smokey backups

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tc21

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Nov 1, 2007
17
NH
Hi guys. I'm New here. But this is my problem. I have a thremocontrol wood stove that heats 2500 square feet. When the stove is good and hot and I open the door to load in some more wood
I get smoke that comes out of the top of the door. I wonder if there is a problem with the chimney? Is it getting enough draft? At the top of the stove I have a 45 that pitches up for about four feet and then another elbow that goes inside the chimney thimble. Should I change It around and Have the stove pipe come straight up for about 3 and a half feet and then over and in? will this give it a better vent? Thanks
 
When was the last time you had a chimney sweep out to clean and inspect the chimney? The cap or chimney system might be plugged with creosote.

Also please tell us more ab out your entire chimney system (height, materials, etc...)
 
Can you describe your home. age, air tinghtness, smoke stack height, location of the stove in the house. Condition of the heating envelope of your house.
 
Is this an exterior chimney? How tall? Does it have a liner? If not, what are the interior flue tile dimensions?
 
Are you just swinging the door wide open when you goto reload? or are you opening slowly?
 
ok. I clean the chimney out twice a year stove pipe and flue. so thats clean. The chimney is exterior, mason block and brick with 8" liner. It is higher than the highest point of the roof. Yes I open the door slowly. The house is 5 years old but not too tight. The stove is in the basement. It does a good job of heating the entire house 2500 square feet. I was at a freinds house and they had there stove door wide open and no smoke was comming out (pretty good) wile refilling. I could never do that without smoking the house out. I'm thinking its the stove design. I was thinking about changing the flue pipe aroud like I said. I don't know?
 
Could be negative pressure in the basement. What else is in the basement? Laundry, furnace, hot water heater (is it gas or oil?)

Can you post a picture of the setup? That will probably save you going through another 20 questions.
 
please supply the btu capacity of the bioler and stove is there a clothes dryer down there?

also supply the dementions of you basement including the floor height I want to calculate the vollume pressent and compare it to the combustion air requirements also describe the basment layout if partitioned off.

Do you have an attic pull down stairs? or the size of your attic access opening

Is there a cleanout door in you masonry chimney? how tight does it fit?

your situation is a draft issue we have to determine the cause
 
Oil furnace 115,000 Btu
Wood Stove 125,000 Btu (Listed)
Basement size 30x45x9
the basement layout is L shaped with one storage room and one room with the stove and
Boiler in it. Those two room are connected but partitioned off from the L shaped room. There
is a door on both rooms that is kept open for air movement and the top part of the partition wall
is also open in the boiler/ stove room. For combustable air (if the door was closed). No Laundry.
I think the cleanout door is pretty tight.
 
what about the attic access ? his has to do with a pressure situation

you do the math because I can't figure out your current setup if a door is in place then that area is considered being able to be closed off if it is a louver door that allows fee communication of adjacent air vollumes..

for every 1000 but out put 50 cubic of free flowing combustion air is needed
 
The second floor of the house is not finished.Its a cape. I haven't made it the far yet. So just the basement and the first floor are done.
 
The top floor has a door in front of it with some insulation and plastic.
 
2 45's are better than a 90 in terms of smoke pipe routing, it uses the least amount of chimney connector pipe. The shorter the better.
Does opening a basement window help?
 
tc21 said:
The second floor of the house is not finished.Its a cape. I haven't made it the far yet. So just the basement and the first floor are done.

Sounds like the second floor is venting the heat out of your home and pulling the smoke out of the stove. The second floor is there a door that closes off the excess to this floor. Is there any ceiling and walls in the second floor or just vapior seal plastic. Are you heating that space?
 
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