Why does my house smell smokey?
- Thread starter Fredo
- Start date
-
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
maple1
Minister of Fire
Do you have a Venmar/Air Exchanger?
Sometimes here the smoke will drop to the ground as soon as it comes out of the chimney, and some of it makes its way to my Venmar intake. I shut if off when that happens, or try to anticipate it & shut off before it happens. Then again, if your air sealing isn't good, and the conditions lead to smoke dropping to the ground, you might get a bit of smell infiltration Venmar or not.
That is assuming everything is tight from the air intake & door, to the top of your chimney - that would be the first thing to check, for safety sake at least.
Sometimes here the smoke will drop to the ground as soon as it comes out of the chimney, and some of it makes its way to my Venmar intake. I shut if off when that happens, or try to anticipate it & shut off before it happens. Then again, if your air sealing isn't good, and the conditions lead to smoke dropping to the ground, you might get a bit of smell infiltration Venmar or not.
That is assuming everything is tight from the air intake & door, to the top of your chimney - that would be the first thing to check, for safety sake at least.
Iembalm4aLiving
Feeling the Heat
Reload recently? That's the only time I ever smell smoke-once the stove is running. Now, when I try to start a fire with the kitchen hood fan running, well thats a MUCH different story!
Wood Duck
Minister of Fire
I get smoke smell one of two ways. One is I try to reload too soon - before all the wood is down to coals - and some smoke escapes through the door. The other is smoke comes in from outside through a door or window. Sometimes the smoke from my chimney sinks to the ground or swirls around the house on a windy day.
Called Osburn manufacturing and they told me that I should load up stove to get temps to efficient operating temps. They also mentioned that if outside stack is not hot enough there would not be sufficient draft to draw up stack.
I opened windows to get smokey smell out of house and that is a plus.
I am also wondering if wind outside played a factor? It was blowing out of the south. Mt stack is on the south side of house and I am wondering when wind blows past stack and hits roof could wind some how bounce back and draft down stack?
Hope I made sense with that one?
Thanks
Fredo
I opened windows to get smokey smell out of house and that is a plus.
I am also wondering if wind outside played a factor? It was blowing out of the south. Mt stack is on the south side of house and I am wondering when wind blows past stack and hits roof could wind some how bounce back and draft down stack?
Hope I made sense with that one?
Thanks
Fredo
Iembalm4aLiving
Feeling the Heat
Fredo,
Don't know how tall your stack is, but once it's going, I'd be surprised that you'd get any downdrafts. Once my 2200 is running and up to temps, there's no back drafting...even the wife's nuclear range hood can't slow it down. I'm guessing Wood Duck guessed it with too early of a re-loading. I know as a new wood burner that patience is sometimes hard to find!
Don't know how tall your stack is, but once it's going, I'd be surprised that you'd get any downdrafts. Once my 2200 is running and up to temps, there's no back drafting...even the wife's nuclear range hood can't slow it down. I'm guessing Wood Duck guessed it with too early of a re-loading. I know as a new wood burner that patience is sometimes hard to find!
Guys, there were no windows or doors open and the stove was burning down from a previous burn. Stack temp was hovering just below 200 degrees. I was waiting for oak splits to burn down to embers so I could reload.
When I walked in my front door my wife and son were questioning me about smoky smell. I was clueless but brainstorming to figure out why my house smelled like an outdoor bonfire?
Being that stack temps were below 200 and winds were gusting hard outside maybe stack wasn't hot enough to draw up and out?
Thanks for all the help fellas. I really appreciate all of you being here for me...
Fredo
When I walked in my front door my wife and son were questioning me about smoky smell. I was clueless but brainstorming to figure out why my house smelled like an outdoor bonfire?
Being that stack temps were below 200 and winds were gusting hard outside maybe stack wasn't hot enough to draw up and out?
Thanks for all the help fellas. I really appreciate all of you being here for me...
Fredo
Gd9704, the outside stack is 92 inches high. Right now I am burning a fire at 200 degrees. It is not that cold outside and temps higher than that would roast me out of house.
Michigan is experiencing very mild weather for December. That's probably because I decided to install a stove. :lol:
Michigan is experiencing very mild weather for December. That's probably because I decided to install a stove. :lol:
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
200 degrees is not hot enough. You need to get that stove over 400 degrees. Get it higher as soon as you can and that is probably tomorrow evening. Tonight will be tough with it already warm, it is raining and the temperatures are expected to rise through the night.
I forget your setup in side but 92" is very short; really short. Does the flue run straight up? How high before the thimble?
And last, but not least is still my first suspicion; it is the fuel
! As I stated before, that ash will probably burn better than the oak but even that will not burn good. It can't.....because it is freshly cut. Have I mentioned that burning green wood will cause all sorts of problems? Smoke problems are perhaps #1. There is no shortcut for good fuel. You would really get ticked if you had to burn poor fuel in your furnace. You would not get very far if you put poor fuel in your car. Why would putting poor fuel in a stove cause the same problems? Sorry to harp on this but there is no shortcuts, even with green ash. Yes, you can get it to burn but not well.
I forget your setup in side but 92" is very short; really short. Does the flue run straight up? How high before the thimble?
And last, but not least is still my first suspicion; it is the fuel
! As I stated before, that ash will probably burn better than the oak but even that will not burn good. It can't.....because it is freshly cut. Have I mentioned that burning green wood will cause all sorts of problems? Smoke problems are perhaps #1. There is no shortcut for good fuel. You would really get ticked if you had to burn poor fuel in your furnace. You would not get very far if you put poor fuel in your car. Why would putting poor fuel in a stove cause the same problems? Sorry to harp on this but there is no shortcuts, even with green ash. Yes, you can get it to burn but not well.Dennis, stack is 65 inches from top of stove to thimble. Stack runs straight up also. A couple of hours ago I had stove burning just under 300 degrees because temps outside are not all that cold. Fire has since burned down and temp is 200. I am going to let stove burn down and out since tomorrow will be around 50 degrees.
Installer told me that stack outside would be high enough. I have 6x36 section of pipe left over from job. Installer is coming out next week to install stack brackets. Should I have him install left over section of stack? Would that give me a better draw?
Installer told me that stack outside would be high enough. I have 6x36 section of pipe left over from job. Installer is coming out next week to install stack brackets. Should I have him install left over section of stack? Would that give me a better draw?
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Probably the 3' would make a difference. I'd go for that as you will need the draft. That will mean you will have 92" plus 65" plus the 3' for 16' which is close to the recommended height. We too will be letting the stove rest just like we did last night.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Loco Gringo
Feeling the Heat
He means that with the added 3 ft you will be closer to being at the recommended minimum of 16 ft Fred. Save your wood man, in a month or two you may be glad you did should it be near zero there for 2 weeks. I havent seen flames here for days with the temps like theve been, and I would be pissin wood away trying to keep it burning hard enough to keep a decent draft going. I just let the heat pump run a few times a day and we stay warm.
Bath fan, dryer, or stove hood running in the house? If it's warm out I have to crack a window 1" or so if I have more than just 1 bath fan running. It doesn't smoke out the house, but enough that it gets smelly.
Wood Duck
Minister of Fire
A fire at only 200 degrees? That must be a smoky fire, but the fire being smoky doesn't explain how the smoke is getting into the house.
If you don't get it figured out and want to rule out the wood let me know and I'll bring over a couple stoves worth for you. I'd offer you more but haven't cut any wood this year due to a back injury I suffered last spring. I'm back to "normal" with regular life activities but I'm still taking it easy with the wood cutting for a while.
Worst case if we determine your wood is the issue maybe we can work out a swap of your green wood for some seasoned wood.
Also if you only have 13' of chimney right now I would add a 3' length to it as suggested. Most stove manufactures recommend 15'.
Worst case if we determine your wood is the issue maybe we can work out a swap of your green wood for some seasoned wood.
Also if you only have 13' of chimney right now I would add a 3' length to it as suggested. Most stove manufactures recommend 15'.
xman23
Minister of Fire
I get a whiff of smoke when we have a window open on the other side of the house from the chimney. Rolls over the roof and in the window
Fred...... Dennis is correct , by ading the extra 3' this will bring to the manufacturers minimum specs and should create a good draft. burning your stove with mild temps outside at 200 deg stack combined with a short stack and wind could have the the smoke being choked at the top causing a quick build up of pressure inside the stove ...the release for this may be a quick short burst of smoke backwards and out the secondry air ports on the rear bottom of the unit. this experience could also be enhanced if the house is very tight and if your kitchen has a nuclear range hood. after you install the 3' section and it happens again with higher temps you may need to add an OAK but first check by opening a window at the opposite end of the room by an inch or two as this may balance the inside air pressure.
BTW ... I work for Osburn on the east coast. Although new to the forum not new to solid fuel
BTW ... I work for Osburn on the east coast. Although new to the forum not new to solid fuel
2ez, thanks and I TOTALLY agree with you about Dennis. Dennis and others have been so helpful to me and my new wood stove project. Everything that Dennis and others have educated me about, warned me about, (properly seasoned firewood) is true.
I had several medium fires when I was curing stove and there were no issues. I only encountered smoky smell when winds started gusting out of the south here in Michigan. There were no bathroom vent fans on, kitchen range does not exhaust out and no windows were open. The thing that I noticed were my bedroom door and basement door moving in and out as wind pressure in house changed due to outside winds?
Another thing I want to mention. Directly behind my wood stove is where old propane fireplace is. I plan on dry walling that space up next summer and tiling that space. In past winters we have shrink wrapped the front grill of propane fireplace because of the tremendous draft that comes through. Would this be a negative factory with wood stove so close? Should I seal off inside as well as outside exhaust vent? Wouldn't additional air coming in through grill help feed wood stove or would that create a negative effect?
Come to think about it 2ez, My house smelled smoky when those winds out of the south started gusting and I am wondering if those gusty winds passed through outside vent, into my home and created negative air pressure? Could I be on to something???
You mentioned the word OAK. What is an OAK? Would that be an outside, combustion air kit?
Thanks
Fredo
I had several medium fires when I was curing stove and there were no issues. I only encountered smoky smell when winds started gusting out of the south here in Michigan. There were no bathroom vent fans on, kitchen range does not exhaust out and no windows were open. The thing that I noticed were my bedroom door and basement door moving in and out as wind pressure in house changed due to outside winds?
Another thing I want to mention. Directly behind my wood stove is where old propane fireplace is. I plan on dry walling that space up next summer and tiling that space. In past winters we have shrink wrapped the front grill of propane fireplace because of the tremendous draft that comes through. Would this be a negative factory with wood stove so close? Should I seal off inside as well as outside exhaust vent? Wouldn't additional air coming in through grill help feed wood stove or would that create a negative effect?
Come to think about it 2ez, My house smelled smoky when those winds out of the south started gusting and I am wondering if those gusty winds passed through outside vent, into my home and created negative air pressure? Could I be on to something???
You mentioned the word OAK. What is an OAK? Would that be an outside, combustion air kit?
Thanks
Fredo
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Dennis, slowly but surely I am getting it, nice. Thank God you fellas on Hearth.com don"t charge by the Discussion Thread. I would have gone broke by now with all the questions I have asked!
My stove installer just left. He installed additional 3 foot section of chimney stack and my chimney is now 17 feet, 4 inches tall. He told me if this doesn't work, nothing will. My chimney now towers up from the bottom of my shingled roof and I couldn't imagine it being any taller!
With the violent, gusty, winds that come barreling through Lapeer County Michigan on occasion, any higher of a chimney of this sort would get blown over in my opinion.
Well, thanks again to you Dennis and all my good friends at Heart.com that have helped me...
Fredo
My stove installer just left. He installed additional 3 foot section of chimney stack and my chimney is now 17 feet, 4 inches tall. He told me if this doesn't work, nothing will. My chimney now towers up from the bottom of my shingled roof and I couldn't imagine it being any taller!
With the violent, gusty, winds that come barreling through Lapeer County Michigan on occasion, any higher of a chimney of this sort would get blown over in my opinion.
Well, thanks again to you Dennis and all my good friends at Heart.com that have helped me...
Fredo
Iembalm4aLiving
Feeling the Heat
I think you'll notice a big difference now that your chimney is the right length. She'll draw nice now!
- Status
Similar threads
