Picked up an Englander NC30 today...

That's right...it has very little affect on the draft...only in that it controls the fire, and therefore how much heat can/could go up the flue, which affects the draft. (draft is just the negative pressure caused in the stove by the warm air column in the chimney rising into cooler air outside)
Sounds like you are getting things figured out...

 

You want to watch using the damper too much in mild temperatures as too much creosote can form.

Keep in mind that the old timers didn’t have thermometers and manometers. They ran the room by how it felt to them.

Many of the old timers that I knew (I was fortunate to have such mentors) that shared information with me have been gone a long time now and would be 90-120 yrs young had they still been with us. Many of them shared with me that they never used their dampers until it really got cold. I did observe this as well. They understood the dangers of using a pipe damper in warmer mild weather, so they waited until they needed every ounce of heat out of their stove.

Many of these same mentors to me understood a stove pipe damper didn’t just have a singular use such as being used for a chimney having too much draft. Today it seems folks only recommend them for a high drafting chimney.


They used it for control and also, as you’ve now discovered, to get more heat out of their stove and as a result used less fuel.

It seems today that many on forums don’t understand that the pipe damper has more than a single function. I can understand this partly because younger folks don’t know what they don’t know, but some of these people claiming their stove doesn’t need a pipe damper are old enough to know better but have bought into this modern idea that using a pipe damper isn’t necessary and/or causes creosote. Manufacturers and even professional chimney sweeps have bought into that and people just regurgitate it. A pipe damper in and of itself doesn’t cause creosote. Improper use at the wrong time causes creosote. What is improper use? Using it in the wrong temperature/season, using green wood & using the damper with green wood, closing it too much, using a damper that doesn’t have vent holes in the center, closing the pipe damper and the stove intakes. Many fail to realize you can close the damper and open the stove intakes during the coldest of weather and this extracts the most heat out of your stove possible during those few coldest days/weeks of the year.

It is then that you have the best opportunity possible to decide whether or not your stove is actually big enough. If you can get by those few days/weeks a year then your stove is likely sized just right. If you find yourself having to use the pipe damper more and more than those few coldest days/weeks of the year, then your stove is likely too small. (Use written weather records of the past to compare and contrast with current cold temps of the year. Obviously, some years are colder than others, so plan accordingly.)

Trial and error is your friend. They say mistakes are the best teacher.

Trying to explain all the above makes it sound more complicated than it actually is.

Just don’t get caught up in the notions:
-that a stove pipe damper is only used to tame a draft too strong and…
-that just because you install a pipe damper that you have to use it often or at all.

The fact is, it’s there for when you need it and not a moment before.