how important are thermometers?

[brewerpete]

OK.. Been lurking in the weeds reading for about a month....now time to post..

I pulled the trigger on a hampton insert,
ordered up 5 tons of biobricks,
pricing some saws and spliiters for getting ahead of the game for next years sweat equity wood gathering...
now to my question...
I've read how important it is to have a thermo in or near the fixe box and in the vent pipe. I asked the dealer to reccomend some thermo's and I'd purchase them and he can bring em with him when he installs the stove in a few weeks.

His reply was the hampton is hard to mount a thermometer in and if you put one in the pipe you can't read it <huh>?

I suspect both would have the sensors in the respective places and the reader where you can see em?

a) how important is it to have thermos?
b) anybody got them in a hampton and can you reccomend a particular type and installation strategy?

thnx
BP

 

[Jay777]

I'm new, but I just got a little one that's magnetized and you stick it right on the box.

 

[jadm]

Welcome-

I looked at a Hampton insert when insert shopping this past winter. You will not be able to mount a therm. on the vent as it will be covered. Should be able to use a Ruthland magnet therm. mounted on the front somewhere to give you a ball park figure. Most fireplace stores have them or can be purchased online.

A really fun 'toy' to have is a IR thermometer. They will let you take temps. of just about anything you want and anywhere you want. I referred to it as a toy because if you read previous threads about them you will find that many people here spend an inordinate amount measuring temps of things one wouldn 't usually consider even having a temperature....

I have an IR therm. because there is no good mounting spot for a magnet on my Jotul. I use it to get an idea of how hot I'm burning so as not to burn too hot. I'd rather not see my insert turn red.... I imagine that as I get more experience with my insert I won't be relying on it as much.

 

[N/A N/A]

Thermos. are just a tool to have to tell just how you are burning for sure. I had a magnet thermo. made by Rutland on the single wall pipe of my old englander stove. It was nice because I could tell how the stove was burning at a glance. You do not NEED one, but it will help you for sure in learning how to burn a new stove. Every stove and every set up is different and has its own quirks. I dont understand your dealer telling you that having a magnet thermo. would be heard to read on an insert??? Unless because its an insert you would have a lack of space to stick one?

 

[begreen]

I wouldn't run the stove for long without one. With a new stove, it helps me get into the groove much more quickly. It lets me judge when there is a problem that I didn't anticipate. Or when I have added wood that is taking off and putting out more heat than anticipated. For example it's clued me in to less than seasoned wood and helped me discover when my F3CB's top was not correctly seated. The thermometers (stack and stovetop) were priceless in tracking how compressed wood was burning.

 

[jebatty]

Have used a magnetic mount flue therm for 18 years. A quick glance tells all about stove performance. The sweet spot for our stove is 300-350, below 250 she starts smoking, above 425 a very dull red glow starts. In the sweet spot, virtually no creosote ever. Clean the chimney once per year at the start of the heating season.

 

[savageactor7]

Sure you can burn without one but why would you? Burning too hot can be as problematic as smoldering your wood. All stoves burn a little differently and a thermometer can reduce the learning curve and eliminate all the guess work. We have our little magnetic thermometer on the stove top by the door...pretty sure it cost less than $10 and that's cheap it the greater scheme of wood burning.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We burned wood for most of our lives...without using a stove thermometer. Last year when we bought the new stove, it came with a thermometer. We ended up buying another one and wonder how we got along without them all those years. It just allows you to monitor things much, much closer and you will know much faster if there is a problem.

So, you can get by without one, but is better with one. As for one inside the flue, some like them and I can see where they would be handy, but few install them. I think knowing what the outside temp is on the stove and flue is enough.

 

[burntime]

I have the hampton as well. The thermometer is on the shelf of the insert...check the old posts under hampton but I thought a rance of 210-350 sitting on the shelf was the range needed.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

350 on the shelf... with the blower going? I have a Hampton. Not sure where to mount a thermometer either.

 

[burntime]

Near the face of the unit where the air comes out. Like I said my numbers may be off a little, look at the older posts durring winter when I was running it. Yes with the blower going as well. I do remember 200 or low 200s as the very minimum to burn clean.

 

[michiganwinters]

I have a summit with double wall pipe. Would you suggest putting magnetic on pipe or stove top??? Where do you think temps should be?

Last year was our first year burning and we did pretty good. But I would like to refine our process and just see where things are and if they could be even better

 

[gpcollen1]

If there is a spot on the stove top, put it on the stove top - or other location if it gives you a better indication of the temp of that stove.

 

[savageactor7]

With our old Shenandoah R77 that was perfectly fine imo...we kept the thermometer on the stack...cause we'd burn it hot, hot twice a day to lock down any creasolt problems. With our new QF4300st the thermometer is on the top above the door...cause that's what I learned here. It's a big help in regulating the fire according to the manufacturers requirements in achieving the most efficient burn. Now the chimney never smokes except for a bit after you load it up in the morning. No smoke no creasolt...you burn at the correct temp with a new stove and you're actually burning the smoke so you end up burning less wood and getting more heat too. Hard to believe... but true.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

CT- my worry is that the exposed top of the insert sits above an airspace that is the discharge for the blower. The blower therefore cools that surface quite a bit- I guess that if you know he sweet spot for operation then it'll work anyhoo

 

[Jags]

I have a summit with double wall pipe. Would you suggest putting magnetic on pipe or stove top??? Where do you think temps should be?

Last year was our first year burning and we did pretty good. But I would like to refine our process and just see where things are and if they could be even better

Probe type in the pipe and a magnet type on the stove. You won't be sorry. Takes all the guess work out of stack temp/stove temp arguments that will end up in your head.

 

[hotcookcpl]

I'm curious about this too. The original poster was asking about using thermometer on a fireplace insert. It seems most people who have responded are commenting on stoves. But what about wood fireplace inserts? With the blower and lack of a good mounting spot, can a thermometer even be mounting? And if you can mount one, will it tell you anything? We use one on our wood stove and it's very helpful, but what about our new Jotul C450 insert?

For those with inserts, can you comment please? Thanks.

 

[jadm]

I'm curious about this too. The original poster was asking about using thermometer on a fireplace insert. It seems most people who have responded are commenting on stoves. But what about wood fireplace inserts? With the blower and lack of a good mounting spot, can a thermometer even be mounting? And if you can mount one, will it tell you anything? We use one on our wood stove and it's very helpful, but what about our new Jotul C450 insert?

For those with inserts, can you comment please? Thanks.

Check out old threads from last winter under Jotul 450. I think some even have pictures of the therm. mounted on the space on top of the insert where the blower air comes out. You can also see who has the 450 and PM them for suggestions.

 

[Tfin]

Thermometers? Burnt an old smoke dragon for years without one.

Began using one last year on new stove, and can't imagine burning without one now. Its just a great little tool.

 

[RedRanger]

I'm curious about this too. The original poster was asking about using thermometer on a fireplace insert. It seems most people who have responded are commenting on stoves. But what about wood fireplace inserts? With the blower and lack of a good mounting spot, can a thermometer even be mounting? And if you can mount one, will it tell you anything? We use one on our wood stove and it's very helpful, but what about our new Jotul C450 insert?

For those with inserts, can you comment please? Thanks.

With my new kodiak I have room to mount the thermometer on the top of the insert and I believe the reading to be very accurate. However, with my older PE insert I had to mount it on the top right side of the door (vertical mount) and it seems to me that when this was discussed last year the thinking was to add about 100 degrees from that reading simply because it was not a true "stove top" reading. ie-stove top reading would be 400 and vertical door mount reading would be 300. So the latter becomes more of a guestimate.

 

[LONDONDERRY]

I'm curious about this too. The original poster was asking about using thermometer on a fireplace insert. It seems most people who have responded are commenting on stoves. But what about wood fireplace inserts? With the blower and lack of a good mounting spot, can a thermometer even be mounting? And if you can mount one, will it tell you anything? We use one on our wood stove and it's very helpful, but what about our new Jotul C450 insert?

For those with inserts, can you comment please? Thanks.

I have a Napolena 1402 stove on order and I'm in the same boat. So being a mechnical engineer I'll be purchasing a hand held thermometer / data logger with two stick on thermocouples from a company called Omega Engineering Inc. I figure one thermocouple at the back of the stove pipe and the other on the front of the stove. Thats my plan
http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=HH800&Nav=teml04

The orange case comes off

 

[begreen]

We use one on our wood stove and it's very helpful, but what about our new Jotul C450 insert?

For those with inserts, can you comment please? Thanks.

Here's a good solution for the Kennebec.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/8690/