Has anyone heard of this i had my pellet insert installed and had a very bad smoke smell in the basement around where the cleanouts for the fireplace are. I turned the stove off called the dealer they were here today and said house has negative pressure that is causing problem.. What is the fix for this problem ? Or is there a fix for this ? Dont really know what to do ...... THANKS A LOT TOM
neg pressure
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do you have a full liner running up the chimney? If so, this just shouldn't happen. If you have a partial reline the smoke is following the path of least resistance down into your cleanout instead of up and out. Sealing the cleanout may solve the problem. Is this flue used by anything else in the house? I dont recalling running into what you are describing in a fireplace before, but see it every now and again on wood stove retrofits.
mike56
Member
No it was a stub install. I went and talked to the building inspector he said that is just fine to do it that way.. There is nothing else in the chimney ... and no oak was installed .. From what i am reading neg pressure can cause all kunds of problems like mold in the walls .. i was just wondering about this problem and if i should do anything else TOM Brand new stove and problems already THANKS
sealing the cleanout will likely solve your problem. YOu can get this effect from a neg pressure environment or from just having a place for smoke to go that you dont want (Murphy's Law). OAK certainly couldn't hurt in these situations, but I dunno if it will actually solve the problem entirely.
mike56
Member
I think your problem is them not installing an OAK (outside air kit) a must have in a negative air problem plus a lot of pellet stoves recommend them just my view i'm sure others will chime in
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
The only thing that runs there now is the oil hot water heater and sometimes a dryer. I was going to put a space heater there but dont know if it will cause more problems. The basement is finished .... THANKS
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
Both of those devices will draw air out of the basement which is one of several possible causes of the smoke being draw down instead of going up.
Likewise any regular oil or gas burning "boiler".
All of these kinds of devices can suck a lot of air at a time, far more than your combustion blower can overcome on either side of the device.
I would seal the clean out door and check for any other such places like another spot in the chimney flue that was punctured by another exhaust vent (assuming an old house that has been changed over the years).
The other possible cause is that the cold chimney is causing the smoke to spill down over the end of the partiality inserted venting.
Could you tell us how the venting is setup including any blocking plates, etc ...
Likewise any regular oil or gas burning "boiler".
All of these kinds of devices can suck a lot of air at a time, far more than your combustion blower can overcome on either side of the device.
I would seal the clean out door and check for any other such places like another spot in the chimney flue that was punctured by another exhaust vent (assuming an old house that has been changed over the years).
The other possible cause is that the cold chimney is causing the smoke to spill down over the end of the partiality inserted venting.
Could you tell us how the venting is setup including any blocking plates, etc ...
Hi yes he removed the dampner door and put a plate with some insulation .. Then the pipe i think 5 or 6 feet and that was pretty much it.. It took about 1 1/2 hrs it is a harman insert . I took the harman book to town hall and talked to the building inspector he said no problem with that way THANKS
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
I wonder what the odds of smoke coming out of the stove adapter and any disconnect would be.
How well is the insert sealed to the fireplace opening and is there any smoke smell in room with the stove?
Exhaust systems can be problematic, it only takes a very little leak to produce a smoke smell (even a strong one).
An OAK might take care of the issue depending upon where the smoke is coming from.
The problem here is determining where the smoke is actually coming from.
How well is the insert sealed to the fireplace opening and is there any smoke smell in room with the stove?
Exhaust systems can be problematic, it only takes a very little leak to produce a smoke smell (even a strong one).
An OAK might take care of the issue depending upon where the smoke is coming from.
The problem here is determining where the smoke is actually coming from.
Installing a full length liner to the top of the chimney will solve the problem permanently, and is what I would recommend, along with the OAK.
Nicholas440
Feeling the Heat
My insert was installed the same way with about 7 foot of vent up through a special block off plate I made to fit the damper opening with a 3 inch hole for the flex pipe. It ran fine most of the time but occasionally I would initially get a whiff of down draft smoke because size of the chimney liner and it was extremely cold, so the combustion blower had a hard time overcoming the natural down flow of cold air inside the chimney and puffed a little smoke at times. I installed a full vent pipe all the way from the insert up to the top of the chimney and put a rain cap on it, this solved the problem. The more volume of cold air you have in your chimney the tougher it will be to push up and out.
As long as the chimney was warm from running the insert all day I had no problem because of the warm air going up naturally. But the cold air at times was a little hard for the blower to overcome in start up, it did it, but as I said, now and then a wisp of smoke came in and Im sure thats what the problem was. Code wise the inspector told me a stub into the fireplace liner was fine, and it worked but a full liner not only solved the puff of smoke, but it also increased the draft a lot. My fires literally dance and are very bright now as they should be as well. In your case and OAK might be beneficial if you have other things running in your basement giving you more negative pressure.
Good Luck,
As long as the chimney was warm from running the insert all day I had no problem because of the warm air going up naturally. But the cold air at times was a little hard for the blower to overcome in start up, it did it, but as I said, now and then a wisp of smoke came in and Im sure thats what the problem was. Code wise the inspector told me a stub into the fireplace liner was fine, and it worked but a full liner not only solved the puff of smoke, but it also increased the draft a lot. My fires literally dance and are very bright now as they should be as well. In your case and OAK might be beneficial if you have other things running in your basement giving you more negative pressure.
Good Luck,
If the cause is heavy cold chimney air your blower cannot overcome here is a way to diagnose. Run the unit with the door open slightly for say 5 minutes. Most units will not run with the door open but the blower should continue for a time. This should create an updraft. Then close the door and run the unit to see if that helps.
Thanks for all the info .But as i look at the harman install book it shows the oak for the insert going about half way up the chimney... Now you would think that with the exhaust at the top of the chimney some of the vent pipe gas will get pulled into the oak pipe just doesnt make sense to me am i missing something here . It is suppose to pull clean outside air into pipe right ..Is that a good way to do it harman says yes .......THANKS TOM
you will also note the fancy cap thing you'd need to put at the top of the chimney to accomplish the separation of the fresh air and exhaust. This whole setup makes it less than conducive to do fresh air on most inserts in masonry chimneys. It can be done, but its not as easy as it is on the old "straight through the wall" kinda setup.
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