Damper vs Main Air to control burn

[Ogre]

What is the correct method of controlling burn with the damper and/or the main air intake control (and BTW what is this commonly referend too?)

I have an old 1980s Avalon (Pre-Travis) and am new to wood burning. I have ignition as of this morning and have been playing around with the controlls to see how they affect burn and heat and all this jazz.

What are the primary uses for each of the controlls and how are each typically used in controlling burn. Is some of this user preference / stove model dependant or are there some general rules of thumb.

I know enought to know that damper affects the exhaust side of the burn and as suck probably has more effect on the chimney.. and the Air intake obviously feeds oxygen to the fire thus controlling burn... But I've found you can feed or starve the fire to some extend from both ends.

Additionally as it relates to the intensity of the fire... what is desirable and most energy efficient to get the most energy from the fuel (wood). A fire with flickering flames or a hot coal small flame fire?

Whats the verdict? I look forward to hearing your responces.

Thanks and Happy Bird Day (Thanksgiving)

 

[fbelec]

you want to do most of your control from your primary air control. if you find that you are not getting long burns like 3 to 4 hours and you have a chimney that i longer than 30 to 35 feet then maybe when you start backing the air down you might want to close the pipe damper a little. that is something that is different on every stove and every setup. so you'll have to experiment. if you don't have a pipe or stovetop thermometer you'll need to buy one so you'll know what temp that you are shooting for. if you don't have a user manual for your stove see if you can get one downloaded from travis website or other so you know what to do when.

 

[Dune]

For the most part, a stove built iun 1980 shouldn't need a chimney damper, the reason being that the stove should be tight enough to have good air controll with just the stove controlls.
With some experience however, you may find that you can tweak the burning a little with the chimney damper option.
The best use of wood would be a small, all out fire. That involves more work on your part, especialy for overnight burns, therefore a compromise, at least at night is often settled upon.
If you are really interested in using the least amount of wood possible, a gassifier stove might be a good investment.

 

[Ogre]

I have found that the Primary air control does indeed control my burn very well... within seconds of adjusting either way. I have what I believe to be excellent draft though I have no bench mark for comparison. As far as the damper goes. I have found that I get higher temps with the damper 1/2 closed on a fully involved burn and all the way shut for a good load of coals.

I've been loading her full abt every 4-6 hrs running with Air and damper open 100%. After abt 20 mins when fully involved and running at abt 550 degs I close Air all the way and bump it back open just a nudge and i close the damper to 1/2.

This seems to be working really well, the house is staing nice and warm. But is this best use of my wood and are there any issues that could be better such as outside chimney smoke, creasote, ... things I may not even know to be looking for?

THANKS ALL

 

[fbelec]

if you have a outside chimney, in my opinion i wouldn't slow the air in the chimney down to much or you might start having creosote problems. the slower your smoke goes up the chimney the more heat gets taken out of it. to much heat taken out means condensation which means possible creosote build up in the cooler running chimney

 

[Ogre]

This is one of my main concerns and reason for this post. I also get more smoke when i ckoke the damper. When running full boar air and damper open I get little smoke... But i just went out and checked burning as mentioned in prior reply and I'm gettin quite heavy smoke, non EPA... : (... I'll open the damper 100 and shut the air down all the way and give it 30 mins to see what it does to my temp and the chimney output. thx

 

[savageactor7]

What is the correct method of controlling burn with the damper and/or the main air intake control (and BTW what is this commonly referend too?)

Pipe damper control heat exit...air intake controls burn rate as in low, med or high.

Ogre the inline damper in the stove pipe is used to control the rate of burn too. Keep it opened when starting a fire and anytime the stove door is opened when burning to load more wood in.

Mostly the damper contains the fire in the stove for just slightly longer so you have more heat. When the stove is burning it should never be closed more than 45° ...unless you have a chimney fire. Then you can close it and the chimney fire should go out...MAYBE.

Always open the damper before you open the stove then after loading close to 45° so the heat doesn't go right up the chimney before heating.

Somewhere on the stove a lever or push rod will control the amount of air the stove uses to burn. The more air the quicker and hotter the burn...now a days they call that the 'primary air'.

good luck with the stove.

 

[fbelec]

since that is not a epa stove i would not be turning the primary air control under med or half way. you'll get creosote buildup. do you have a pipe or stove top thermometer? if so what is the stove running at?

 

[Ogre]

I'm running with stovetop temps of 550 idealy but on long burns the temp will drop to 350ish. So sound like I need to sacrifice some wood and keep the fire burning with some good flame. Damper fully open and primary air no less than half. this set up gives me a good burn but will go thru the wood faster... but It should keep me i the 450-600 range.