First off, I know questions about temperatures have been asked A LOT! I feel I've read them all, yet I'm still uncertain on an answer. So I don't know if I'm just too dense or what, and therefore I thought I'd try with a lot of very specific information in case that might finally help get me over the hump.
Attached is a picture of our wood stove. We purchased the house about 10 months ago. House built in 2008 and all indications are the stove was new at that time. However, I cannot say that with 100% certainty.....what I would call a 95% estimate.
No owners manual to be had. No tags or markings anywhere to know the manufacturer info (would love to find that in order to get an online manual). As you can see, it is surrounded by soapstone (about 3 inches thick). The house itself has tons of higher-end upgrades, materials, etc and many "it was built right" touches throughout. Based on all of that, I find it highly unlikely that the stove is poorly made or a "Chinese knockoff" as is referenced at times. Oh, former owner and who had the home built is a career firefighter, so further makes me think it is a well-built stove. Outside of finding a specific brand, the only other possibility I can think of is maybe Amish-built as there are a number of Amish communities within a reasonable distance of our location.
Here are all of the details I can think of that could be relevant to the conversation:
So I'm trying to figure out some info to give me comfort in terms of heating the house well, but calm any nerves in terms of risk of chimney fire.
We do NOT have a temperature probe in the flue. We do NOT have a temperature gun (probably need to get one, though). All I have are two of the cheap magnetic thermometers normally used on the outside of the stovepipe. However, knowing it is double-wall stovepipe, I don't figure it does me a lot of good to put it on the pipe anyway, right?
So, I've stuck them on the stove itself. One is on the front in the top corner (you can probably see it in the pic) and the other is on the top of the stove right next to where the stovepipe is attached.
But, I realize they are just points of reference. First, they are just magnetic and I know they aren't all that accurate to start with. Second, I know from reading other threads the surface temps can vary greatly over the course of just a few inches. So although they are a point of reference, that is about the best purpose they serve.
With that said, when I look at the one on the front of the stove, it is usually fluctuating in the 300-450 degree range depending on the stage of the fire and placement of the logs. The one on top of the stove, near the stove pipe, is usually reading in the 600-700 degree range. But when the flames are going (instead of just hot coals), the flames can touch the surface of the stove so I know that contributes to the higher readout and is temporary in nature.
I've tried the visual, which is to go outside and look for any smoke. I'd say usually, there is none or very little (of course, the exception to that is when getting a new fire going and up to temp). So that seems to be a good sign.
Overall, I question if we might be burning too hot continuously. I know smaller, hotter fires are desired. And, something to be said for establishing some nice hot coals and they do most of the heating. But I feel like the temps drop off significantly, and the warmth in the room drops as well, if there isn't at least some degree of an active fire going. So we do load a log every hour or two, depending on its size. But I wonder if we're not also losing too much heat up the stovepipe rather than truly heating the room. On the other hand, if we close the air supply down, that buys some time (longer burn), but it does seem to stifle the fire as well almost too much (meaning sometimes, the temps still drop off and opening the door it is smoking more than anything, which makes me worry about creosote, so I increase the air supply again).
I just feel like I'm constantly fighting to find the right balance. What feels warmest and most natural seems like maybe too fast of a burn and therefore maybe wasting too much heat up the chimney. But if I try to control that aspect at all, even a slight adjustment, then it seems to choke the fire too much to where there isn't a comfortable heat and I wonder about creosote...especially given the total length of stove/chimney pipe and our winter temps usually in the teens to thirties. And, to go with all of that, I also wonder if our flue gas temps may be too high, even though there is no current sign of strain and my only point of reference for temps are the cheap magnets. I've read some threads that indicate the stove temp is going to be lower than the flue gasses, so if that cheap magnet is anywhere close to being accurate at say 600 degrees, could that mean my flue gas temp is 800, 900, or higher???
I'm a rookie at this. I grew up on a regular fireplace, not a wood stove. My wife grew up on wood stove and/or wood burning furnaces, but they had automatic thermostats, blowers, and dampers. So none of that completely translates to our use. I'm not overly concerned with it while we are in the room, but we're trying to use it overnight as well and to some degree it is obviously burning when we leave for the store, eat, or run other errands. I'm trying to reach a higher degree of comfort, mostly for those unattended or overnight situations. And that is where no matter how much reading and research I do, I seem to have more questions than answers and comfort.
Any words of wisdom from this group would be greatly appreciated in terms of whether or not our temps seem "ok" or too high/low, what else to look for, and if by some slight chance anyone has a guess on the brand based on this single picture? Thank you so much, all! The other threads I've read through have been very informative, and I look forward to learning more from your experience and wisdom. Thanks again!
Attached is a picture of our wood stove. We purchased the house about 10 months ago. House built in 2008 and all indications are the stove was new at that time. However, I cannot say that with 100% certainty.....what I would call a 95% estimate.
No owners manual to be had. No tags or markings anywhere to know the manufacturer info (would love to find that in order to get an online manual). As you can see, it is surrounded by soapstone (about 3 inches thick). The house itself has tons of higher-end upgrades, materials, etc and many "it was built right" touches throughout. Based on all of that, I find it highly unlikely that the stove is poorly made or a "Chinese knockoff" as is referenced at times. Oh, former owner and who had the home built is a career firefighter, so further makes me think it is a well-built stove. Outside of finding a specific brand, the only other possibility I can think of is maybe Amish-built as there are a number of Amish communities within a reasonable distance of our location.
Here are all of the details I can think of that could be relevant to the conversation:
- quality of stove as mentioned above, but unable to get firm confirmation on brand info or age.
- No fan or automated damper, etc. Airflow is controlled manually by the two "silver" vents/knobs on the front of the stove.
- only 1 bend in the stovepipe, which is a 30 or 45 degree almost immediately after the stove and then again to where it turns vertical. From there, is straight up all the way to the chimney cap.
- surrounded by 3" soapstone.
- double-wall stovepipe from stove to ceiling. I haven't taken a true measurement, but eyeballing it I would say the external diameter is 8" or even 10".
- chimney pipe we had replaced with new stainless, installed by national industry expert (if I gave description, it would be very easy to identify is name/info and I don't want to do that without his permission), told it was top of the line in terms of material, manufacturing, etc. It is stainless, I recall he said rated to 2100 degrees, etc. I've not gotten on the roof to get an exact measurement, but I'd estimate it to be 18 or 20 feet tall and is "inside" a framed chimney chase (not lined, but wood-framed to hold cement fiber siding...and there is LOTS of clearance space between the pipe and the chase framing). Why did we have new chimney pipe installed? Not out of necessity, but rather peace of mind knowing it was new, done right, etc because there is no way to truly know how frequently the prior owners had it cleaned (even though visual inspection showed it was fine/clean). In short, probably completely unnecessary but worth the price for comfort of mind in my book.
- also had new chase cover and pipe cap installed when the new chimney pipe was installed.
So I'm trying to figure out some info to give me comfort in terms of heating the house well, but calm any nerves in terms of risk of chimney fire.
We do NOT have a temperature probe in the flue. We do NOT have a temperature gun (probably need to get one, though). All I have are two of the cheap magnetic thermometers normally used on the outside of the stovepipe. However, knowing it is double-wall stovepipe, I don't figure it does me a lot of good to put it on the pipe anyway, right?
So, I've stuck them on the stove itself. One is on the front in the top corner (you can probably see it in the pic) and the other is on the top of the stove right next to where the stovepipe is attached.
But, I realize they are just points of reference. First, they are just magnetic and I know they aren't all that accurate to start with. Second, I know from reading other threads the surface temps can vary greatly over the course of just a few inches. So although they are a point of reference, that is about the best purpose they serve.
With that said, when I look at the one on the front of the stove, it is usually fluctuating in the 300-450 degree range depending on the stage of the fire and placement of the logs. The one on top of the stove, near the stove pipe, is usually reading in the 600-700 degree range. But when the flames are going (instead of just hot coals), the flames can touch the surface of the stove so I know that contributes to the higher readout and is temporary in nature.
I've tried the visual, which is to go outside and look for any smoke. I'd say usually, there is none or very little (of course, the exception to that is when getting a new fire going and up to temp). So that seems to be a good sign.
Overall, I question if we might be burning too hot continuously. I know smaller, hotter fires are desired. And, something to be said for establishing some nice hot coals and they do most of the heating. But I feel like the temps drop off significantly, and the warmth in the room drops as well, if there isn't at least some degree of an active fire going. So we do load a log every hour or two, depending on its size. But I wonder if we're not also losing too much heat up the stovepipe rather than truly heating the room. On the other hand, if we close the air supply down, that buys some time (longer burn), but it does seem to stifle the fire as well almost too much (meaning sometimes, the temps still drop off and opening the door it is smoking more than anything, which makes me worry about creosote, so I increase the air supply again).
I just feel like I'm constantly fighting to find the right balance. What feels warmest and most natural seems like maybe too fast of a burn and therefore maybe wasting too much heat up the chimney. But if I try to control that aspect at all, even a slight adjustment, then it seems to choke the fire too much to where there isn't a comfortable heat and I wonder about creosote...especially given the total length of stove/chimney pipe and our winter temps usually in the teens to thirties. And, to go with all of that, I also wonder if our flue gas temps may be too high, even though there is no current sign of strain and my only point of reference for temps are the cheap magnets. I've read some threads that indicate the stove temp is going to be lower than the flue gasses, so if that cheap magnet is anywhere close to being accurate at say 600 degrees, could that mean my flue gas temp is 800, 900, or higher???
I'm a rookie at this. I grew up on a regular fireplace, not a wood stove. My wife grew up on wood stove and/or wood burning furnaces, but they had automatic thermostats, blowers, and dampers. So none of that completely translates to our use. I'm not overly concerned with it while we are in the room, but we're trying to use it overnight as well and to some degree it is obviously burning when we leave for the store, eat, or run other errands. I'm trying to reach a higher degree of comfort, mostly for those unattended or overnight situations. And that is where no matter how much reading and research I do, I seem to have more questions than answers and comfort.
Any words of wisdom from this group would be greatly appreciated in terms of whether or not our temps seem "ok" or too high/low, what else to look for, and if by some slight chance anyone has a guess on the brand based on this single picture? Thank you so much, all! The other threads I've read through have been very informative, and I look forward to learning more from your experience and wisdom. Thanks again!
for forgetting to shut the damper as it tended to over fire the stove and wasted fuel.
