Stove Temps and Thermometers

Muddy Jeep · Post by **Muddy Jeep** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 9:54 am

So Santa brought me an infrared thermometer for Christmas and I tested it out last night for the first time. Something is puzzling me though. At first I was thinking my older magnetic thermometers were wayyyy off because I was getting readings of around 100°+ over what they were indicating. But then I shot the magnetic thermometer with the infrared and it read exactly what it was showing. What is going on here? How can the temp vary that much just an inch or so away? Sorry about the sideways pics....I can't figure out how to rotate them.

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 10:23 am

Are you hitting the thermometer directly? It's bound to be cooler than the stove skin underneath it. Plus the thermometer itself can act as a heat sink and draw some heat away from the surface directly underneath it.

Muddy Jeep · Post by **Muddy Jeep** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 10:49 am

I'm pretty sure I was hitting the thermometer directly. I tried multiple times with similar results. I expected it to be a little bit cooler as it is slightly further away from the stove skin. But 120° cooler seemed puzzling to me.

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 1:26 pm

Did you try moving the stove thermometer and measuring the stove skin precisely where it was sitting?

michaelanthony · Post by **michaelanthony** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 4:57 pm

Your magnetic thermometer is telling you IT'S temp, not the stove...built in fail, many of us have ditched the over priced refrigerator magnets

davidmcbeth3 · Post by **davidmcbeth3** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 6:02 pm

I just use my finger ... I'm able to put my finger on the stove top for 5 sec...its about 120F

4 sec ... 150F

3 sec ... 200F

2 sec ... 300F

1 sec....350F

1/2 sec ... 450F

0.001 sec ... 600F

I take and avg of 10 measurements if possible.

Also, reflective glass is not accurately measured by IR gun.

Muddy Jeep · Post by **Muddy Jeep** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 6:11 pm

Lightning wrote:Did you try moving the stove thermometer and measuring the stove skin precisely where it was sitting?

No not yet but I will and see what reading that yields.

davidmcbeth3 wrote:I just use my finger ... I'm able to put my finger on the stove top for 5 sec...its about 120F

4 sec ... 150F

3 sec ... 200F

2 sec ... 300F

1 sec....350F

1/2 sec ... 450F

0.001 sec ... 600F

I take and avg of 10 measurements if possible.

Also, reflective glass is not accurately measured by IR gun.

This is just too funny

BunkerdCaddis · Post by **BunkerdCaddis** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 6:13 pm

davidmcbeth3 wrote:I just use my finger ...

It's AMAZING what you can do with a finger...

2001Sierra · Post by **2001Sierra** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 6:15 pm

Here are my results, Infrared, Magnetic, and Immersion.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 6:28 pm

The temperature inside the flue pipe will always be well above the surface temperature.

Olllotj · Post by **Olllotj** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 7:20 pm

2001Sierra wrote:Here are my results, Infrared, Magnetic, and Immersion.

Now that is a interesting picture to look at.

Muddy Jeep · Post by **Muddy Jeep** » Tue. Dec. 29, 2015 9:57 pm

OK so I took a reading using the infrared thermometer 1" to the left of where the magnetic thermometer was and then removed the magnet and took a reading where it was attached. I saw a 6° increase with the higher reading being under the magnet. Which still means I am seeing about a 100° drop from the stove skin to the reading on the magnet. I feel like I've been misled over the past year as to how well my stove was actually running. There was a time or two last year that the stove was got up to 550° or so I thought. It may have been more like 650° or more....yikes.

2001Sierra wrote:Here are my results, Infrared, Magnetic, and Immersion.

It looks like your infrared and magnetic thermometers are reading about the same. Obviously as stated the temp inside the pipe is much higher.

davidmcbeth3 · Post by **davidmcbeth3** » Wed. Dec. 30, 2015 12:04 am

2001Sierra wrote:Here are my results, Infrared, Magnetic, and Immersion.

All looks good there. Hooray !

blrman07 · Post by **blrman07** » Wed. Dec. 30, 2015 8:22 am

Just shot my frig magnet on the stove pipe (magnetic thermometer) mounted 2 inches above the stove collar.

The magnet thermometer is reading 360.

The IR gun said the surface of the thing was 295

The stove pipe surface one inch next to it is 265.

Yep almost exactly 100 degrees off.

I just have it on there for a quick reference look. I know what the real temps should be and a quick glance tells me I'm off low or off high. I don't care what the thing really says. It's kinda nostalgic anyway.

Muddy Jeep · Post by **Muddy Jeep** » Wed. Dec. 30, 2015 10:06 am

blrman07 wrote:Just shot my frig magnet on the stove pipe (magnetic thermometer) mounted 2 inches above the stove collar.

The magnet thermometer is reading 360.

The IR gun said the surface of the thing was 295

The stove pipe surface one inch next to it is 265.

Yep almost exactly 100 degrees off.

I just have it on there for a quick reference look. I know what the real temps should be and a quick glance tells me I'm off low or off high. I don't care what the thing really says. It's kinda nostalgic anyway.

Hmm...that's interesting. Yours is reading 100° off but in the opposite direction of mine. My magnetic thermometer was reading cooler than what the IR gun was reading. And your magnetic is reading hotter than your IR.

Stove Temps and Thermometers

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