Edit to add:I guess I should mention my name is Daniel. I've been snooping around here for a couple years researching stoves that led me to choose the Ideal Steel. I've had the Ideal Steel about a month now. I was excited about it and thrilled it came before the cold Christmas blast. On mild and slightly cold days (lows above 20) I've had no issues running the stove. I'm really enjoying the ability to load it up at night and not reload till the next evening while maintaining a comfortable house temp. My setup is in the basement about 10 feet from the stairwell. The stove is about 4 feet off the wall with a 45 coming off the rear exit and then a 45 into the thimble. From the thimble there's 27 feet of 5.5" chimney liner to the roof; roughly 30' from stove top to chimney cap. When the Arctic blast hit before Christmas I cranked the stove up for the first time. I hadn't needed STTs over 450 prior to the evening the blast hit. What I discovered was that with single digits outside and 600 degree flue temps (probe at wall entry) there was more draft than the stove damper controlled well. The stove was packed full of oak that was split much smaller than ideal and I lost control of the catalyst temps seeing the front gauge well past 1800 on the scale. After emailing Woodstock and reading others experiences, when I cleaned thechimney this week I added a damper in the stack between the stove and wall. My question is for the guys running an IS with a similar setup. How do you utilize the wafer damper for stove control and what is the effect of adjusting the flue vs the stove damper?
I’m currently running the PH, but have a season’s experience with the IS on the same setup. 32’ insulated liner, single-wall pipe straight out the back of the stove 30” or so to a T. I have a damper in the horizontal section of the single-wall pipe. Think of the draft as someone above, sucking on a straw (your liner). The damper in the stovepipe affects the whole stove, effectively reducing the strength of the suction. Your stove’s draft control proportions the air entering the stove between the primary and secondary pathways, and also limits it. In practice, I open both fully (and the bypass), burn coals, and then refuel. Often once the flame catches on the new fuel I cut the air back a bit with the stove’s damper. A bit later I close the bypass. A bit later I set the pipe damper 75% closed and start adjusting the stove damper for the type of burn I want. My stove is in the kitchen, so several adjustments are no bother. In some conditions (cold, windy) the pipe damper is nearly fully closed.
Do you always close the flue damper to the same position after getting everything going or do you vary based on conditions? It seems there's also an air intake for the Catalyst that does its own thing. So you are balancing 3 flows with one control that effects all 3 and one that effects 2. I wonder if I would have been able to control my catalyst temp that cold night if the flue damper were installed then.
Flamestead has it, very cold draft increases draft sometimes beyond what the stoves internals will allow correction wise ( Thanks EPA) Add a blow over the top of the flue and draft can go to unacceptable limits hence the key damper in the flue pipe. With very cold temps just recently and 50 mph winds my normal burn of about 10 hrs was cut in 1/2. just because of the wind induced draft increase. To give an idea, When I was installing current stove with new flue in the fall a couple years back, storm came through high winds. I had stuffed the flue terminal ( stove not in place yet) inside the house with a big wad of plastic bags and one over the end, The whole kaboodle was sucked right up the top of the flue, retained by the flue cap. For me installing a key damper would be benifical at times but sure would make it a pia to clean as i do that from the bottom up - very steep roof. I am not keen on trying to get up there - would need to rent one of those drivable bucket lifts ($$$) or hiring it out ($$$). Another choice would be Barometric damper but I do not like those- tend to help create creosote due to cooling of flue by their action. that last round of weather i had the control completly shut and the secondary air intake blocked off , just the window wash intakes were open- no adj there, hard to get to those.
I’m not very particular about the settings (they vary). I watch the firebox, stovetop temp, and flue probe temp. My pipe damper plate is not solid (old ones were, but must have been a hazard), so the best it can do is moderate the draft.
I hear you on the steep roof. My roof is between 11-12:12 pitch. I can't clean my chimney from the bottom because the tee is about a foot deep in the basement wall. Dad brings over the old boom truck with a basket for chimney access. I cleaned my liner Monday after running it a year and put the fancy cap on it. It was backordered when I installed the liner last January and I never got around to installing it.
Yeah, the one I picked up has a couple 1.5-2" holes in it. I would guess under super cold windy conditions all the way closed might be reasonable.
Woodstock came and installed a barometric damper to see the effect on our situation. I still have it, but not installed because the air it pulls into the flue is my nicely heated house air, and that’s not what I want.
Barometric damper sounds like an inefficient solution for stove heat. All that extra draft pulling in outside air sounds awful. I closed the flue damper about 75% this evening and the stove behavior is much improved over what I've been seeing. The catalyst temperature seems to behave much better without going off the scale.
