I have a Woodstock Fireview. The company says that in general, you can expect the surface temperature to be about half the internal temperature. I assume this mainly applies when the stove is thoroughly hot and a fairly steady burn is underway. The information I can find about secondary combustion of woodsmoke indicates that it burns at about 1100 degrees F. This leads me to speculate that if I am running a soapstone stove at a surface temp of 550, I should expect that secondary combustion of the smoke is happening in the firebox regardless of any technology the stove may or may not have. About a week of using my stove without the combustor (it's plugged with ash and perhaps some creosote due apparently to excessive moisture in my wood) has produced the following observations:
1. When the surface temp is 500 (actually anything above 425), I see and smell no smoke unless I've just put wood in.
2. I can't seem to get the stove any hotter than 600 (although maybe with some properly dry wood I could).
3. It burns long and slow at 500+ for as long as the fuel holds out, an hour or so per small log.
I'm definitely not losing 40-50% of my heat potential up the chimney. If anything, it's heating better. I think the majority of the smoke is being burned before exiting the firebox. This, I think, is what experienced users of old iron stoves do to burn cleanly and efficiently, but soapstone makes it easier because the outside of the stove doesn't need to be as hot and the temp in the firebox doesn't change as quickly over time, also the cool spots are not as cool. Has anyone done any testing with a probe thermometer to see what exactly are the temperatures in a soapstone firebox over the course of a medium burn?
1. When the surface temp is 500 (actually anything above 425), I see and smell no smoke unless I've just put wood in.
2. I can't seem to get the stove any hotter than 600 (although maybe with some properly dry wood I could).
3. It burns long and slow at 500+ for as long as the fuel holds out, an hour or so per small log.
I'm definitely not losing 40-50% of my heat potential up the chimney. If anything, it's heating better. I think the majority of the smoke is being burned before exiting the firebox. This, I think, is what experienced users of old iron stoves do to burn cleanly and efficiently, but soapstone makes it easier because the outside of the stove doesn't need to be as hot and the temp in the firebox doesn't change as quickly over time, also the cool spots are not as cool. Has anyone done any testing with a probe thermometer to see what exactly are the temperatures in a soapstone firebox over the course of a medium burn?