Insert "top" temperature?

[Turner-n-Burner]

OK, so I know all you woodstove owners can measure your stove top temp to get an idea of how well she's burning.. What about for us insert types?

The Clydesdale insert has a small air gap between the cast iron insert and the enameled trim cover "warming shelf" that surrounds the door. That gap has to provide some insulative value right? so does a stove top thermo have any value?

I use one of those infrared thermometers, and I've learned that the secondary burn tube temp doesn't really tell me all that much - particularly at startup. The burn tubes can be 600 degrees or so and have a nice secondary burn going, but if the rest of the stove is still cold... the secondary burn might go away if I damper down too soon. I think all that soapstone and cast iron sucks up the heat. I find I don't get a real stable secondary burn if the "warming shelf" is much under 300 degrees. And the burn gets better and better, the hotter the top gets.

This morning the top hit a new high... I was getting ready for work and caught the scent of outgassing enamel (like I have each time the insert has reached a new high temp since the breakin) I ran over to the insert and nothing looked amiss.. in fact, it looked like a perfect fire. Nice bed of coals, several large splits charred over, and the Aurora Borealis dancing above them. (Door closed and damper was about 1/3rd open I think)

I grabbed my trusty ray gun and measured the "warming shelf" - 520 in the center

So I dampered down some more and turned on the blowers to suck off some of the heat.

So how high can I go? and would a stove top thermometer be worthwhile? I was thinking that they wouldn't be much use on an insert...

-TNB

 

[GVA]

Rhone to thread #5823 please..
Just kickin' it to the top for ya Dan......... The forum has been busy today I see.

 

[Turner-n-Burner]

a day and a half, 103 views... no opinions???

Who are you people and what have you done with the real hearthnet?


;-)

 

[MrGriz]

I will chime in and provide almost no help at all. How's that for an intro.

The reason I say I will not be of much help is that I have been wondering the same thing with mine. I have a magnetic thermometer sitting (laying) on the top of my insert. I too am sure that this registers a lower temperature than the actual top of the insert.

I have had mine as high as 600* on the top. Usually I burn a bit lower, around 400* - 450*.

I know I can look in the firebox and see what's going on and hear and feel quite a bit as well. I would still like to have some temperature range to use as a benchmark.

Hope this helps or starts some 'real info' flowing.

 

[Mike Wilson]

I put the Rutland magnetic thermometer on the actual top of my insert, in the air channel itself. That way I am getting a direct temperature reading of the stove itself. The only thing that could impact it is the air flow from the fan, however I always keep the fan on low, and the back side of the thermometer has a 3 sided metal shield around the bimetallic coil, so I don't think the air impacts the readings much. The photo below shows my setup, except for one difference... I have rotated the thermometer 180 degrees, so the rounded edge faces out. The reason for this is that I can see the 300-700 degree temperature range easier, even though the numbers are upside-down. Normal operating temperature is around 650, regular highs of 800, maximim high of over 900, lows with secondary of about 450 or so.

-- Mike

 

[citizanken]

I have the same insert, and I asked my dealer where a good place to stick a thermometer on it would be, and he told me nowhere....Maybe a better solution for this type would be a flue thermometer, and run it off the flue temps. I see a lot of good information on the boards about flue temps, and they dont seem equipment specific. Good luck, we are really enjoying our Clydesdale.

 

[PacificGuyInCNY]

Take a look at these threads:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/5614/

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/5506/

As a seminewbie with an insert, what I think I've learned here is that:
- Comparing flue temps on a wood stove to box temps on an insert will always be apples-to-oranges
- The longer you have a stove / insert the less attention you pay to a thermometer reading
- With an insert you're better off placing the thermometer on the stove front, off to one side, than on the stove top
- A thermometer CAN be useful to diagnose leaky doors or other sources of air infiltration
- and probably some other stuff that I've already forgotten. At my age for every new thing you need to remember you have to forget something else, kinda like a full hard disk.