Regency F3100 top glowed a bit red

[referee54]

We have been burning a wood stove for quite some time, but this has never happened. My wife put some wood into the stove---she did not come close to overfilling it---and the thermometer on the stove pipe said "good burn." (450*) I smelled that "hot metal" smell and the top ---maybe about six square inches---had a slight glow to it.

The pipes on the inside were firing away, but the stove had been dampered down and there was no problem with the chimney.

What happened.---and how could this impact my stove---I have never had this happen before, and, as I said, the thermometer said "good burn" but there was a small area on top of the stop that had a faint glow to it.

Thanks!

 

[pen]

Was this standard firewood the was put in the stove, or cut up dimensional lumber, man made bricks?

Was the load put on top of very hot coals or a load that was still partially burning?

Any chance an ash pan isn’t latched or a door or ash pan gasket has come detached and isn’t sealing well allowing an unregulated air leak?

Smaller splits than normal? Windier outside than normal or colder causing more draft?

In all, I can’t see one hot run like this causing any harm. However, I hope you can find what happened differently so there aren’t repeated performances as that can be problematic.

 

[begreen]

Hmm, I'm wondering if the thermometer is the wrong type for that location. There are stove pipe thermometers and stove top thermometers. Their ranges differ quite a lot. Is this on single-wall or double wall stove pipe? 450F on a single wall pipe is tickling with the overfire range. If you can post a picture of the thermometer we may be able to determine the type.

 

[referee54]

Regular firewood. Some hickory and some maple. Single wall stovepipe.

 

[referee54]

Actually, a rather minimal load of wood, maybe three logs.

 

[referee54]

Meeco's Red Devil Thermometer

 

[begreen]

That's a stove top thermometer. If you had put it on the stove top near that glowing red area the needle would have pegged. You can use it on the stove pipe but you will have to ignore the ranges indication. This is a single-wall stove pipe thermometer. The orange range is 'optimal'.


Not sure what happened but I suspect the air was left too far open or the wood was put on a very hot coal bed. Just to verify, is there single-wall stove pipe connecting the stove?

 

[referee54]

Here is the actual one on my chimney. Finally got a picture