Jotul Kennebec Thermometer Placement

[Mike Wilson]

I get about one PM a month asking me how I place the thermometer on my Jotul Kennebec. Instead of emailing everyone, I'll just post it below, so you can all see.
A few notes on this placement... this is how I had it for the first two years. It does make it a little difficult to see the temperature sometimes, you have to bend down, etc., however the temperature is being read from a direct surface on the stove, so its accurate. What I have been doing for the past year is to mount the thermometer in the same place on the stove, but I have it rotated 180 degrees from how it is shown in this photo... so the center of the curved side is facing outward, and touching the front lip of the stove. This way I can see the critical 400-500-600 degree range easier, albeit upside down.

YMMV, but it works for me...

-- Mike

 

[Oregon Fire]

Thanks Mike -

Just starting to use my new jotul 450...

So what temps should I shoot for and what temps should I consider "too high"...

Can you give me a short run down on operation with expected temps? Where do you run air control for different modes of operation - e.g. long burn versus "good burn", etc.

I was thinking about just getting an infra-red handheld thermometer for temps, but the positioning of your thermometer looks good -thanks.

thanks again,
jeff

 

[Mike Wilson]

My Kennebec "cruises" at about 650 or so. That is to say, once she gets up to speed with the load of wood, she'll climb to about 750 or so, hang there in a blazing inferno of glory for a while, and then, within about 30-45 minutes, settle in at 650, solid as a rock, for about 2-3 hours. After that she peters out to 600, 550, 500, etc. All in all I only load her 3 times per day, and get 8 hours per load out of her. The discipline is learning not to reload it every time it drops below 500 or so. Let the coals burn down, let the stove give off her heat for a few more hours, and then load her up again. I only load her 3 times per day, at 7AM, about 5 PM, and then again at 11PM. Works like a charm, really. The hardest part is learning to ignore the stove, and let it work.

-- Mike

 

[MichaelCT]

I only load her 3 times per day, at 7AM, about 5 PM, and then again at 11PM. Works like a charm, really. The hardest part is learning to ignore the stove, and let it work.

Mike - can you talk a bit about the Air control. I am still learning my Kennebec and you really gave me some good advice.

Thank You!