Woodland Stove outlet damper

[planner steve]

I got this stove (see woodstove pdf) when we bought our house 9 months ago. The outlet damper was stuck in the open position so I removed the front plate and was able to access it. I got it freed up. But I noticed that the damper does not completely close off the outlet pipe. See the picture (looking up at damper) attached. Is that normal? It would seem one could not completely kill a fire with the outlet damper alone unless it more completely sealed the outlet pipe.

 

[Grisu]

The problem is you would not kill the fire with the damper fully closed but only keep the smoke from going up the flue. You could only more or less "kill" the fire by closing the air supply.

How far is the insert up from the floor? It looks like it is just hanging in the air. Do you have a liner in the chimney and is that actually a masonry fireplace?

 

[planner steve]

The problem is you would not kill the fire with the damper fully closed but only keep the smoke from going up the flue. You could only more or less "kill" the fire by closing the air supply.

How far is the insert up from the floor? It looks like it is just hanging in the air. Do you have a liner in the chimney and is that actually a masonry fireplace?

This is an insert from the 70's I think. Yes, it looks to be hanging in the air. The original fireplace was 3 feet above the floor. It is a masonry fireplace with tile flue. There is no liner. I have used the air supply to put a fire out and that works just fine. I asked the question because I've seen references to having a working outlet damper being a necessity for safety in the case of a chimney fire. That is what motivated me to fix it.

 

[Grisu]

A chimney fire is a different animal. Since the fire is then in the chimney you could try cutting its air supply with the outlet damper. Essentially the same principle as with the insert applies. However, without a liner it may pull enough air through the surround that the damper will have little effect. There is no way around proper burning practices such as burning dry wood and cleaning the chimney regularly. That will reduce tremendously the likelihood of a chimney fire even in such an old insert.

Is there some stove pipe and a block-off plate or has the insert just been shoved into the fireplace? The latter is a slammer install and no longer legal in the US. You should really get a liner in there. And when you are at it I would really think about replacing the insert with a modern one. In your case a flush mount may give you a better look. Or would there be space in front of the fireplace for a stove?

 

[begreen]

Flue dampers are never solid. That would be unsafe. If they were and one closed it down, the house would fill with smoke and unhealthy gases from the now smoldering fire.

 

[planner steve]

Flue dampers are never solid. That would be unsafe. If they were and one closed it down, the house would fill with smoke and unhealthy gases from the now smoldering fire.

OK, thanks. Now that you pointed it out, I googled flue damper images and yes indeed they are either cut off like mine or have holes in the middle.

 

[planner steve]

A chimney fire is a different animal. Since the fire is then in the chimney you could try cutting its air supply with the outlet damper. Essentially the same principle as with the insert applies. However, without a liner it may pull enough air through the surround that the damper will have little effect. There is no way around proper burning practices such as burning dry wood and cleaning the chimney regularly. That will reduce tremendously the likelihood of a chimney fire even in such an old insert.

Is there some stove pipe and a block-off plate or has the insert just been shoved into the fireplace? The latter is a slammer install and no longer legal in the US. You should really get a liner in there. And when you are at it I would really think about replacing the insert with a modern one. In your case a flush mount may give you a better look. Or would there be space in front of the fireplace for a stove?

I should have looked closer when I had it apart. There was a plate and a short section of pipe extending above the insert so not sure it is a "slammer" or not. I do only burn very dry wood, especially a lot of kiln dried aspen scrap pieces. An inspection and cleaning is scheduled, although I cant see much of anything looking down from above.

I actually don't mind the way the insert extends out. We have plenty of room around it. And I can get 20" pieces in no problem. Until we know how long we will stay in this house a new stove is not in the cards.