Key Damper experience so far

[begreen]

With no window, that is more of a challenge. IIRC there is a thermometer or two on the stove.

 

[Dieselhead]

Way to complex for me. With the meters and gauges.....I just watch the fire, itll tell you what it needs. Im an old head.

My BK woodstove experience is very boring on a typical day to day basis. I need something to spice up our relationship to keep me interested in her.

 

[BillBurns]

My USSC stove keeps ya busy, but its perfect for me. I like to play with fire, .....lol....hope I dont wet the bed......

 

[weee123]

I like tinkering around trying to get it burning as good as possible and having those gauges makes it far, far easier. The biggest help is definitely the magnehelic.

Unfortunately the wood that I’m burning now was cut to load an osburn 1600 N/S so it’s half of what this stove can accommodate, so burn times aren’t what they could be.

 

[30WCF]

Got the magnehelic installed. Looks like im cruising around .12 WC

Also, since I have the new Iphone it seems the pics I take are too large to upload now. So that’s cool.

Try this. It worked for me.
Open:
Settings
Camera
Formats
Photo Mode
12MP

It changes the resolution to 12 MP instead of 24MP, so you might lose some clarity.
I dont know if the mods could up the limit on photo size to 5MB or larger. That would fix it without setting your camera to half resolution.

 

[30WCF]

Oops. I was just shown another option.
I was looking in the photos app directly, but…
In the forum’s post:
-Attach files
-Photo Library
-Options ( at bottom of page when attaching a pic)
-Select Size

Now back to your regularly scheduled program about dampers.

 

[weee123]

Oops. I was just shown another option.
I was looking in the photos app directly, but…
In the forum’s post:
-Attach files
-Photo Library ( at bottom of page when attaching a pic)
-Options
-Select Size

Thanks for the tip ill have to give it a try next time

 

[Hoytman]

As you can see a damper is critical for some with tall stacks.

View attachment 321249 View attachment 321250

Just in case someone catches it and wants to complain….yes, this manometer is actually hooked up in the reverse of how directions say to hook it up (supposed to read on the red side of the scale).

However, I have mine hooked up in reverse also, as do many other users, just like the photo above. Why? Because hooking up the hoses in reverse allow you to use the larger part of the scale. Plus, if the manometer ever reads zero or into the red I know I have a draft reversal which is a dangerous situation.

Nice job hooking this up and documenting with photos.

Most old timers (well before the 1970’s) knew the importance of having a stove pipe damper to use. Just wait until you have the pipe damper fully closed and stove air intakes fully open to see the full benefit of the damper…although you’ll probably need some super cold weather and strong wind to see this benefit.

 

[T-Rav]

Hey guys, I'm setting up a Grandma bear and I'm looking at the magnehelic gauges on EBay. I'm wondering what range to get. Looking at the numbers you guys are using I'm thinking a Dwyer 2000-00, but will the 8" flue cause more draft or less, or will it not make a difference?

 

[Ashful]

Hey guys, I'm setting up a Grandma bear and I'm looking at the magnehelic gauges on EBay. I'm wondering what range to get. Looking at the numbers you guys are using I'm thinking a Dwyer 2000-00, but will the 8" flue cause more draft or less, or will it not make a difference?

I really like the ones with a 0.25"WC scale, as most chimneys won't ever peg that, and they're easy to read in 0.01"WC increments. My stove spec's 0.05"WC nominal, and 0.06"WC maximum, so getting a gauge with a scale much greater than 0.25"WC makes it hard to read that fine.

 

[brenndatomu]

The Dwyer Mark II model 25 works well...it will work fine on a 6 or 8" flue, no huge difference there to the gauge...

 

[T-Rav]

The Dwyer Mark II model 25 works well...it will work fine on a 6 or 8" flue, no huge difference there to the gauge...

and I see there's a new old stock one for 25.00/8 shipping... and I likey the zero set knob, seems fitting for a 40 plus year old stove... and thanks Ashful, thats the range I was looking at too.

 

[Ashful]

One thing to note with ALL of these super-sensitive manometers is that you need to be damn careful when vacuuming near them. I've managed to totally peg mine once or twice, thankfully without any apparent damage, but it always scares the crap out of me. The Magnehelics have two ports, as they're differential gauges, and they will not operate properly if you plug the unused port. Keep the vacuum nozzle away from that port!

 

[Hoytman]

Dwyer Mark II model 25 eliminates that worry, but I can see that with the magnehelic.

 

[T-Rav]

Thanks for the warning, I'll let my wife know The Mark II is on it's way. So when I go to install this I should use a piece of copper tubing same ID, and how far should I go in? Four inches like a flue temp gauge or just like a 1/2 inch? Can I epoxy a nut on the DW Pipe so i can thread it in like an O2 sensor bung? Just thinking of maintenance and trying not to elongate a drilled hole after time. Seems to me this would keep a good seal, or maybe it won't matter, because of the double wall being a little leaky anyway. I'm thinking I'll give it a gentle bend and aim it upstream to help keep it clean. How much does the placement matter? I have the damper right on the stove, then a 30 degree bend with about 52 inches of straight pipe into the return 30. I read in previous posts to keep it close to the stove, the nearest I could do in that straight pipe would be about 16 inches from the collar.

 

[brenndatomu]

Thanks for the warning, I'll let my wife know The Mark II is on it's way. So when I go to install this I should use a piece of copper tubing same ID, and how far should I go in? Four inches like a flue temp gauge or just like a 1/2 inch? Can I epoxy a nut on the DW Pipe so i can thread it in like an O2 sensor bung? Just thinking of maintenance and trying not to elongate a drilled hole after time. Seems to me this would keep a good seal, or maybe it won't matter, because of the double wall being a little leaky anyway. I'm thinking I'll give it a gentle bend and aim it upstream to help keep it clean. How much does the placement matter? I have the damper right on the stove, then a 30 degree bend with about 52 inches of straight pipe into the return 30. I read in previous posts to keep it close to the stove, the nearest I could do in that straight pipe would be about 16 inches from the collar.

I just drilled a hole and stuck the copper tube through...but some that want something a little fancier have bought a 1/4" NPT/compression fitting which will "thread" into the pipe if you drill the right size hole, and hold your tongue just right.

 

[Hoytman]

Just drill hole sale size as O.D. Black magic marker and mark 2.5” and slide in to the mark. It’s not critical.

Occasionally slide it out and run a pipe cleaner into the copper pipe…do this before it gets dirty. They make soft pipe cleaners and bristle pipe cleaners…grabs pak of each for cheap. Good to go. If you decide you don’t like it, then add a fitting later on.

 

[T-Rav]

I just drilled a hole and stuck the copper tube through...but some that want something a little fancier have bought a 1/4" NPT/compression fitting which will "thread" into the pipe if you drill the right size hole, and hold your tongue just right.

 

[T-Rav]

I'm pretty good at holding my tongue 😜

 

[T-Rav]

Just drill hole sale size as O.D. Black magic marker and mark 2.5” and slide in to the mark. It’s not critical.

Occasionally slide it out and run a pipe cleaner into the copper pipe…do this before it gets dirty. They make soft pipe cleaners and bristle pipe cleaners…grabs pak of each for cheap. Good to go. If you decide you don’t like it, then add a fitting later on.

I must have a dirty mind, because that whole comment seems filled with inuendo thanks for the tip!

 

[Hoytman]

Yep…your mind was in the gutter.