Hitzer Owner's Manual... ...

... doesn't exist. The Anthracite Forum provides the next best thing, thanks to all.

One Question, which I believe is general enough to be answered by non-Hitzer owners as well: 1) Does a manual flue damper/restrictor close the outflow from the stove, or merely reduce it? Since I have an insert (Model 983), it's more than a little hard to know/tell what's happening with the stove "behind the scenes". For example, there's no way to directly observe the flue, check flue temps easily, etc. Thinking that it closes the flue opening, I've been leaving the flue damper control no less than half "closed".

I can easily see the effects of adjusting the ash pan air intake dampers on the fire. My possibly errant ideas about whether the flue pipe damper shuts off the flue has limited my learning about how modifying the damper affects the fire. I assume closing it as far as is safely possible will prevent excess heat going up the chimney/reduce coal costs, but how far can/should it be closed? Certainly, if outflow is severely limited, combustion will tend to be limited but, in terms of comparison to the clearcut importance of the ash pan intake damper adjustment, how much does modifying the flue damper affect combustion results?

Ashcat

here are two photos I took before installing my hitzer 503 which has a similar restrictor to your model. The photos show it fully closed and you can see if covers about 75% of the 6 inch opening. Dean @ Hitzer says he burns his stove with it all the way in i.e. 75 % covered (when the rod is pushed all the way in). To answer your question "Does a manual flue damper/restrictor close the outflow from the stove, or merely reduce it" - the answer is it it reduces it. If it were fully closed the smoke would have no where to go. This is a new addition to the Hitzer stoves aimed at keeping more heat in the stove and allowing less to escape.

Only reason to vary from that is if you have a poor draught. Several new 503 owners are experimenting to see what the ideal setup is on another thread - we are waiting on some cold weather !

Hitzer 503 Installation Photos

best of luck

VB

Hello Ashcat...
I've got a 983, also. You are right about the lack of an owner's manual. I actually downloaded the Harman manual just to read thru it, because the Hitzer literature is so bad. Actually, I think this forum is BETTER than a manual. Here, we can cover subjects that are not even in any manual and we can ask questions in an interactive fashion. To be fair, I have called the Hitzer factory to ask questions and the people are GREAT and VERY helpful.
Most people I have talked to call that sliding thing a "restrictor" even though the Hitzer pamphlet calls it a dampener. At any rate, I believe its purpose is keep more heat in the stove as opposed to up the chimney. I guess it depends on the draft of the individual set-up (my draft seems very good) but I' try to run mine all the way closed unless it's too warm in the house. Like you, I'm new and still trying to figure things out.
You are correct about inserts being a little more difficult to monitor thigs like stack temperature. When I get around to it, I'm thinking of mounting some sort of gauge with a remote sensor (some automotive pyrometers are designed this way). A mounting hole (example 2" hole for a 2" round gauge) could be neatly drilled in the "surround" of the insert with a wire run to a sensor mounted on/in the exhaust stack. Of course, most of the gauges operate on 12 volts, which is sort of a problem. I'm not sure, but perhaps there are some types that do not need 12 volts.
Bob M

My thanks to VanBuren and Bob M, especially the pictures from the 503. I strongly suspect the 583 set-up is the same. I'll try closing it next time (when the weather cooperates!) and see how it goes. Another question for you--assumiing you've already fired up: My blower fan runs almost continually, no matter how slow I try to make the burn. Yours too?

I bought a magnetic stove thermometer today, so I'll have a little more info to go on. It's a little difficult to find a section of the exterior to "install" the thermometer that's not shrouded by part of the ventilation system. I put mine in the upper left on the front, just next to the hinged corner of the fuel door.

I'm impressed with how well built it is--should be around for quite a while. But, another of my concerns relates to power outages. Without the blower system operating, I have some concerns about the stove running too hot. Do you have opinons or concerns about this?

Yes, I am also really impressed with the quality of the 983. Really heavy duty. As far as shutting off the blowers, I have a question about that, too. I HAVE done it (just recently when I was doing a "learn" burn and the house was warm) but I'm not sure if it's okay. I kind of THINK it is okay, but I'd be more comfortable if I heard it from someone else or from the factory. Anyone else know?

Ashcat wrote: Another question for you--assumiing you've already fired up: My blower fan runs almost continually, no matter how slow I try to make the burn. Yours too?

hey Aschcat - last week when it was cooler my blowers were on all the time (and that takes a little getting used to if you are sitting in same room i.e. the additional noise level). I think this will be the norm once winter arrives for real - right now mother nature is having a laugh with the up and down temperature routine.

this weekend I didn't run the blowers atall as it was realtively warm outside. I actually redcued air flow (via ashpan) to a very small opening and that totally cools the stove down. I don't have a thermometer yet, it's en route, but just placing your hand near the top you can get a feel for how hot the stove is.

Bottom line is the coal can't get too hot without air so if you restrict air you restrict flow and in turn temperature. For peace of mind though call Hitzer and ask to spek to Dean - he's super nice, super helpful and reflective of what a great company Hitzer is - I hope they go IPO - I'll buy shares ! They just need to hire a technical author for their manuals/user guides ! This forum is definatly the place to come for info and real life experiences.

Let us know how you get on.

VB