I bought this cabin in Nov. and I'm still figuring out the best procedure for operating my Dutchwest wood stove as efficiently as possible. When I close the damper after getting good flames going, a lot of times it goes down to a smolder (even with the air control wide open). Sometimes it runs fine though. This past week I have been keeping the damper open and it seems I have excellent control over flames and temp with the primary air control on the bottom. My question is, is it burning less efficiently with the damper open even if I have the primary air control all the way down? It has been running great like that, but I wonder if I'm going through more wood like that. I haven't really noticed that. I understand that lively flames are the key and I get that when I have the damper open with the air control in any position. Also, when I have the damper closed, the flue temp usually hovers around 400 or less. At night and when I'm at work I close the damper just so I am sure to have coals in the morning and evening for a quick restart. It does produce a lot of creosote when I do that, though. Last night I kept the damper open and the air control closed up and there were no coals in the morning...at least not enough for a restart.
Here's part of my question...is heat output a direct indicator of how much fuel you are going through?
Thanks for any help...I love learning this stuff.
Kevin
Here's part of my question...is heat output a direct indicator of how much fuel you are going through?
Thanks for any help...I love learning this stuff.
Kevin