Stove temps and damper

[Tommie]

I sorta new to wood stoves I bought one for my man cave but I am confused on temps
When I first got my stove the pipe temp would show a high temp ( but doesn’t that mean I am losing too much heat )
I have a magnetic thermometer I got from Lowes if I put it on the stove top it is in the 400 degrees range if I put it on the single wall pipe it won’t go over 200 mostly at 150
But yet my stove is hot and no smoke out of chimney I do not have a damper either should I have put one
And I can’t remember exactly last year I did not use it much but I seem to remember the pipe temp getting to optimal burn range
Could this mean I have creosote in the pipes
Planned on cleaning pipes this summer
Sorry for so many questions

 

[jetsam]

400 stovetop and no smoke is possible for a catalytic stove burning low.

Your flue temperature reading is meaningless; can't measure it with a magnetic thermometer stuck on the outside of the round pipe.

Your stovetop temperature is suspect, especially if it's a tube stove; get an IR thermometer and see if it agrees with the magnetic thermometer.

So:

What kind of stove is it?

Describe the venting system; pictures would help.

Describe how your wood is split, stored, and seasoned.

How long has it been since you swept? Do you get smoke coming into the room when you open the door?

Did the stove formerly hit higher stovetops, and were you using the same wood then?

 

[Woody Stover]

You can put your stove make and model in your signature, then we'll have a better idea what kind of temps you should be seeing. If it is a secondary-burn stove, 400 sounds low. Are you seeing flames coming off the secondary tubes or baffle in the top of the firebox? If you see no smoke when you have the stove cruising and the air cut back fairly low, that's a good indication that you are burning clean. I don't put much stock in the temp "zones" on the magnetic surface meters..they are kinda generic and may not apply.
You should only need a pipe damper if your chimney is excessively tall, 25' or more. I'll echo @jetsam question...do you get smoke roll-out when you open the door with wood burning in the box? As do fresh splits of wood sizzle when you put them on a good bed of coals? You can get a moisture meter at Harbor Freight for $14. Re-split one of your splits which is at room temp, then take a reading, firmly jamming the pins into the center of the freshly exposed face of the wood.

Your flue temperature reading is meaningless; can't measure it with a magnetic thermometer stuck on the outside of the round pipe.

Well, I don't think that's exactly true. With a surface meter about 18" above the flue collar on single-wall pipe, I think the rule of thumb is that it will read about 1/2 what the actual flue gas temp is..

Echoing jetsam again, what is your chimney setup? Is this Class A chimney all the way up or pipe going into a masonry chimney, or what? would get up on the roof and brush out your chimney when you can, just to see what's going on, and make sure you're safe.

 

[Tommie]

First thanks for the replies

It’s a country hearth don’t know model right now ( tractor supply)
It’s not catalytic I am pretty sure
Inside flue is a single wall pipe ( from Lowes)
About 6 feet
Exterior double wall about 4 feet ( tractor supply)
It is in an enclosed patio cover is insulated and nearly flat
Normally buy wood at local grocery store that has been kiln dried
No I do not have any Smoke back draft problems
It just seams that I have to fill the box with wood burning like crazy to get it hot enough
( maybe it is just a crappy stove)
Just use it to keep patio warm and it does that

I looked at it last night (I have bought a cord of wood 90 percent is dry)
Got the flue temp close to optimal ( with magnetic thermometer) very little smoke
I will take a few pictures tonight to show setup
If I forgot to answer something let me know

 

[begreen]

Go up and remove the chimney cap and clean it. That may be the issue. Check the pipe while up there and see how it looks. If it is getting choked up with sote, clean the chimney too.

It sounds like the stove might not have sufficient flue height to achieve good secondary burning, especially in milder temps. You could test this by pulling the chimney cap and sticking a 4' length of 6" warm air pipe into the chimney crimp down. Do this on a calm day. Then see how the stove performs with this temporary extension.

 

[bholler]

Your flue temperature reading is meaningless; can't measure it with a magnetic thermometer stuck on the outside of the round pipe.

That is not true at all I and many many others use that method to very successfully run their stoves

 

[Tommie]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions I will try them this weekend if I can

It’s been a busy week at work
And now it seems it’s gonna continue to rain all week
I will check my pipe and cap
Should I still need an extension if I am above 2 feet of the highest part within 10 feet
Or are you telling me that it will burn hotter with more pipe ( possibly)
Like tonight I have to cram it with wood looks hot but doesn’t seem to get hot enough

 

[begreen]

If the stove has insufficient draft then it will not get a good secondary burn. This is where the heat is. This is irrespective of the 10-3-2 rule for chimney height. If the numbers provided are correct (6' stove pipe + 4' chimney) then it's very likely there is insufficient flue to create a good draft, especially in Louisiana temps.

 

[Tommie]

If the stove has insufficient draft then it will not get a good secondary burn. This is where the heat is. This is irrespective of the 10-3-2 rule for chimney height. If the numbers provided are correct (6' stove pipe + 4' chimney) then it's very likely there is insufficient flue to create a good draft, especially in Louisiana temps.

I think I have more pipe in the attic if it ever stops raining this weekend I will give it a try