Hi all,
We're installing a masonry heater with a bake oven in our new home and it would be nice if we could use a temperature sensor inside to measure the temperature in the oven. This may be a tall task, however, and if so it's probably not worth it. A masonry heater is a high-efficiency fireplace with a sealed combustion chamber where the manufacturer claims the temperature can reach 1,500F or higher. The bake oven is a cavity (also with a sealed door) located directly above the firebox where items can be cooked. The bake oven is connected to the firebox by a slot through the middle.
The way these things work is to load a "charge" of wood into them and burn it up fast and hot, driving the heat into the thick masonry walls where it then slowly radiates into the living space over the next 6 - 12 hours. For baking, foods likely wouldn't be inserted into the oven until the fire was out and the temperature had cooled off to a useful level. It would be nice to be able to measure the heat decay inside the oven to help us figure out how long the temperature holds in a given range, how long it takes to get down to certain levels, etc. The alternative is lots of manual measurements and trial and error.
So, is there a way to do this? A wireless sensor would certainly be easiest to install (the doors are glass) but there might be a way to get a wire inside without causing problems. (This thing isn't entirely sealed with mortar - some joints are filled with a felt-like material to allow the parts to expand and contract.)
Is this a worthy challenge to the collective wisdom of CocoonTech?
JonR
We're installing a masonry heater with a bake oven in our new home and it would be nice if we could use a temperature sensor inside to measure the temperature in the oven. This may be a tall task, however, and if so it's probably not worth it. A masonry heater is a high-efficiency fireplace with a sealed combustion chamber where the manufacturer claims the temperature can reach 1,500F or higher. The bake oven is a cavity (also with a sealed door) located directly above the firebox where items can be cooked. The bake oven is connected to the firebox by a slot through the middle.
The way these things work is to load a "charge" of wood into them and burn it up fast and hot, driving the heat into the thick masonry walls where it then slowly radiates into the living space over the next 6 - 12 hours. For baking, foods likely wouldn't be inserted into the oven until the fire was out and the temperature had cooled off to a useful level. It would be nice to be able to measure the heat decay inside the oven to help us figure out how long the temperature holds in a given range, how long it takes to get down to certain levels, etc. The alternative is lots of manual measurements and trial and error.
So, is there a way to do this? A wireless sensor would certainly be easiest to install (the doors are glass) but there might be a way to get a wire inside without causing problems. (This thing isn't entirely sealed with mortar - some joints are filled with a felt-like material to allow the parts to expand and contract.)
Is this a worthy challenge to the collective wisdom of CocoonTech?
JonR