4 thermocouples where and why?

[ckdickerson]

Ive gotten pretty far on my oven and am ready for thermocouple placement. Ive already placed one in the oven floor 1/4 of an inch from the cooking surface in the center. I have 3 left. Where should I place the remaining 3 for the best heat monitoring of the oven?


oven thread: http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f21/...cky-12829.html (42" Pompeii in Kentucky)

[MK1]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

What you install thermocouples for is to measure saturated temps. You can easily get surface temps with an infrared gun. You might want to place your 3 remaining further away from the hot inside of the oven. This is handy for gauging how much retained heat you have. For example if I'm baking a large batch of bread I want to see temps of 750-800F in my dome which has a thermocouple about 3/4 up the dome at about 2.25" from the inside of the oven. I can bake about 90 loaves with this much retained heat.
If I'm cooking pizza I just want surface temps at 800F or so.


Mark

[lwood]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

I would put another about 1/4" from firebrick in the insulation layer. With this you can see if your oven is heat soaked by comparing the two. If they are close to the same temp, your oven is heat soaked.

[ckdickerson]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

Excellent feedback gentlemen. Keep it coming.

[lwalper]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

Just building my vault so no temperature readings as of yet (well, that's not true ? 72?F), but I've got one about 4" below center hearth, another 3/4" below center hearth, and there are plans for 2 more in similar positions in the vault. I like the idea of one just ouside the mass to know just how hot everything actually is.

[meco211]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

i am putting mine just behind the firebrick on the top and bottom of the oven

[Stan Nelson]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

I'm in the process of purchasing a digital temperature monitor and one or more thermocouples. Does anyone out there have a suggestion for where I can buy and a preferred model?

[coladipietro]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

Check out Sensors, Thermocouple, PLC, Operator Interface, Data Acquisition, RTD. Talk to one of their tech's and let them know what you want...they have a great staff and are very helpful.

[Stan Nelson]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

I recently had some questions regarding thermocouples and monitors to view the temperature in my pizza oven. I spoke with various companies but ended up purchasing from Omega Engineering, in Stamford Connecticut. Their technical assistant was able to find out my application through a series of questions, regarding my pizza oven, and then walk me through their website. He gave me suggested part numbers and I was able to look at their description and illustrations on line while speaking with him. I found this very helpful.

What I ended up with was a digital panel meter which displays in a red LED and a power supply so that I could hook up to my AC power source. I also purchased four thermocouples and a rotary switch so that I could select various zones throughout the oven. I am going to monitor temperatures in three different places within the oven and use one of the thermocouples to gauge OAT on the shady side of the outside of my pizza oven house so that guests could so how nice our San Diego weather is.

Another reason that I am putting three thermocouples in the oven is for redundancy. Apparently these thermocouples do not last forever and I thought that I could wait to changes them until I am down to one or two spares as getting to them will be an all day project by the time I pull the siding down and remove the vermiculite, change the bad thermocouples, and reinstall everything.

[Glosta]

Re: 4 thermocouples where and why?

Stan-Coladipietro-Lwaper & others posting-Thank you for the thermocouple information. Have you installed? Since service/replacement will eventually be necessary; and since the thermocouples are located in different sections of the stove; and since the sensors are all wired to the same digital panel meter; I am curious how you worked this out? Are the sensor shafts drilled slightly oversized from the outside to the appropriate depth, beneath for the floor & above for the dome...then slid down the pilot hole? How oversized was your sensor shaft? How do you keep the sensors in the floor from sliding back out? is the sensor wire stiff to facilitate forcing sensor into position? I suppose the sensor leads are then all routed back to the location of your meter? Finally I guess you have to reserve an means of access to each sensor location so you can fish it out and replace in the future? Have I got this right. I have just finished the hearth-but suppose I should drill the floor sensor locations before it is too late. Hope to learn from your experience. Also I was curious about the use of the Sears multimeter. Does the multimeter give you an actual temperature reading or a voltage or resisstance reading which you have to covert to temperature? The rotary switch/digital panel meter sounds like an elegant solution. Do you have pictures & catalog numbers? Thank you for your input. Glosta