To Use Or Not To Use....

[dwinch53]

:help: I am hooking up my firechief furnace in my basement...i am undecided if i want to use a stove pipe DAMPER....I am using heat fab black pipe which is 22 gauge and the furnace is air tight...i know the damper will come in handy in case of a chimney fire.(don't plan on that) besides that i believe the furnace will work well without one...some folk say it will cut down on your draft even though it is open and will build up more creosote...can it be placed in a 45 degree pipe? OK lets here your expert opinons...THANX Danopcorn:

 

[reaperman]

I'm no chimney expert, so I dont know about the damper on a 45, but I put one on my firechief. My chimney is around 26' and without a damper, the furnace burns wood way faster than I like. Each chimney situation is different, and dampers are inexpensive. So the worst you could do is install one and keep it open. I keep my damper 3/4 closed when burning. Chances are if you have one you will use it. Wood furnaces are not known for being nice to the wood pile. Good luck

 

[KsWoodsMan]

It is one more way to slow down the burn. I don't see it making more heat with the damper. I do think it might give longer burn times at the expense of less output per hour. It's a trade off.

I'm not the least bit familiar with the firechief furnace. If you added it and had it shut down on the top and forgot, would you get the heat you needed on a cold night? Would you get smoke spllage from the stove because the damper wouldn't allow the flow needed to support the incoming air? Mine stays open 99.9% of the time. I control the heat with the draft, not the damper.

I don't think the damper in a piece at 45 would make any more difference than it would on the horizontal or the verticle. Just like I dont think it makes any difference if it is on top of the stove or up by the ceiling. It is there to restrict the flow caused by the draw above it , not the push below it.

 

[dwinch53]

Thanx for the comments...more food for thought...a damper in a 45 degree flue pipe, what is the chance it might close on it's own, or maybe from a roaring fire draft moving it to the closed position? i am wondering this because i am coming off the back of the furnace with a T then a 45, 18" of pipe into another 45 then right up the chimney, don't really have any other choice...my firechief has a thermostat controlled blower for the firebox and it has an air control on the side, maybe that is all i need to control the draft and don't need the damper...What do ya think...Thanx dan

 

[aandabooks]

I took my damper out last year. I was closing it off during the day to try and get longer burn times and ended up with more creosote. It is only a few bucks to try out and if you don't like it, just don't put it in when you redo your stove pipe.

My FIL, runs his stove with a damper and it does very well. It is a livingroom stove and has a straight up stove pipe.

 

[reaperman]

I think you will have to expermient with your situation. If your furnace is dampered down too much, the plenium fan will not kick in. And when it does it may run only a few seconds and kick right back out again, because the fire isnt hot enough to keep the plenium fan running. For this reason you may want to keep your 3 speed fan on low for starting a fire, it helps get your furnace to operating temp. Then bump the fan to a higher setting after it warms up some.

I have a hard time regulating my furnace with the (stove) damper alone (not chimney damper). If it doesnt get enough air, again the plenium fan will not kick in, and when it does, again it will kick out after a little while. Too much air, the wood burns too fast. So I've found the combo works for me. I'll admit, my furnace does like a babysitter, but it does heat the house well.

Another thing you may want to consider if you are using a backdraft damper. That would be a seperate damper that goes on the 12" pipe that carries the warm air to your ductwork, (see manual for details). Which prevents air from another forced air unit, ie; furnace or AC, from backfeeding through your wood furnace. Make sure if you are using one, to keep it slightly open with a screw (again see manual), so the hot air can naturally rise off the surface of the furnace, or your plenium fan will cycle on and off, until you furnace finally gets good and hot enough to keep the plenium fan running.

 

[dwinch53]

Damper

Aandabooks, You stated you took your damper out last year...what kind of wood burner do you have?..wood stove or furnace?,are you using more wood or less without the damper? thanx Dan

 

[aandabooks]

Aandabooks, You stated you took your damper out last year...what kind of wood burner do you have?..wood stove or furnace?,are you using more wood or less without the damper? thanx Dan

I've got a Daka. I haven't seen an appreciable jump in the amount of firewood consumed. Alot of that will just depend on the winter. I do run a hotter fire and I can just leave the furnace blower on most of the time because of the increased heat.

The other thing I took out was the plenum thermostat that overrode the blower. Found it was cycling too much and with the lower fire wouldn't call for the blower enough to keep the house evenly warm.

I had the damper about 3 feet behind the stove on in the 45 degree pipe. I also noticed that it seemed to be a convenient spot for creosote to build up.

 

[Moss Man]

We stopped using the pipe damper last year, we now control the draft with the wheel controls on the front doors of the stove. We go by the thermometer on the stove top surface to determine how much to close the wheels. Not a Firechief model, but the same principal. We left the damper in the pipe, but just stopped closing it. Choking flows off too much just increases the chimney fire chances.

 

[mga]

if you have an "air tight"....why would you need a damper?

 

[dwinch53]

Thanx Everyone....No Damper For Me...I can always put one in later if needed...thanx again for all who participated in this thread...Dan