Having a soapstone stove is awesome. One quick question on the placement of the thermometer: Do you think I would get a more accurate reading if it were placed on the soapstone itself in the back corner or on the pipe stack just above it?? Thanks guys.. ps.. Stove in picture is the one I'm referring too.
Better to have one on stove and one on flue. Usually center of stove works and a foot or more on flue. You can also get a then take readings on the stove to find the hottest spot to place a thermometer.
I personally use all three temperature reading devices, two on the stove and the laser thermometer on the driveway for my dogs to chase around to wear down there nails and they get to chase something.
Looks like there’s a small metal patch on top near the pipe the thermometer would fit. Metal will give you a more accurate faster reading if you’re using it to determine closing the bypass. Pipe sorta looks like double wall to me. If so that would require a probe thermometer. Soapstone never gets quite as hot as the cast iron in my experience and takes much longer to heat up.
But by reading off the soapstone you are more in line with enough heat to fire off the cat right away.
Probe flue thermometer is the best. I load stove, wait till it hits a number, close air half way, wait till it his another number, close 3/4 the way and I don’t have to touch it again.
You’d have to explain that to me. You’re looking for interior temp of 500 (min) to engage the cat. Steel or cast iron already slows down finding that reading. Stone doubly so. The pipe is technically the fastest way but I see many users trying to keep their pipe temps in the old fashioned scorching hot range. I never suggest a user do pipe temps unless they fully understand once the cat is engaged it’s an irrelevant reading.
ok. not how I would do it but it’s a free world. The PH has a cast iron griddle top and 3/4” stone on top of that. Takes a long time to bring that up to temp. I’ve half joking said before, the first load of wood is to heat up the stove. The second load heats the house. The third seemed like a good idea at the time
