First Absolute steel hybrid fire today, smoke getting out?

[Squisher]

For certain the more thermometers the better IMO. I have three on my stove and an IR gun too. But many people never fully understand their appliance or system not in three years not in twenty. They just burn. Turn it up a bit if they think they want more heat turn it down for less. Throw on wood as it fits. Three years might be accurate for you but not for everyone. I'm on my second year with my summit and even last year I was nailing it, long burns on full loads. I credit thermometers, and this site too has been invaluable.

In your scenario of the thermometer causing confusion that's not really accurate. Obviously part of having and using a thermometer is being able to read it and evaluate how it's relevant to the appliance/installation. But a thermometer doesn't cause the confusion, a misinterpretation of it can I suppose. For myself I run a magnetic stovepipe thermometer for my stovetop thermometer and obviously it reads quite overfired at 650-700f. But because I know what temps I'm looking for, it's not causing me confusion it's telling me what I need to know.

I see no reason not to rely on them. It's fire, the actual temperature of things is invaluable information.

 

[bholler]

Not with a downdraft stove. People go by the stove top temps as an indication of when to close the bypass, and the AB stalls because the coal bed isn't deep enough... so they run a smolder when the thermometer is in the "good" range.

And is the op's stove a down draft stove? And yes down draft stoves are hard to run correctly without a doubt. But in that case it is not the thermometer caucusing the confusion it is the combustion system. If they had a probe in that ab so you could tell what was going on in there they would be much easier to run.

 

[tlhfirelion]

next time you got the oven on, put the 2 in, see if the needles correspond with the baking temps. Also FYI the stove pipe thermometers are estimates, usually when the thermometer says 450 deg the internal temps are much higher, after a couple years of burning I gave up on thermometers, I just look at the stove, look at the chimney for smoke and make my adjustments.

I think in time I will be able to operate without a thermometer but for now, and especially since this is a new stove and my first CAT stove, I believe I would be best served to utilize all options to learn it's behavior. I'm aware of what clean burning smoke looks like and what secondaries look like but on a much smaller and simpler stove. I want to make sure I know whats happening before going off feel. This rule served me well on my honeymoon and should do so in this scenario as well. lol

 

[tlhfirelion]

This is steel, catalytic hybrid stove, not cast iron. More like a good bourbon than a fine wine.
The manufacturer has supplied the thermometer for a reason. It is the guide for cat engagement. Keep it and try swapping positions with the Imperial thermometer to see if the temp reading changes.

As for stove temp, what is the moisture content of the oak? If not fully seasoned and still damp inside the wood it may not provide as much heat as expected.

I've not used my moisture meter on this rack but I would guess under 15% if previous tress with the same timeline in my area are any indication. (I test ends and the middle and average FYI) It's well over a year old split small and stacked. I plan to set both thermometers next to each other and see how they correspond. The therm that came with the stove has two settings on it. Here is the link to that thermometer.http://store.woodstove.com/product.php?productid=16283&cat=298&page=1

 

[tlhfirelion]

Where did you settle the air setting after secondaries started and you closed the bypass? After cutting back the air in stages, to where it's less than 1/4 open, my stove tends to cruise approaching the 500f range, sometimes lower, with a partial load of wood (mixed, but mostly pine). The flue temps drop to well under 300F. So the temp readings are lower so far than what I was getting with my cast iron stoves, but that is without full loads of hardwood. I am running the stove fairly low, since it's not that cold out yet.

The stove seems to be throwing just as much heat as those stoves, however, and I am getting longer burns. Be patient... when you get some fuller loads going I'm sure you will be quite happy

It is still a bit too warm here to be blasting away at full bore with this stove and remain comfortable in our house. I wanted to get it up to temp while I could still open the windows and doors without getting a snowbank inside. lol It was 80 degrees in my house yesterday and that was with the stove not getting up to 500 degrees so I'm quite confident it'll keep the place toasty come our winter. Learning the temp difference between the stove and the plug pipe when it is running correctly is also something I want to know. I am coming from a old steel stove that was all or nothing so the soapstone is a different beast. It's all a learning process and I'm in the middle of it but it is very interesting. I'm sure a full load of oak will yield different results as well.

 

[branchburner]

It was 80 degrees in my house yesterday and that was with the stove not getting up to 500 degrees .

Yeah, it's pretty easy to do. Just wondering where you had the air setting, because as someone else mentioned, shutting the air back a bit can actually increase your stove top temp as the flue temp drops. That's one of the fun things about this stove, in that you cut the air back so the flames all but disappear but (thanks to the cat) you watch your stove top temps keep rising without much visible flame.

 

[begreen]

I've not used my moisture meter on this rack but I would guess under 15% if previous tress with the same timeline in my area are any indication. (I test ends and the middle and average FYI) It's well over a year old split small and stacked. I plan to set both thermometers next to each other and see how they correspond. The therm that came with the stove has two settings on it. Here is the link to that thermometer.http://store.woodstove.com/product.php?productid=16283&cat=298&page=1

The wood may be dry if split small. Note however that end grain testing is meaningless. The wood must be tested on its interior. To test moisture the wood must be resplit and the probes stuck very firmly into the freshly split face of the wood. This must be done at room temp.

 

[redyute]

I think in time I will be able to operate without a thermometer but for now, and especially since this is a new stove and my first CAT stove, I believe I would be best served to utilize all options to learn it's behavior. I'm aware of what clean burning smoke looks like and what secondaries look like but on a much smaller and simpler stove. I want to make sure I know whats happening before going off feel. This rule served me well on my honeymoon and should do so in this scenario as well. lol

We have different stoves but there is no way I think I will be able to run mine without the cat probe, I monitor the probe like every hour, like today I loaded with some fuel bricks on some hot coal, cat was at 700° with the blower running, I noticed with the air wide open the cat temp wasn't climbing so I turned off the blower, about an hour later I went to check the cat probe and the temp was reading 1400°, I quickly cut the air to about a third closed which allowed the temp to drop SLOWLY to 1100° and kept it there by adjusting the air. Those cat stoves do pretty good with the air closed almost all the way, with that said the cat probe is my right hand man operating this beast of a stove, you probably should invest in a new one to replace the one you have now