Hearthstone Clydesdale - Measuring Stove Temperature

[Clydeburner]

I ended up just pushing down on the shroud under the fan speed dial putting a slight bend in it and have not had any noise since.

Is the left side of your sheet metal housing more rigid than the right? or maybe the bend you put in gave it a little more rigidity? Mine is just significantly more free on the right side that it just hums like crazy & gets even worse every time I touch it when it's humming. I'm going to try a few ideas to see if it helps but have another idea thanks to you; hopefully a simple bend will do the trick, thanks![/QUOTE]



Both sides of the shroud have wiggle room at the corners. I just pushed in the center, even though it feels like you'll break it, you won't, before I installed mine I had the entire shroud(stove ha ha ) apart to inspect it and give my own QC. The tin around the unit is pretty rigid. If you wanted to, the ash lip and front blower housing come off pretty easy if you had to modify/repair, this will also allow access to the primary air control. There is a little room for adjustment of this, but the set screw for the handle still stops the air from being closed completely.

 

[Lambsalot]

I did get my wood delivery. Unfortunately all he has left is red oak and it appears to be not completely seasoned. As you probably already know, the red oak tends to hold the moisture longer and typically needs to be seasoned longer. The guy told me it's been seasoned 12 months but I've read that red oak typically requires 18-24 months minimum. Thinking that since it was so dry this past year that maybe it's ok but it was pretty wet (at least on the surface) when it was delivered (it was raining) and when it's burning I can hear it sizzling and I have to keep it running wide open and can only get it running about 400° max.

I bought a moisture meter to check it before he dropped it but the stupid thing isn't working. Either that or the wood moisture content is reading above the high range (35%) or below the low range (7%). Have to bring the stupid thing back today.

I've gone back to burning the BioBricks. I can get the stove burning to 475-480° max. When I was at Dean's Stove & Spa, where I bought the moisture meter, they told me that I'm probably getting the most out of the Clydesdale. They recommended I should have bought a Travis. Too late now. I asked if they take trade-in but they said that's really only for the people that have the older stoves. He showed me the build of the Clydesdale and focused on the housing around the firebox and said it's just poorly designed and showed the gaps in the housing that let a lot of heat from the firebox escape into the chimney. He showed me how there are gaps in the housing of the Clydesdale whereas the Travis firebox is completely contained.

I don't know...bottom line...I can only get the thing to max out at 475-480°F no matter what I've tried. Frustrated...it's just not heating my house the way I would have expected.

Hi bkclydes, I just noticed you live in CT; I do too. I'm familiar with Dean's Stove & Spa. We went there when looking for our insert stove, but wasn't impressed with what they had and the Clydesdale gave a great viewing feature that sold us; plus like you said it is supposed to be able to heat 2000+ square feet with no issues. Our problem was we had to go with Fire Finesse as they were the only local suppliers of the Clydesdale, but their service has been nothing short of bad. I've called multiple times with the promise of a call back to schedule or discuss my concerns but never received any response from them; at this point I have given up on them for any legitimate service.

I wish I could give you some insight, but I am by no means an expert as I'm on my second burning season ever & don't have any experience with burning BioBricks. I know the manual says to not any kiln dried wood & perhaps the BioBricks are dried that way. Not sure why that would matter but is mentioned in the manual. I would think it would be a concern with burning too hot, which doesn't seem to be your problem.

Maybe you could check the damper flow rate; the manual says to contact the dealer which I tried to do but had no luck as mentioned before. Clydeburner mentioned the standard numbers in an earlier post as a starting gauge (Ray at hearthstone states -.05 to -.08 is ideal).

 

[Lambsalot]

Is the left side of your sheet metal housing more rigid than the right? or maybe the bend you put in gave it a little more rigidity? Mine is just significantly more free on the right side that it just hums like crazy & gets even worse every time I touch it when it's humming. I'm going to try a few ideas to see if it helps but have another idea thanks to you; hopefully a simple bend will do the trick, thanks!

Both sides of the shroud have wiggle room at the corners. I just pushed in the center, even though it feels like you'll break it, you won't, before I installed mine I had the entire shroud(stove ha ha ) apart to inspect it and give my own QC. The tin around the unit is pretty rigid. If you wanted to, the ash lip and front blower housing come off pretty easy if you had to modify/repair, this will also allow access to the primary air control. There is a little room for adjustment of this, but the set screw for the handle still stops the air from being closed completely.[/QUOTE]


Good to know. Before my next fire I'll take the ash lip off and try messing with the shroud to see what I can do. Thanks.

 

[Clydeburner]

Good to know. Before my next fire I'll take the ash lip off and try messing with the shroud to see what I can do. Thanks.

No problem, keep us posted on what you come up with.

 

[Clydeburner]

I am lucky enough to have most of the tools on my service truck for all the testing I've needed to do (my wife feels the opposite about my experimenting). I used an analog Bacharach manometer http://www.mybacharach.com/product-view/mzf-draft-gauge/ and an electronic Testo combustion analyser to verify my over drafting. I quick looked and couldn't find any cheaper then $115-$250 on the interweb.... it's a shame because it is such an easy test on our stoves. I have been thinking about a way to have it piped in to the draft bolt as a more permanent fixture So I can adjust the flue damper I added properly for best burns.

 

[Clydeburner]

http://www.amazon.com/Dwyer-25-Manometer-Inclined-Vertical-Measuring/dp/B009PAN3C8

For those who might care how they're drafting I found this little manometer at a good price, might need some tubing to extend it but would be simple....

 

[bkclydes]

It definitely sounds as though your wood may not be premium, oak can typically take the 18-24 mlnths like you stated. I had some oak rounds 2 1/2 years old i finally split and it was still at 26%-30% moisture. Once you have gotten the stove in that 400° range have you tried to close the air down to half or maybe less to see if the secondaries will continue. These stoves seem to get hotter with the air closed allowing the secondary burn tubes to create all the heat apposed to having the wood burning.
Have you tried a couple biobricks and a couple splits to see if the ultra dry bricks would compensate for the possible wet wood?
I didn't notice if you mentioned that you had a block off plate or if you have insulated the fireplace behind the stove, these are key things to keep the masonary fireplace from soaking your heat up and releasing it to the outside. I feel my stove gets up to higher temps because of all the insulation I have packed behind/around it. The surround lifts right off so you can visually see. If you could maybe post a pic or 2 behind the stove, it might lead us to a more definitive answer. My guess is that you're losing the heat there.
I haven't found many clydesdale burners unhappy with its operation unless their wood was subpar on all the searches I've done. This was not my first choice in stoves as I more settled on, but now am very happy with it. Originally was going to get the BK Princess but could not be installed with my chimney.....
I had mine walk away from me this morning, I loaded N/S about 10 splits of oak and maple and she got up to 690° with the fan on high and the window open next to the stove. With it still climbing I tried the open door trick, but ended up having to throw a wet frozen round on top to get the temps back down, she dropped for over an hour. Been burning the coals all day so far. I jus got my flashing buzzer alarms I am going to wire one downstairs and one upstairs as an early warning system.

FirewoodAddict you say you run your stove 400°-700° on a regular, have you seen any ill effects from the super heat.... having mine only hit over 700° once or twice I have not seen anything that looks warped or over heated. For the cost of these stoves I'd hate to have to tear it apart to replace a panel on it ha

@Clydeburner - I had to bring the moisture meter back. It was defective. Of course. tried to use it when the wood was delivered before he dropped it but the stupid meter wouldnt read. Once I got the new one, found that the moisture meter was reading at the max 35%! Ironlically just started cutting up a red oak I had taken down this summer today...it too was measuring at the max 35%. The meter only goes that high so who knows what the actual moisture content is. Needless to say...not burning the delivered red oak anytime soon. BS it was seasoned for 12 months! So for the time-being I am burning exclusively the Biobricks.

I have been dampering down full or to half. the last couple days I can only get the stove to max at about 450°. But once there I back down the damper fully or halfway.

Interesting what you are saying about insulating the the fireplace behind the stove. It's one of the criticisms the salesperson I talked to at Dean's Stove and Spa had about the Clydesdale. They actually have one in the showroom and he brought me to see it. Knocked on the back panels to show how flimsy they are and showed me the gap in the sheet metal. He said that it's not well constructed in the back and that when they burn it they get of huge draft of heat that escapes the housing in the back of the stove. Showed me a Travis that's fully enclosed in the back with heavy gauge metal. Way thicker than the Clydesdale and with no gap. They did not mention the option to insulate the chimney behind the stove. This sounds like a good alternative to keep more of the heat in without having to buy a new stove. How do you do that and do I need someone to do it that knows what they are doing so I'm not creating a fire hazard? I'll take a pic tomorrow with the surround off.

 

[bkclydes]

Hi bkclydes, I just noticed you live in CT; I do too. I'm familiar with Dean's Stove & Spa. We went there when looking for our insert stove, but wasn't impressed with what they had and the Clydesdale gave a great viewing feature that sold us; plus like you said it is supposed to be able to heat 2000+ square feet with no issues. Our problem was we had to go with Fire Finesse as they were the only local suppliers of the Clydesdale, but their service has been nothing short of bad. I've called multiple times with the promise of a call back to schedule or discuss my concerns but never received any response from them; at this point I have given up on them for any legitimate service.

I wish I could give you some insight, but I am by no means an expert as I'm on my second burning season ever & don't have any experience with burning BioBricks. I know the manual says to not any kiln dried wood & perhaps the BioBricks are dried that way. Not sure why that would matter but is mentioned in the manual. I would think it would be a concern with burning too hot, which doesn't seem to be your problem.

Maybe you could check the damper flow rate; the manual says to contact the dealer which I tried to do but had no luck as mentioned before. Clydeburner mentioned the standard numbers in an earlier post as a starting gauge (Ray at hearthstone states -.05 to -.08 is ideal).

I think the warning about not burning kiln-dried fuels is based on fear of over-firing...which it sounds like from many others in this forum that the Clydesdale can be prone to. I can say I've never come remotely close. But I'm actually liking the way the BioBricks are burning. And they are a heck of a lot easier to handle. Took my son and I 10 minutes to stack 1 ton which is supposed to be the equivalent of 1 cord. It took us 3 hours to stack the 2 cords I had delivered earlier this week. But the BioBricks are very expensive compared to the wood. $290/ton vs $220/cord for wood. And I don't believe the claim that 1 ton = 1 cord which makes the BioBricks even that much more expensive. But at this point I'm basically relegated to burning for pleasure and aesthetics than for home heating so burning in this way actually makes the premium worth it. But if I were burning 24/7 like I have the last 2 seasons with cord wood, I expect the Biobricks would be a significant and nonviable premium.

Honestly, I wasn't all that impressed with Dean's Stove & Spa. Been there twice in the last week. The guy I dealt with the first time was very nice and took the time with me. I did find it odd though how he was bashing the Clydesdale when it's a stove they have displayed in their showroom. He said he has the Travis in his house which is supposed to be an endorsement however that's what the owner of Hearth & Home said when I bought the Clydesdale (which is one of the reasons I bought it!). We too also liked the large viewing glass and the aesthetics of the unit. Still do. Just not happy with the heat output.

I actually bought my Clydesdale at Hearth & Home not Dean's. But like you, didn't have a good experience with Hearth & Home trying to get them out to service last year when my end cap got completely blocked with Creosote such that smoke was backing up into my house. But again a function of not being able to get the Clydesdale burning hot enough. Anyway, Hearth & Home is now out of business (not really surprised) which is why I went to Dean's for help. Honestly they weren't very helpful other than to basically to tell me there wasn't much they could suggest. When I went back to Dean's this weekend, I honestly felt like I was somehow a bother to them and they seemed very suspect of me returning the defective moisture meter that I had just bought there 2 days before. I actually felt very uncomfortable and not very welcome.

Talked to my brother-in-law since he's a lot more knowledgeable about fire topics in general. He's a fireman (fire chief actually) and I asked him about insulating the firebox ( which Dean's didn't even offer as a possible solution). He's going to come down on Tues with some Roxul. I don't remember the installer putting any kind of insulation back there so I'm hoping this will be the answer.

As for draft, if anything, I have too much draft. Don't recall any specific measurement but I remember them saying I had a really strong draft.

 

[Clydeburner]

@bkclydes that is a real kick in the shins about the wood. I got lucky with my supply, my father in law had property that we were felling trees left and right, I got stocked up for about 4 yrs. The property is gone and so is my wood supply, I'll be at the mercy of the lying log man ha ha. I wonder if trying 2x4 or 4x4 nonpresure treated lumber could give different results. I read somewhere on here that most stoves are tested with it and if it's on the Internet, it must be true!

I agree the the air shroud around the stove could be better quality and fit but I would think the stove being cast iron and having separate panels for sides/top/back the shroud is made to be taken off for repair/replacement of panels and gaskets. Is the Travis stove steel and all welded seams, that is a benefit of steel stoves. I feel there are still some fixes the Clydesdale could get, the shroud being one but I'm not sure I'd trade it for a steely... Unless it was a BK....cast stoves definitely do not heat like a steel stove as they are slow to get rolling and give out a steady gentler heat which in turn does make a longer heat up cycle. Once they are going though they will cruise along and maintain a more comfortable temp apposed to the way a steel stove spikes out and then cools quicker making a room/house feel warmer/cooler faster. I switched to the cast and I feel it is a way better heat throughout the whole house.

I think for the $40 At lowes you should get some insulation and wrap the baby up to keep mama happy ha. I did my install with our chimney co from work which allowed me to get in the fireplace and stuff the base of the chimney around the insulated liner with Roxul Insulation, this is my block off plate, I could not get a metal one made up. Then I finished the bat filling in any other gaps and completely insulating the fireplace behind the stove.

These pics are of the flue damper I fabricated in and through the surround on a push/pull rod, you can see the roxul buried all around and i think i may have even added more i found in the garage. Most will not have the offset piping from their insert to the liner, my fireplace was not build correct with over 27" to the lentil which gave me the room to install the damper.
Did you ask your dealer when they installed it if they installed a block off plate of some kind, and is your liner insulated that you know of? These two simple things will make a big difference.

Today taking down the Christmas lights I took a temp reading at the top of the liner at the cap connection and got over 400° with the stove running 550°. So even on my lowest burn and damper fully shut my chimney is runnng creosote free temps.

 

[Clydeburner]

I've read the stoves are sensitive with a strong draft, would your brother in law have a manometer he might be able to bring to test you readings...
Have you been able to get the stove full of coals and get a hot reload at my be even 400°-450°, if I get lots of coals and reload at those temps the secondaries pick up faster and I can close the air down and have hotter temps for longer

 

[bkclydes]

I've read the stoves are sensitive with a strong draft, would your brother in law have a manometer he might be able to bring to test you readings...
Have you been able to get the stove full of coals and get a hot reload at my be even 400°-450°, if I get lots of coals and reload at those temps the secondaries pick up faster and I can close the air down and have hotter temps for longer

I don't know if he has a manometer. I doubt it but will ask him tomorrow. At your recommendation I have been re-loading earlier when the temps are still 400-450°. Doing it this way today I started burning at about 3pm. It would burn 400-450° for about 1 hour or so before the temp would start dropping off. I would re-load around 400° and that's about where it would stay. I couldn't get it back up to 450°. So it operated for most of the day at about 400°. It's now 11pm and it's down to coals and is right around 300°. I went through 20 bricks in that time today. I think I re-loaded twice in that time with about 4-6 bricks each time. I had a pretty good sized pile of bricks burning for a good portion of that time. Once I got it burning hot I backed the damper down to about half...maybe a little less than half which seemed to be the most efficient damper setting.

As for blocking plate and insulation, I don't know. And unfortunately the place I bought the stove from is now out-of-business so I can't ask them. But I don't think they installed a blocking plate and I'm virtually certain they didn't insulate anything.

 

[Clydeburner]

I don't know if he has a manometer. I doubt it but will ask him tomorrow. At your recommendation I have been re-loading earlier when the temps are still 400-450°. Doing it this way today I started burning at about 3pm. It would burn 400-450° for about 1 hour or so before the temp would start dropping off. I would re-load around 400° and that's about where it would stay. I couldn't get it back up to 450°. So it operated for most of the day at about 400°. It's now 11pm and it's down to coals and is right around 300°. I went through 20 bricks in that time today. I think I re-loaded twice in that time with about 4-6 bricks each time. I had a pretty good sized pile of bricks burning for a good portion of that time. Once I got it burning hot I backed the damper down to about half...maybe a little less than half which seemed to be the most efficient damper setting.

If you close the air completely can you hear air being sucked through the intake? Strong draft sound? And if you close it completely with let's say 6-10 bricks at a 400° reload, once burning will your secondaries be going strong. How are they with the air where you have been setting it, you should be getting a dancing fire on top of the wood/bricks. This should bring the stove temps up forcing the primary air to run to the back of the stove up along the air tubes before going up the chimney. I typically run my air full-half on a reload to 450° then close the air let it settle and then my temps will start to climb.

 

[bkclydes]

If you close the air completely can you hear air being sucked through the intake? Strong draft sound? And if you close it completely with let's say 6-10 bricks at a 400° reload, once burning will your secondaries be going strong. How are they with the air where you have been setting it, you should be getting a dancing fire on top of the wood/bricks. This should bring the stove temps up forcing the primary air to run to the back of the stove up along the air tubes before going up the chimney. I typically run my air full-half on a reload to 450° then close the air let it settle and then my temps will start to climb.

I'll open to half or full upon re-load at 400° for about 10 min or so until it's fully engaged then will back it down to half again and it will have what seem to be good secondaries going but temp will only maintain. If I back it all the way down either it will maintain at 400° (at best) or start to slowly decline in temperature. My stove would never climb upon closing the air.

 

[Clydeburner]

I'll open to half or full upon re-load at 400° for about 10 min or so until it's fully engaged then will back it down to half again and it will have what seem to be good secondaries going but temp will only maintain. If I back it all the way down either it will maintain at 400° (at best) or start to slowly decline in temperature. My stove would never climb upon closing the air.

You've got to be losing the heat somewhere when you get a chance post the pics with your surround off and behind the stove, hopefully it will reveal the mystery....

 

[Clydeburner]

morning start at 230° load her up and blast that air, shut her down around 500° and she's come up to 560° with the fans on medium, usually I will set them higher and my wife will check before she goes to work to make sure all is stable.... do you have secondaries active as I get?

 

[bkclydes]

No need to post pics. I pulled the surround forward this morning. It's completely wide-open back there. They took the chimney damper completely off to get the chimney liner in. So it's completely wide open around the the liner and around the stove. No insulation. No block-off plate.

In your pic the digital reading indicates 548 and 1000. Do those readings correspond to the stove-top temp and the internal firebox temps?

And one more question...I think you referenced a "bat" of Roxul. What is a 'bat'?

 

[Clydeburner]

No need to post pics. I pulled the surround forward this morning. It's completely wide-open back there. They took the chimney damper completely off to get the chimney liner in. So it's completely wide open around the the liner and around the stove. No insulation. No block-off plate.

What a shame, the dealer didn't want anything to do to help because they did a slammer of a job and probably knew it.... it's so hard to find people who care about the work they do. I can't wait to see you post the difference after you get it insulated

 

[bkclydes]

What a shame, the dealer didn't want anything to do to help because they did a slammer of a job and probably knew it.... it's so hard to find people who care about the work they do. I can't wait to see you post the difference after you get it insulated

So just stuff as much Roxul in there as I can?

 

[Clydeburner]

So just stuff as much Roxul in there as I can?

I cut pieces that would fit tight around the chimney liner at the fireplace damper and stuffed approx 12" up into the chimney, most will say you only need 2"-4" but I wanted more. I then put as much as I could fit around the fireplace filling it on until late it was stuffed again to the stove, the only place I did not put any was against the liner or on the top of the stove, though I may try putting some on the top to keep even less heat from hiding behind the surround. The Roxul is fire resistant but I didn't want to chance it being in contact with the liner, if your brother in law says it won't be a fire hazard then by all means put it on top and please let me know as I will do the same...
Best of luck

 

[hamsey]

Had a Clydesdale for a couple of months that I bought at Green Mountain Stove in New Hartford. Draft was too strong and ended trading it for a Heritage. Deans stove must be a part owner of Travis Industries. That is the only stove they want to sell. Went there 3 or 4 times when we were deciding on a stove and that's the only brand that they pushed. They did bad mouth the Hearthstone also.

 

[Clydeburner]

In your pic the digital reading indicates 548 and 1000. Do those readings correspond to the stove-top temp and the internal firebox temps?

And one more question...I think you referenced a "bat" of Roxul. What is a 'bat'?

Sorry I did not see the rest of your post earlier, the top is stove top temp at the draft bolt where I have a thermocouple held tight with a nut, the bottom would be a set point if I were using the PID controller to control an appliance ie; a fan or A/C or heat. I am only using it as a temp reading device and a high limit alarm that is wired with the PID controller. I am thinking about a second one for the stack temp, but I be getting a little carried away at that point lol.

I am referring to the packaging of the Roxul ,I used one entire package of insulation behind the stove. Sorry for the delayed response

 

[bkclydes]

OK. Roxul went in last night. 2 layers on top around the liner. 2 layers behind the stove on the back wall. That's all he had. I'm definitely seeing a difference in the stove temp. When we lit it up we put in 6 small splits. Within 30 minutes the stove temps were in range of 450-500. Burned some wood he brought down for the rest of the night and temps seemed consistently higher.

Ran stove today with Biobricks. Definitely see a difference in stove temps. Unless I get at least 12-15 bricks in, temps seem lower with the Biobricks than with wood.

Today, loaded Biobricks and was able to get the stove temp to about 500. Tonight, reloaded at about 350. Initially raked coals to front and stacked 6 bricks in the back. Got to about 425 where it stayed. I then added 3 splits from what my brother-in-law brought with him. Nice dry oak. Turned the fan all the way down to lowest setting. This seems to allow the stove temps to climb higher and more quickly. Kept about half-dampered and temps climbed to 550. 6 bricks and 3 splits (1 med 2 small). Dampered all the way down at 550, opened the fan back up to about half and it seemed to hold pretty steady. It's been about an hour and temp still at 450. Still dampered all the way down.

So it definitely seems like the insulation helped. But it also looks like I'm getting more heat from the dry cord wood vs the Biobricks. Biobricks are just not economical based on how many bricks I need to get the stove up to temp compared to a few splits.

Now the bottom line...even though I'm getting higher temps from the stove the result didn't really have any impact on the house thermostats. The stove room we can definitely feel a difference in room temp when the stove gets up into the 500+ range. But the rest of the house doesn't appear to be any different unfortunately. Really wish I had some dry cord wood to really give it a workout. My sense is I will get higher temps for longer periods once I get the stove to temp and am able to damper down and will use less wood than in the past.

Here's a pic as the stove is approaching 500 on it's way to 550 after the reload of 6 Biobricks and 3 splits dampered at half.

 

[Clydeburner]

OK. Roxul went in last night. 2 layers on top around the liner. 2 layers behind the stove on the back wall. That's all he had. I'm definitely seeing a difference in the stove temp. When we lit it up we put in 6 small splits. Within 30 minutes the stove temps were in range of 450-500. Burned some wood he brought down for the rest of the night and temps seemed consistently higher.

Ran stove today with Biobricks. Definitely see a difference in stove temps. Unless I get at least 12-15 bricks in, temps seem lower with the Biobricks than with wood.

Today, loaded Biobricks and was able to get the stove temp to about 500. Tonight, reloaded at about 350. Initially raked coals to front and stacked 6 bricks in the back. Got to about 425 where it stayed. I then added 3 splits from what my brother-in-law brought with him. Nice dry oak. Turned the fan all the way down to lowest setting. This seems to allow the stove temps to climb higher and more quickly. Kept about half-dampered and temps climbed to 550. 6 bricks and 3 splits (1 med 2 small). Dampered all the way down at 550, opened the fan back up to about half and it seemed to hold pretty steady. It's been about an hour and temp still at 450. Still dampered all the way down.

So it definitely seems like the insulation helped. But it also looks like I'm getting more heat from the dry cord wood vs the Biobricks. Biobricks are just not economical based on how many bricks I need to get the stove up to temp compared to a few splits.

Now the bottom line...even though I'm getting higher temps from the stove the result didn't really have any impact on the house thermostats. The stove room we can definitely feel a difference in room temp when the stove gets up into the 500+ range. But the rest of the house doesn't appear to be any different unfortunately. Really wish I had some dry cord wood to really give it a workout. My sense is I will get higher temps for longer periods once I get the stove to temp and am able to damper down and will use less wood than in the past.

Here's a pic as the stove is approaching 500 on it's way to 550 after the reload of 6 Biobricks and 3 splits dampered at half.

I'm glad to hear the temps are better now, it sounds like you are on the right track, good dry wood will make all the difference in the operation. I picked and pulled a mix of red oak, maple, black birch, and walnut with a little ash mixed in from different sheds being we're seeing single digits and teens here. I can say that a full load of the hardwood will take longer to get started but hits the 500° mark quick and stays there for hours with the air closed and fan med-hi.
I can't maintain my house with stove top temps in the 400s, my upstairs BR/Liv/Kit/Dining would have to have the heat turned back on (been off since 2nd week of Oct), in fact my secondaries won't get stready until im seeing a 5 on my TC.
It would seem you could add more bricks on your reloads knowing 6-10 are putting you in the 400°450° range, 500°-550° is where you want to be to get the most heat and efficient burn. This could become costly pretty quick using 12-15 bricks each reload.

The fan should be moving the air around the house, pulling colder air from farther away along the floor, allowing the hot air to travel along the ceilings creating a circulation throughout the whole house. If you have rooms that are more closed off, you may want to try and place a small fan at the entryway of such area to assist the cold air to the stove, putting the heat in that area.
These stoves do not heat the house quick even though we may see 500° stove top, the mass and design slow that heat from getting into the room, but this should be returned later at the end of the cycle allowing the stove to cruise along. It will take a couple of hot steady fires before my upstairs will start to increase in temp. They are also the type of stove that likes to be loaded full and run hard, once you start to burn it's best to keep it running all winter. Once the house is up in comfort then the stove should have no prob maintaining with less temp swings between loading and less wood burned.

 

[Cabinetman]

I also have a bolt on K type thermocouple wired to a PID controller I got got off the internet for less then $30. While the fire/secondaries are ripping I will be approximately 50°f hotter on my readings on the thermocouple then the IR gun says closer to the front, the rar of the stove where you ate reading will be about 100°f-150°f hitter, as I close the primary air and the stove levels out into the burn I find the thermocouple gets closer in temps. I do find it gets much better secondaries around 500°f and will cruise along between there and 600°f for a few hours before descending. If I'm home I will open the primary to keep it hotter before reloading around 300°f. I have put about 12-15 splits ranging from 8" to 4" wide, touching the air tubes, and have also seen the temps go crazy, I've hit 675°f. I tested my draft found out I was a little strong(-.23, Ray at hearthstone states -.05 to -.08 is ideal) after some thought I put a flue damper in to control the exhaust, which has worked beautifully. If I close both the air and flue for an overnight burn it does produce a monster pile of coal in the morning though . The stove will usually be 150°f-180°f with the blower still runnng, I rake the coals crank the air and reload for the day.

How and where did you attach your themocouple?

 

[Clydeburner]

@Cabinetman
On the top of the Clydesdale there is a center draft bolt/ Allen screw that doubles as the warming racks rear leveling leg and draft measuring port, I attached a bolt on style thermocouple with double nuts to hold it tight against the top of the stove ( this is also where the manual says to measure the stove temp ) I put some roxul insulation on top of that, under the warming rack to keep stray heat or the blower from having any effect on the temp readings. this setup has worked very well so far