New Stove - Safety Items to Consider?

[emsflyer84]

Hey all, my Osburn wood insert is getting installed soon. There may be times when the fire is going and we leave the house unattended, or my 2 year old is home with the babysitter (yes it will be gated)…. I’m looking for some common sense safety measures I can take to prevent over-temp, carbon monoxide, etc, especially for when we’re not home. I know there are Wi-Fi sensors out there, I’ve seen talk of Auber Instruments temp alarms, etc. Curious what I should consider to make operation as safe as possible. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

The best thing is to install the stove with safety in mind. Don't cut corners.
The second thing is to only burn fully seasoned wood. That will eliminate most concerns with chimney fires.
Then, give yourselves time to learn about how the stove burns so that confidence is strong.
A fire extinguisher mounted near the closest exit door, a CO detector, and good smoke detectors should all be installed.

 

[EbS-P]

Hey all, my Osburn wood insert is getting installed soon. There may be times when the fire is going and we leave the house unattended, or my 2 year old is home with the babysitter (yes it will be gated)…. I’m looking for some common sense safety measures I can take to prevent over-temp, carbon monoxide, etc, especially for when we’re not home. I know there are Wi-Fi sensors out there, I’ve seen talk of Auber Instruments temp alarms, etc. Curious what I should consider to make operation as safe as possible. Thanks!

You need a CO alarm. An Auber at200 is worth the money if you have kids. It’s too easy to get distracted right after reloading. I have 2 Aubers (5kids). Teach them and the baby sitter what to do if the alarm goes off. CO leave the house. Auber set stove to lowest burn setting. Ideally the high temp alarm should be a reminder you didn’t turn the stove down enough and not that it’s hit a glowing temperature. They have a wireless version so you can see the temp from another room. Point a IP camera at it and you can monitor temps remotely.

Temp probe placement is more difficult with an insert. I have a washer probe and a flue probe. Washer is tucked between liner and it’s insulation. Reminder temp is set at 650.
Flue probe I needed to drill a small hole in the appliance adapter. 800-900 degrees might be a decent set point.

I don’t have any fireplace tools. No matches. I use a small butane kitchen torch to light. Get a steel ash bucket and make a fireproof place to set it. Keeps the kids off the wood stacks. One of mine just fell over. Kids weren’t around. It was not sturdy and I knew it. Let everyone help. Use all appropriate PPE when necessary. 11 year old wears my steel toed boots to split wood (probably need shin guards the way he was swinging the axe last time).

 

[emsflyer84]

You need a CO alarm. An Auber at200 is worth the money if you have kids. It’s too easy to get distracted right after reloading. I have 2 Aubers (5kids). Teach them and the baby sitter what to do if the alarm goes off. CO leave the house. Auber set stove to lowest burn setting. Ideally the high temp alarm should be a reminder you didn’t turn the stove down enough and not that it’s hit a glowing temperature. They have a wireless version so you can see the temp from another room. Point a IP camera at it and you can monitor temps remotely.

Temp probe placement is more difficult with an insert. I have a washer probe and a flue probe. Washer is tucked between liner and it’s insulation. Reminder temp is set at 650.
Flue probe I needed to drill a small hole in the appliance adapter. 800-900 degrees might be a decent set point.

I don’t have any fireplace tools. No matches. I use a small butane kitchen torch to light. Get a steel ash bucket and make a fireproof place to set it. Keeps the kids off the wood stacks. One of mine just fell over. Kids weren’t around. It was not sturdy and I knew it. Let everyone help. Use all appropriate PPE when necessary. 11 year old wears my steel toed boots to split wood (probably need shin guards the way he was swinging the axe last time).

Great suggestions. I was curious about the Auber prob placement with an insert. They have what looks like a magnetic surface mount sensor as well but only rated for up to 650 degrees. Logistically this is probably the best option for an insert but won’t give as accurate a reading as a prob I’d imagine. I’ll be picking up a CO alarm as well.

 

[EbS-P]

Great suggestions. I was curious about the Auber prob placement with an insert. They have what looks like a magnetic surface mount sensor as well but only rated for up to 650 degrees. Logistically this is probably the best option for an insert but won’t give as accurate a reading as a prob I’d imagine. I’ll be picking up a CO alarm as well.

Normal operating my stove and insert they go over 650. Get an IR thermometer too. More uses than just the stove. Accurate readings really aren’t that important. Where ever you place the probe there is a hotter spot and a colder spot on the insert. Understand what temp you are reading and what that means for the stove is important. Right now I know that with the washer between liner and insulation, my stove top is 50 cooler than that temp AFTER everything is up to temp and air is turned down. But when things get really hot my hottest part of the stove top can be 150 degrees hotter than the liner.

So temperature is Al relative and you need to interpret the reading and what that means for your stove.

 

[Beer Belly]

We let the stove pretty much burn down before we leave the house, no kids, just the pup at home.....I worry too much.