- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
Last year we replaced our old 'airtight' wood stove with an EPA approved model. The stove connects through the the wall to a super-insulated manufactured chimney via a 3 foot section of regular stovepipe.
On the old stove we were able to completely shut off the air when the stove was not in use.
The new EPA model by design has a number of air intakes which either cannot be closed or can be only partly closed. Since quite a bit of cool air is entering the house when the stove is not in use, is there any problem installing a manual damper in the flue pipe to close off the air at that time. Would a damper also help control the air intake during a chimney fire?
Answer:
Bad chimney fires are unlikely with newer EPA stoves. Even if you had one, closing the air inlets should starve it for the air it needs to really burn hot.
Most manual dampers do not form a complete seal in the stove pipe, so I doubt this will solve your problem.
Last year we replaced our old 'airtight' wood stove with an EPA approved model. The stove connects through the the wall to a super-insulated manufactured chimney via a 3 foot section of regular stovepipe.
On the old stove we were able to completely shut off the air when the stove was not in use.
The new EPA model by design has a number of air intakes which either cannot be closed or can be only partly closed. Since quite a bit of cool air is entering the house when the stove is not in use, is there any problem installing a manual damper in the flue pipe to close off the air at that time. Would a damper also help control the air intake during a chimney fire?
Answer:
Bad chimney fires are unlikely with newer EPA stoves. Even if you had one, closing the air inlets should starve it for the air it needs to really burn hot.
Most manual dampers do not form a complete seal in the stove pipe, so I doubt this will solve your problem.
