Help...Strong Downdraft and It's Never Happened Before?????

[jscs.moore]

Need some help guys. I'm in my second season of burning with my Hampton HI300 and have a 28ft exterior chimney with an insulated liner. Since I've been burning with this insert I have ALWAYS had a strong draft like a jet engine Matter of fact I have never even felt cool air in the firebox during frigid temps in the dead of winter last season. All I had to ever do is build a top down fire with some rolled newspaper on top and whoosh...away it would go, burning great. I did have a block off plate installed in September but every fire I have had this season has been the same...whoosh and it's burning like a champ!

So tonight I came in from work and it's about 40 degrees and rainy...so I figured I'd light a fire. When loading the firebox I noticed cool air coming into the firebox something I haven't noticed before since I've been burning? So I went ahead anyway (I guess like a knuckle head) and lit the paper. The paper didn't light up with whoosh as usual but started to smolder and the firebox filled with smoke and started coming out from behind the door and from the intake vents at the bottom. So I closed the air down and open the sliding door near the insert, but nothing changed as I watched is smolder.

For some reason I seemed to have a very strong down draft that I have never had before?? It kind of freaked me out as this insert and chimney set up have ALWAYS been like a jet engine when it comes to the up draft? The dealer installed a new cap/bird cage on top of the chimney when they installed the insert a year and a half ago so I can't imagine an animal or something got into the flu pipe? It can't be the block off plate as every fire this season has been like a jet engine? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

[firefighterjake]

Rain and temps that are not terribly low may have caused the problem.

Try again when it is cooler . . . heat up the flue to reverse the draft first with a torch, candle, etc. . . . try opening a nearby window for a bit with the stove door ajar.

Hopefully this is a one time deal . . . and for the record . . . usually once a year (or more) I end up lighting the stove without realizing the draft has been reversed and fill the house with smoke.

 

[jscs.moore]

Rain and temps that are not terribly low may have caused the problem.

Try again when it is cooler . . . heat up the flue to reverse the draft first with a torch, candle, etc. . . . try opening a nearby window for a bit with the stove door ajar.

Hopefully this is a one time deal . . . and for the record . . . usually once a year (or more) I end up lighting the stove without realizing the draft has been reversed and fill the house with smoke.

Thanks Jake...your feedback is much appreciated! Yes, I plan on waiting until later in the week when temps are supposed to get much colder. It's just very odd because this is the first time I've ever had a reverse draft with this insert & chimney? I do recall in my old house (with an open fireplace) having to heat up the flue and crack a window to get the up draft going...but never with my current set up. I just hope this isn't a new normal or something...as I have always loved my jet engine like draft and whoosh when I would light my fire It would suck big time if something else is causing this?

 

[VirginiaIron]

Need some help guys. I'm in my second season of burning with my Hampton HI300 and have a 28ft exterior chimney with an insulated liner. Since I've been burning with this insert I have ALWAYS had a strong draft like a jet engine Matter of fact I have never even felt cool air in the firebox during frigid temps in the dead of winter last season. All I had to ever do is build a top down fire with some rolled newspaper on top and whoosh...away it would go, burning great. I did have a block off plate installed in September but every fire I have had this season has been the same...whoosh and it's burning like a champ!

So tonight I came in from work and it's about 40 degrees and rainy...so I figured I'd light a fire. When loading the firebox I noticed cool air coming into the firebox something I haven't noticed before since I've been burning? So I went ahead anyway (I guess like a knuckle head) and lit the paper. The paper didn't light up with whoosh as usual but started to smolder and the firebox filled with smoke and started coming out from behind the door and from the intake vents at the bottom. So I closed the air down and open the sliding door near the insert, but nothing changed as I watched is smolder.

For some reason I seemed to have a very strong down draft that I have never had before?? It kind of freaked me out as this insert and chimney set up have ALWAYS been like a jet engine when it comes to the up draft? The dealer installed a new cap/bird cage on top of the chimney when they installed the insert a year and a half ago so I can't imagine an animal or something got into the flu pipe? It can't be the block off plate as every fire this season has been like a jet engine? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

So it was installed a year and a half ago. When was the chimney last cleaned? If this is a new setup could you not have been burning as efficiently at first and now you have a creosote obstruction. With my old insert, I knew I could go several years, but I cleaned every two years. With my new stove, installed in November, I will check the chimney in the spring to get a feel of the burning conditions and the required cleaning cycle.

 

[Ashful]

Some have this problem every day, and keeping a hairdryer by the stove is often their solution. Heat the flue a few minutes, and you'll get it sucking right. I grew up in a house with this problem, and we would just hold a lit ball of newspaper up into the chimney (open fireplace) to get it drafting, before lighting the fire. Once it's warm, you're good to go.

 

[begreen]

Have a good smoke and CO detector in that area.

 

[firefighterjake]

Thanks Jake...your feedback is much appreciated! Yes, I plan on waiting until later in the week when temps are supposed to get much colder. It's just very odd because this is the first time I've ever had a reverse draft with this insert & chimney? I do recall in my old house (with an open fireplace) having to heat up the flue and crack a window to get the up draft going...but never with my current set up. I just hope this isn't a new normal or something...as I have always loved my jet engine like draft and whoosh when I would light my fire It would suck big time if something else is causing this?

Here's to hoping it's just a fluke thing . . . I've had times like this when the weather was just right (or just plain wrong) and the draft was reversed or the fire just didn't want to get going very easily.

As V-Iron mentioned, it might be worth eye-balling your chimney to make sure it isn't loaded up with creosote.

 

[jscs.moore]

Here's to hoping it's just a fluke thing . . . I've had times like this when the weather was just right (or just plain wrong) and the draft was reversed or the fire just didn't want to get going very easily.

As V-Iron mentioned, it might be worth eye-balling your chimney to make sure it isn't loaded up with creosote.

Thanks Jake...I'm guessing this is just a one time (I hope) situation and my chimney goes back to jet engine like drafting To answer your and V-Iron's question...I had my chimney cleaned by the dealer this past September and they reported about half a coffee can of fluffy soot that came out. Since having the chimney cleaned I have burned about a half cord of very dry/seasoned wood this season so I can't imagine I have any kind of creosote blockage? Anyway, I appreciate everyone's feedback and like the idea of using a hot hair dryer to reverse a down draft...who would have thought

 

[Wickets]

Same exact thing happened to me yesterday....must have been an eastern seaboard thing Even matches didnt stay lit for long.....Anyway, opened up a window, left the door slightly open and set fire to a big pile of paper....that did the trick.

 

[jscs.moore]

Same exact thing happened to me yesterday....must have been an eastern seaboard thing Even matches didnt stay lit for long.....Anyway, opened up a window, left the door slightly open and set fire to a big pile of paper....that did the trick.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm happy to report back that tonight I started a fire and had no problems with down draft or smoke. It was really strange last night that I got such a strong down draft...maybe it was the heavy rain that was coming down most of the evening? Not sure what it was but I hope it's not something that happens very often...like I said my draft is usually like a jet engine and that's how I like it

 

[Sawset]

Check out "air inversion". Could be a possibility given the conditions you describe.

 

[jscs.moore]

Check out "air inversion". Could be a possibility given the conditions you describe.View attachment 189674

Very interesting...maybe it was something like air inversion that caused it?? All I can say is in the past in the past year and a half I that I've had this insert, I've never had that kind of strong down draft happen? Definitely hope it was just some fluke thing like air inversion!

 

[Sprinter]

Very interesting...maybe it was something like air inversion that caused it?? All I can say is in the past in the past year and a half I that I've had this insert, I've never had that kind of strong down draft happen? Definitely hope it was just some fluke thing like air inversion!

I just had this happen to me this morning. It was 18F here which is unusual. I got a very strong reverse draft which caused the house to fill before I could extinguish the fire (it was still small enough). That has only happened two or three times in four years, but always with very cold temps (for here...) and clear sky, causing radiant cooling. Oh, and the stove was cold. Draft was fine after an hour when the sun came up. Just speculation, but that may have interrupted any inversion.

In my case, the stove draws air from an OAK, so I don't think it's a typical stack effect thing. I'm favoring the inversion theory. There was no wind, my chimney is properly placed, The house is a single story ranch style.

Whatever the cause, it is very disconcerting to be sure, especially at 6 AM dark and a wife stumbling out saying "what the..."

 

[kennyp2339]

So tonight I came in from work and it's about 40 degrees and rainy

Inversion is exactly what happened the other night by us, the storm we had created a weird thermal profile, it was cooler at ground level than mid levels of the atmosphere due to dynamic cooling from the heavy precip, it doesn't happen often but it does happen, you should be good to go now.

 

[Hasufel]

I have occasional downdrafts here (also eastern seaboard) that often coincide with damp weather, but what I think is happening in my case is that the thermal mass of the chimney triggers the problem when a warm front moves through. When the outside air is warmer than the chimney top, it cools off and sinks down the flue. Usually it corrects after a few hours once the temperatures equalize.