Are flue pipe thermometers useful?

w50nky

A._Badger wrote: »

Personally, I don't have one and have no desire for one.

The following makes interesting reading.

http://woodheat.org/thermometers.html

That is a useful guide and is pretty much what experienced users will find themselves doing.
As I have found myself, you seldom refer to the thermometer after a few months of using your stove. It think it is a useful device to reassure users in the first few weeks of use as a stove can appear to be burning out of control to a novice.

welda

Same as Mr B, I don't have one, I go rule of thumb as per woodheat link.

If I can add tho, I found since using eco-fan, rate of knots of fan is a good indicator too of performance!!

Regards............

w50nky

Thinking about it a bit I suppose it would be difficult on an inset stove or on a vertical closure plate like your install welda.

Regards.

suki1964

So would I be using the same rules when burning smokeless? Cos I do sort of

werdnareklaw

A._Badger wrote: »

The following makes interesting reading.

http://woodheat.org/thermometers.html

Very interesting guide, thanks.

The reason for my original question was when I installed the rear flue stove in the fireplace, I removed an old wood stove that had been in-situ for some three years. I first swept the chimney and there wasn't so much soot but more a black crystalline substance I assumed to be baked tar?? Highly flammable I suspect

grahamc2003

w50nky wrote: »

That is a useful guide and is pretty much what experienced users will find themselves doing.
As I have found myself, you seldom refer to the thermometer after a few months of using your stove. It think it is a useful device to reassure users in the first few weeks of use as a stove can appear to be burning out of control to a novice.

Well I was an experienced user when I got mine and, although I have perfect fires all the time due to a theoretical understanting of the chemistry and thermodynaics going on, I still found my recently acquired thermometer helpful. I'm not sure experience in itself is much of a qulification anyhow - there's nothing stopping someone having a stove and burning it poorly for 50 years. generally, engineers are inquisitive and like quantative measurements.

The 'operating' temperature range on mine (from about 150C to 250C for flue pipe temperature) equates well to the minimum being the smoke flash point, and the max being a high heat output) The most useful aspect I find is it is a leading indicator - if you see the pipe temp dropping out of the range, you know that in 20/25 minutes, the stove will be too cool too (due to the previously mentioned temperature lag the stove has relative to the stove pipe), and vice versa.

You can easily manage without one, but at 15 quid, it gives extra visibility to what's going on inside the stove imv, and it hardly breaks the bank if you can't hack how it's supposed to be used.

Swipe

As Graham says, for the price, it's worth having one just to stop you over firing the stove IMO

suki1964

I wish someone would explain to me in simple words what the optimum temp for a stove is and why there is such a thing and how do you get to it

As graham says there - I could be thinking Im going great ( my flu is never sooty and doesnt appear to have tar ) but I am after all a novice and I might be spending the next 50 years totally delusional

Swipe

Optimal temp is between 300F and 500F according to my thermometer. I wouldn't worry about burning too cool with smokeless coal though.

welda

w50nky wrote: »

Thinking about it a bit I suppose it would be difficult on an inset stove or on a vertical closure plate like your install welda.

Regards.

Yes, impossible for me to use with my installation. Good point though regarding inset stove, with this in mind, are these thermometers really required?

I hear, and understand where the others are coming from too. Makes one wonder how we survived without all these types of gadgets at hand!!!

Cheers :beer: