# Damper in the stove pipe?



## stek (Oct 28, 2010)

This must be my week for questions .. so I'm wondering: should we install a damper in the stove pipe for our new woodstove installation? The chimney is going on the west side of the house and the prevailing winds hit our hillside from the west and flow up over the house. I'm thinking this will be beneficial to the draft, but could it create too much draft? Should we install a damper just in case? I don't want to have to take anything apart to add a damper later if this is something we might need.

Thanks!


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## vvvv (Oct 28, 2010)

damper is cheap & can be closed to minimize draft when the stove is cold


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## firefighterjake (Oct 28, 2010)

Most folks running EPA stoves find that they do not need a damper in their stove pipe . . . the exception being folks with very strong drafts . . . usually due to tall chimneys . . . if you want to add a damper now rather than later they're not all that expensive . . . but if your install is typical you will probably find you rarely, if ever, need to use the damper.


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## joecool85 (Oct 28, 2010)

With certain stoves they specifically tell you not to use a damper.  A good example of this is Jotul.


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## vvvv (Oct 28, 2010)

joecool85 said:
			
		

> With certain stoves they specifically tell you not to use a damper.  A good example of this is Jotul.


u sure that aint related to the height & nature of the chimni?


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## madrone (Oct 28, 2010)

It's related to not choking the stove and filling your chimney with creosote. Secondary air requires good draft. In an EPA stove, I'd think a damper is only called for if you're having trouble controlling the stove, i.e. always running hot even with the primary closed. They don't want people using a damper to smolder an overnight fire.


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## vvvv (Oct 28, 2010)

madrone said:
			
		

> It's related to not choking the stove and filling your chimney with creosote. Secondary air requires good draft. In an EPA stove, I'd think a damper is only called for if you're having trouble controlling the stove, i.e. always running hot even with the primary closed. They don't want people using a damper to smolder an overnight fire.


LOL , coals need air from under to produce heat as they excalorate= grate


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## joecool85 (Oct 28, 2010)

~*~vvv~*~ said:
			
		

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Just going by what my local stove shop said as well as Jotul's documentation.  The new clean burn stoves are built super tight.  If you turn down the air intake, the fire will turn down.  No need for a chimney damper.  I suppose if you have a 50' tall chimney and you're on the top of Mt Katahdin you might need a damper.  But really, how often is that the case?


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## vvvv (Oct 28, 2010)

joecool85 said:
			
		

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super tight when new & young gaskets, like u?


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## begreen (Oct 28, 2010)

What stove did you end up deciding on? F3CB? What's the total flue height?


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## stek (Oct 28, 2010)

We got a new Jotul F118 black bear, and the total chimney height is about 20' from the stove to the chimney top cap. Definitely not thinking about using a damper to choke down the stove for general use, but we are on a windy hillside and in storms the wind can create a heck of a draft .. sometimes I can hear the eave vents howling as the air is sucked into them and up out the ridge vent. My only concern is getting the stove all snug and in place and finding out we have excessive draft and not being able to dampen down the stove effectively. 

Is there harm in putting in a damper just in case and just leaving it full open if it's not needed?


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## Stephen in SoKY (Oct 28, 2010)

Put it in. Put it where you can reach it with your poker or ash hoe regardless of what the stove is doing. Or, don't put it in. After all, we all know ceramic glass never cracks or gets broken and door latches never fail.


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## joecool85 (Oct 28, 2010)

Stephen in SoKY said:
			
		

> Put it in. Put it where you can reach it with your poker or ash hoe regardless of what the stove is doing. Or, don't put it in. After all, we all know ceramic glass never cracks or gets broken and door latches never fail.



You have some good points.  It would make for a nice fail safe.  I was just going by what the guys at the shop had told me and what not.


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## firefighterjake (Oct 29, 2010)

joecool85 said:
			
		

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Uh . . . your info on the air intake isn't quite right . . . on my Oslo I turn down the air after the stove has heated up enough . . . and the end result is a long, sustained secondary burn . . . which translates into more heat . . . not less . . . which is something a lot of folks who are burning for the first time don't realize happens.


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## soupy1957 (Oct 29, 2010)

To get back to the essence of the question...........

If you want to put one in (damper in pipe) go ahead.  In the end it's "ok" to do so, (you won't hurt anything, as long as it is installed correctly) and you will discover for yourself, thru use, whether or not it was worth the effort and price.

I considered putting one in, and in the end, decided not to, because I have enough draft, and have good control of my fire without one.

-Soupy1957


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## stek (Oct 29, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice and the lively discussion. I will probably add one for 'just in case' and will probably never use it. But I'm the type of person who buys trip insurance, as they say there is one of us born every minute =)


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## oldjotul118 (Nov 26, 2014)

Will installing a damper help your stove to throw more heat?  Newbie here and I'm considering adding one.  I burned a few years with a Russo and that cranked.  Now I have old jotul 118 and even with air inlet wide open I'm having trouble getting stove to crank over 450.


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## BobUrban (Nov 26, 2014)

OJ118 - your issue is probably more related to your wood and not the stove(as long as the stove is in proper working condition)  EPA stoves burn hotter with the air closed down than wide open if things are working correctly.  With the air wide open you are sending much of the heat north out the chimney instead of containing it in the stove and subsequently into the room. 

The same, seemingly backwards logic, that calls for opening the door to control and overfire.  It allows cool air to rush in and takes the hot air up the flue. 

With a steel stove if you cannot shut your air down more than 70+% after the fire gets going and then watch the temp rise until you reach a controlled burn in the 5-700 range something is likely wrong with your wood(ie. wet) or the entire system.  Adding a pipe damper to this will only increase the issue of smoldering and creo build-up.


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## Thislilfishy (Nov 26, 2014)

Looks like you decided, but it's a judgement call. My Napoleon was running very hot for short periods then burning down pretty quickly with very little secondary. On those days you could hear the air roaring up the chimney...usually on windy days. I put a damper in, and find my stove still runs hotter then it should with everything closed down, but no where near as hot as it was (no more blacksmith melting iron smells!). Also, it maintains 500+ temps for much longer when the damper is closed. Once I am down to the coaling stage I open the damper to maintain air flow, and open the draft control in stages until it's full open again and there is just enough coals for reloading. For a measly $10 put it in, if you don't need it, leave it open, if you do need it, it's there. Better to be looking at it then looking for it.

Ian


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## Rebelduckman (Nov 26, 2014)

oldjotul118 said:


> Will installing a damper help your stove to throw more heat?  Newbie here and I'm considering adding one.  I burned a few years with a Russo and that cranked.  Now I have old jotul 118 and even with air inlet wide open I'm having trouble getting stove to crank over 450.



How's your wood?


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## oldjotul118 (Dec 1, 2014)

I will have to get a moisture meter.  I cut down a few standing dead trees and thought I could burn them first as I slowly built up next years supply.  Im asking a lot of the stove and so far it has kept my 2200 sq foot keep between 66-68 on some very cold days up here in mass.  I just picked up old federal Dutch west that can use coal or wood.  I'm hoping that will help out.  Does anyone use pallet wood on this forum?  I have a huge supply of that available?


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## Riddlefiddle (Dec 5, 2017)

I have a used Jotul F 400 that I installed. It gets windy where I live so I installed a key damper. My chiminy has wicked draft in windy conditions. The damper seems to control draft well. I'm of the same opinion that it won't hurt to install one. If you don't need to use it so be it. If you do it's there.


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## bholler (Dec 5, 2017)

vvvv said:


> LOL , coals need air from under to produce heat as they excalorate= grate


Are you talking about coal or coals from wood?  If you are talking about coal yes you are right but wood should never have the air coming from underneath.


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## bholler (Dec 5, 2017)

As far as dampers go as others have said if you have excessive draft and cant control your stove then yes put in a damper otherwise no.


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## begreen (Dec 5, 2017)

2010 thread. Putting this one to bed.


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