Smoky house

[fireview2788]

Last night I decided that I would make a nice fire in the open fireplace to take the chill out of the room. About two hours into the fire the smoke detectors started going off and I could see that the smoke was heavy in the house. I checked and made sure there wasn't a fire somewhere besides the fireplace. Any ideas on why it took so long for the house to get smoky instead of right away?

Thanks,

fv

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

possibly a gust of wind came up & caused a downdraft through the chimney?

 

[begreen]

With milder weather, perhaps the draft reversed as the chimney started cooling down? Is this a one story chimney? When was the last time it was cleaned?

 

[fireview2788]

Calm night, one story chimney. It does need cleaned.

fv

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

If you have a cap with a spark arrestor screen that may be clogged. A sweep of the chimney should solve the problem.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The above posts certainly could nail the problem but it also possible that the chimney was getting to the point where it restricted the flow and you just reached that point where it could not handle all the smoke. Yes, for sure, check that chimney.

If it ever happens again, light some candles to help get rid of the smoke.

 

[begreen]

Calm night, one story chimney. It does need cleaned.

Bingo. Might be a good idea to stop burning in the fireplace until it's swept and cleaned.

Also, the chimney will need to be completely clean before installing the liner to connect the Fireview.

 

[fireview2788]

Yeah, we're done burning with the open fireplace. The chimney cleaning is included in the cost of installing the new stove. I'm betting the restricted flow. Thanks everyone!


fv

 

[jtp10181]

Also an open fireplace takes massive amounts of air out of the home, the longer you run it the more depressurized the house gets. When the pressure imbalance is too great the smoke cannot travel up the flue as easily, because the atmosphere is pushing back trying to balance the pressure in the house.

Very old leaky houses do not have this problem very often, but as improvements are made to houses to seal them up and insulate better the problem can show up.