Might Be a Dumb Question, but Here Goes...

I can't take credit for the pipe smoking analogy. Did you mean Rev. Larry perhaps?

But then again, I'm the one who once called you Dave ...

WHAT??????? dc's name ain't Dave--Well I'll be hoodwinkled

lsayre wrote:I can't take credit for the pipe smoking analogy. Did you mean Rev. Larry perhaps?

But then again, I'm the one who once called you Dave ...

I been called a lot worst than Dave before so its all good.
That analogy comes from our good friend Larry Trainer (owner of Chubby)
I been waiting years for the prefect circumstance and poster to pull that analogy out my azz to amaze you all with my intellect (ohhh stop stop...no applause is necessary)

Wow. Still pulls a -.05 with it closed. Mine drops right down to a -.01 or -.02 when it's closed. When it drops to a -.05, what was it when it was open? Are you sure it's closing? lol

its fully closed inside, thats why I am thinking about plugging up one of the two hole in the damper. Do they make dampers complety filled in?

Muss44 wrote:its fully closed inside, thats why I am thinking about plugging up one of the two hole in the damper. Do they make dampers complety filled in?

Why are you trying to place yourself into danger? What good will that accomplish?

I suspect they make damn near anything. I would NOT go with a solid, those gass's need to go somewhere & UP would be my druthers. .05--as you stated--"on occasion" does not sound real worrisome to me with my HITZER. Just sayin

what does your manometer read when the manual damper is open?

when fully open and after a few minutes it climb to .07-.09.

I recently relocated my manual damper. While reinstalling it I noticed that although it's for a 6 inch pipe, It's only about 5.5 inches wide. The spring seems to hold it tight against one side while there is a crescent shaped opening on the other side. If this holds true for yours, maybe you could cover the holes in the butterfly valve like you suggested. Please proceed with caution.

Today 0.05" of WC with the manual damper (as it came from the factory) fully closed, and perhaps tomorrow 0.005" of WC (or less, or perhaps even internal pressure instead of draft). Without months to years of reliable chimney draft data under a complete range of all possible circumstances, I would not proceed to further restrict the MPD. I ask again why you would desire to achieve less than 0.05" of WC? I proclaim again that there is nothing wrong with 0.05" of WC.

lsayre wrote:Today 0.05" of WC with the manual damper (as it came from the factory) fully closed, and perhaps tomorrow 0.005" of WC (or less, or perhaps even internal pressure instead of draft). Without months to years of reliable chimney draft data under a complete range of all possible circumstances, I would not proceed to further restrict the MPD. I ask again why you would desire to achieve less than 0.05" of WC? I proclaim again that there is nothing wrong with 0.05" of WC.

key words here... " I would not proceed to further restrict the MPD" ... I agree totally with this.

Yeah, not many like the idea of purposely closing the butterfly valve completely, which is playing it safe. Maybe you could find a manual damper that fits the pipe better. That would be best case. I understand your concern. I like to keep my draft pressure around a -.03

Draft is,......for lack of a better word,.....good. A little too much draft and you're paying a little extra for safely venting toxic gasses. Not enough draft and your family will be paying a lot extra,.....potentially......

Another thing to consider too is that just because your draft is strong, in my opinion that doesn't necessarily mean that it's yanking heat away from your stove. I can see the eyebrows lifting lol.

In a stove that seals well, there won't be leaks that bring in unregulated air that will be used as a vehicle to carry heat up and out of the chimney. In this situation the only air coming in is controlled by you, no matter how strong the negative draft pressure is, at the primary and secondary air controls and is designated for combustion. We get the following equation:
Combustion air going in = combusted coal exhaust going up the chimney + some heat.

In a stove with faulty gaskets around the load door or at other seams around the combustion chamber, a stronger draft will pull more air thru the stove at these places that WILL be used to carry heat out the chimney. In this situation it would be more imperative to have a weaker draft. Here, we get an equation that looks like this:
Combustion air going in + leaking air going in = (combusted coal exhaust going up the chimney + some heat) + (air that did not serve anything productive to combustion + more heat)

So there ya have it, how I see it
Pardon the run on sentences, results may vary.

Edit: I did some clarification...