After a year and then some the novelty of constantly checking temps has passed. With the birth of #4 and the daily chores of a growing family I really don't have the time or even worry about temps all that much anymore. I'm not saying I leave the stove unattended, but I do check/adjust much less these days compared to years past.
Now-a-days it seems after things get going a quick look at the mag thermo and more looking at the fire and I walk on past. If things in the box are looking under control and the thermo reads 575 and the air is still open a tad..........yep it's good and off to whatever.
I still use the IR gun for the hearth mount stove, but it's really to small to put in enough wood to do any damage. I've accepted an every 2-3 hour reload for the little girl and put in all the smaller splits I can find and call it a night.
Even the 13 has been much easier to let go of once we came to an understanding. By that I mean, I now know how much to feed her with out issue and when she needs watched. Cruising at 550 with a full load and the air open about 1/4in above 20*F outside and she'll peek out around 650 depending on the fuel (oak,cherry), but will also burn the entire load to coal loading E/W. Below 20*F and we need to watch and close it more when she's ready.
Just my observations this year. Again I still pay attention to whats going on, I just understand what and why things happen better.
Now-a-days it seems after things get going a quick look at the mag thermo and more looking at the fire and I walk on past. If things in the box are looking under control and the thermo reads 575 and the air is still open a tad..........yep it's good and off to whatever.
I still use the IR gun for the hearth mount stove, but it's really to small to put in enough wood to do any damage. I've accepted an every 2-3 hour reload for the little girl and put in all the smaller splits I can find and call it a night.
Even the 13 has been much easier to let go of once we came to an understanding. By that I mean, I now know how much to feed her with out issue and when she needs watched. Cruising at 550 with a full load and the air open about 1/4in above 20*F outside and she'll peek out around 650 depending on the fuel (oak,cherry), but will also burn the entire load to coal loading E/W. Below 20*F and we need to watch and close it more when she's ready.
Just my observations this year. Again I still pay attention to whats going on, I just understand what and why things happen better.