How Hot Should I Run My Lopi Freedom?

[CT-Mike]

I have a magnetic thermometer located just to the right of the bypass damper rod. I have been running it somewhere between 500-600F. What stove top temps should I be shooting for?

My infrared thermometer tops out at 500F, need to get a higher range model.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Highbeam]

I was told by many folks that the stove (my exstove, a freedom bay) top max temp was 800 or lower if something glows. Good heat is produced between 6 and 800 but I never got past about 750 on purpose.

 

[BrotherBart]

My Englander 30 is pretty much the same material and construction as your stove and I park it on 600. I would prefer 500 but it thinks differently and it is too hot for me to slap it. :coolsmirk:

 

[Thomask9590]

Are you guys talking stove top temp. or thermometer 18" up on the pipe temp?

 

[begreen]

Stove top.

CT Mike, doesn't sound too bad. You will probably be cranking it up a bit when/if serious winter arrives. Keep it under 750 and you should be fine.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

All this is fine, but where does one measure the temperature. It seems on an insert the answer is much less clear. My Quald 4100I sticks out of the fireplace about 5-6 inches and has a cast iron plate on the top of the extension, but that plate has an air space underneath it where the circulation fan blows air out of the insert and into the room.

I can stick the magnetic thermometer on the front just above the door, that seems with some trial to be the hottest place on the outside of the stove. I was running below 400 degrees at that point. It wasn't cold out, maybe 30 degrees, and the room with the insert was running about 72 degrees. I suppose if I'm going to heat with the insert when the temperature outside is below 20 degrees I'll have to crank the temp up a couple hundred degrees. I was running with the air down to near minimum.

The thermometer indicates 400 degrees is well within the range desired to minimize creosote, does that seem right?

 

[CT-Mike]

My Lopi sticks into the room 7", so there is plenty of room to put the thermometer. Thanks for all the replies folks, i really appreciate the help.

Mike

 

[begreen]

Jerry_NJ, some inserts have a convection shell with a blower outlet on the top. Others don't. For your insert, putting the thermometer on the front face is the best bet. You'll get a bit cooler reading there, but it's all relative. At 400 or above the stove sounds like it's running fine.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

BG,
Thanks.

I also have an infrared thermometer and will it next fire (it warmed up in NJ today) on the next fire to see if there are any hotter surface spots.

One concern I had was the old slammer used to drive us out of the living room when fired up at such warm temperatures, outside about 30 degrees. But, the new insert didn't/doesn't, then too, from memory, I'm using about half as much wood, i.e., I'm not firing the new unit up to maximum.

 

[JMF1]

Ct Mike - check your owners manual, I run an Avalon Olympic which is the same stove and it says "high burn" is 800 deg. I've found that with the thermometer in the same spot as yours, my stove heats great at 500-650 deg. I have however pinned that sucker a few times unintentionally, a bit scary but the stove seems to take it well, I just crank up the blower to help cool her down.

 

[CT-Mike]

Thanks JMF. I will re-check my manual, didn't see anything but it is very possible I missed this section.

Mike

{EDIT} Only thing I could find was that 800 F was overfiring and would exceed the warranty. No other mention of operating temperatures that I could find.

Mike