Flue Damper Worth Every Penny (and then some)!

snowleopard said:

So gents, I'd love your input.

I had a damper put in with my install because I have never lived w/a woodstove (pre-EPA, dating all the way back to barrel stoves) that didn't have a damper on the stove pipe.

[snip]

Haven't had anything less (or more) than a good draft.

I figured it's not going to build up much creosote there because it's in the hottest part of the stove pipe, or so logic would suggest, and I've had no evidence of creosote build-up. I'd really appreciate any words of wisdom, including how much of an obstacle this will present for cleaning.

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Hi SnowLeopard,

It sounds to me like you pretty much know that a stove pipe damper will neither help nor hurt, but would like to have one just in case. Sounds reasonable to me. I'm planning on putting one in for the same reason, and have the same concern.

I think there's another recent thread discussing a similar topic, and most concluded that cleaning wouldn't be a problem. They'd either clean from the top down with the flue on, being careful not to damage their baffle if it's fragile, or just remove the stovepipe above the damper.

Folks, is removing a section or two of stove pipe for cleaning access fairly easy? I'm planning on including telescoping section of the Simpson DVL double-wall stovepipe for that purpose--would it be easy to break the pipe by retracting the telescoping section?

I think that was relatively on-topic.

I HTH, and am curious to hear what folks think.

PS You have yourself one fine stove there. I think the Heritage in the Seafoam Blue is a knockout.

Geoff John-West said:

I burn a Mansfield with a 30' interior chimney.
I can close the air and the damper down with most burns just to keep the stove top around 600.
Secondaries work great no smoke out side. I burn lots of construction cut off that are nice and dry.
Hopefully I am not wrecking the stove as this is the top temperature allowed. This is my second year burning.
I hope using a damper makes the burn longer and more efficient?
Geoff

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Geoff - welcome to Hearth! Sounds like we have the same deal - I burn a Mansfield with about 30' of interior chimney (although mine is tapped into an oversized fireplace masonry flue (from the back side) - about 11" square). I need to close my primary air completely every time, and dial down the pipe damper about 1/2 way (or a little more) nearly each time to get stovetop temps to keep at 600* or just below. Yes, this must provide a longer burn as we are reducing the rate of combustion air entering the stove. It is then more 'efficient' in terms of utilizing less wood over time. I've stopped worrying about getting the beast a little above 600* - sometimes she'll climb to almost 650* for a short period. I control the burn as much as I can and then enjoy the heat. I'm sure the stones can handle these somewhat higher temps, as Hearthstone recommends a high burn at least once per day, and indicates that the stove can reach 600* on high burn. I'm sure they'd be out of business if the stones cracked at 625*! Cheers and happy burning!

This is a great thread. I have a Hearthstone Phoenix with about 28' of single wall through an exterior chimney, that drafts like crazy when the wind blows. My burn times are really low and I find myself refilling the stove about every 90 minutes even with the primary fully locked down. I know I need to re-gasket the door and I'm sure that will help, but installing an inline damper just might do the trick for me. Now getting to it might be difficult with my hearth installation, but I can probably figure it out. I'm also concerned about the damper cooling off the stack temps and creating creosote.

r dubya said:

I live on the coast of Cook Inlet, and when the wind get howling, 40/50/60/70 mph, that little damper is piece mind.
Hi my name is Roger...and I to put a damper in an EPA stove..

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Roger,

Don't you have those volcanoes across the water to keep you warm.

Ninilchik is my favorite place is AK.

i would put one on if i could (insert). Because i cant, i have been experimenting with the air introduced into the stove. Primary, zipper, secondary. Secondary is tough, because it is only accessible by moving my stove out of the fireplace. This past summer i planned on adding a sliding air control for the secondary, but never got to it with the house painting.

For what its worth, my father took his damper off and only used is primary air control after years of using a damper. He quickly put it back on when he noticed an increase in creosote. Dont know why. Yes, his wood was dry.

RenovationGeorge said:

Mcbride said:

I do not have one, nor have I ever felt the need to have one.

If your stoves damper is not closing well enough to control the burn, maybe look into why not.

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Hey McBride,

On a cat stove, like yours, I completely agree.

The issue I've seen posted over and over is folks with non-cat EPA stoves, which, for EPA compliance, have primary air that cannot be shut off completely. Folks with very strong drafting flues with those stoves report fast burns and runaways, and can't control the stoves like they want to until they damper down the flue.

Just a FYIFWIW.

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Thanks, as I did not know that, any stove I have had, was able to be closed with the damper on it.

Good info, and sorry for my ignorance in earlier posts.

No issues here with too much draft, even with 70-80mph winds. Sure it's noticeable in the stove, but even if I had a flue damper I wouldn't mess with it. My chimney from stove top to rain cap is about 15ft though.

Backwoods Savage said:

It has been many, many moons since we had a damper. No, I do not intend to install one either because I do not feel one is needed. I bought the 6-pack instead.

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Good man, BW! Have one for me. ;-)

I think I am goint to put some type of no burn intake damper or plugs on my wood stove, Magnolia and also my insert, Osburn 1800.
When I have no fire they are basically big holes it the house. The insert is made with a damper that doesn't fit too well on purpose. The Magnolia has two intakes back to back. One about a 2 x 4 inch inlet with a loose damper and next to it the same with no damper.
With no fire they leak a lot of air in or out. A good draft tester is inscence and a bright flash light to see the smoke better. In one test I held the inscence about 6 inchs below and 4 inches offset fron the undampered intake part of the Magnolia intake. The smoke easily got sucked 4 inches sideways and up into the intake. The stove has been off for days and cold. I will also try it with the insert when it is cool. What got me started was it is windy tonight and I could hear the wind noise near the intake area of the insert with an almost dead fire. Basically an EPA wood stove / insert with no fire seems to be a drafty hole in what you think is a nice tight house. I bet you checked your doors and windows for leaks and weather stripped them, but not your stove.

Also use the incense for general draft checking around the house. Works great. Watch you don't drop an ash on the carpet.

Good point, CSteve.

I guess even damping down the stove would help. I wonder how many people damper all the way down and/or close their flue damper between burns?

Of course, for many here, there is no such thing.

I think most old style dampers have some fair size air holes in them. I think so you can't shut it off completely and smoke up the house.
I am thinking of something like a "Remove Before Flight" type covers you see on airplanes.
Maybe a cover with a strap that says "Remove Before Fire" and a ring on the other end that lets it hook around the load door handle.

I wll also try usng th spll chker :>)

cottonwoodsteve said:

Maybe a cover with a strap that says "Remove Before Fire" and a ring on the other end that lets it hook around the load door handle.

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As I mentioned before, I used to hang a weight on the handle that kept the damper vertical. Never was too fond of relying on just the resistance of the spring.

I have a built in damper. You guys need to forget the six-packs and flue gadgets and get good stoves.

I'm debating on the damper myself. My Englander NC-30 likes to runaway. I really have a hard time keeping stove top temps below 750. Even when I push the air control completely closed, the secondaries are in hell fire mode and remain that way.

I have such a strong draft that when I was installing my stove, I could ash a cigarette 2 inches below the pipe and the ashes would get sucked up the stove pipe. It's a straight up through the house double walled insulated chimney. This thing drafts like crazy, even without a draft established by the stove.

The only caveat would be that I have a double walled stove pipe. I don't think it should be too much of an issue because the inside diameter is still 6 inches. Just drill through the double wall and insert the cast iron damper.

GatorDL55 said:

The only caveat would be that I have a double walled stove pipe. I don't think it should be too much of an issue because the inside diameter is still 6 inches. Just drill through the double wall and insert the cast iron damper.

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And they also make small sections with damper installed. About $70 bucks though.

Okay newby to the site but have been around stoves most of my life. I have a Stratford coal/wood stove I have been hauling around with me and put it in a few years ago. Burned coal the first couple of years but have pissed a few neighbors off so I decided to burn wood. Like a baby I need to feed the fire every 4 to 5 hours and have been debating on putting an "old school" damper in the double wall pipe I have. Most of the dealers up here say you'll see no real benefit from adding one. Like many others state, no real loss of putting one it, if it doesn't work just don't use it. So my question?

Can anyone share how well they did drilling into the double wall pipe? I know I can buy the piece with it included but then I will be spending about $200 total to refit the 4' section of double wall pipe... (I could buy a lot of beer or vodka with that $200 bucks %-P ) Or just buy the $8 model and drill.

Thanks.

Tony

And then there is the "poor man's stovepipe damper": A ball of tin foil. The first time my Castine went nuclear, yeah, I wished I'd had another damper, but there are alternative solutions. Just stuff that puppy up in the intake and you'll get what you want pretty quickly. Not very adjustable, true. It won't ever be a perfect seal and it will always be able to breathe enough to keep combustion going. It also might cost you the hair on your arm as you reach up and back to get it positioned!