A guy who goes by BrotherBart has a one word fix for finding air leaks. Marlboro A classic answer in todays world! Should be interesting after you get the ashpan installed and verify the plug is sitting correctly. As well as verifying the gaskets. Good luck.
Personally I wouldn’t run a stove without a damper in the pipe. You won’t always need it but when you do it can be a lifesaver.
I have a flue probe thermometer about 18 - 19 inches up front the outlet. Should the damper go in above or below the thermometer?
I didn't install a damper until the tail end of my fourth year of burning. I forgot the air open while tinkering on the furnace, and when I tried to calm it down with the air control lever, it didn't do much at all, and I had to ride out the storm. Mind you, if I recall, my air plate had went loosey goosey allowing the stove to breathe way better than it should, but I believe a damper would have helped greatly. There's some pucker factor when you see stack temps of 1100-1200 F! It's my opinion these stoves are allowed to breathe so easy to meet pollution standards, not to benefit the owner. Kind of like the wives tale (maybe it's true) about if a bear gets after you run down hill and they won't be able to stop. That's kind of how I feel these stoves act sometimes. There's also the geographical considerations or temp differentials that can really make a difference. If we never went below 0 F, or had 30-40 mph winds , I probably wouldn't need a damper. Here's a part of a post of mine on thoughts on dampers. And while I don't think everyone needs one, it's silly to believe that no one needs them. Recently installed a double wall stove pipe damper, it's been 10-12 days now. There is a noticeable difference in how it runs. A few highlights. Very easy to run in high wind conditions, for controlling the burn, and actually being able to get the wood to catch, rather than the draft pulling so hard that it can't get going. My old cheat was throttle back primary air full, and open door slightly to create enough draft to fire up in high wind. But then with normal size wood, it would take off like a rocket eventually anyways. In 30 mph wind, I keep primary air wide open, damper at half, and it starts up like normal. Once it's established, you can open damper, let it get rolling quicker, then utilize the damper to moderate it again. Or just leave it and watch it walk up slowly. More complete burn of wood in the stove when the weather is cold, by having a good fire, not a raging fire. The draft will end up being whatever you choose, within reason. A raging fire, a spirited fire, a relaxed fire, or a northern lights/ghost flames whisping in the air fire. It's up to you. Much easier to keep a lower stack temp, as observed by the flue probe. I will say, with the damper in full open position, it seems to add a slight restriction or slow down (more easily noticed when restarting on coals for example) but not a crazy amount. To me, keeping the stack temp lower than normal while achieving the same temps on/in the stove is obviously a plus. Hope there's something you find useful in there
And I might add, you do want to verify that you don't have a problem (gaskets, air leak, loose air lever plate) before putting one in, otherwise this would be a bandaid and not a fix.
I took a piece of paper around the door gasket this evening. Yep there were a few spots on the sides that didn't hold. I will be ordering a new one tonight. In the meantime I tried to pinch the current gasket up. Didn't load her up yet but noticed it was tighter when closing the door.
I went ahead and ordered a door gasket. In the meantime I "fluffed up" the current door gasket. What a difference I loaded up the stove and started closing the air fairly quick not knowing what to expect. I almost smothered it! Went outside and smoke was billowing Back in the house and opened the air. Fire came back and started slowly closing it down in smaller increments. Got the air where I want and we've been cruising at about 700* STT for 15 minutes or so. Nice secondary burn, no smoke coming from the chimney I feel like I will have so much better control once I change this gasket. Edit: I almost forgot, pics or it didn't happen....
I had a door gasket leak one time that The dollar bill test or the smoke test would not reveal , The leak was because The gasket Was coming loose where it is at Adhered to the door . I wouldn't worry about the tubes glowing red They do that all the time
Well looks like I will be stopping at a local farm supply store to see if I can find a gasket that fits for now. I thought I could "fluff" the current gasket and get by until the new one got here. This morning I loaded it up before work but here I am still babysitting. Had to call in and let them know I'll be late. I currently have the secondary air blocked and the primary shut down the whole way. I get rolling secondaries on the door. There must be some serious leakage there.
So I stopped and got a gasket to put in the door along with a tube of rutland silicone. The problem is the gasket is 3/4" and my stove door uses a 7/8". Will a 3/4" gasket be okay for a few days until the one i ordered arrives? Also the rutland silicone tube claims it cures in an hour. That seems very fast compared to some things I've read. Is that okay or should I give it at least 3-4 hour cure time before refiring the stove?
Silicone? Wrong stuff. Only rated for 5-600 degrees. You should be using gasket cement which is rated for 2000.
I Have always used gasket cement But this is straight out of my stove manual Replacing the Door Gasket The door gasket inserts into the outer groove of the door and is secured with RTV high-temperature 600° silicone. Before installing, remove any residual silicone. Lay the gasket in place (start at the lower left corner) and cut off any excess gasket (do not stretch the gasket. The cement fully cures with heat
