- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
I have a one year old brick home with a masonry fireplace. I have had intermittent problems with the fireplace smoking. I currently have an inexpensive set of glass doors that does not seal well around the fireplace opening. Could this be contributing to my problems with smoke?
I may burn 5 or 6 fires in a row without any problems and then all the sudden, smoke. I have read many of the comments on your site for ideas and I'm sure one or more of them will solve the problem. I am willing to spend the money to solve the problem but I don't want to buy something only to find that I should seek another remedy.
All of the wood that I burn has been well seasoned for a year or more. The inconsistency of the smoking is the most frustrating part. Sometimes the fire may burn fine for 30 or 40 minutes and then start to smoke. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
It might help to try a few things.
1. Seal the doors as well as possible using fiberglass insulation.
2. Make certain there is some air in the home to feed combustion (crack a window, etc) or install an outside air inlet.
3. Make certain you run the fire very hot for the first 20 minutes or so, this will warm the flue.
4. If the above three things don't work, it may be wind related. In this case there are special chimney caps (like vacu-stak) that can be installed.
I have a one year old brick home with a masonry fireplace. I have had intermittent problems with the fireplace smoking. I currently have an inexpensive set of glass doors that does not seal well around the fireplace opening. Could this be contributing to my problems with smoke?
I may burn 5 or 6 fires in a row without any problems and then all the sudden, smoke. I have read many of the comments on your site for ideas and I'm sure one or more of them will solve the problem. I am willing to spend the money to solve the problem but I don't want to buy something only to find that I should seek another remedy.
All of the wood that I burn has been well seasoned for a year or more. The inconsistency of the smoking is the most frustrating part. Sometimes the fire may burn fine for 30 or 40 minutes and then start to smoke. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
It might help to try a few things.
1. Seal the doors as well as possible using fiberglass insulation.
2. Make certain there is some air in the home to feed combustion (crack a window, etc) or install an outside air inlet.
3. Make certain you run the fire very hot for the first 20 minutes or so, this will warm the flue.
4. If the above three things don't work, it may be wind related. In this case there are special chimney caps (like vacu-stak) that can be installed.
