tried building a fire last night and couldnt get it to stop smoking, checked the chimney this morning and it is not stopped up in anyway. we have a king cabinet heater that is about 40yrs old. we have a 90 degree elbow coming out of the heater then the chimney goes straight up(single wall up to the ceiling then it goes to triple wall pipe all 6".. the pipe sticks out of my roof about 9ft. i was told run it high enough that it is 3ft above anything within 10ft of it. the closest thing is the peak of the roof and the pipe looks to be 2-2.5ft above the peak,but the peak is over 10 from the pipe. have used this set up for 4 years now and sometimes it draws real good most times decent but if its windy then i get bad down drafts and smoke comes out of the heater. this morning when lighting a fire it wasnt smoking with the side draft door closed but as soon i as opened it or the ash pan door smoke would start rolling out. do yall think i need more chimney or what is my problem you think? have a couple pics of my chimney attached.
chimney down drafting and smoking inside house
- Thread starter wlf89
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The could just be mild weather and atmospheric conditions. If there is a screen in the cap I would remove it and give it a brushing.
the house sits out in the middle of a field so the only thing near that the wind would hit is the peak of the roof
If the chimney is really clear and the stove normally drafts fine then it's most likely weather related. The stove location may be in a negative pressure area which could be exacerbated by the mild, windy weather. Try opening a nearby window an inch to see if that helps. Also be sure no exhaust fans are running.
We get a number of reports of this problem at this time of year if the temps are mild. Here is another current thread on the topic.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/smoke-filling-room-help.146759
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/smoke-filling-room-help.146759
Mild weather but especially wind direction makes a big difference. The last few days, our wind is from the east, which is unusual. With the Atlantic storms, I suspect it's your problem. Solution? When this happens, burn dry kindling to get the pipes hot, then add some dry, smaller splits gradually. If your wood is dry enough, your chances of bad draft are almost eliminated. It's tougher in the shoulder season and I personally prefer to have a shorter, hot fire and heat the house up, then let the stove cool down rather than a constant smoldering fire.
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