Damper question

[Garand06]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new woodburner and have been reading lots of good info here.

However, I have a question I have not seen an answer to, but first I guess it would be good to let you know what my set-up is.

I have a new Dutchwest large non-cat. It is vented thru the basement wall with about 5 feet of single wall to the class A (3 foot horizontal run to tee) and then up 19 feet of class A (duravent brand) on the outside. Draft does not seem to be a problem at all and I'm VERY happy that so far I have not turned my furnace on yet this fall.



I know that once it is up to temp., the EFFICIENT way to run is with the damper closed and taking advantage of both extra heat and cleaner burning by using the secondary burn.


The question I have is: When I want a little less heat and more flames to watch thru the glass, is there anything wrong with burning for extended times with the damper open? Basically isn't it then working mostly like a fireplace (with the exception of the heat radiated by 500 pounds of cast iron!)


Thanks for putting up with another noob question.

Tim

 

[pen]

Nothing wrong w/ leaving it open at all. Actually, you shouldn't be using it unless your stove is drafting too hard and you have excessive stove temperatures that can't be managed w/ your air contol, glowing stove parts, short burn times, etc.

pen

 

[firefighterjake]

Random thoughts . . .

Welcome to hearth.com . . . and don't worry . . . we like answering newbie questions . . . it makes us feel very, very smart . . . much smarter than I really am.

I assume by "air damper" you mean the air control on the stove . . . and yes . . . the best way to burn for a longer, cleaner and more efficient burn is to close down the air as much as you can while still sustaining the secondary burn . . .

And yes . . . you can leave the air control open all the way to have less heat and lots of flames . . . BUT . . . a) if you load the stove to the gills and do so you could have some pretty dangerously hot temps in the chimney and flue, b) you are wasting your wood and burning inefficiently and c) a better way to get less heat would be to not load the stove as much vs. running it as you have described. Incidentally, with a secondary burner there will be plenty of flames . . . in fact you might be convinced that there is a Portal to Hell opening up in your woodstove . . . so running the air open all the way just to see more flames is a wash . . . it's just the flames will be different. I think personally the secondary burn flames are much more impressive.

 

[shawneyboy]

First off welcome to the forum.

Burning closed do you not get flames ? With my stove, even with the damper (I think you mean air control) closed the flames at the top of the stove (secondaries) supply quite a light show.

As far as working like a fireplace, I would have to say no, not unless you have the doors wide open.

Will you damage anything running it with the air control partially open? Probably not unless you go into an overfire situation.

I think you will find that as the temps go lower, your draft will increase a ton, and your secondaries will REALLY get going. At this time of year I do run with the air supply open more than I do in December or in January, when my draft is really pulling. If you are after less heat I would adjust the amount of wood that I put in the stove, not neccesarily by opening her up and sending the heat up the flue.

If you want more flame then opeing up the air may give you what you are looking for, but realize you are just throwing that heat up the flue and may be also sending some of the flamable gasses that create creosote, up there to condense.

Shawn

 

[Garand06]

Nothing wrong w/ leaving it open at all. Actually, you shouldn't be using it unless your stove is drafting too hard and you have excessive stove temperatures that can't be managed w/ your air contol, glowing stove parts, short burn times, etc.

pen

Thanks for the info about running with it open.

The damper on this stove is what forces the exhast gas thru the secondary chamber, though, so if I do want secondary burn I need to close it.

I can control the burn with the primary air control, and with an 80% fill of wood at 9-9:30 in the evening, I have plenty of coals to rekindle fairly easily.

 

[Garand06]

I assume by "air damper" you mean the air control on the stove . . . and yes . . . the best way to burn for a longer, cleaner and more efficient burn is to close down the air as much as you can while still sustaining the secondary burn . . .

Thanks, but no: by damper I mean what sends the smoke exhast thru the secondary chamber.

I was just looking for a way to have a slightly larger fire and not cook myself out of the room.

 

[shawneyboy]

OK what we have here is a failure to comunicate. When you say "air damper" we are, or at least I am, thinking a damper on your stove pipe, or you are calling the air control a damper. Could you mean a bypass where you can either send the air straight up the flue or otherwiase through a secondary burn chamber ?

Shawn

 

[jonwright]

Nothing wrong w/ leaving it open at all. Actually, you shouldn't be using it unless your stove is drafting too hard and you have excessive stove temperatures that can't be managed w/ your air contol, glowing stove parts, short burn times, etc.

pen

Is it possible to have too much draft that doesn't allow your stove to get up to temp????? Or does too much draft always goes along with over-firing?

 

[pen]

Nothing wrong w/ leaving it open at all. Actually, you shouldn't be using it unless your stove is drafting too hard and you have excessive stove temperatures that can't be managed w/ your air contol, glowing stove parts, short burn times, etc.

pen

Thanks for the info about running with it open.

The damper on this stove is what forces the exhast gas thru the secondary chamber, though, so if I do want secondary burn I need to close it.

I can control the burn with the primary air control, and with an 80% fill of wood at 9-9:30 in the evening, I have plenty of coals to rekindle fairly easily.

Ah! We are talking about a bypass then for the everburn then?

If you had a small load of wood in the stove leaving the bypass open would be fine. Too large a load and you'll risk overheating the chimney as others have mentioned earlier.

Here is a link to a thread which I think you'll find helpful https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/4188/

pen

 

[Garand06]

... say "air damper" ...Could you mean a bypass where you can either send the air straight up the flue or otherwiase through a secondary burn chamber ?

Shawn

Didn't say air damper originally.

Yes, the way you have "bypass" defined is exactly what I was trying to convey, thanks!

 

[Garand06]

Ah! We are talking about a bypass then for the everburn then?

If you had a small load of wood in the stove leaving the bypass open would be fine. Too large a load and you'll risk overheating the chimney as others have mentioned earlier.

Here is a link to a thread which I think you'll find helpful https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/4188/

pen

Exactly, thanks.

My owners manual does call it a damper, but that apparently is not a real descriptive term.


THANKS FOR THE LINK! Lots of good reading there.