Joful is right that its not always about the cat probe temp to determine how it will light off. It does seem to also depend on the temperature and composition of the gases going up the flue. On a small hot load I can sometimes close before I see 500 on the probe and the hot gases will warm it up enough to launch. On the other hand on a really big load I have sometimes seen that even if its reading 500 or more it wont always light off until Ive let the load burn a bit longer. Might be too much smoke and not enough oxygen smothering it?
The max temps relate to how big the load is and how much control you have. When doing full loads if you use small splits or soft woods its easy to spike the temps badly since everything starts off-gassing at once. Bigger the load the bigger the split and denser the wood is my rule. Save the big oak logs for overnight and use chunks and uglies in the daytime!
BTW, 10 hours since I put those 4 splits in and the house is still at 71F. nothing but one small glowing coal left in the box tho. Probably be tough to get it relit.... I'll leave it for the night and restart tomorrow if its cold.
The max temps relate to how big the load is and how much control you have. When doing full loads if you use small splits or soft woods its easy to spike the temps badly since everything starts off-gassing at once. Bigger the load the bigger the split and denser the wood is my rule. Save the big oak logs for overnight and use chunks and uglies in the daytime!
BTW, 10 hours since I put those 4 splits in and the house is still at 71F. nothing but one small glowing coal left in the box tho. Probably be tough to get it relit.... I'll leave it for the night and restart tomorrow if its cold.