How To Install A Damper?

[unit40]

Hi everyone,
I'm helping a co-worker install a new woodstove in his house, and he wants to put in one of those cast-iron turn-type dampers in his stovepipe.
But neither of us know how to do this correctly. We don't want to mess it up. Can anyone here please explain how? He wants to install it along a mostly horizontal run of pipe, and neither of us was sure whether that was OK or not. I thought it had to be in a vertical run, he says it doesn't matter. Please HELP!!

 

[elkimmeg]

Install-it in a section of pipe before it is attached in your connector run./ Some 6" sections can be bought with the damper pre installed
Another way it to drill a lined up hole and install the spring loaded manual damper. It can go in either horizontal or Vertical pipe Most hardware stores have the ones you drill the holes for under $10

 

[BrotherBart]

Personally I install them in the vertical run as close to the flue collar as I can. The reason being that the flue gases are hottest at that point holding down creosote accumulation on the damper. I also wouldn't want to have to remove a damper to clean a horizontal pipe run.

 

[unit40]

Is there a good way other than eyeballing to locate the holes and make sure they're centered in the pipe section? Also, what size bit do you use? Do you go slightly undersized to get a real tight fit?

 

[Todd]

Personally I would wait and see how it burns with out a damper first. The newer EPA stoves don't require dampers unless you have a very tall chimney or extreme draft. What kind of wood stove is it? What does the manual say about dampers? It may not be needed.

 

[unit40]

He may not need it but he's putting one in in case of Chimney fires or something. So we're putting one in regardless. Can anyone offer the procedures involved for installing one of these gadgets? I would hate for us to try to put one in and have it not centered, hung-up, or flopping around in the Pipe.
Thanks

 

[Eric Johnson]

You can eyeball it pretty easily. Just lay the damper assembly across the pipe opening and mark where the shaft would pass through on both sides. Move down the pipe the appropriate distance and drill your holes. Make the holes a size bigger than the shaft. More or less. Then it's just a matter of taking the damper back apart and reinstalling it in the pipe. There's nothing very precise about a cast iron damper. If you can open and close it, that's all that matters.

And I agree that putting one in ahead of time is a good idea. In the past I've found them very useful on very cold nights. I know that a conventional (old tech) airtight stove, you'll get a longer burn if you use a damper. Might also be the case with the newer models, too, especially if you have good draft. I've never owned a modern stove, so I can't really say. But it won't hurt anything in any case. And BrotherBart is right about locating it on a horizontal section of the pipe if possible so that, as he says, you can sweep your chimney without having to remove the damper.

 

[BrotherBart]

He may not need it but he's putting one in in case of Chimney fires or something. So we're putting one in regardless. Can anyone offer the procedures involved for installing one of these gadgets? I would hate for us to try to put one in and have it not centered, hung-up, or flopping around in the Pipe.
Thanks

Using a cloth tape measure, measure the outside circumference of the pipe. Drill your first hole. Use the tape measure to measure from the center of the hole around to half the circumference of the pipe. Drill the other hole. Take the shaft out of the damper noting how it is attached. Put the shaft throught he first hole and reach in and put the damper back on the shaft and push the shaft through the second hole.

Go have a beer or other beverage of your choice.

 

[unit40]

Plenty of beverages before, during, and after. Thanks for the install tips I was surprised about sizing the hole slightly bigger !! I would have thought that a real tight fit was what we would be looking for. What's the reasoning for a slightly oversize hole, VS tight or actual size? Talking damper drill hole size here... Is it possible to accidently pull out the damper rod once it is installed?

 

[Eric Johnson]

I don't think it matters all that much. If you make it the same size or smaller, it will just be a little harder to get everything to go together. What little air is going to leak in through the crack is not going to make any difference. If the damper is put together correctly, it won't be possible to pull the shaft out without taking the stove pipe section out.

You're overthinking this project. It's a damper, after all--not some precision component. Like I said, if you can get it in there, open and close it, you've done the job.

 

[unit40]

I am definitely overthinking this if I am now planning on using that cloth tape to measure the curcumference of the pipe so that my three sheet metal screws are equally spaced apart....

 

[Eric Johnson]

Well, I don't want to gross you out or anything, unit40, but my firewood varies in length from 22 to 26 inches.

 

[BrotherBart]

I am definitely overthinking this if I am now planning on using that cloth tape to measure the curcumference of the pipe so that my three sheet metal screws are equally spaced apart....

There is nothing wrong with planning.

 

[budman]

I am definitely overthinking this if I am now planning on using that cloth tape to measure the curcumference of the pipe so that my three sheet metal screws are equally spaced apart....

There is nothing wrong with planning.

Bart i think i might be your clone. :zip:

 

[Eric Johnson]

I agree. That's why I always plan to cut my wood to 24 inches.

 

[BrotherBart]

I agree. That's why I always plan to cut my wood to 24 inches.

I know. I never said that the planning actually works. Measure twice. Cut once. Hammer to fit.

 

[unit40]

When I drill those holes, I'm a little conscerned that the bubble level on my drill won't be accurate enough. It will have to do though.

 

[BrotherBart]

When I drill those holes, I'm a little conscerned that the bubble level on my drill won't be accurate enough. It will have to do though.

Two words: Machine shop.

I am sure for fifty or sixty bucks they will be glad to drill the two holes in the six buck piece of pipe.

BTW: Tell your buddy that in a chimney fire situation that damper won't do squat anyway. They only close 80% of the pipe. If he he burns hot and keeps the chimney clean it is a non-event.

BB - Who has probably had more chimney fires and run-away stoves than all of hearth.com combined. Of course Craig is the only one who has burned down the tool shed. So far.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Tru.dat

However, it makes you feel like you're actually doing something, and in my book, that's worth a lot, especially in a situation where in reality, you're totally helpless. Kicking yourself for watching the game instead of cleaning the chimney yesterday is another equally useless attempt at redemptive self delusion.

It's all part of being a wood burner.

 

[Gooserider]

Minor trivia detail... If installing in a horizontal pipe run, does it matter what plane the damper operates on? I.E. should the shaft run horizontally or vertically?

Also, what about putting a damper in a "T" fitting? Would there be a reason to prefer the horizontal leg or the vertical leg?

Gooserider

 

[unit40]

I would think that it would be a bad idea to install a damper vertically because any liquid in the pipe would leak out of the lower hole.

And my co-worker is really conserned about his over-draft that he has experienced ever since moving to his house. It is on the edge of a lake, he gets roaring winds all winter long, and his current stove has been very hard to control. That's really why he would like a damper more than anything.

And we really aren't getting too technical about the job. We just want it to look neat and done right. He's going from some old plate steel rusted hulk with a frozen air control, to a nice hearthstone soapstone unit.

He liked my stainless pipe, so he's getting all stainless for his. I found when installing mine, a cobalt bit does a nice job drilling through stainless.

Thanks for all your good tips and good -natured poking.

 

[elkimmeg]

Hint drilling stainless best way is the on off approach of the drill .Constant pressure and spinning will render that bit dull real quickly