I have burned for a long time, and in the beginning I just had to fly by the seat of my pants......observe the fire and and the sounds and smells. Having done that for many years, I have a pretty good feel for my stoves. Intro stove and stove pipe thermometers. Now, I go by them, relative to what I have learned over all those years, not the temp they are reading. I really don't care what they say or how accurate they are. It is just relative to what I already know, but easier now. Hope all that made sense. Probably not.
Heck yeah, I ran my smoke dragon by the seat of my pants also I never burned the house down, and ran pretty clean too
Don't anyone go pointing those IR beams in someone's eyes. Kids won't know any better. Not sure I'd let 'em play with one. Just sayin'.
I find mine very helpful. It is fairly accurate (within 30 or so degrees, what more do you need?), and once you know what indications give the burn you like, it really helps with managing the heat. Conveniently, mine points straight up on the cleanest burn, so all I or the wife needs to do is look at it from across the room, and instantly know what needs to be done. Greg
I've had pretty good luck with the mag therms. Mine are fairly accurate when checked with the IR. Use them for a quick visual to see where things are. I wouldn't bet my life on them but they work good. It's a little harder reading a soapstone stove. you can see a nice burn but the temp coming through stone can lag pretty far behind. Likewise you can have just a few coals left but still a pretty good stove top temp. It's not rocket surgery, just a learning curve that you figure out over time
I'm with Greendohn. Plus, wifey's been learning about burning too hot or cold by watching them. Hey, Greendohn, what happened to Sgt. Smith's army navy store? Passed by Monday, and it's closed! Did they move, or just close up?
Have one on the single wall just above the stove top for its relative accuracy/indication. It's a convenient quick read and not a guess or assumption. It works anytime when/if the battery in the IR reader isn't or the IR reader is misplaced. Not that I misplace things. A lot.
Oh, well, that surely would be a worry, but kids need to play, and mine get the education before they play, and they are good kids, and smart, so I trust them. I was a kid growing up in the '50s and we did a lot of things that should have killed us. Still alive and having fun.
Forget the magnetic "temperature indicators". Spend $15-50 for an indicating temperature controller with a type K thermocouple probe. Controller shows temperature and can be used to trigger alarms for various purposes. Use alarm output for too high temperature and relay contacts to alert that more fuel is needed. PID type controllers can be used to control air supply. Temperature probe should be located in stove pipe just above stove. A 6" long stainless steel probe will average temperature profile inside stove pipe. I have found that the temperature of air from a Heat-Booster reclaimer is a very good indicator of what is happening inside stove. RTD sensors are better (more accurate) for this purpose. Here is another great use for temperature controllers: Convert old kitchen stoves to broiling ovens by using a PID controller with output to control SSR (solid state relay) for power to heating elements. Your old kitchen stove has many lives...
I'm just glad my folks never did figure out what I was doing in the 50s. I would have been locked up at home most of the summer if they had. Some of it was very dangerous but I was indestructible, like most kids are, at the time.
I have one of those ST thermos around here somewhere from the old stove. I can usually tell by looking, if the stoves not hot enough. If I put my hand close to the top of the stove and it feels too hot, I shoot the IR gun at it too see if it's too hot. I like to keep it simple, but that's only because I'm kinda lazy.
Some of the posts got me thinking about the magnets, so gonna try and remember to bring the IR gun home from work and shoot the pipe beside it. Pretty hard to believe there will be that much of a difference?
