"SteveB" wrote in message
...
I have a woodstove. In the front is a slider plate that I can regulate the
air with. I have learned that this is the most important component in
getting the fire to burn warm and long rather than short and hot.

But about a foot up the pipe, there's a damper. I have been reading about
these, and have read everything from they're critical to they're useless.

What is the answer? Is it a combination of these two air regulators that
control the fire? Should I just leave the top one vertical so the pipe
has least obstruction and vary the flames with the air holes? Or should I
use the two together? It seems to me that if you put it towards the
closed position that it would become very hot, possibly dangerously so.
What about removing it all together?

Steve

I vote for useless. After the fire is out, the damper can be closed to
block warm air from going out the chimney or from cold air coming down it.
When the fire is burning, proper control over the inlet will determine how
well the stove functions. If the proper amount of air is coming in, the same
amount will be leaving.