zero clearance wood stove chimney temps

[woodhot]

Hi all, new member here. first time posting but I do spend quite a bit of time on here reading its a great source for any questions or just general reviews. I have a Monaco zero clearance wood burning fireplace I've had it for a 3 of years now and I must say I'm pleased with it. For its price it has exceeded my expectations greatly it was purchased more as a focal point for my living room in my house and to light in the evening every now and again but its proven to be great in heating my entire house and we have it lit just about every day and love it. As I'm sure most of you know the chimney for these stove is insulated prefab chimney right to the top of the stove. I am curious if there is a way to measure flue temps for monitoring? I did have a small chimney fire 3 years ago, mainly due to burning wet wood. Since then I've insured my wood is nice and dry before burning season and I've had no problem since but I would also like to be able to monitor the temp to ensure optimum burning temps. the fireplace is built in but I still do have access to top of stove and chimney. Wondering if there is any option other than pointing a infrared thermometer into stove to give a more precise temp reading. Something similar to a flue temp gauge for a free standing wood stove.

 

[begreen]

There isn't a great option for chimney pipe. The insulation is too thick for surface reading to be meaningful and the chimney pipe shouldn't be violated. Can you fit a 2" dial thermometer on the stove face above one of the door corners?

 

[woodhot]

Maybe? There is not much clearance there though

 

[begreen]

Yes, measure there and see if a 2-2.5" round magnetic thermometer could fit there. If not, maybe use an IR thermometer to take a reading there.

 

[woodhot]

So what temps should I be looking for for a ideal temp or to high or low


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[begreen]

Face temps are going to be relative to the size of the fire, wood species, split size and how quickly the air is turned down. Keep it below 700F at that location and it should be ok.

 

[woodhot]

Yes So that’s where the problem is. That specific way of taking temps is much the same as the infrared thermometer it’s not accurate,really. What I’d like is to somehow be able to take a reading of the temp in the chimney as that will give me the most accuracy to maintain a optimum burn and reduce the chances of any build-up in the chimney that could cause a chimney fire. What I was hoping is that someone has a method of getting some type of thermometer inside the chimney(safely of course) just above the stove somewhere and I could see exactly how efficiently the wood is burning in the stove.


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