Multi fuel stoves can vastly increase the heat output when burning wood and other fuels in your home compared to using traditional open fireplaces.
So how hot does a multi fuel stove get?
The maximum temperature of a multi fuel stove will depend on a number of factors including its heat output (in kW) and its efficiency rating, but tests on a 8kW multi fuel stove showed that temperatures reached 600°F (315°C).
We have a multi fuel stove in the family, and I’ve shown below how hot our stove managed to get during typical use.
How Hot Does A Multi Fuel Stove Get?
Our multi fuel stove is an 8kW appliance with an efficiency rating of just over 70%.
We typically only burn wood in our multi fuel stove, and so we tested how hot a multi fuel stove could get when burning wood.
The multi fuel stove came with an optional thermometer, which allows us to measure the temperature of the body of the stove. The picture below shows the temperature on the stove thermometer just after the fire had been lit.
It took about half an hour for the small bits of kindling and wood to turn into hot coals, at which point larger pieces of wood could be added to the stove to create the hottest fire possible (a bed of hot coals helps to ignite the larger bits of wood).
To see how hot the multi fuel stove could get, we ensured that there was enough wood in the fire, without overloading the stove and potentially causing damage.
Overloading a stove can cause ‘over firing’ where temperatures in the stove exceed design temperatures, and continuously over firing a stove can cause long term and permanent damage. More information about over firing can be found in another one of my articles here.
The air vents on the stove were also open more than usual to improve the airflow and oxygen supply to the fire.
The door to the stove was also left shut. More info about whether you can leave the stove door open can be found here.
After about an hour and a half from starting the fire, the reading on the thermometer showed just under 600°F (315°C).
Can A Multi Fuel Stove Get Too Hot?
If there is an abundance of oxygen and fuel supply, a multi fuel stove can get too hot. Running a stove at high temperatures too often can cause long term or permanent damage over time. A multi fuel stove running too hot will also burn through the fuel much more quickly.
Although our multi fuel stove was running hot, it was actually running ‘too hot’.
The thermometer shows the optimum temperature ranges for multi fuel stoves, and the temperature of the stove at around 600°F (315°C) is shown to be in the zone indicated to be ‘too hot’.
The air vents on the stove were open wider than usual to see how hot our multi fuel stove could get, and so the wood was burning hotter and faster than usual.
To bring the temperature of the stove back down to ‘best operation’ temperatures of under 470°F (240°C), we closed down the vents to reduce the oxygen supply, and didn’t add any further wood to the fire.
The temperature ranges shown on our stove’s thermometer are explained below.
‘Creosote’
32°F (0°C) to 230°F (110°C)
Build-up of creosote is increased because the fire is burning inefficiently. There fire may be starved of oxygen, the wood may be wet or there may not be enough wood on the fire for the size of the stove.
‘Best Operation’
230°F (110°C) to 470°F (240°C)
The optimum burning temperatures for the stove, producing the most amount of heat without burning through the fuel too quickly.
‘Too Hot’
470°F (240°C) to 900°F (480°C)
The stove is producing large amounts of heat but is rapidly burning through the supply of fuel, making the overall efficiency worse than if the stove was operating at lower temperatures. High heat can also cause damage to the stove components over time, particularly the baffle plate.