... where I couldn't see it. Not exactly sure how that happened. I think this year I'll be blowing it out periodically with compressed air.

27 feet of liner and an already plugged cat I think while the drill is out get yourself a long 1/4 inch bit and a damper. The damper will hit the temp probe when it’s closed but I get 299 degrees or more of rotation on my damper.

 

[bladeofanduril]

27 feet of liner and an already plugged cat I think while the drill is out get yourself a long 1/4 inch bit and a damper. The damper will hit the temp probe when it’s closed but I get 299 degrees or more of rotation on my damper.

Can you recommend a damper? The ones I'm seeing seem to be for black stove pipes or the chimney cap.

 

[EbS-P]

Can you recommend a damper? The ones I'm seeing seem to be for black stove pipes or the chimney cap.

The ones for black stove pipe work. Get 2 extra washers as you will want a washer next to the liner on the inside. So everything turns nice. (You will drill through the adapter and the liner). Got mine from Lowe’s or homedepot.

 

[begreen]

A different option instead of the probe is to get a washer thermocouple. The washer can be inserted under the band clamp on the liner. Any temp reading taken this close to the stove will be relative to stove temp, but still important. The advantage of this approach is that it's non-invasive. There is no probe in the way of a damper should one be added at a later date if the temp range proves to be consistently high.