Flue damper on a Jotul F500 V3

[begreen]

I decided to never open the ash pan door. So, it's been closed tight from day one. In fact, I don't use the front door either, doing all loading from left side door. Opening up the air lever on front, really sets it going, and closing it down completely....really shuts it all down with little flames. We had a Quadrafire 4100i insert for 4 yrs before this. The V3 shuts down further, is more airtight and puts out tons more heat. I pushed out the hearth & the VS is sitting well out from fireplace, so radiant heat is totally different. I sit 13 ft away & at 400 degrees it's pretty warm. Very pleased with stove. We own 60 acres, have a ton of wood, years out in front...so wood is as good as it gets.

I made that decision after a couple of months running the F400 years ago. The stove seemed to run better once the ashpan was full of ash. I don't know if this was due to increased insulation under the fire or better sealing off of the ashpan.

 

[Brogan007]

I decided to install the flue damper on the horizontal section, right at the stove exit vent.
Really pleased with the result. Slows the fire down a LOT. Seems to increase temp of stove top. Time will tell if I'm ruining the cat...or not.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[Brogan007]

Last post on this subject. See the stove top at about 400 F.
The exit temp is at 428 and the flue AFTER the 80% closed damper is 260
So much more heat being held in the stove, and so much less wood burnt.

 

[bholler]

Last post on this subject. See the stove top at about 400 F.
The exit temp is at 428 and the flue AFTER the 80% closed damper is 260
So much more heat being held in the stove, and so much less wood burnt.

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Keep.your eye on the top for creosote buildup. 259 is on the low side that close to the stove. Not nessecarily to low but that depends on heat loss through the rest of the system.

 

[Brogan007]

Keep.your eye on the top for creosote buildup. 259 is on the low side that close to the stove. Not nessecarily to low but that depends on heat loss through the rest of the system.

Good point. The wood is as dry as it gets, 3 yrs under cover....so I'm less worried than some might be.

 

[bholler]

Good point. The wood is as dry as it gets, 3 yrs under cover....so I'm less worried than some might be.

It doesn't matter how dry it is. If the flue temp drops too low too soon you will get creosote. Dry wood certainly helps get up to temp faster and maintain proper terms easier but it doesn't eliminate the risk of creosote.