wood insert ... burn temps and where'd you install a thermometer?

[Jake]

Forst, I love burning wood

second, What temps do you burn at, and where do you mount your thermometer?

I have mine right above the door (magnetic deal), but I wonder if theres a better place

 

[JMF1]

Jake, I would refer to your owners manual first, they usually have something in there. I burn mine between 450-650 which seems to work well. Also, let us know what kind of stove you are using as it will help the experts answer your question better.
By the way, those are surface temps with the thermometer as close to the center of the stove as I can get it on the top.

 

[kd460]

Jake, good question. I have been wondering the same thing. I can tell the stove "likes" certian temps, but since I have no thermometer, I have no idea what those temps are. KD

 

[BrotherBart]

I use flue probe and stove top thermometers but am starting to believe that I would be better off without them. Too much time spent checking them and fiddling. I think I am going to MGS's method. If I am cold crank it up. If I am hot crank it down.

 

[Tendencies]

I have a Dutchwest VC Insert, only place I can put a thermo is like you, magnetic on the door arch (upper), when I have good secondary burn going and my damper is completely off I run temps around 450-550, I suspect that with these temps that I may have some slight gasket leakage around the door but I'm getting good burn times (5-6 hrs) on minimal loads (ie: 2 phone book sized splits) so I'm not gonna mess with what seems to work best right now.....no other place to put a thermo as it's a welded steel box inside a steel box with air drawn between the boxes by the blower and no access to the flex stack..

T

 

[jqgs214]

Getting the VC DW2500 installed on Thursday, how do you like yours? Plus any help on stove temps would be appreciated. Do I really need a thermometer?

 

[Mike Wilson]

I put my thermometer on the actual body of the stove itself, right on top in the center, pushed back a few inches from the front of the surround. It gives me a good "relative" temperature reading, although I sometimes wonder how much the fan impacts my temperature readings... the thermometer is in the air stream. Oh, and I burn at about 650... 500 on the low side, 700 on the high side.

-- Mike

 

[Tendencies]

wxman, I really like my Dutchwest, easy to load and run, get good burn times 5-6 hrs and still have a good 2" solid coals so reloads are a breeze, only thing negative I feel is the front load, there's no real lip to hold in the ashes and everytime you open the door to reload some will fall out, can't be helped, luckily I have a very large ceramic hearth pad in front and a rechargeable cordless hand vac to suck up the ashes after I'm sure they are out!! Thermometer is pretty much worthless on these units as there is no exposed direct connection point for the firebox or the stack. Usually I just load er up, leave the door open an inch or so and the damper wide open for 5 minutes or so until a good burn is established and then secure the door and shut the damper down to almost closed, if secondary burn kicks in like it should your set for some real nice heat for another 5 hrs or so!!





T

 

[citizanken]

I have the Clydesdale, and when I asked my dealer where a good place to place a thermometer on it would be, he said " there isn't any good place" So I am not using one now.

 

[Jake]

its a napolean 1101

I've been burning with the t-meter between 300-500, but I wonder what the temp is inside, and how much the fan affects it,

Here's a pic

 

[Jake]

Read the manual, It states that the optimum burn temps (just below the trivet) should be between 500 and 600