Experiments have been performed in a full-scale (1.6 m diameter and 2.85 m height) cylindrical reverse flow reactor filled with torus saddles and operated with low thermal losses yielding a homogeneous temperature in the center. For gas mass flow rates up to 2.2 kg/s, the convective heat transfer is found to be dominant and the resulting temperature profiles are discussed for a number of conditions. The experimental results are compared with predictions of one-dimensional models. The agreement found is generally good.