FMI wood Burning Fireplace- Smoke/draft issues

[jeffro22]

I installed a FMI fireplace about a year ago. been having draft/smoke issues since installed. you can normally see smoke coming out the front of the fireplace and normally the room will have a strong smoke odor anytime we burn a fire.

this is the 42" Tuscan fireplace. it is installed on a second story enclosed porch room (roughly 20x20) I have about 16-17 ft between bottom of FP and the termination cap. (min required is 14.5') I do have an elbow installed directly on top of FP with a 4' section to the next elbow, but all appears to be in line with factory recommendations

we have added an extra 3' section of chimney pipe, added and outdoor air kit and neither one seemed to help. also have tried experimenting with opening different windows in the room which occasionally seems to help but also lets in a lot of cool air

I have included some pictures that show where some of the smoke is escaping. Wondering if modifying the smoke shield or sealing up the gaps where the smoke shield and the side of the fireplace is will help at all? There is about a 1/2" gap between the smoke shield and side FP wall where the heavy black smoke is shown in the pictures

Only other issue i can think of is i live about 1/2 miles from the coast and am wondering if i am getting a breeze that is forcing air down the chimney pipe?

 

[jb6l6gc]

try cracking a window first. Maybe you need makeup air if your house is sealed up tight.
As well that may happen too when you run clothes dryers or bathroom and exaust fans because it is creating a negative pressure in your house

 

[jeffro22]

the room this fireplace is located in is separate to the house so no effects from other applicances, etc. Basically it is a 20x20 room on the back of the house with numerous widows.

It is definitely not air tight, but i have opened windows before and it helps to an extent but i still get smoke in the room. Not to mention, when I open a window it lets in too much cool air

 

[jeffro22]

tried opening a window last night. I tried several different window locations throughout the room and couldn't get the smoke to stop coming out of the fireplace. The fire did burn better with a window open but all the smoke was still not getting sucked up the chimney pipe

wondering if a draft shield would help up at the terminator?