We lit our first fire of the year today. When I closed the damper, a small amount of smoke started leaking from the top slowly. It wasn't a big puff like when I've had back puffing in the past. It was more like a trickle, almost the amount you would get from burning a candle. I opened the damper and closed it again a few times (smoke came out each of the first few times I closed the damper), and I can't see any more smoke coming out any more.
The wood is very dry (around 12%). We just replaced the gasket last year and it looks fine. We had the chimney swept a few weeks ago. It was around 500 degree when we closed the damper. The vents were wide open.
I should also note that my wife lit the fire, and she said when she lit it, she saw a bee fly around in the stove. This made me wonder if it could be caused by a bee's nest blocking airflow. I would have thought that would have been cleaned out with the sweep and that bees wouldn't be building nests this time of year...
The smoke doesn't seem to be a problem now, but I'm a bit nervous that if I reload and close the damper again, the same thing could occur. I'm tempted to just let the fire burn out rather than reloading. At the same time, it's going to be a cold night in New Jersey.
Any advice? Could it have been that it was the first fire and the smoke was actually some dust on the gasket burning off? Should I get the chimney sweep back out here? Reload and see how it does? Something else?
It's a VC 1610 Defiant, non-catalytic.
Thanks, as always, for your help.
Sincerely,
Bryan
The wood is very dry (around 12%). We just replaced the gasket last year and it looks fine. We had the chimney swept a few weeks ago. It was around 500 degree when we closed the damper. The vents were wide open.
I should also note that my wife lit the fire, and she said when she lit it, she saw a bee fly around in the stove. This made me wonder if it could be caused by a bee's nest blocking airflow. I would have thought that would have been cleaned out with the sweep and that bees wouldn't be building nests this time of year...
The smoke doesn't seem to be a problem now, but I'm a bit nervous that if I reload and close the damper again, the same thing could occur. I'm tempted to just let the fire burn out rather than reloading. At the same time, it's going to be a cold night in New Jersey.
Any advice? Could it have been that it was the first fire and the smoke was actually some dust on the gasket burning off? Should I get the chimney sweep back out here? Reload and see how it does? Something else?
It's a VC 1610 Defiant, non-catalytic.
Thanks, as always, for your help.
Sincerely,
Bryan
