Woodstock Fireview Flue Temps

[Todd]

Todd, is that 600 flue temp after the cat is engaged?

Yep, the flue temps are much higher before I engage and afterwards it will settle in at 500-700 depending on where the air is set. External temps are about half that. I wonder if my probe reads a little higher because it's made and adjusted to work with double wall pipe, I have single wall pipe and it seems people with double wall have lower temps?

 

[Todd]

Only thing I could find in manual is stove top temps over 250 to engage the cat, which should equal about 500 internal.

I'll look for it. On page 29 in the troubleshooting section, in "Stove Not Burning Hot Enough" subsection, it states that stovepipe should register 200-300 while combustor is engaged. I'm assuming that's single-wall stovepipe and the internal is a little higher.

I'll try to find the other reference to stovepipe temp.

Mike

My external temps are pretty close to that. I found my internal temps are roughly double external.

 

[3fordasho]

Todd, is that 600 flue temp after the cat is engaged?

Yep, the flue temps are much higher before I engage and afterwards it will settle in at 500-700 depending on where the air is set. External temps are about half that. I wonder if my probe reads a little higher because it's made and adjusted to work with double wall pipe, I have single wall pipe and it seems people with double wall have lower temps?

Todd, what type of probe thermometer do you have again? I've tried a few different ones and have experienced quite a bit of variation. Most inaccurate for my installation was a Condor flue guard thermometer, it has a probe but it is just a solid steel shaft which conducts the heat back to the coil directly behind the dial face. I suspect it's calibrated for double wall, but I had in installed in a adjustable (telescoping) section of double wall which has more than two thicknesses of sheet metal. I believe the tel-tru probe type I'm using now are pretty good untill you zing them past there upper limit -1000F.

 

[wendell]

What difference would double wall vs. single wall make? After all, you are measuring the internal temperature either way. Are you thinking that little bit of dead air space drop the average temp?

 

[Highbeam]

It might. If you put your face right up to the condar probe meter and blow on the face of the gauge as if to "dust" it, you can make the reading go down pretty fast with just your air. This tells me that the condar meter is affected by outside air temps. With the double wall acting as a radiation barrier I suspect that the outside environment beside the pipe is much different than outside of a single wall pipe.

 

[Todd]

Todd, is that 600 flue temp after the cat is engaged?

Yep, the flue temps are much higher before I engage and afterwards it will settle in at 500-700 depending on where the air is set. External temps are about half that. I wonder if my probe reads a little higher because it's made and adjusted to work with double wall pipe, I have single wall pipe and it seems people with double wall have lower temps?

Todd, what type of probe thermometer do you have again? I've tried a few different ones and have experienced quite a bit of variation. Most inaccurate for my installation was a Condor flue guard thermometer, it has a probe but it is just a solid steel shaft which conducts the heat back to the coil directly behind the dial face. I suspect it's calibrated for double wall, but I had in installed in a adjustable (telescoping) section of double wall which has more than two thicknesses of sheet metal. I believe the tel-tru probe type I'm using now are pretty good untill you zing them past there upper limit -1000F.

It's a Condar flue gaurd. The more I think about it the more I think this probe is calibrated for double wall pipe and will read a little higher for single wall like I have. I'd still like to here some clarification from Woodstock on all this.

 

[3fordasho]

Todd, is that 600 flue temp after the cat is engaged?

Yep, the flue temps are much higher before I engage and afterwards it will settle in at 500-700 depending on where the air is set. External temps are about half that. I wonder if my probe reads a little higher because it's made and adjusted to work with double wall pipe, I have single wall pipe and it seems people with double wall have lower temps?

Todd, what type of probe thermometer do you have again? I've tried a few different ones and have experienced quite a bit of variation. Most inaccurate for my installation was a Condor flue guard thermometer, it has a probe but it is just a solid steel shaft which conducts the heat back to the coil directly behind the dial face. I suspect it's calibrated for double wall, but I had in installed in a adjustable (telescoping) section of double wall which has more than two thicknesses of sheet metal. I believe the tel-tru probe type I'm using now are pretty good untill you zing them past there upper limit -1000F.

It's a Condar flue gaurd. The more I think about it the more I think this probe is calibrated for double wall pipe and will read a little higher for single wall like I have. I'd still like to here some clarification from Woodstock on all this.

Yep, mine read real low, but it was effectively installed in quadruple wall pipe.

 

[Todd]

Fired her up tonight AT 6:30 and checked some temps. Air set at .5 with a nice looking dance of flame above the load.

stove top internal pipe external pipe
8pm- 550 680 280
9pm- 575 600 250
9:30- 550 550 230

I guess my internal flue temps are more than twice the external temps which are right in line with the manual, so I 'm guessing I'm ok and the fluegard thermometer is probably more designed for double wall pipe than my single wall. Can anyone else with a similar setup check their diff in internal/external temps? Thanks.

 

[wendell]

I haven't taken the time to record temps but I do notice that the difference in the internal and external temps vary. If the internal is up around 800, the external is around 400 but when the internal is down around 350, the difference is no longer double but around 250. I was at harbor Freight yesterday and they had the Centech Infrared Thermometer on sale so I picked one up and either my thermometers are all wrong or this thing isn't very accurate. Think I'll probably return it.

 

[wendell]

I've got the low, slow burn down with the Fireview to just add a little heat on these 40 degree days and 30 degree nights. I'm wondering what settings you guys use to get the maximum heat out of the stove as we start moving toward 20 degree days and 0 degree nights. I'm thinking the setting will be closer to 1? Todd, I know you've mentioned that having a high stove top temp (for me around 0.5) may not be where you get the most heat out of the stove.

 

[Todd]

I've got the low, slow burn down with the Fireview to just add a little heat on these 40 degree days and 30 degree nights. I'm wondering what settings you guys use to get the maximum heat out of the stove as we start moving toward 20 degree days and 0 degree nights. I'm thinking the setting will be closer to 1? Todd, I know you've mentioned that having a high stove top temp (for me around 0.5) may not be where you get the most heat out of the stove.

Right now I set the air from .5-.75 to get the long slow burns, when it gets colder it's more like .75-1 or maybe a smidgen more. High stove top temps don't always tell the whole story, you can have a smouldering fire and a 600 stove top because the cat is directly under the stove top. When you turn the air up you get more flame and red hot coals which heat up more of the stove. Your IR thermometer would be a good tool to show the differences.

 

[fire_man]

Dennis, I did double check with him and he was clear it was around 500 internal. I had been letting it get up to 900 and he said that is way too high.

He is a member here so I asked him to pop in to clarify.

Well then Woodstock better get together on this because they told me it was no problem engaging at much higher temps when I asked about this last year trying to figure out why my combustor was getting hairline cracks. When I fire up a new load with the bypass open it is very easy to reach temps over 1000. I engage over 500 every single time and it's more like 600-900 and it isn't like there's a raging inferno in there when I flip the lever. In fact if I waited til it dropped below 500 I'd be smoking out the neigborhood. If I see internal temps over 500 at 20" above the collar I know the cat has to be active and it is usually glowing at that temp or above. I would say 600 is an average flue temp for me with a full load of Oak. It also seems like the flue temps are close to my stove top temps like Highbeam was talking about. Seems my internal temps are higher than most and I have tried a damper in the past but the temps didn't drop that much. This is also my second Condar probe and the first one read the same temps. I wonder what gives here, I still get long 12+ hour burns, plenty of heat and can shut it down to where there is just a smoulder, so it doesn't seem to be overdrafting. Maybe I need to take Dennis's advice and just sit back and enjoy the heat?

My Fireview combustor has hairline cracks, too. I thought it was because I was burning wet wood last year. Now I am wondering if its because I engage the cat when the external flu temp is above 500 F (measured 3 inches from the exit point of the stove along a short horizontal single wall pipe). It is very easy to reach this 500 F external reading. Engaging the cat when the stovetop reaches 250 F (like the Fireview manual says) does not ensure the Flue temp is below 500 F since it takes much longer for the soapstone to get hot. There is a huge thermal mass between the cat and the stovetop thermometer. I think I'm Just gonna make sure I burn dry wood from now on and not sweat it.

 

[Todd]

Dennis, I did double check with him and he was clear it was around 500 internal. I had been letting it get up to 900 and he said that is way too high.

He is a member here so I asked him to pop in to clarify.

Well then Woodstock better get together on this because they told me it was no problem engaging at much higher temps when I asked about this last year trying to figure out why my combustor was getting hairline cracks. When I fire up a new load with the bypass open it is very easy to reach temps over 1000. I engage over 500 every single time and it's more like 600-900 and it isn't like there's a raging inferno in there when I flip the lever. In fact if I waited til it dropped below 500 I'd be smoking out the neigborhood. If I see internal temps over 500 at 20" above the collar I know the cat has to be active and it is usually glowing at that temp or above. I would say 600 is an average flue temp for me with a full load of Oak. It also seems like the flue temps are close to my stove top temps like Highbeam was talking about. Seems my internal temps are higher than most and I have tried a damper in the past but the temps didn't drop that much. This is also my second Condar probe and the first one read the same temps. I wonder what gives here, I still get long 12+ hour burns, plenty of heat and can shut it down to where there is just a smoulder, so it doesn't seem to be overdrafting. Maybe I need to take Dennis's advice and just sit back and enjoy the heat?

My Fireview combustor has hairline cracks, too. I thought it was because I was burning wet wood last year. Now I am wondering if its because I engage the cat when the external flu temp is above 500 F (measured 3 inches from the exit point of the stove along a short horizontal single wall pipe). It is very easy to reach this 500 F external reading. Engaging the cat when the stovetop reaches 250 F (like the Fireview manual says) does not ensure the Flue temp is below 500 F since it takes much longer for the soapstone to get hot. There is a huge thermal mass between the cat and the stovetop thermometer. I think I'm Just gonna make sure I burn dry wood from now on and not sweat it.

If your only 3" from the stove collar your going to get very hot readings since the bypass is right there. If you could read temps further up they will be much less. Thermal shock can cause cracks or it's possible you got a bad cat? Call Woodstock and they will probably send you a new one for free.

 

[fire_man]

Is any amount of cracking normal in a Catalytic Converter after burning 24/7 for an entire heating season? Good point about measuring only 3 inches from the stove being too close. I'm gonna try moving further back but my horizontal pipe is only 12 inches long.

 

[TCintheOzarks]

Hi just saw this thread. Thought I would report on my Fireview temp.

About 3 hrs. ago I put in 3 medium size splits of post oak and let the stove run on a setting of 2 with out the cat. being engaged until the condar probe on the flue was at 800.I then engaged the cat. I have a condar probe in the back of the stove reading the cat and it was about 1100 degrees.

Now 3 hrs. later the flue temp is 275 and the stove top is 400 and the cat. is running at 800 degrees. The 3 splits of post oak are just big red coals and I won't refill for the night for another 2 hours. The air is set at 1/2.

Don't know if this means anything but hope it helps.................................Terry

 

[3fordasho]

Hi just saw this thread. Thought I would report on my Fireview temp.

About 3 hrs. ago I put in 3 medium size splits of post oak and let the stove run on a setting of 2 with out the cat. being engaged until the condar probe on the flue was at 800.I then engaged the cat. I have a condar probe in the back of the stove reading the cat and it was about 1100 degrees.

Now 3 hrs. later the flue temp is 275 and the stove top is 400 and the cat. is running at 800 degrees. The 3 splits of post oak are just big red coals and I won't refill for the night for another 2 hours. The air is set at 1/2.

Don't know if this means anything but hope it helps.................................Terry

I've seen a couple references to a cat temp probe installed in the fireview- Anyone have pics of this setup?
Just curious as to how it's done.

 

[wendell]

Fire lit at 8:30, cat engaged at 9:00 at 1, turned down to 0.7 at 9:05, second number on external and stove top is IR reading. The 9:00 IR readings may not be completely accurate as there was a little time delay running back and forth to the computer to type in the numbers. Side numbers were taken from the middle of the right side (my door is on the left). Turned down to 0.5 at 9:38. Interestingly enough, the flame had stopped but restarted for several minutes when I turned the air down.


Probe External Stove Top Side IR

9:00 625 300/285 190/200 170
9:30 450 240/212 470/450 250
10:00 320 200/184 530/490 290
Edit
10:30 280 180/173 460/407 304

I may have taken the IR readings a little too far away. I did the stove top closer at 10:00 and got a reading of 505. I also think I didn't pick the best spot to take the stove top IR readings. They were higher closer to the middle and closer to the flue rather than lateral to where the stove top thermometer sits.

 

[akennyd]

Very interesting thread.

Thanks to all for posting.

Kenny

John 3:16

 

[wendell]

0.5 was too low for last night. Woke up to a house several degrees colder and a lot of coals sitting in the stove. Should have left. it at 0.75.

 

[Todd]

Fire lit at 8:30, cat engaged at 9:00 at 1, turned down to 0.7 at 9:05, second number on external and stove top is IR reading. The 9:00 IR readings may not be completely accurate as there was a little time delay running back and forth to the computer to type in the numbers. Side numbers were taken from the middle of the right side (my door is on the left). Turned down to 0.5 at 9:38. Interestingly enough, the flame had stopped but restarted for several minutes when I turned the air down.


Probe External Stove Top Side IR

9:00 625 300/285 190/200 170
9:30 450 240/212 470/450 250
10:00 320 200/184 530/490 290
Edit
10:30 280 180/173 460/407 304

I may have taken the IR readings a little too far away. I did the stove top closer at 10:00 and got a reading of 505. I also think I didn't pick the best spot to take the stove top IR readings. They were higher closer to the middle and closer to the flue rather than lateral to where the stove top thermometer sits.

Was this a full load burn? Looks like the IR therm is pretty close to your other external therm and probably more accurate. Interesting on the side temps, I always wondered where they are compared to the top.

 

[wendell]

Mostly full (remember, I've got 3 years worth of 14" wood that I cut for my Morso) of elm.