Why dont stoves come with thermometers?

[PacificGuyInCNY]

Yeh Roo, I'm looking to monitor max temp but I have to confess alot of it is just because of listening to everybody else kickin' back and forth about their temps and feeling left out of the party.

 

[hilly]

I know about thermometer placement on a stove, but what would you recommend for an insert? I know about the center-vs-side argument - that center will be sensitive to the secondary burn - but there still seem to be a number of different opinions out there. My Summit (and I think most other inserts) don't leave you with a whole lot of options (see below). Is it possible to get a remote flue sensor to read pipe temperature like on a stove?

I have a similar set up. I just use an infrared thermometer. I have used it less and less as I've gotten more comfortable with the stove. I really only use it now when I come home and my wife has added wood to the fire and not really checked on it. She had it up to 800 F last time!

 

[PacificGuyInCNY]

800F, yowww ...

Actually when I asked the installer about how to watch for overfire he said "See that wood handle on the stove door? If it starts to singe then you've overfired." At first I thought he was kidding but he was adamant that he was serious.

 

[BrotherBart]

I still wish we would hear back from the guy from last year who's wife found the "perfect" place for the thermo for their insert.

Stuck to some piece of metal inside the firebox. No kidding.

 

[CountryGal]

When I first got the new Country stove and thermometer I was making myself crazy getting up looking at it; now, I check it only before closing it down for the secondary burn. I doubt any manufacturer could build one in that would last the life of the stove -- and the liability issue would be another factor.

Would be nice to find one that lasts and doesn't stick. I have 2 different ones and they keep the same temperature until they hit about 400*, then they differ.

 

[Burn-1]

It has been useful starting out with a newer technology stove but before long it will be back to eyeballing it.

How much of using it has come from all of the talk here about temps and how much was parinoia from Ole Brownie running away on me I don't know.

At least you can take solace in the fact that if it does run away on you it will probably turn a very nice shade of whorehouse red

 

[PacificGuyInCNY]

Bart, if that baby ever does go full runaway be sure to take a pic on the way out the door...

 

[BrotherBart]

Bart, if that baby ever does go full runaway be sure to take a pic on the way out the door...

The old big hoss did it twice when I tried to fix the the crack in the firebox. Here is a pic. Five minutes later the stove top was at twelve hundred and eighty three degrees and glowing cherry red. 3/8 steel plate.

Cell phone was dialed to 911 and holding.

 

[PacificGuyInCNY]

Bart, that's amazing. Just out of curiosity what kinda stove was the "Old Big Hoss"?

 

[Roospike]

*************** ;-) *****************

 

[BrotherBart]

Bart, that's amazing. Just out of curiosity what kinda stove was the "Old Big Hoss"?

Sierra T-4600 Royale insert. 4.2 cubic foot firebox. 1/4" steel body wrap and 3/8" plate top. There was as much stove behind that surround as in front of it.

 

[ozarkjeep]

is that lever on top a catalytic bypass damper?

if so that stove appears to designed similarly to my own.

a runaway would be scary with a firebox that large if it was full!

Bart, that's amazing. Just out of curiosity what kinda stove was the "Old Big Hoss"?

Sierra T-4600 Royale insert. 4.2 cubic foot firebox. 1/4" steel body wrap and 3/8" plate top. There was as much stove behind that surround as in front of it.

 

[BrotherBart]

is that lever on top a catalytic bypass damper?

if so that stove appears to designed similarly to my own.

a runaway would be scary with a firebox that large if it was full!

Bart, that's amazing. Just out of curiosity what kinda stove was the "Old Big Hoss"?

Sierra T-4600 Royale insert. 4.2 cubic foot firebox. 1/4" steel body wrap and 3/8" plate top. There was as much stove behind that surround as in front of it.

Nah. The thing on top is a flue damper slide. It would only allow closing the flue about 80%.

 

[BrotherBart]

*************** ;-) *****************

Pic now framed over my desk!

 

[Mo Heat]

So would you agree that with experence ( 4 months or 40 years ) the "need" for a stove thermometer is not needed and is not a priority to running a wood stove.

The assumption seems to be that thermometers are only for surface temps. That's not necessarily true if you own a catalytic stove like I do. I use my cat probe thermometer just as much now as I did when I bought the stove several winters ago. I find the cat probe thermometer to be indispensable. Without it, I wouldn't have a clue what was happening with the cat.

At this point, I could probably get by without it if I had to, but I find it an incredible source of data that is more often than not counter intuitive when relating cat temps vs observed firebox conditions. And... without the info I have gained from using it up till now, I wouldn't have the same understanding to operate my particular stove without it, especially the catalyst element. It allows me to operate with precise control, thus maximizing efficiency. If it breaks, I'll replace it.

 

[Todd]

Who needs them ? I can tell by looking at my fire what my temp is...........................



The answer to the original question I think would cost, liability, etc.



OK.........I'm stretching the truth a bit, I use one of these below, actually I have 2 now, both on my stove front, work great, could not operate without them.

(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/meters.html)


Robbie

OK , Anyone. Here is a question about stove top thermometers .............

At what tempture does the stove top thermometer need to be when its 32° out side and its 9:00 pm ? 400-500

At what tempture does the stove top thermometer need to be when its 40° out side and its 9:00 am ? 400

At what tempture does the stove top thermometer need to be when its 16° out side and its 11:00 am ? 500-600

At what tempture does the stove top thermometer need to be when its 50° out side and its 10:00 pm ? don't run stove, maybe a quick flash fire to take chill off.


Do you know the exact #'s the stove top thermometer should be reading ? or are we just running the stove at 550° all the time ?

As a matter of fact I can tell you what temp my stove needs to run at certain outside temps and weather conditions. After you get use to it the thermometer is a very useful guideline, and I wouldn't burn without one.

 

[wg_bent]

As a newbie to burning in an insert, I want to be sure that I am burning correctly. The manual that came with my insert does virtually nothing to educate on the proper way to burn and control things. I may be over analyzing and putting too much thought into things, but I would like to get it right. Not only do I want to minimize the creation of creosote in the liner, maximize the burn time of my wood, create as little emission as possible, I also don't want to damage the insert in the process.

At this time I am thinking that an accurate thermometer and a guideline of optimum brun temps would be helpful. That way, I could observe what's going on inside the insert at different temps and eventually pay no attention to the thermometer. I guess at this stage in my learning curve it would be a good backup or reference point.

As good an analogy I can come up with at this time is that of a speedometer in a car. When you first learn to drive, you watch it pretty closely. At some point, you stop relying on it so much and only give it a second look when you go flying past a cop taking radar.

You've seen my posts on Osburn temps haven't you?

 

[hardwood715]

Five minutes later the stove top was at twelve hundred and eighty three degrees and glowing cherry red. 3/8 steel plate.

BB outta curiosity, how hot did the fireplace bricks get? And I would think its alot better to happen on an insert versus a standalone, I mean the brick can handle the heat versus say a couch and chair close by, right? 1283 damn- what guage were you using? the condor woulda been pegged as it rolled around the room!

 

[BrotherBart]

Five minutes later the stove top was at twelve hundred and eighty three degrees and glowing cherry red. 3/8 steel plate.

BB outta curiosity, how hot did the fireplace bricks get? And I would think its alot better to happen on an insert versus a standalone, I mean the brick can handle the heat versus say a couch and chair close by, right? 1283 damn- what guage were you using? the condor woulda been pegged as it rolled around the room!

I went and grabbed the infrared hand held when the top started glowing. The paint on my Condar that was on top of the stove burned off of the thermo. 14" of the insert sat on the hearth in front of the surround so the couch and coffee table got just a tad warmish.

 

[MrGriz]

As a newbie to burning in an insert, I want to be sure that I am burning correctly. The manual that came with my insert does virtually nothing to educate on the proper way to burn and control things. I may be over analyzing and putting too much thought into things, but I would like to get it right. Not only do I want to minimize the creation of creosote in the liner, maximize the burn time of my wood, create as little emission as possible, I also don't want to damage the insert in the process.

At this time I am thinking that an accurate thermometer and a guideline of optimum brun temps would be helpful. That way, I could observe what's going on inside the insert at different temps and eventually pay no attention to the thermometer. I guess at this stage in my learning curve it would be a good backup or reference point.

As good an analogy I can come up with at this time is that of a speedometer in a car. When you first learn to drive, you watch it pretty closely. At some point, you stop relying on it so much and only give it a second look when you go flying past a cop taking radar.

You've seen my posts on Osburn temps haven't you?

I don't remember any specifics. I thought you didn't use a thermometer with your 1800. If you have a link to a thread that talks about temps with that insert, please let me know. If you have any good insight, PM me please.