Wood burning stoves are a fantastic addition to a home and can be a money-saving alternative heat source. I have burned wood as my primary heat source for almost 40 years.
Knowing the temperature of your stove is critical to controlling the heat in your home, operating your stove safely, and operating your stove efficiently. Why do I recommend not using a little round magnetic thermometer to monitor the temperature of your stove today?
There is a better way to monitor stove temperature! We have entered the digital age, and even your wood burning stove has crossed that line! There is now a new monitor that can measure the precise temperature of your stove and deliver that information to you with a digital display and inform you of even more details on your computer and smartphone.
You have used that little round magnetic thermometer for years, or maybe like me, decades. Why should I change now? It has worked for me just fine all this time.
Let’s look at the advantages of the new monitor and the disadvantages of the old monitor.
Little Round Magnetic Thermometer
If you have a wood burner, you probably have a magnetic, analog thermometer stuck to the top, front, or chimney pipe that looks like this.
Every wood burning stove I have ever seen has one of these. They were the best way to monitor your stove for the past 40+ years. They were accurate to +/- 10 degrees and would typically last 10 to 15 years before the spring that adjusts the dial would wear out. For $15 or $20, you would pick up a new one and snap it in place.
There are several things that this little round magnetic thermometer could not do that I have always wanted a stove thermometer to do.
- They are not very accurate. Ten degrees F. is a pretty big swing in temperature. By the time a stove changes 10 degrees, it could be quickly heading for dangerously high temperatures that could cause a chimney fire. I always wanted a digital temperature to +/- 1 degree F.
- They are slow to adjust to temperature changes. The magnetic spring will only move if a larger temperature change (10 degrees F.) forces it to move. I wanted an immediate, accurate temperature reading.
- Why should I have to be looking at the stove to read the temperature? You have to be standing within a few feet of your stove to know what the temperature, this not convenient. This stove thermometer is not able to transmit information to me wherever I am. I need a monitor that can send temperature readings to me anywhere I am!
- This simple round thermometer is only a passive monitor. It will not let you know if the stove is too hot or too cool. Sure, the dial points to an area that is red or bright orange when it is hot, but you have to be right in front of it to know that. What I really needed is a stove thermometer that will alert me when the stove is too hot or too cold!
A New Digital Thermometer with WiFi
To solve all these issues, I have developed a thermometer for any type of wood burning stove. The Tempsure Digital Monitor. This digital thermometer has resolved all the shortcomings of the little round magnetic thermometer and provides additional benefits.
This 2 ½” x 3″ Tempsure monitor has a large LCD display on the face to view the temperature of the stove directly.
The Tempsure monitor communicates via your home WiFi to the internet. Stove temperature and additional information are then accessible on your smartphone or via the web to your PC. This allows you to set up alarms for high and low-temperature alerts.
This is all possible due to the high-temperature thermocouple that is placed where ever you want to monitor temperature on the stove surface. The magnetic thermocouple was developed for just this purpose. It will operate accurately at a temperature of up to 1200 degree F. and withstand temperatures of over 1500 degree F.
The magnetic thermocouple (or probe) just needs to be placed on the stove surface (front, top, side, or chimney pipe) where you want to monitor the temperature. The opposite end of the magnetic thermocouple cable has a polarized plug that attaches to the digital display monitor. Plug it in, and it will display the temperature immediately.
Digital Accuracy
The digital display coupled with the magnetic thermocouple reads out in tenths of a degree. It is accurate to +/- 1 degree F. This goes way beyond the old analog thermometer.
The tenth of a degree readout is extremely valuable when you want to determine if the temperature of the stove is rising or falling. This will be critical at times. Perhaps you have left the doors or air vents open for a few moments while lighting the stove, and the creosote on the walls of the stove have ignited. Closing the doors/vents will quickly reduce the air flow into the stove, but the immediate response from the display will let you know if the fire is increasing in intensity or diminishing. The tenth of a degree readout gives you immediate feedback on the stove temperature as the readout updates one time a second.
An additional benefit of viewing a constant, accurate stove temperature is the ability to see a pattern in the temperature. By viewing the increase, decrease, or stability of the stove temperature, a pattern will be evident. A long steady burn, without variations, is the best type of burn for consistent heat. We will discuss this further later in the article when detailing efficiency.
WiFi
The real benefit of the Tempsure Monitor is realized when you connect it to your home WiFi system. Temperature monitors have been available for years that could provide an accurate readout, but now that we can connect the monitor to the internet, the monitor is infinitely more useful. Now you have the temperature of your wood burning stove anywhere with a smartphone.
The WiFi connection can be set up from an app on your smartphone. The app will be discussed more in the next section.
Only a small burst of data (compared to video files) are transmitted from the monitor to the WiFi router and through the network. The data generated is tiny (kilobytes as opposed to gigabytes) in comparison to large video files that are transmitted constantly today.
Having the monitor connect by WiFi not only makes the temperature monitor accessible to you, but it also makes upgrades to the monitor easy and accessible at any time. The WiFi connection gives two-way access to the monitor so when upgrades, including new services that can benefit you are available; they are easily added in an update.
Smart Phone App
We all use apps in our mobile, active lives to make our day simpler and to be connected to information. An app that reports on the status of your wood burning stove is a logical step into the future. The app makes monitoring a wood burning stove fast, easy, and convenient. So just what is the app called and how specifically does it work?
The app is called Easy Log Cloud. When your monitor is connected by WiFi to the network, the Easy Log Cloud app is able to “see” your Tempsure monitor and constantly monitor it. You receive one free account to connect to the Easy Log Cloud app. If you would like additional monitors, you can upgrade to a premium account to monitor and view multiple monitors simultaneously.
A basic (free) account will allow you to view the temperature of your wood burning stove anywhere with your smartphone.
From a smartphone, you can manage the settings on the Tempsure monitor. These settings are self-explanatory, but for your benefit, a pdf document is available on the Tempsure website detailing step by step instructions on new installations and on how to adjust settings on the monitor.
Most importantly is the sample rate and sync schedule adjustments. The more often the monitor is set to sample the temperature and sync to the network, the shorter the time between charging the battery.
There is a resolution if you would like a fast refresh and sample rate. The module can be connected to power with a USB power block and the supplied USB cord. This will keep the module powered continually, and the fastest refresh and sample rate will not discharge the battery on the monitor.
For example, you can set the monitor to sample the temperature of the stove every 10 seconds and refresh the information to the Easy Log Cloud app every minute.
The following E-mail alerts and/or text alerts can be checked on or off in the setting tab
- AC Power
- Low Battery
- Connection host
- Monitor Problem
- Primary Temperature Alarm
- Secondary Temperature Alarm
These are personal preferences if you want to monitor these items. I typically only want to be notified if the monitor has power and have the primary temperature alerts set to report.
The alarm setting is by far the most important and useful setting on the monitor. Alarm settings will get its own section in this article.
High Alarm Settings
This happens to everyone who owns a wood burning stove. The fire burned down to a small pile of coals, the stove temperature is around 115 degrees F, you loaded the stove with kindling wood on the coals and larger wood pieces on the top of the kindling, you open the doors a couple of inches or the open the vents to let air fan the coals to get the fire burning and get the temperature up.
The fire is smoldering but not burning hot, so you leave the room to do something else. You tell yourself, “I’ll check the stove in 5-10 minutes.” You completely forget the stove was left open, and 10-15 minutes go by, then you look out the window and see a cloud of smoke rolling across the yard, or you smell very hot metal! That’s when you run to the stove to quickly close the door or vent to put the brakes on a possible chimney fire.
The high-temperature alarm allows you to have peace of mind when you are burning wood, whether you are at home or away from the house. Knowing that the Tempsure monitor will notify you when the stove is too hot provides a sense of security for wood stove owners.
The alarm temperature can be adjusted from the app to the high limit that you choose. That high limit can be adjusted as you burn wood hotter in the middle of winter and cooler in the spring and fall.
Low-Temperature Alarm
The low-temperature alarm is another great feature that is adjustable from the app.
Loading wood in a wood burning stove is thankless, a never-ending task from mid-October to late April and as often as five times a day. It does get old some days, and there are other things that attract our attention.
Sometimes in the mid-afternoon, I will be at work (25 miles from home) and receive a low-temperature alarm. I will text my wife, and she will respond, “I was busy and forgot the stove, I will load it now!”
It takes the burden off of keeping a schedule. When it gets low, the alarm goes off. Load the stove! Easy!
The low-temperature alarm can also be useful if you are leaving the house, especially if it is a vacation or second home. The alarm can be set to just below your thermometer set point. Say 45 degree F. If the temperature drops below that set point, you will receive an alarm and take appropriate action, e.g., call a neighbor or furnace repair company, to investigate the situation.
Safety
The safety factor of having the Tempsure Monitor cannot be overstated. A wood burning stove is an extremely safe home appliance when operated properly. When not operated as designed, there are factors that can compromise a home’s safety. You can operate the stove safely by avoiding unsafe practices completely. You can also place a Tempsure Monitor on our stove to provide an additional layer of safety from all threats of fire and smoke damage.
Just the peace of mind that the Tempsure Monitor provides while burning wood seems worth the small price of the monitor.
When burning wood that has not been seasoned properly, creosote can quickly build up on the walls of the stove and in the chimney. The creosote covered walls can quickly catch fire and cause the fire to spread up the chimney as well. The Tempsure Monitor could save you from an extensive fire in the roof or attic of your home by notifying you when your stove temperature has reached an extremely high temperature.
In addition, burning your wood burner too hot is hard on your stove and accessories. When vents are left open, and the wind picks up, a stove will become hot quickly. This is also a fire hazard and is hard on the structure of your stove. Heating to high extremes and cooling to low temperatures.
Convenience
Having the ability to leave the house or be outside of the house while the wood burner is burning and being able to monitor it is a welcome change. I am now able to leave with the confidence that I can always check the current temperature of my stove and be assured that if something goes wrong, an alarm will alert me on my phone.
This has brought us to feel more secure as we burn wood 24/7 for six months of the year.
Just like the 25 or so other apps that I use throughout the day, I direct my attention to the Easy Log Cloud app regularly to view and monitor my wood burning stove temperature from wherever I am. It is easy to use and is updated frequently.
The app also has features built in that may be of interest to some users and not others. In other words, they do so much; we generally only use a fraction of what is available.
From the app, you can see if the battery is charged and how full (icon). How strong the monitor WiFi is, and if there have been any recent, alarms.
The best information from the app (next to the current temperature and alarms) is the graphing feature!
Graphing
Why would graphing be important? A graph of the past week or month will show you the trends of the heat output of your stove. The graph will go up and down, but if there are wild highs and lows, you are not burning efficiently. The flatter the line, the more efficient your burn!
The output of a stove, the air is blown around it, or water run through it is directly proportional to the heat created by it. Keeping that heat consistent is beneficial to the stable heat supplied to your home. I monitor the air output of my stove and try to keep it within a 10 degree F. window (higher in mid-winter, lower in spring and fall) to provide a consistent temperature in my home.
Being able to monitor the stove temperature constantly and watch the graph slide up in mid-winter and drop down in spring and fall helps accomplish this much easier.
Operating a stove efficiently also helps preserve the wood or fuel. If you burn too hot, the wood is being used too quickly. If you burn too cool, your home will not be warm enough. By monitoring the burn temperature and keeping it consistently at the correct temperature, the fuel will be consumed at a consistent rate and heat the home as desired.
Conclusion
Operating a wood burner is not rocket science. It has however moved into the digital world of network communications. Using WiFi and the internet combined with a smartphone, wood burners have entered the 21st century.
This type of monitoring has not been available in the past. With the new equipment developed by Tempsure, monitoring your wood burning stove is now safer, more convenient, and more efficient.
Whether you own a wood burning stove that has heated your home for many years or you are in the market for a new stove, this product will change the way you heat with wood. The safety aspect alone makes the product invaluable, but once the product has been utilized, the additional benefits are obvious.
Saving on our fuel source is a benefit that pays for itself time and again, year after year.
New Product – Years of Experience
You may wonder if this new product will hold up over years of service. Is it just a cheaply made piece of electronics?
The electronic monitor has been in production for years as a commercial temperature monitoring device. The Tempsure version of the monitor has been used in the field and proven as a consistent monitoring and reporting device for years.
The magnetic thermocouple or probe that attaches to the stove is not electronic and was developed in 2018. It has been tested repeatedly at extremely high temperature to verify its reliability
For 40 years, wood burning stoves have not changed much. They are required to burn cleaner by the EPA and manufacturers have modified the design to make that happen. The EPA modifications have been in effect since 1980, and no other significant design change has occurred over these years.
The Tempsure monitor is a significant change in the way a stove is monitored. The ability to view the temperature of a stove, accurately from anywhere and receive alarms is a substantial change in how wood burning stoves are monitored.