How to tell whether or not my Jotul 602 needs a stove pipe damper or not...

[Jonsered]

Well I have not had too many fires yet but I think I may want to put a damper in my stove pipe between the stove and chimney pipe to slow some of the draft down for when I want to slow the stove down during the day/night when I'm at work/sleeping. Are there some basic items to review to determine whether or not a damper would be beneficial/necessary?

Thanks guys!

Nate

 

[roddy]

have yet to see the need to put a damper on my 602,air control does a good job regulating the fire as far as i can see,though some here have mentioned it can be a run away stove on occassion

 

[begreen]

We had a damper on the pipe of our pre-EPA 602 and it was helpful with regulation. The stove drafts pretty easily.

 

[raiderfan]

The stove drafts pretty easily.

Boy, I'll say... I used to joke with people telling them it sounded like a blow torch when it first got going!!

 

[vvvv]

flue damper preserves coals

 

[DAKSY]

Well I have not had too many fires yet but I think I may want to put a damper in my stove pipe between the stove and chimney pipe to slow some of the draft down for when I want to slow the stove down during the day/night when I'm at work/sleeping. Are there some basic items to review to determine whether or not a damper would be beneficial/necessary?

Thanks guys!

Nate

The F602 install manual doesn't give a maximum chimney height, but we use 22' as a rule of thumb.
For ANY combination of connector & Class A (or masonry) in excess of 22 feet ABOVE the flue collar, we recommend a flue damper.
Shorter runs generally don't require one, but YMMV.

 

[begreen]

We had our 602 on a 12' straight up flue and the damper was helpful in extending the burn and reducing flue temps. Haven't hooked it up in the greenhouse yet, but it will be a similar setup.

 

[Jonsered]

The stove drafts pretty easily.

Boy, I'll say... I used to joke with people telling them it sounded like a blow torch when it first got going!!

Thats what I am finding...my little stove sounds like a jet engine when I crack the air control. I want to make sure that I don't return home to find a cold stove and cold house because the small fire box has flown up the chimney (if you know what I mean).

 

[begreen]

The damper will help, but this stove doesn't have the longest burn time, even with it. Anything over 4 hrs is gravy for us. But we burn mostly softwood.

 

[galega]

When you're building out a new stove/chimney install with double-wall stove pipe, is there any downside to just installing a damper whether or not you know for sure you need one? Aside from the extra cost of the damper, of course ...

Something like this: http://woodheatstoves.com/6-adapter-damper-section-p-9402.html

 

[begreen]

Normally a damper is not needed on an EPA stove unless the flue is unusually tall. I tried it on our Castine and it was not an improvement; removed it after a week.

It sounds like your main issue might be high winds which may benefit more with a special cap or a barometric damper. But I'd wait to see how the system works before altering it.

 

[Jonsered]

I guess I'll set it up without a damper for now (since thats how it is already) and I'll burn for awhile and see what kind of burn times I am getting. If it turns out that I feel like I am losing my coals/burn due to over draft I'll try to slow it down with a damper. Right now it drafts great, if I crack the air supply open it takes off but I just want to make sure that its not too much.

Thanks and I'll update as my burns are more lengthy and frequent

 

[vvvv]

damper also creates an area of turbulence around the damper which results in more heat for the room instead of the chimney in that area. closed damper preserves coals as well as block heat from coals getting airwashed up the chimney- dunno how significant. excess coals can be a hassle too.

 

[fjord]

Pipe dampers also are a PITA for flue brushing.
They are creosote magnets.

 

[begreen]

Burn dry wood only. Very little creosote then.