stove thermometer

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.

Rebelduckman

Minister of Fire
Dec 14, 2013
1,105
Pulaski, Mississippi
This may need to move to the other forum. If so no prob. I have a broken
Rutland stove top thermo. Any suggestions for a good replacement
Or is this one as good as any? I plan to do the probe thermostat before next season but need something to get by for now. Tia.
 
My Rutland is opposite. If it says 600, my IR says 500.
 
We use a Condor, and according to the IR, it's pretty darn close (+/- 5 *F)
 
My Rutland reads 150 when the stove is cool. I assume it is equally bad when the stove is hot.
 
Condor . . .
Conder . . .

Goes by many spellings apparently ;), but I've always had good luck with the Condar brand thermometer. Pretty consistently close in temp when measured against an IR thermometer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Beer Belly
My Rutland is opposite. If it says 600, my IR says 500.
The magnetic type are less desirable than an IR gun to me anyway.

Also, I found that if I shoot my IR gun at the "Inferno" gauge (or my Rutland) I can get several different readings depending on WHERE I aim the laser.

For example, the Inferno may read 600.
If I shoot the laser at "12:00 o'clock" position on the magnetic gauge and it may read 550.
If I aim it at the 3:00 o'clock position I get maybe 500, then at 6:00 oclock the IR gun may read 475.

My point is, it may be hard to judge with an IR gun if the magnetic gauge is correct because the actual point of contact that the stove top gauges are using is actually underneath the gauge itself. (centered)
As far as I know anyway.
Technically, you would need to pick the magnet gauge up and get a reading in the spot it was covering to compare apples to apples.

:confused:I think I even confused myself with this post...;lol


------------------------
Condor . . .
Conder . . .

Goes by many spellings apparently ;), but I've always had good luck with the Condar brand thermometer. Pretty consistently close in temp when measured against an IR thermometer.

That's a big bird ,right??;lol
 
I was looking at the probe thermometers. Is there any significant reason these might be better than the magnetic one I just keep in the middle of my stovetop?

I use this as a consistent data point to determine, just relatively because I don't honestly know the temp in the box, how quickly things are heating up, when to turn on the blower, etc.

Thanks!
 
I have a Tel-Tru and a Condar. I've run them side-by-side and swapped them and the Condar runs pretty close. The differences you see in the pics were actual temp differences on the stove top and followed when I swapped locations. The Condar doesn't react as quickly as the Tel-Tru (especially on the way down) but I'd say it's acceptable to use for judging wood stove operation.

The thing I love about the Tel-Tru is the tell tale. It lets you know if the stove has been naughty or nice while you're away.

[Hearth.com] stove thermometer [Hearth.com] stove thermometer
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jack Fate
I have a brokenRutland stove top thermo
What happened to it? Got a pic? I think this Meeco is a re-badged Rutland; I had at my BIL's for a while. I really like the visibility but the pointer came loose. I checked against the IR gun, then siliconed it back on, right where it needed to be. >>
[Hearth.com] stove thermometer
 
Last edited:
What happened to it? Got a pic? I think this Meeco is a re-badged Rutland; I had at my BIL's for a while. I really like the visibility but the pointer came loose. I checked against the IR gun, then siliconed it back on, right where it needed to be. >>
View attachment 150669

The spring on back is missing. Me thinks one of the kids had something to do with it but nobody is talking:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Woody Stover
I don't trust the IR thermometer. I like it as a guide but it also seems to measure a wider sweep range of air. Intuitively you would think it is measuring the spot where the laser hits but that's not the case...

IR thermos measure the thermal radiation emitted from the surface and are not effected by the air but can be thrown off if the measured object is reflecting energy from a nearby object. They also measure in a cone coming out from the gun therefore the closer you are to the object, the smaller the measurement area of the surface. Some IR guns measure with a lot bigger cone than others. Check the distance-to-spot ratio. The larger the ratio, the smaller the measurement area at any given distance. Generally, the laser is set so that it's in the center of the measurement area but overall they are much more accurate than bimetal spring thermometers as long as you're not trying to measure it from across the room. The most accurate measurements will be from a thermocouple or RTD probe but those aren't widely available for most individuals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jack Fate
I have a Tel-Tru and a Condar. I've run them side-by-side and swapped them and the Condar runs pretty close. The differences you see in the pics were actual temp differences on the stove top and followed when I swapped locations. The Condar doesn't react as quickly as the Tel-Tru (especially on the way down) but I'd say it's acceptable to use for judging wood stove operation.

The thing I love about the Tel-Tru is the tell tale. It lets you know if the stove has been naughty or nice while you're away.

View attachment 150661 View attachment 150662

That's one of the reasons I love the Tel-Tru. They are a bit spendy but they are high quality and made in the USA. I'd love to compare the tel-tru temps with an IR gun to see how accurate it really is.
 
We use a Condor, and according to the IR, it's pretty darn close (+/- 5 *F)
same here, the thermometers can be calibrated . Just loosen the nut on the front face and adjust according to your IR
 
  • Like
Reactions: Beer Belly
Status
Not open for further replies.