Hello all, first time poster here! I have been wandering around the forums for a while now and have found most of the answers I had been looking for and have been impressed with the informative and helpful nature of this site. I just had a few questions that I wanted to clarify. We just bought an older home with a Fisher Grandma Bear III woodstove. It was factory set up with a barometric damper out the back of the stove and a manual damper was installed in the chimney approximately 8” above the woodstove. My understanding is that the barometric damper should be sealed off if the stove is used only for wood. My question is, what is the best way to seal off the barometric damper. The barometric damper is sheet steel spot welded to the steel of the stove in two places. Can I use a similar sheet steel and high temp silicone to just cap the outside of the damper or would it be better to grind off the welds, remove the barometric damper completely and weld a quarter inch plate over the opening in the stove? Does anything need to be done with the inner “air box” associated the barometric damper? My other question is about installing a baffle. Since this stove has the inner “air box” for the barometric damper, can I still install a baffle? I read somewhere here that a baffle should not be used in stoves with this box. I appreciate any help you can provide.
Removing barometric damper and baffling a Grandma Bear
- Thread starter Barny
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Welcome to the Forum;
The barometric damper should remove from the stove like a connector pipe would. Chisel any spot welds off the flue connector. You could also drill through the spot welds so you have a small hole when done to secure a pipe cap. It should be secured with 3 screws like any pipe joint. Remove it leaving the air box alone and simply cap the opening with a connector pipe cap like you would install on the downward leg of a Tee.
There is no reason why a stove with the air box couldn't be baffled. The rear of the baffle plate should set on the rear brick retainer and if anything is in the way, notch the baffle plate. The only reason any stove should not be baffled would be due to the chimney not having enough draft or requiring more heat than the stove could supply with a baffle. In that case something needs to be done about the chimney.
The barometric damper should remove from the stove like a connector pipe would. Chisel any spot welds off the flue connector. You could also drill through the spot welds so you have a small hole when done to secure a pipe cap. It should be secured with 3 screws like any pipe joint. Remove it leaving the air box alone and simply cap the opening with a connector pipe cap like you would install on the downward leg of a Tee.
There is no reason why a stove with the air box couldn't be baffled. The rear of the baffle plate should set on the rear brick retainer and if anything is in the way, notch the baffle plate. The only reason any stove should not be baffled would be due to the chimney not having enough draft or requiring more heat than the stove could supply with a baffle. In that case something needs to be done about the chimney.
Thanks for the quick response and the detailed advice! As a followup question, the 8" caps I have found are made of 24 gauge steel and only rated to 600 degrees F. Is that sufficient and would it require sealing the joint with hightemp Mill-Pac black sealant (approx 1000 degree rated) or a silicone (600 degree rated)? The reason I asked about installing a baffle in a stove like this is because in the thread "Fisher Grandma and Grandpa Bear Details (Fireplace Series) post #125 you mentioned to someone with a similar question "Never put a baffle in a stove with the inner air box" and I just wanted to clarify. Thank you again for you time.
Post #125 was an answer to the prior post asking if it was necessary to remove the air box. My response meant "I never installed a baffle in one......" I edited the wording to clarify. Thanks for pointing that out.
The cap won't get that hot and shouldn't need any sealant.
The cap won't get that hot and shouldn't need any sealant.
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