wood stove draft

[netmouse]

A concern is my decades old Defiant wood stove and air leakage. I keep the damper handle down when the stove is not in use, but am concerned air seeps past that losing heated air in winter and a/c air in summer. The little metal flap in back of the stove for the air intake control has no real seal and moves when the stove is not in use (I hear the metal hitting the stove body as it moves). I plug that up with a towel, but this air flow tells me that air is pulled up the chimney.

I may soon replace the Defiant with a Jotel. I don't know if a new, more modern stove is better at at lessening air leakage.

Does anyone know about sealing / plugging up the chimney when not in use? "Not in use" means maybe a day in winter or all the time in summer.

 

[Battenkiller]

When it is cold outside, you will get a small amount of air coming into the stove from the natural draft in most cases, but without the strong draw from a hot flue, it will be so little compared to the natural air exchange of the home that it can be ignored as a source of heat loss. But if you are worried about it, rest a piece of wood against the flap and shut the secondary intake all the way and you can eliminate all of this. As far as AC in summer is concerned, last I checked, cool air doesn't rise up a chimney.

I use wadded up newspaper shoved inside my pipe and a plastic bag tied over the thimble in the summer. A bit unsightly (my thimble's in the basement), but it keeps the nasty smell of the chimney from entering into the home in the summer.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

During summer it is not a bad idea to stuff some insulation in the flue. Just make a note of that to remind yourself next fall to remove it before lighting your first fire in the fall. Other times, like Battenkiller stated, it is too little to be concerned about.

 

[grommal]

I cut a plug from some 6" thick seat cushion foam rubber and it works great. I cut it just a bit larger than the ID of the pipe, and added a wire handle to pull it out easily. I put it in through the chimney cleanout door, since I can reach the thimble from there in my installation. Works great to keep out bugs and smell on damp summer days.

Kinda impedes the draft if you forget to take it out, though!

 

[Dakotas Dad]

I, being a noob, put a couple sheets of wadded up newspaper in my pipe, just above the stove. It was lying right there in the "kindling" basket when I needed it, and I guessed, that if I forget about it, come the first fire, well.. it should take care of itself.. lol. I put a note inside the door of the stove to remove it, so should be good.