Magnetic Thermometer says only 300° yet Catalyst says 1050°

[speedracer]

Still trying to learn how to use my Jotul Firelight 12 stove. Bought a catalyst thermometer from a neighbor who traded in his wood burner for gas logs. When the fire is going my magnetic thermometer located in the front rh corner of the stove just gets to 300° or stays in the creosote range yet my catalytic thermometer when the catalyst is engaged is consistently reading between 1000° ~ 1100°. I am assuming this is telling me my catalyst IS working and giving me the the most it can. Because the magnetic never gets over 300 is there something going on I should know about?? One other thing, after a few minutes I throttle down the air intake to about 1/2 or a tad less. The catalyst temp does drop a little and then holds. Can I assume throttling down helps to slow the burn rate of the logs giving me more burn time BUT as long as the catalyst temp is around 800+ I am still in the ballpark for performance?! Any comments/help offered is appreciated. THANKS and stay warm...

 

[mellow]

500-1800 is the given range for a catalyst to be working. Sounds like yours is working correctly. Buy an IR gun and find the best spot to put the magnetic. When it comes to a cat stove the lower the air the better I run mine with barely any primary air during peak burn or smoke when it comes to a cat. Keep an eye on cat temps, you will learn how low you can go after a while without stalling the cat.

Calling @Joful , you are needed at aisle 7.