[quote author="soupy1957" date="1279818660"]FirefighterJake: That's not the first time you have mentioned checking/cleaning your flue "monthly." I do appreciate your contributions to my threads, .....I REALLY do! Coming, as you do, from the perspective of a fireman, as well as a wood burner, what you have to offer is invaluable.
Thanks . . . maybe I'm overly-cautious . . . or maybe I simply like my house and don't relish any thoughts of standing outside in middle of January in my boxers watching my house and stuff go up in flames when a simple 10-minute check and cleaning could have prevented a problem.
Having said that, knowing that I respect your opinion, I'd like to ask...............when you are burning wood in the winter "24/7" like I intend, and like many of the folks in here do, I'm wondering about the timing of "cleaning and inspecting things" whilst trying to keep the house warm. Are we saying, "ok, let's throw the furnace on today" (the cardinal sin of wood burning, eh?) so that I can check and clean the chimney? Obviously some "cool down time" is needed for the stove, before I go cleaning anything.
In my case I do it the first weekend of the month . . . that Saturday morning I get up while the stove is down to coals and do the cleaning. Now it should be mentioned that in my case I have an outside chimney and can do this from the ground so it's a simple affair of undoing three screws and running the brush up through the chimney . . . other folks have to let their stoves cool a bit as the creosote will dump directly into their stove or they have to unhook their stove . . . a nice advantage for me is I simply wait for the high heat to die down and I can clean it. Usually the oil boiler continues its winter slumber.
I have learned, from experience, (albeit limited, thus far) that "my" stove, is not going to burn exactly the same as my neighbor's stove, so getting back to the initial intent of this thread, anything that can help me keep things in check is a good thing. I'm not totally AGAINST a probe in m Flue Pipe, but I don't see myself installing one. Rather I figure I'll be continuing in the theme of "learning my stove" and trying to find a good heat balance.
It's entirely up to you . . . but I tell ya . . . it's wicked easy to install and once you have one you'll find yourself really liking it . . . truthfully I use my probe thermometer more than my stove top thermometer . . . it gives me an idea of when I can start closing down the air to achieve successful secondary combustion quickly and easily.
I'm figuring that I'm faced with replacing my Flue Pipe at some point down the road anyway, and perhaps at that time I may look into modifying it. I thought I'd like to have a damper in the Flue pipe, (and not just the one on the stove) for example, and perhaps I may do that when the time comes to replace the existing Flue Pipe. Perhaps at THAT time, I'll see if I can also get a section of Flue Pipe that has a thermometer built into it. Those work ok?
Here is an interesting quote that comes from another website:
"Do you need a flue pipe or stove thermometer?
We don't think so.
We don't recommend the use of flue pipe thermometers on modern wood stoves that have glass doors with airwash (so they stay fairly clear). Your best indication of how the fire is doing is by looking at it.
It turns out that there is no correct operating temperature for wood stoves because their output is modulated to provide enough heat for the conditions. So, in cold winter weather the temperature will be higher than in the fall when the heating load is lower.
. . .
I've read this bit before and agree to a point . . . I too watch the fire and in time you'll learn how your fire behaves and you'll be able to quickly tell if it needs more air, less air or what have you . . . and the clean glass is a guide post as well . . . but having a thermometer on the stove and flue just provides a person with more tools in their toolbox . . . and having more tools can be useful . . . especially to the newbie . . . as long as they also keep in mind as the article mentions that you shouldn't treat the numbers on the thermometer as the gospel . . . but rather guidelines.
-Soupy1957[/quote