Why dont' stoves have Temp Gauges built in ...Just wondering.

[Blkbeard]

As everyone can clearly see from many of the users on this forum that monitoring the temp at various locations on their stove is important to them. Why dont manufacturers build sensors into their stoves? Is it fear of complicating the simple black box? It seems like it should be an option. I know I probably would have spent the extra for this feature. Will dealers be getting too many calls from people stating that they cannot reach or sustain Optimal burning temps. Or.. is all this concern about temp unwarranted. Are the tests that manufacturers made to pass before they can sell a stove so high that they know users will never reach the meltdown temps? Maybe there are stoves out there that have this built in I just have not seen them or heard you guys talking about them. Please share your thoughts on this. Hey they added gauges to gas BBQs so why not the wood stove.
Take care all and may all your fires be in your stove.

 

[swestall]

One thought is that it would be a pain to get the exact replacement over time.

 

[Mmaul]

It could be an issue with calibration.

 

[Molson]

If they are the same as on a BBQ, I wouldn't want it. BBQ therm's can be as much as 50-60 degrees out, which is a lot. Aftermarket is always better. And they would put them at a spot that is more aesthetically pleasing, rather than practical. ie: In the dome of a BBQ lid.

 

[Blkbeard]

If they are the same as on a BBQ, I wouldn't want it. BBQ therm's can be as much as 50-60 degrees out, which is a lot. Aftermarket is always better. And they would put them at a spot that is more aesthetically pleasing, rather than practical. ie: In the dome of a BBQ lid.

Ok the BBQ comparison was probably a bad one. But I am sure that a few quality sensors could be placed throughout the stove if the manufacturers felt they were important.

 

[woodzilla]

I would bet that it has something to do with a warranty on the sensors.

 

[raybonz]

As everyone can clearly see from many of the users on this forum that monitoring the temp at various locations on their stove is important to them. Why dont manufacturers build sensors into their stoves? Is it fear of complicating the simple black box? It seems like it should be an option. I know I probably would have spent the extra for this feature. Will dealers be getting too many calls from people stating that they cannot reach or sustain Optimal burning temps. Or.. is all this concern about temp unwarranted. Are the tests that manufacturers made to pass before they can sell a stove so high that they know users will never reach the meltdown temps? Maybe there are stoves out there that have this built in I just have not seen them or heard you guys talking about them. Please share your thoughts on this. Hey they added gauges to gas BBQs so why not the wood stove.
Take care all and may all your fires be in your stove.

My opinion is it adds expense which makes the stove more expensive and may reduce overall sales however they could locations that are ready to accept thermometers and plug them as an option. The downside to this would be the stove may be less attractive.. Probably just boils down to dollars and cents..

Ray

 

[eernest4]

Why stop with just a thermometer? I would be willing to pay $200.oo more for a stove with
a radio / belt beeper alarm for high & low stack temps. I am never in the same room with the stove, always someplace else, so montoring the wood stove is a big problem for me.
A high temp overfire radio alarm & a low temp ,time to feed the stove radio alarm would be worth more that their wieght in fuel oil, since gold prices are rediciliously high.

If they can have a refrigerator alarm to safeguard $200 worth of groceries, why can't they have a stove alarm to safeguard a $200,000.oo home???

Is it because the stove manufacturers are stuck in the 18th century, just like gm cant make a car that gets 40mpg? This is 2008 and its about time that the stove manufacturers got up to speed with computer controls & electronic controls for their wood stoves, or at the very least, a radio beeper belt alarm for high temp overfire.

They wouldn't drive a model T , but they expect us to be happy with obsolete stove technoligy??

Oh, not enough demand, they think. Dead Wrong, I say. Let just one model come out to market & they will see how hard it will be for them to sell their obsolete manuel control
unalarmed & therefore unsafe stoves.

I can forsee a time when all wood stoves will have high temp overfire radio alert alarms & insurance companies won't want to insure old non alarmed stoves & start dis allowing claims because of it.

Let this post serve as warning to the wise stove manufacturer, the times ,they are a changing,
yet again.

My belief & i hope it comes true.

 

[raybonz]

Why stop with just a thermometer? I would be willing to pay $200.oo more for a stove with
a radio / belt beeper alarm for high & low stack temps. I am never in the same room with the stove, always someplace else, so montoring the wood stove is a big problem for me.
A high temp overfire radio alarm & a low temp ,time to feed the stove radio alarm would be worth more that their wieght in fuel oil, since gold prices are rediciliously high.

If they can have a refrigerator alarm to safeguard $200 worth of groceries, why can't they have a stove alarm to safeguard a $200,000.oo home???

Is it because the stove manufacturers are stuck in the 18th century, just like gm cant make a car that gets 40mpg? This is 2008 and its about time that the stove manufacturers got up to speed with computer controls & electronic controls for their wood stoves, or at the very least, a radio beeper belt alarm for high temp overfire.

They wouldn't drive a model T , but they expect us to be happy with obsolete stove technoligy??

Oh, not enough demand, they think. Dead Wrong, I say. Let just one model come out to market & they will see how hard it will be for them to sell their obsolete manuel control
unalarmed & therefore unsafe stoves.

I can forsee a time when all wood stoves will have high temp overfire radio alert alarms & insurance companies won't want to insure old non alarmed stoves & start dis allowing claims because of it.

Let this post serve as warning to the wise stove manufacturer, the times ,they are a changing,
yet again.

My belief & i hope it comes true.

I don't buy that high tech stuff on a wood stove for a second... Many people enjoy woodstoves because they go back to simpler times and with many less things that can go wrong at a high price... I have worked on high tech equipment for over 25 years and trust me things DO go wrong! At least if I lose power my stove still works!
Read the pellet forum and see how many auger motors fail and when they do they aren't cheap plus the stove shuts down without power... They could make augers more reliable but it would be expensive to implement so I doubt you'll see that change..
To me too much in life is high-tech and stoves bring me back to simpler times.. I was interested in pellet stoves until I saw the negatives.. Don't get me wrong they are perfect for many people especially that you can better control the heat but with complexity problems multiply.
I hope that what you're thinking doesn't come true in my lifetime!
I even miss the no cellphone and no beeper days! We survived just fine and people didn't expect instant gratification like they do today!
Whatever happened to not working on Sundays and stores not open? I for one would take them back anyday....

Something to think about.....

Ray

 

[Hogwildz]

Its obvious to me, that they do not include thermos for a good reason.
If they did, it would have to be high quality, and then there would be no excuse of blaming the user of over firing to weasel out of warranty issues.
As it is, most will simply say, "You over fired it", warranty null. Pretty much same reason most won't define what temp is over firing.

 

[BrotherBart]

Its obvious to me, that they do not include thermos for a good reason.
If they did, it would have to be high quality, and then there would be no excuse of blaming the user of over firing to weasel out of warranty issues.
As it is, most will simply say, "You over fired it", warranty null. Pretty much same reason most won't define what temp is over firing.

Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner.

 

[Hogwildz]

Its obvious to me, that they do not include thermos for a good reason.
If they did, it would have to be high quality, and then there would be no excuse of blaming the user of over firing to weasel out of warranty issues.
As it is, most will simply say, "You over fired it", warranty null. Pretty much same reason most won't define what temp is over firing.

Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner.

"Tell him what he's won Johnny!"

 

[eernest4]

What brother bart says & what hogwild says makes perfect sense to me.

What raybonz said , well ,I can understand & simpathize with but I wouldn't want my house to burn down because my stove lacked a radio linked overfire alarm.

A radio link beeper overfire alarm is the least precaution that even an idiot should be able to see the need for.

If you can't be in the basement all the time ,montoring the stove, at least have an alarm.

The computer contols for the primary & secondary air & thermostat control for a wood stove, I can see that some would not trust it & that some would not like it & thats ok for them but does not mean that I should be denied one just because some dont think it a good idea when many others do think it good.

It is a lot like saying that I only want an off/on switch on my oil burner & i will stay down the basement and watch the water temp gague & shut off the oil burner with the manuel switch
when the water temp reaches 165 deg.

How many people would want to put up with that instead of just setting a thermostat.

If they can do it for an oil burner ,they can do it for a wood stove but they have this old time obsolete anti progress mind set.

This is the way we always did it so this is the way it will always be done. Where have I heard that before, I wonder.

If god wanted man to fly, he would have given us wings;

& the earth is square.

Stubron thinkers keeps us stagnant , even when technoligy is already well capable.

Some don't want to take the risk or expense of bringing a new & benificial product to market
because they are already making enough money, just the way things are, so dont rock my boat.

But when someone does put out the first model, all the others will then have to stop dragging their heels & scurry to catch up.

We always had cars that got 12 mpg so lets keep building cars that get 12 mpg, but just ask GM about their last quarters loses because that don't give customers what customers want
but rather GM gives customers what GM says they should want .

Customers say, we no buy your gas guzzlers; go take loses & loose market share.

 

[jpl1nh]

It is an interesting question but it is also pretty easy and inexpensive to buy a couple and put them where you need them.

 

[brooktrout]

Its obvious to me, that they do not include thermos for a good reason.
If they did, it would have to be high quality, and then there would be no excuse of blaming the user of over firing to weasel out of warranty issues.
As it is, most will simply say, "You over fired it", warranty null. Pretty much same reason most won't define what temp is over firing.

Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner.

"Tell him what he's won Johnny!"

"Why, you have won this beautiful, brand new, state-of-the-art............wood stove thermometer!"

 

[Blkbeard]

It is an interesting question but it is also pretty easy and inexpensive to buy a couple and put them where you need them.

True but I still like the Idea of a digital display and temp monitors wireless or mounted on the front. And eernest4 is way ahead of the thought curve on this. Like I wrote in my original post I was just curious and interested in everyone's thoughts. I agree it may not be for everyone but I think that will drive the next generation of sales. Inovation and new features do encourage people to upgrade. I dont own a new car but from what I see a GPS is almost standard in newer vehicles. Is it needed, no everyone can still read a map but people are starting to look for that option. On my current van I have all wheel drive. On my last van same model it only had rear wheel drive. Now that I have had a taste of toyota previa AWD I will probably never get another 2 wheel drive vehicle. And I do know that AWD is more costly to repair and maintain.

 

[billb3]

I can just imagine all the tech support calls regarding inacurate temp. guages.

It's off by a half a degree. I'm not impressed.
Nice stove, crappy thermometer.

 

[WES999]

I have a digital temp sensor/ over/under temp alarm on my stove and couldn’t imagine not having one. I t makes operation so much easier, as it reacts much faster than a surface thermometer. It’s not wireless, but if the flue temp goes over the set point it has a fairly loud beeping alarm that will get your attention, a plus for me as the stove is in the basement and I am not always there to watch it.

 

[Jimbob]

I have a digital temp sensor/ over/under temp alarm on my stove and couldn’t imagine not having one. I t makes operation so much easier, as it reacts much faster than a surface thermometer. It’s not wireless, but if the flue temp goes over the set point it has a fairly loud beeping alarm that will get your attention, a plus for me as the stove is in the basement and I am not always there to watch it.

Ok now, where did you get that?.....I want one
:coolsmile:

 

[JonOfSunderland]

I've been trying to find a good definition of a stove and a furnace but I can't. All I can work up is a stove is a manually operated device, just like the one in the kitchen. If you start adding various methods of monitoring and automatic control, your moving into the furnace realm, which is not what a "wood stove" is intended to be. If you want to set-it-and-forget-it, go get a furnace instead of a stove. It would be a real shame if in a couple decades you couldn't buy a simple wood stove without a power cord sticking out the back that went to some kind of control and monitoring system because people demanded automation and manufactures happily complied.

 

[Hogwildz]

A stove is an area or space heater, for some, they luckily can heat all or most of their home with it. This is dependent on the home design & circulation.
A furnace is a whole home heater, designed as such, and has a boiler setup for hot water heat or capabilities for ducting to be connected.

 

[76ER]

[I don’t buy that high tech stuff on a wood stove for a second… Many people enjoy woodstoves because they go back to simpler times and with many less things that can go wrong at a high price… I have worked on high tech equipment for over 25 years and trust me things DO go wrong! At least if I lose power my stove still works!
Read the pellet forum and see how many auger motors fail and when they do they aren’t cheap plus the stove shuts down without power… They could make augers more reliable but it would be expensive to implement so I doubt you’ll see that change..
To me too much in life is high-tech and stoves bring me back to simpler times.. I was interested in pellet stoves until I saw the negatives.. Don’t get me wrong they are perfect for many people especially that you can better control the heat but with complexity problems multiply.
I hope that what you’re thinking doesn’t come true in my lifetime!
I even miss the no cellphone and no beeper days! We survived just fine and people didn’t expect instant gratification like they do today!
Whatever happened to not working on Sundays and stores not open? I for one would take them back anyday.]

I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!

 

[EddyKilowatt]

The stove builders really need to step up to the plate and ship a calibrated thermometer with every stove. The number of questions I see here about overfiring or underfiring, and the number of people I see trying to compare temperature readings taken with different thermometers in different places on differently-designed stoves and flues, makes me think we are really missing the boat on this one. There would be great safety and environmental benefit to putting a thermometer on every new stove.

Eddy

 

[BrotherBart]

It is beyond me why cat stoves have a place to screw a probe into them to determine optimum combustion chamber temperature and EPA re-burn stoves do not. A bazillion bucks are spent in burn labs with tons of instruments for tuning the stoves. The info is available but a threaded hole in the damned stove body to make use of this optimum burn info is not. Same probe that is used on a cat stove would get it done on a re-reburner.

Heck the head of development for ESW is a member here and yet I have no clue where to measure surface temp on my NC-30 or what the optimum heat transfer and clean burning temp for the stove is if I knew where to measure it. Sure wood, flue and draft play a part but there is some temperature inside that firebox that is optimum. :coolsmirk:

 

[babalu87]

Morso doesnt supply the pipe, thats why.
The only place IMNSHO that a thermometer does a lick of good is on the stove pipe. Just like a diesel engine and oft overlooked gauged is the pyrometer, which measures exhaust (read flue gas) temperatures.
More than one diesel mechanic has told me that a pyrometer should be mandatory on all diesel engines.