Draft problem?

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Creekside

Member
Dec 2, 2014
87
Western Washington
So this has happened twice to me know. Today and once about a week and a half ago I tried to start fires in our stove but it acted like the flue was completely closed off and all the smoke just poured out of the stove into the house. The first time I wrote it off to the outside temperature being close to the inside of the house, maybe 50 outside and 60 in the house. Today it's in the low 40s outside and 60s inside the house. Is that still not enough temperature differential for a good draft? We've had this stove about a month and a half now and don't usually have any problems like this. The last fire I had two days ago had no problem getting up over 600°.

The first time it happened I was able to still get a fire going after clearing the smoke out of the house. We're still waiting for the smoke to clear out and my wife and I are not happy. I don't get it?! Our chimney isn't blocked or anything and there's no flue damper. Is there anything else that would cause it to act this way?
 
May be temps. We're at 48F here right now. Or it may be your flue or flue cap is starting to plug up. That should be checked.

What kind of wood are you burning and when was it split and stacked or purchased?
 
If your last fire was 600 and if you checked the cap to make sure it's not plugged, I would suspect that you are using wet kindling or maybe just too much large wood to get it going. I've never used them but a lot of people here love the fire starters. I use some well crumpled newspapers and some dry slender splits that ignite very fast. The secret is to get a really good flame going within seconds, then close the door but do not latch it. A tiny crack left from not latching the door should create a good flow of air over your fire and get it going. Then add smaller dry splits gradually, the close and latch the door.

Even in bad weather conditions, a small hot fire should be enough to make the draft you need to be able to add larger dry splits. If you have wood that is not as dry, add that only once the fire is going well.
 
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Seems to happen more in a basement stove.But it can happen sometimes in an above ground stove too. It's just a weird atmospheric thing. Before lighting the stove, put your hand inside and feel for cool air coming down the chimney. If you feel cold air then you'll need to warm the flue. People use different methods, like a hair dryer or a propane torch.
I'm not getting the cold downdrafts in this weather, but my stove's draft is very lazy and it takes longer to get a strong fire. I'm also more likely to get a bit of smoke out of the stove when I open the door.
 
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I'd second what blacktail said. I have an insert in the basement of a colonial and if I haven't burned in a few days, or sometimes just a day I find the chimney will have reversed itself and I have to warm it back up first. This year I prepared for it make making large "candles" of rolled up paper bag material coated in wax (melted restaurant crayons). I then spread apart the baffles in the stove and then light the candle while holding it in the gap between the baffles. You can do the same with rolled up newspaper, but the wax stuff is less smokey should it not want go the right direction. You'll know its working when the flames stop being forced down. Crack open a window/door while doing this to helps the chimney draft properly. Once the draft is fixed I push the baffles back together and I'm good to go.
 
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If you have a door or a window in same room try opening it and keep it open untill you get some fire to warm up the chimney. That works good for my basement install.
 
Thanks guys, opening a window did the trick. For some reason I spaced on trying that. This shoulder season that we're already in is killing me. Too warm to burn for more than one or two loads but still not warm enough for solar heating to be enough all the time.
 
shoulder season...I wish. -5 this morning here. my f55 is keeping us warm though! when I start my fires, I crumple/twist up newspaper and criss cross either scrap pine or cedar pieces on top. doing that gets a quick hot fire and its always drafted well for me. once that is going, I add small splits and I'm golden.
 
I agree with Doug . Gotta get it going then add medium- large splits. Works very well for me when it's warm
 
Thanks guys, opening a window did the trick. For some reason I spaced on trying that. This shoulder season that we're already in is killing me. Too warm to burn for more than one or two loads but still not warm enough for solar heating to be enough all the time.
The stove may be a candidate for an OAK if the house is tightly sealed.
 
Heating up the flue solved this problem for me. In our home the chimney is inside the house and it's always warm. In my shop, the chimney is inside, too, but it's not always warm! In our home I was in the habit of starting a fire and putting several splits in the stove... worked great (still does). But! didn't work so great in my shop, lol. I had one really bad episode of smoke infiltrating the shop and it scared the daylights out of me. I tend to be stingy with kindling and it bit me in the ass in my shop! Now? I use plenty of kindling and let the flue heat up, then I add smaller splits and let those "catch" nicely before I finish loading the stove. And this is more of an issue in the shoulder seasons because the temperature in my shop hasn't fallen below the minimum temperature that triggers the furnace (and preheats the wood stove flue).

This is the thing about burning wood... you think you have it wired, but every so often you get the dope slap and you realize just how ignorant you are, lol. This is what I like so much about burning wood... you add to your skill, one mistake at a time and you begin to build a base of knowledge... the very same thing as serving an apprenticeship, journeymanship, and attaining mastery.
 
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I only burn in the evenings and weekends and if I haven't burned the day before I always put my hand just under the baffles and feel which way the air is flowing. If I feel a cold draft I know I need to warm the flue up before trying to start an actual load. Nothing like having a stove full of smoldering paper venting into the house to cause a panic and the frustration of listening to two kids complaining about smoke.
 
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