Monitoring stove temp!

[stanleyjohn]

Looks like friday i will finally be getting my Harman Exception wood stove fireplace insert installed.This stove doesn't come with a temperature gauge so i would like to install one to the stove to monitor the stove temp.I would like to see if I'm overfireing or under heating the stove.What do others with inserts use to monitor their stoves?.Also is there a chart that tells of an ideal temperature to burn at.One other question i have is do you get much spitting out the door when fueling the stove?.The insert I'm getting sticks out around 10" leaving around 12" to the end of the hearth.I'm thinking about getting a small fireproof rug to put on the floor at the bottom front of the hearth.We have a pergo type wood floor and not sure if sparks would do anything to it.Below is a pic of my fireplace.

 

[nshif]

Code says your hearth must extend 18" beyond the door of the insert. And yes you will get burns in your floor at your present distance and maybe even with 18"

 

[stanleyjohn]

Code says your hearth must extend 18" beyond the door of the insert. And yes you will get burns in your floor at your present distance and maybe even with 18"

If I cover the area in front up to the 18" with a fire proof material(floor protector)!that should satisfy the code.

 

[nshif]

Depends on the inserts required floor R value or non cumbustable specs. but most likely a hearth rug isnt going to cut it.

 

[fossil]

Sparks (little...some not so little...red-hot burning pieces of charcoal/wood) WILL come out from your stove from time to time. When one of those lands on your Pergo, before you can pick it up with a shovel & broom, or whatever, it will have permanently scarred your flooring. I'm not aware of any sort of carpet that's truly "fireproof", but something there to protect the Pergo is a good idea. Another idea might be to cut the Pergo away from the hearth about 12" (down to the sub-flooring) and put down a layer of tile backer, like 1/4" Durock or equivalent, and then set in some really nice ceramic tile to outline the hearth and give you more of a fireproof cushion between the opening of the insert and your combustibles. Rick

 

[stanleyjohn]

Ill do what needs to be done to meet code,I'm very cautious about things like that.I will stop at Lowe's next few days and see what they might have.The tile is a good idea!not that hard a job.Maybe a red brick type of tile that will match the fireplace brick or something black with a gold trim that will match the stove.

Update!! Seems that i have some real nice leftover 12*12 ceramic tiles from the bathrooms.After the stove is installed i will cutout 12" of the pergo in front of the hearth and install these tiles with some nice wood trim.The extension will give me at least 20" on the front side of the stove door.Still looking for some ideas on a temp guage for the stove.Any Ideas??

 

[begreen]

Get a simple magnetic surface thermometer and put it above the door. The upper left hand corner above the door looks like a good location.

(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/meters.html)

 

[Jay H]

I just have a probe thermometer on my flue stack, a condar model, installed as per their instructions. I don't have a stovetop thermometer as I just estimate the temps there so when you do read on the internet and this forum about overfiring temps and recommended temperature range to run your stove, be aware of what that temperature is, is it a stovetop temp or a flue temp. A flue temp is not going to be as hot as a stovetop temp. I will keep my stove running somewhere between 400°F and 600°F flue temps on normal conditions, and keep the flue temp below 900°F to prevent overfiring. A stovetop temp will be higher and different so just keep that in mind.

Jay