Flue damper, what's it for?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
FR9Ford said:
Well, it'll mostly chew through wood. I just got home from work. So i can load it and only close it about halfway to see how it behaves
Click to expand...
Halfway is probably asking too much. Try closing it down just a little off the bottom and play with that a little and work your way up. It may not take much to make a difference. I know it doesn't take much for my stove if I need to bring it up a little.

Back to the OAK thing. Is you house especially tight? Do you tend to run kitchen and bathroom fans? Or a dryer. Those can draw a lot of air out of the house, sometimes starving a fire if the house is a tight one.
 
Sprinter said:
Halfway is probably asking too much. Try closing it down just a little off the bottom and play with that a little and work your way up. It may not take much to make a difference. I know it doesn't take much for my stove if I need to bring it up a little.

Back to the OAK thing. Is you house especially tight? Do you tend to run kitchen and bathroom fans? Or a dryer. Those can draw a lot of air out of the house, sometimes starving a fire if the house is a tight one.
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate by what you mean a little off the bottom?

The house does seem to be tight. I only run the bathroom fans when im showering or pooping. My kitchen fan doesnt vent outside, so no worries there. And didn't think much of the dryer, but only me and my gf live here, so it really only runs once a week or less
 
FR9Ford said:
Can you elaborate by what you mean a little off the bottom?
Click to expand...
I just mean not quite all the way down, just a little up. I don't know your stove, but you know what I mean. Then if you start to have problems, try it up a little more. Just play with it.
 
Sprinter said:
I just mean not quite all the way down, just a little up. I don't know your stove, but you know what I mean. Then if you start to have problems, try it up a little more. Just play with it.
Click to expand...
Ahh, i see what you mean. I'll see what i can get it to do
 
FR9Ford said:
The house does seem to be tight.
Click to expand...
You really need to revisit the OAK thing. Even if you can hook something up temporarily to get more combustion air from the outside. I can't swear that it's the only significant problem, but It's looking more and more important for you.
 
Oh, about outside air. You may be able to test the theory just by opening a nearby window. That is often enough to negate any negative pressure, which is what we are talking about basically. It's not the final answer of course, but may tell us something. Maybe even get some 3" flexible pipe of some kind and run it from the window to the air inlet at the stove. Make sure it's not windy out.

BTW, where is the air intake on the stove? Is it exposed to the room or trapped behind the panels?
 
Sprinter said:
Oh, about outside air. You may be able to test the theory just by opening a nearby window. That is often enough to negate any negative pressure, which is what we are talking about basically. It's not the final answer of course, but may tell us something. Maybe even get some 3" flexible pipe of some kind and run it from the window to the air inlet at the stove. Make sure it's not windy out.

BTW, where is the air intake on the stove? Is it exposed to the room or trapped behind the panels?
Click to expand...
I really don't know. Ive looked for it, but can't find it. I'll open a window and see what happens
 
Sprinter said:
Are those panels still off exposing the whole stove?
Click to expand...

Just the stop one, the 2 side ones are sheet metal screwed in, and the misses goes to bed early since I work 2nd shift. I dont wanna break out the cordless impact till the weekend. But yes the top one is off.
 
Okay. Dont get too excited yet. The wind may just be from chimney drawing it up if there is no block off plate or insulation there. You need to find the air intake on the stove. Although, it is encouraging that it helped the fire. What we are trying to do here is determine how the stove is drawing air. It's best if you can determine that the air intake is freely drawing air from the room. If it's not placed well and not drawing straight from the room, it's maybe getting choked off by being trapped in the fireplace box.

If you find that the intake is free to draw from the room, put that plate back on and see what happens with the window open. This kind of troubleshooting can take time.
 
Sprinter said:
Okay. Dont get too excited yet. The wind may just be from chimney drawing it up if there is no block off plate or insulation there. You need to find the air intake on the stove. Although, it is encouraging that it helped the fire. What we are trying to do here is determine how the stove is drawing air. It's best if you can determine that the air intake is freely drawing air from the room. If it's not placed well and not drawing straight from the room, it's maybe getting choked off by being trapped in the fireplace box.

If you find that the intake is free to draw from the room, put that plate back on and see what happens with the window open. This kind of troubleshooting can take time.
Click to expand...
Alright, I think I may of discovered another issue maybe? The front of the stove is showing about 575* on the magnetic thermo, and my IR gun. However, the air coming out of the blower vents is only showing me its 191*....

Also, I still don't think there is much of an issue with the chimney. I could be wrong, but i stated before that the previous home owner had knocked some of the chimney down, and installed a concrete cap. My stove installer busted an 8 inch hole in it for the ss pipe to fit into. I could be wrong, but I feel 0 air movement behind the stove.
 
I found the air intake. Its on the bottom left corner.
 

Attachments

  • 20180108_232250.jpg
    20180108_232250.jpg
    73.1 KB · Views: 156
FR9Ford said:
I found the air intake. Its on the bottom left corner.
Click to expand...
So is it exposed to the room with all the panels on? Hopefully the intake is not trapped inside the fireplace.

Another question. I think I read that this stove can be bought either as an insert or free standing and with legs or pedestal. True? And is yours an adapted free stander or an insert from the start? I don't know what differences might be.
 
Sprinter said:
So is it exposed to the room with all the panels on? Hopefully the intake is not trapped inside the fireplace.

Another question. I think I read that this stove can be bought either as an insert or free standing and with legs or pedestal. True? And is yours an adapted free stander or an insert from the start? I don't know what differences might be.
Click to expand...
i think they just remove the legs
 
How's the fire now with the panels still off? Can you put the panel back on and see what happens to the fire and the breeze?
 
If this might be an issue of not getting the stove to the correct operating temp from the beginning I might suggest revisiting the theory of checking flue exhaust temps instead of trying to operate off the stove surface thermometer. Now that I understand it's an insert and not a freestanding stove I had a thought, albeit a lonely one a thought none the less, that you could remove that center panel and use a bbq grill thermometer with a remote readout to get a surface temp on the flue liner as far up as you can reach. Of course you should place this with the fire out so you don't melt your skin off. Of course you should seal off the damper throat once it's installed.
 
HomeinPA said:
If this might be an issue of not getting the stove to the correct operating temp from the beginning I might suggest revisiting the theory of checking flue exhaust temps instead of trying to operate off the stove surface thermometer. Now that I understand it's an insert and not a freestanding stove I had a thought, albeit a lonely one a thought none the less, that you could remove that center panel and use a bbq grill thermometer with a remote readout to get a surface temp on the flue liner as far up as you can reach. Of course you should place this with the fire out so you don't melt your skin off. Of course you should seal off the damper throat once it's installed.
Click to expand...
IR gun just as good? i had temps about 1/2 of stove temps with ir.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
1940s Damper Handle Missing
Replies
1
Views
217
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
bholler
B
30WCF
Key Damper Theory
Replies
44
Views
2K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
T-Rav
T-Rav
L
Very large chimney for 6" flue
Replies
6
Views
858
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
Solarguy3500
Solarguy3500
C
What kind of fireplace/firebox do I have?
Replies
9
Views
1K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
begreen
begreen
D
Chimney Fires White Paper - Read This!
Replies
14
Views
2K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
begreen
begreen
Top Bottom
Back