Has anyone ever put a probe in to monitor the actual box temperature on a tube stove? We monitor flue temps and stove top temps but that only gives an approximation of what's going on in the box itself. You would have to drill a hole for the probe. What do you guys think?
Monitor box temperature
- Thread starter ckr74
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Stove manufacturers have done this to test efficiency, but really for joe smoe it is a waste of time. Flue temp / stove top gives a good overall idea of what stage the burn is in. You will get different temps depending on where you put the thermocouple in the box. Flue temp / stove top is pretty consistent.
Really internal temps dont matter much to the user of a tube stove. Flue temp matters to make sure you are keeping the temps up enough to avoid creosote buildup and stove top temp determines heatoutput.
It's a non-catalytic stove that has tubes at the top of the firebox feeding secondary air for more complete combustion.
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Temperature by itself is just an estimation of what's happening inside the firebox, even within the firebox itself. Granted, firebox temps would probably be a closer/better estimation than stove top, but the other components of combustion include air and fuel mix. Measuring the byproducts in the flue gas (O2, CO, CO2, particulates, etc.) is what will really tell you what's happening.
That said, not worth the effort IMO. Just stick with the traditional methods and your eyes.
That said, not worth the effort IMO. Just stick with the traditional methods and your eyes.
I don't think that measuring particulates would be useful for the average person. I thought the box temperature might be useful as to knowing when secondary combustion was in temp range kind of similar to a cat probe. Yes, visual has a lot to do with it but measurement takes the guess work out of the equation.
Agree with you, it wouldn't be useful unless you were a data junky or truly trying to get a good idea of what's happening inside, to say, try to automate your stove or build an app that told you what to do. The firebox temp would give you the indication it's in range for secondary combustion, but you'd still need to watch it because what you're watching for is heat, air, and fuel combining in the right proportions to combust. That's why in my mind it's not worth it.
Here's perhaps the most interesting thing you'd gain from a firebox probe if you also had a flue probe. You could measure the difference between the two and have an estimation for heating efficiency.
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