So this year I did an experiment with my 32’s secondary air after I saw an old post by BrotherBart about how he modified his 30’s secondary air intake.
Essentially he did some math based off this website http://www.gulland.ca/florida_bungalow_syndrome.htm
Which explained the florida bungalow system and how different chimney heights would affect how a stove would run. Based off his chimney height which was similar to mine he covered up half of his stoves secondary air intake which is an 1.5”x1” rectangular hole in the back of the stove.
Now on the 32, this hole is increased to 1.75”x1” to feed more secondary air to help meet emissions. Now we’ve all seen the posts of some new 2020 EPA stoves becoming uncontrollable and needing key dampers (sometimes 2!) to try to gain some control. My stove was no exception.
With a manometer hooked up to my flue and the key damper I was able to have some control over the stove, but on a full load on a cold night it still wanted to run away. So I initially covered approximately 40% of the intake to start this year which did help some and gained some more control back over the stove. Then I came across BrotherBart’s post and link, did some napkin math, measured my intake size and compared it to the 30’s size, and decided to cover it up to 60%.
Now with it being covered at 60%, I feel like I have absolute control over the stove and haven’t needed to use my key damper even on a full load. The manometer needle is no longer bouncing off .15 plus and hangs around .09-.1. I did my first full load with it covered at 60% without using the damper and got over a 9 hour burn and woke up to this left in the stove
![[Hearth.com] Englander 32 Modification](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_7109-webp.334426/ "[Hearth.com] Englander 32 Modification")
Usually, I’m left with nothing. Even on a full load with the damper closed and the intake covered by 40%. Needless to say I am beyond happy and hope this post can help others.
Essentially he did some math based off this website http://www.gulland.ca/florida_bungalow_syndrome.htm
Which explained the florida bungalow system and how different chimney heights would affect how a stove would run. Based off his chimney height which was similar to mine he covered up half of his stoves secondary air intake which is an 1.5”x1” rectangular hole in the back of the stove.
Now on the 32, this hole is increased to 1.75”x1” to feed more secondary air to help meet emissions. Now we’ve all seen the posts of some new 2020 EPA stoves becoming uncontrollable and needing key dampers (sometimes 2!) to try to gain some control. My stove was no exception.
With a manometer hooked up to my flue and the key damper I was able to have some control over the stove, but on a full load on a cold night it still wanted to run away. So I initially covered approximately 40% of the intake to start this year which did help some and gained some more control back over the stove. Then I came across BrotherBart’s post and link, did some napkin math, measured my intake size and compared it to the 30’s size, and decided to cover it up to 60%.
Now with it being covered at 60%, I feel like I have absolute control over the stove and haven’t needed to use my key damper even on a full load. The manometer needle is no longer bouncing off .15 plus and hangs around .09-.1. I did my first full load with it covered at 60% without using the damper and got over a 9 hour burn and woke up to this left in the stove
Usually, I’m left with nothing. Even on a full load with the damper closed and the intake covered by 40%. Needless to say I am beyond happy and hope this post can help others.
