Do I need a damper ?

[acesneights1]

Question:
I have been burning wood for heat for about 13 year. I have a large Jotul Woodstove(model escapes me but bought it in 2006). I go through firewood like crazy. I always thought it was because it was a large stove. I generally throw. Log an hour on it. If I load it up before bed I usualy load it again innthe middle of the night about 3-4 hrs later when I wake up to hit the head. I was telling the guys feom work about it and they both said that is way too much wood, are you adjusting your damper right ? I do not habe one on it. It has an air control on the front and I have a magnetic thermostat on the fluw pipe which I use to regualte the air flow lever on the stove. I burn a good heaping wheelbarrow of wood a day. Also as you can see in the pics the only place I can install one would be right out of the baxk of the stove. Opinions ?

 

[acesneights1]

Lol, I just realized looking at my own signature here...It is an Oslo F500.

 

[acesneights1]

I should add, the house is a ranch and I have a 6” liner in the chimney. House is approx 2200 sq ft and the stove heats pretty much heats the entire house. I burn approx 7 chords a year.

 

[maple1]

Depends on your chimney draft.

Describe your chimney.

And your pipe temps.

(Those mag thermometers can be wildly wonky....)

 

[acesneights1]

Chimney is about 20 ‘ clay tile. I have a 6 inch flex liner connected to the stove going all the way to top. I would have to check the temp when I get home. I always keep it in the optimal zone on that gauge. My laser temp wont read it.

 

[Knots]

I have a 26' straight-up chimney. My draft is so good that I have to tape over most of my secondary air inlet and I can't run the stove without a damper.

 

[maple1]

Chimney is about 20 ‘ clay tile. I have a 6 inch flex liner connected to the stove going all the way to top. I would have to check the temp when I get home. I always keep it in the optimal zone on that gauge. My laser temp wont read it.

If your laser gun won't read it because it is over 599, you are burning too hot IMO. It is WAY hotter inside the pipe than on the surface. So you might benefit from a damper. Or closing the stove down more, if that will control it.

Also IMO, those magnetic gauges can be dangerous sometimes.

 

[acesneights1]

Herea the gauge.

 

[maple1]

Herea the gauge.

That is indicating something in the 300-350 area - but it's too hot (+599) for your IR gun to measure?

Seems like something amiss there.

Also I think those things, even when somewhat accurate when new, can also go wonky over time, especially if they've seen high temps.

 

[acesneights1]

That is indicating something in the 300-350 area - but it's too hot (+599) for your IR gun to measure?

Seems like something amiss there.

Also I think those things, even when somewhat accurate when new, can also go wonky over time, especially if they've seen high temps.

I might have not remembered correctly with the laser. Now Im thinking it was hitting error over 300 maybe ? I’ll try it again later. It was awhile ago I tried it. But that gauge pic was taken when I posted it. I always keep it in the range it says but I’ll see if I can find a more accurate wat to measure it.

 

[weatherguy]

Looks ok but 7 cords is a lot, I'm heating 2800sf and the most I've used is 5 cords.

 

[firefighterjake]

Not sure if the air control is where you normally leave it once you're up and cruising, but if you have a very strong draft you should reduce your air . . . leaving it halfway open will cause you to burn through a lot of wood . . . and like others I would say burning 7 cord annually (assuming we're talking real cords and not face cords or other bogus "definition" of cord) is quite a bit.

 

[Sodbuster]

If your laser gun won't read it because it is over 599, you are burning too hot IMO. It is WAY hotter inside the pipe than on the surface. So you might benefit from a damper. Or closing the stove down more, if that will control it.

Also IMO, those magnetic gauges can be dangerous sometimes.

My laser goes well beyond 599, I've had it into the 800's (not intentionally)

 

[acesneights1]

So I installed a,damper and it seems alot bettee however how much can you safely close it and is it normal when you open the door for flames to shoot out a little ? I just dont want to create and explosive situtation by dampening too much.

 

[begreen]

It depends on the draft strength. If it's strong, once the fire is burning well, it can be set to half to all the way closed. Let the fire be your guide. Alway open the flue damper all the ay first, a few seconds before opening the stove door.

 

[Highbeam]

Open the damper before opening the door. It is safe to fully close the damper, it won’t make the stove explode, but it could reduce the draft too much and snuff the fire.

 

[BillBurns]

I keep my damper/choke about 3/4 closed after I have a good burn going.

 

[acesneights1]

Thank you. Stove burns alot more efficient with the damper installed. It was long overdue. I had hot coals this am which rarely happens. Usually burns out over night even after loading at 1-2 am. Been burning this stove for 18 years and I should have done this awhile ago.

 

[acesneights1]

Dog likes it…