Wood Stove woes...

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

kncrsr5r

New Member
Dec 7, 2007
4
Western NC
Ok....just had an 8" Dura-Vent double wall flue installed. 8" thimble through the wall to outside T, then up the exterior of the home, throught the soffit and above the roof to code height. As of now there is no chase built around the flue, it is exposed to outside air. 6" black stove pipe out of stove up to 90 bend, over to 6" to 8" adaptor and into thimble.

Wood stove is a Lowes Centry model.

Problem is that when its cold, there is a downdraft of cold air, and it does not draw. Once the stove and flue is warm, it draws like gang busters!

How can I effectively preheat my stove without dumping noxious fumes into the room??? Even with the air control closed...there is still room for gases to escape into the room in great volume.
 
A few pieces of newspaper should get things warmed up.
SMALL splits and/or plenty of kindling. Straight up and out the roof always draws best but my setup is similar to yours and it drafts fine.
 
Yep... roll up 2 pieces of newpaper in a funnel and light the end of it like a torch. Hold the flame at the top of the stove to start an updraft.

You might want to try a 'Top-Down' initial burn, I think this works for many also.

Good luck and welcome aboard.
 
yup, thats basically it..You have a heavy cold column of air in the pipe..need to get it warmed up..obviously the more fuel you add the more smoke but the more heat..start with a couple crumpled up newspapers first
 
Then I am going to load the paper up inside it tonight....light it off and close the door...hope for the best. I guess I can risk a smoke out one more time in order to test a theory....

Had to buy a air purifier/filter last time to get the smell out of the room...!!!
 
oh come on...no matter that kind of stove you have your gonna get a slight amount of smell/smoke at some point. Crumple up like 3 pieces of paper. put them in the middle of the stove..open all dampers/vents and leave the door slightly open...this should creat e a great draft
 
Adirondackwoodburner said:
oh come on...no matter that kind of stove you have your gonna get a slight amount of smell/smoke at some point. Crumple up like 3 pieces of paper. put them in the middle of the stove..open all dampers/vents and leave the door slightly open...this should creat e a great draft
Click to expand...

Usually works for me. As always though, sometimes it turns to crap. I've smoked myself out pretty good once or twice. Usually the day after I get done explaining to my wife how to do it correctly after she smokes us out. Now that cold weather is here the stove never cools down enough to matter.
 
Leave the door open

If the smell of burning wood is that bothersome you may want to look into other options.
 
babalu87 said:
Leave the door open

If the smell of burning wood is that bothersome you may want to look into other options.
Click to expand...

With a significant downdraft that doesn't do &^$%!!! And it burning paper, not wood. I love the smell of burnig wood. smoldering NP WREAKS!!!
 
Use a hair dryer and blow it up the flue to get things warmed up and moving in the right direction THEN start your fire to finish the job. The few $/year of electricity to do that is a lot better than the smoke in the living area in my opinion.

You have what's called the the evil outside chimney just use the hair dryer trick.
 
I've used a propane torch in the fire box with success also, obviously use your head... ANything to get hot air moving up the pipe will work.
 
Jfigliuolo said:
I've used a propane torch in the fire box with success also, obviously use your head... ANything to get hot air moving up the pipe will work.
Click to expand...

I've had several LP tanks leak with both the adapter head on or off. Hopefully you are not storing the tank near the appliance.

Use your head!
 
It's in the garage. Good point though.
 
I put a can of sterno in there to reverse the draft. Works but takes a little patience. (I also have the evil exterior chimney.)
 
man, you guys are CRAZY :)!
 
granpajohn said:
I put a can of sterno in there to reverse the draft. Works but takes a little patience. (I also have the evil exterior chimney.)
Click to expand...

Granpa - The first page of your manual reads:

2) CAUTION: Never use gasoline, gasoline-type lantern fuel, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, or similar liquids to start or “freshen up” a fire in this heater. Keep all such liquids well away from the heater while it is in use.

fireinsane[1].gif.jpg
 
ive got the eviol external chimney too, lined, but not insulated, about 23' tall.

it drafts OK, but I do get a whiff of smoke in the house occasionally on startup, or during a non-hot smokey reload.

I light a crumpled piece of paper in the back right under the flu, and then light the starter logs, and leave the door slightly cracked, it generally starts drawying good from there.

after messing with my freinds new Dutch West the other night htough, there was ZERO smoke coming out of it.
 
Nah...love wood stoves...I'll keep mine.

Nah...love the smell of wood, no need to look for alternatives. Just need the smoke to go up and out instead of into the room!

Paper smells like crap.

I also have used a small butane camping stove to try and prime the flue and push the cold air plug out...to no avail. Plus I need a safe and effective way for the wife to start the stove when I am not home.

What I need is a clean buring fuel that gets HAWT, to use at start up!

Thanks again to those who have given useful information.
 
highres_275.jpg


Holy big picture....

So the stove has a angled ceramic plate above the fire chamber that sits low in the back and high at the door. There is a 2 1/2" air gap at the front where the smoke heat and gases turn up and head back to the flue. This is the re-burn chamber. It has air passages that direct heated gases back into the fire chamber for buring.

So when I first light off the stove...all the heat and smoke is directed to the front of the stove. With the door open...it comes right into the room as thats the path of least resistance. With the door closed...smoke still leaks out the air inlets above the door. Enough to smoke out the room VERY WELL until the hot air pushes the cold air plug up and out.

The stove is made by vermont castings. Sold under the Century name at Lowes. Its a great stove...Like my original post said though...I just need to figure out how to preheat with out smoking the home out. I dont mind a little...but when cant breath...nah...thats more than anyone would want inside their home.
 
Hair dryer?


Newspaper really is what you want though, you could try a super cedar. They get HOT fast. Throw one in, light it and when for it catch. Then add the kindling on top of it. That outta get you started smoke free.
 
This is a typical pressure problem in a 2 story house. Air is at a high pressure (relative to outside) up high in the house and low pressure low in the house. Bumping the draft as described in previous posts will certainly work, in most cases. But the root of the problem is the pressure. That can be solved VERY easily buy opening a window in the room for a minute or two while you start your firelighter or paper. This will be the preffered path for the pressure differential and "balance" the stove and flue to the outside pressure. An open window upstairs can be a HUGE factor in this and should be shut before attempting to start a fire in the downstairs stove. And yes they are certainly connected even in huge houses.

I was at a house recently that required the window to be open for a solid 5 minutes before you could shut it. It wasnt until after the draft was bumped that I asked the windows open upstairs question. Doh.

Stove Boy
 
Corie said:
Hair dryer?
Newspaper really is what you want though, you could try a super cedar. They get HOT fast. Throw one in, light it and when for it catch. Then add the kindling on top of it. That outta get you started smoke free.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if your chimney is reverse drafting throwing a piece of paper in there and lighting it smoke will come out the air intake of your stove and smoke the living space. It's possible you can reach equilibrium and your paper will go out being oxygen deprived. Back in the day, you could light a piece of paper and once it was going shove it in the flue and it would turn the draft the right way but todays secondary burn you don't have direct access to the flue anymore. A hair dryer is a quick way to stop reverse drafting and get it moving the other way without smoke spilling into the living room, then you can use paper if you wish to finish the job.
 
Just curious,

Why doesn't a top-down work for you guys for an initial burn? :question:

Second question I have.. should I buy stock in electric hair driers? :question: :coolcheese:

The best!
 
This morning I built a top-down fire with the top layer of shredded paper from my office. It produced a lot of heat quickly - the easiest and quickest start I've had all season.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
Exit Gas temps on alternative stoves?
Replies
6
Views
602
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
rashomon
R
T
How to seal stove pipe
Replies
23
Views
2K
Blaze King
tsh2002
T
B
Duraplus through wall thimble acceptable temperature
Replies
0
Views
1K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
butch52
B
D
Small Flue / Large Stove
Replies
9
Views
2K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
bholler
B
C
In desperate need of heat I mean help!
Replies
5
Views
1K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
nanuk
N
Top Bottom
Back