> The chimney sweep told our daughter, don't use the damper run it 
 > wide open otherwise your chimney will burn.
I have found a few things to be true about heating with wood.
Your wood must be dry. That means having it split and stacked well before the 
first of September, for use not before mid-December. (I use slabwood from the 
sawmill during the early part of the season). Wood made up after the first of 
September won't be worth a darn.
It must be kept under a tarp or roof. If you leave it sit out, it suffers too 
much from rain and snow. Believe me, I've done it both ways.
It's best to fire the stove with small amounts of wood and let it run nearly 
wide open. A sure way to a creosoted chimney is to load up the old stove and 
choke it down for a long, slow burn. You'll probably have to do that at night 
in your house, but don't do it during the day.
When loading up for the night, do it early enough that you can open the draft 
and let the wood cook and light off for a bit before choking it down. That 
will also minimize creosote buildup.
A barometric draft damper will help in controlling the stove and will cut 
creosote. Yes, it cools the stack, but it also dilutes the smoke. It helps in 
control due to its effect of controlling the 'suction' from wind, especially 
when it's gusty.
Never, ever, use a triple-wall stack that's meant for a prefab fireplace on a 
woodstove. They run way too cool, causing no end of creosote problems. By far 
the best stack for a stove is a double-wall solid-pack insulated chimney.
It's important to get that stack hot quickly, too. Build a small, hot fire, 
using lots of newspaper or other kindling, to get 'er burning and drawing as 
soon as possible. Once again, dry wood helps a lot.
It's not possible to over-emphasize the need for dry wood. Visitors are often 
amazed at how fast I can light off my stove from a cold start. They're used 
to fooling around forever with their fireplaces, using half the Sunday paper 
in the process. Much energy in the wood is used in drying itself if you've 
not allowed Nature to do the job and/or kept the rain off it. A simple roof 
with mostly open sides makes an ideal woodshed. You must allow air 
circulation while keeping the rain and snow off your fuel supply.
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