Do I Need A Damper?

[ckdeuce]

Once my stove settles down and starts cruising around 450-500 my stack temp stays around 700 and does not start dropping until my stove does. I think that is high and the fact that it stays there makes tells me that I am waisting some real heat. Any thought???

Mansfield to 4' of double wall, 90 elbow into wall thimble, out and up 18' of SS Class A Chimney. Condor probe thermometer 18" up stack and IR thermometer for stove top temps.

Thanks

 

[karri0n]

Is the chimney on the exterior of the house or does it go up through a chase on the interior?

How long can you go from filling the stove completely full of fuel, and still have enough coals to light a fire? Do you get the coveted "overnight burn"?


edit:

I can see from your avatar that the chimney is going outside. While every situation is different, 18' of outdoor chimney doesn't seem all that likely to produce an overdraft situation. Those are some pretty high stack temps, though. If you are capable of filling the stove with wood, going to bed, and getting up in the morning to enough coals for light-off, then I would say it's probably not necessary.

 

[Fsappo]

That sounds like a high stack temp to me. What does your dealer think? The Mansfield in my showroom has dw pipe and I didnt drill a hole for a probe in it yet. I guess I could

 

[ckdeuce]

Is the chimney on the exterior of the house or does it go up through a chase on the interior?

How long can you go from filling the stove completely full of fuel, and still have enough coals to light a fire? Do you get the coveted "overnight burn"?


edit:

I can see from your avatar that the chimney is going outside. While every situation is different, 18' of outdoor chimney doesn't seem all that likely to produce an overdraft situation. Those are some pretty high stack temps, though. If you are capable of filling the stove with wood, going to bed, and getting up in the morning to enough coals for light-off, then I would say it's probably not necessary.

Yep..... Outdoor chimney. No problems filling at 10pm and then loading it back up at 8am and having it take right off.

 

[karri0n]

If it aint broke don't fix it. Last I checked those doublewall damper sections can get pricey.

 

[ckdeuce]

That sounds like a high stack temp to me. What does your dealer think? The Mansfield in my showroom has dw pipe and I didnt drill a hole for a probe in it yet. I guess I could

My dealer is a Joke. And I am not one to pick people apart, but the customer service I received AFTER the sale was very bad. It's a shame, because I support local business as much as possible. It was really that bad. I wish I felt that I could ask them for advice......... Thanks

 

[karri0n]

@ckdeuce,


for reference,

I have 30+ feet of 8 inch pipe inside of an interior masonry chimney. My stove outlet is 6 inch. This thing drafts, and drafts HARD. Before installing a damper, I couldn't keep fire in the box for more than 4 hours with the air control shut completely down, and this is a 3.0 CF firebox. MAYBE a few coals after 5 hours. Stove would be stone cold by morning and 100% ash on a full load of oak. I can now have a decent handful of coals after 7-8 hours, which is sometimes enough to get her going again in the morning. If I could go 10 hours on a 2.8 CF box I would definitely be a happy camper.


However, if you like to tinker, it might be worth a shot. Maybe you could lower those stack temps. I do know that a damper is generally contraindicated on an EPA stove. I would make sure anything you did was reversible, since even an open damper will restrict some of the exhaust flow in your system, which seems to be working decently well at the moment. I can certainly understand your desire to have lower stack temps than 700 if your stovetop temps are 500 though.

Also remember that this will require a specific doublewall section with a preinstalled damper, preferably by the same manufacturer as the rest of your pipe.