I recently installed a Napoleon 1400 stove in our dining room, which is off the back side of our house. We built our home in 2004 and it is very tight. I just tried to light our first fire in the stove a couple of days ago and had no success. I'll start from the beginning to give you a better picture. The stove was used one time by the previous owner. Not his cup of tea, good for me, or so I thought. I finished the installation about three weeks ago. When I first finished it I went and opened the door and put my hand up along the top and could feel the slightest bit of draw. I thought everything was good and looked forward to burning. I started with some well cured small kindling and newspaper. Nothing wrong with my fuel source or at least nothing that I can tell. Instantly I had a room full of smoke. I quickly realized that my wife had the dryer going and was quickly relieved to see that the back draft stopped the instant I cracked a window. I got the kindling going, threw on a few small pieces of wood, opened the damper to full bore and shut the door. Instantly, the fire started to die. For the next hour I worked to get a decent fire going but every time I closed the door, the fire would quickly snuff out. The instant I crack the door, you can see and feel the air rush in and the flames are renewed. I don't get it. I realize I'll need an outside air kit which I plan to install in the next few weeks. My chimney in inside our home and goes straight up through my dining room ceiling with no bends, plus I could feel draw so I don't think it can be that. I was starting to wonder if something didn't decide to nest up in the air passages while it sat in my garage all summer. I do notice that going from full close to full open has very little effect on how well the fire burns, it seems to dwindle and die either way and maybe lasts a little longer with the control full open. I don't know what to try next. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.