fireplace smokes!

[smokinmad]

My wife and I recently bought a home and one of the features that we really liked was the old fireplace. We could hardly wait to build a fire and enjoy cuddling up in front of it. However, after an hour or so of enjoying the flickering flames smoke started coming into the house out of the fireplace, this was the beginning of my quest. I have tried many different things to prevent the smoke but so far nothing has worked. So we have not had a fire for a long time and we are sad.
I have tried using very dry wood.
I tried using an opening reducer.
I cleaned the chimney.
I had it inspected.
I messed with the chimney cap.
Yes, the damper is open.(my wife asks that everytime, drives me nuts)

I have done some research and it could be a number things.
1. recently remodeled home and better insulated resulting in not enough fresh air.
2. room was enlarged creating too much fresh air.
3. house is in a narrow valley which could create a curling wind problem.
4. chimney too short.

There is a product called an "exhausto fan" which may solve my problem but I'm not sure I need it just yet.( it's over $1200.00) I know someone out there has the answer.

 

[eernest4]

www.grainger.com

should have a fireplace- stove- exhaust impeller fan for a much lower price ,say $200 to $350 range.

How tall is your chimney? Is it an internal chimney or an external chimney?

external chimneys don't heat up well because they are subject to cold outside air & so dont provide much draft. You could build some type of a casement for the chimney with proper clearance between the chimney & the encasement, there are building codes that specify clearance & must be adheared to. Also, depending upon the internal cross section of your chimney,ther is some kind of insulated liner that can be installed to increase the chimney's heat, which increases the chimney's draft.

Hotter chimney = more draft
higher chimney = more draft
crack open a window in the room of the fireplace & see if the fireplace stops smoking as your house may be so airtight that not enough air can go up the chimney. This is called negative pressure inside house because fireplace sucks air out of house faster than cold outside air can get in to replace the air up the chimney.

Many others here are much more knowledgable about fireplaces than me, so hopefully ,you will hear from them.

good luck with your problem.

 

[webbie]

Most likely it is #1,3, and 4.
#2 - enlarged room would have nothing to do with it - would only help

A fireplace needs a vast quantity of air. You may have other stuff...like clothes dryer, etc. sucking air out of the house and causing negative pressure.

The solutions usually entail more than one change. For instance, raise the chimney, use a grate (if you don't already), use outside air....

You can test for the combustion air by cracking a window nearby. In my last house, the fire would perk right up when I did that!

Keep in mind that an exhausto solution will work, BUT, will be sucking a lot of warm air up the chimney also. So the outside air would be good with or without the fan.

How tall is the chimney? What size is the flue tile?

 

[webbie]

No, it takes an hour - my guess - because that is when the house develops more of a negative pressure. Like sucking on a soda bottle....it gets harder and harder and then reverses.

 

[SlyFerret]

Install an insert in that fireplace and get some real usable heat out of it! It might make that one room feel warmer, but it's sucking heat out of the rest of the house.

Any chance that the 1hour point is about the time somebody turns on a bathroom fan? Or a clothes dryer? Or anything else that might create negative pressure in the house?


-SF

 

[jtp10181]

Sounds like a neg pressure problem to me. Best way to find out is to crack a window on the other side of the room and try it out, see if it burns better.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i agree looks like negative pressure to me , im including a link to a product which i have recommended in the past , we do not carry it at ESW but ive gotten good reviews. the link im sending you is a description of negative pressure which has a link for this product. if the opening of the window helps and you wish somthing a bit less obvious as well as filtered (in case you have allergies and such , this is a nice addition which is priced quite reasonably (less than 100 bucks) hope this helps if nothing else its a good article to read

http://www.condar.com/draft.html

 

[BrotherBart]

And then there is always the fact that there are crappy drawing chimneys in this world. I used to live in a house that had one. You could have removed the roof and that thing wouldn't draw.

Next house the wood stove was installed before we closed on it.

 

[jtp10181]

Mike, I have heard good things about that system as well. We have never had to sell / install one though.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Mike, I have heard good things about that system as well. We have never had to sell / install one though.

well windows are free. i think ive had maybe a dozen or so folks buy one (all from the website), at least thats how many gave me feedback all were positive. we dont carry them because we would probably not move a large enough quantity due to our units being OAK capable for the most part. but a fireplace would definately benefit in a tight house. only real advantages i see over opening a window is filtering (up to HEPA) and being able to regulate how much comes in with the internal baffle. i happened apon the site several years back and was interested enough to call them up and chat for a while with one of their engineers, was a good chat , i ended up buying a couple to play with and gave them to the lab rats, was actually thinking on it as an option for some of the vent free gas customers who may have had issues with tight houses and close confined space issues. having held one in my hand i was impressed by the construction and the simplicity of the device.

 

[smokinmad]

Wow! I am shocked. I opened a nearby window about 2 inches and the fire perked right up and no smoke billowed in. I would have never thought that this big old house could have negetaive pressure. However, it was recently remodeled and insulated well but it still feels drafty in spots so I thought surely there was enough fresh air rolling around inside, I guess I was wrong. It is kind of silly though, in order to have a fire I have to open the window.

 

[jtp10181]

That beast open fireplace is probably sucking 400-800 CFM up the chimney, that would be like installing a small barn fan in one of the windows.

Stick an insert in there and you will get some real heat out of and the air problem will probably go away as well, EPA cert stove take much less air form the home and often has have outside air kits installed.