Finding the sweet spot on damper position

[Wormyone]

When operating my stove I like to let the wood get a little chared and then start closing the damper off. When I do this it runs very well but sometimes it seems it causes my temp of the flue to drop and then I am worried about build up. I also never close it all of the way...Is this advised? Most of the time my flue temp is around the mid 4's and the stove top is around themid to high 5;s.......Thoughts?

 

[pen]

It's a rare day that I close the draft control fully. In general, how the air control gets used will depend on how strong the draw from the chimney is.

I never use the air control to regulate temperature of the house, I use the air control to establish / maintain a good fire and use the amount of wood that I load in the stove to control the house temperature.

pen