Been noticing something this year

"As you shut down the input air your flue pipe temp should decrease but your stove top temp should increase since heat is being retained in the stove for a longer period of time."
My Nashua ran just like that and still does in the shop, the Summit does not and never has, flue temp are high and when I reduce the primary air it slows down both the flue temps and stove top temps.
I would like to try and reduce the secondary air some and see if that makes a difference.
Woodheat.org states that even with a strong draft you should be able to control the stove with air entering the fire box but with a wide open slot for the secondaries I am not sure if that is totally possible.

 

I don't mess with kindling much unless we're in shoulder season.
I can get the fire started on just a few coals w/o issue in less than a minute. Dry wood is key there.
I use the pipe damper once the flue temp is up around 350 or so. Knock the air down to almost nothing at the same time and it runs well, although it smokes too much.
Remember, I have an old stove. It's the stove, not the wood.
When I do the above in extremely cold temps like we've been having, it really only keeps the stove from melting.
STT of 800 are not unusual when it's this cold. It's one of the things I'd like to remedy with a new stove..........better control of the burn.

 

If I could reverse my stove top temp and my flue temp (surface) I would be a happy camper.

 

As you are able to slow the air flow thru the stove be it with your primary input air control and then an extra amount with the damper your increasing the time heat is staying in the stove and then it has more time to radiate out in the room. A fan on the stove will speed up the heat transfer out into the room.

Its these type stoves with insulated fireboxes that allow the heat to build up to high levels inside the firebox that allows the fire to keep going at really low air flow settings of the stove. So how soon you can turn the input air down is a function of how hot the stove is. Using the flue temps to know when the stove can be turned down is telling you how hot the firebox is as when your stove input air is wide open the flue temps are usually just about the same as the firebox temps since alot of the heat is being flushed up the flue.

 

So you think a damper is a good idea in my case, seems like my 18 foot chimney draws really well.
Had one in there before but that was with the old chimney.