Help! Smoke coming out of insert

[mszina]

Recently we had a Pacific Energy insert put into our fireplace opening. The installer had to put in an offset connector because the chimney did not line up with the stove's chimney pipe. When we open the door to put more wood in, smoke and ashes billow out into the room. We've tried cracking a window and opening the door, but this does not help.

Also, there are unburned coals in the back. It is not burning evenly.

Please offer suggestions or possible solutions.

Thanks.

 

[swagler85]

Smoke coming out into the room is a draft issue. Try opening the damper all the way before opening the door and when you open the door do it very slowly. This should stop the back draft. Opening a window while doing that should also help do your on the right track. The coals in the back are because your stove burns front to back. The back is the last place to get air so where the last coals remain. This is normal to have a small amount back there, I rake those to the front before they die and use them to restart the next load.

Best of luck

 

[rijim]

Did you have a liner installed?

 

[mszina]

Thanks for your response. We tried opening a window and the damper and opening the stove slowly, but smoke and ashes still come out.

 

[corey21]

Could be a clogged up above baffle board or chimney.

 

[mszina]

Did you have a liner installed?

What do you mean by liner? We had it installed professionally, so I assume it was done right. We weren't home when it was installed.

Here's what our receipt says:
PE Summit
25' Flex ss
Shroud
Offset adapter

We replaced a propane fireplace insert, and the installer left the metal box (the thing the fireplace is slid into)

 

[Sprinter]

Call the installer right away. He's in the best position to determine the problem. Being a new install, the problem may be easily solved and any reputable installer will want to know if you are having this kind of problem.

 

[mszina]

Call the installer right away. He's in the best position to determine the problem. Being a new install, the problem may be easily solved and any reputable installer will want to know if you are having this kind of problem.

The installer was really a jerk, and we don't want to deal with him. We live in a small town, and I will have to contact an installer 90 miles away. I've selected an installer that has an A+ BBB rating. After our local installer did the work, we learned he had a horrible reputation.

 

[rijim]

What do you mean by liner? We had it installed professionally, so I assume it was done right. We weren't home when it was installed.

Here's what our receipt says:
PE Summit
25' Flex ss
Shroud
Offset adapter

We replaced a propane fireplace insert, and the installer left the metal box (the thing the fireplace is slid into)

The 25' flex ss is the flexable liner; thats a good thing.

 

[Sprinter]

The installer was really a jerk, and we don't want to deal with him. We live in a small town, and I will have to contact an installer 90 miles away. I've selected an installer that has an A+ BBB rating. After our local installer did the work, we learned he had a horrible reputation.

Oh, how unfortunate! I guess I did say "reputable" for a reason, then. I hope you don't have to have it redone. Don't know if this applies or not, but installers have a certification program. If he is a member of one of those, you may consider complaining about the bad job to that organization if it turns out it was botched some way.

 

[mszina]

Oh, how unfortunate! I guess I did say "reputable" for a reason, then. I hope you don't have to have too much of it redone. Don't know if this applies or not, but installers have a certification program. If he is a member of one of those, you may consider complaining about the bad job to that organization if it turns out it was botched some way.

Do you know the name or website for the certification program so I can check?

 

[Sprinter]

Thanks for your response. We tried opening a window and the damper and opening the stove slowly, but smoke and ashes still come out.

Did the installer go over operating procedures with you at all? You mentioned damper. Do you mean the air control on the stove, or is there a flue damper as well? Any flue damper should be open most of the time, at least. (Most of the time, they aren't necessary, but sometimes a flue will have one).

If you open the door with a decent fire going, does the smoke clear pretty quickly and seem to draft well? If the air intake is somehow compromised, the stove may not be getting adequate air supply even with the control full up.

One thing I don't think was mentioned yet is wood quality. If the wood is not properly seasoned, you will get a smoky, dark fire. Could that be a factor? (Good quality meaning moisture content around 20%).

Another thing may be outside temperature. If it's fairly warm out, it can be hard to establish a good draft with any stove. This could be worse with an offset.

Is the offset a pair of 15 or 30 degree offsets?

 

[mszina]

The wood is red pine, and may be a little green. We tried to get dead downed trees though. The damper is open when we open the door. We have a really tall chimney with an offset. Maybe this is the problem.

 

[Sprinter]

Do you know the name or website for the certification program so I can check?

http://www.csia.org/
http://www.ncsg.org/

I don't know anything about either of these. Just that they exist

 

[Sprinter]

The wood is red pine, and may be a little green. We tried to get dead downed trees though. The damper is open when we open the door. We have a really tall chimney with an offset. Maybe this is the problem.

We may have doubled. Dryness of wood is really critical with any EPA stove; maybe more so than a lot of people realize. The only way to really know with any confidence is to use a moisture meter, about $20, on it. You split open some pieces and apply the meter to the fresh split. They're pretty good. 20% is the magic number.

Tall is good as far as draft is concerned, within reason. It can be too good a draft sometimes, which is why some flues have dampers. I would concentrate on the wood and maybe the offsets. I'm not your flue expert, though.

You may be able to get away without hiring that other installer by getting a hold of some known dry wood, even pallet wood, or buy some commercial fire logs and try those. If that solves the problem then maybe the flue issue is okay. Be a little careful with the commercial pressed logs or "biobricks", though, they are so dry and burn so hot that you can overdo it when using them by themselves if you put too many in at once. Given your bad experience, you might want to have the install checked out anyway for general peace of mind

 

[mszina]

We may have doubled. Dryness of wood is really critical with any EPA stove; maybe more so than a lot of people realize. The only way to really know with any confidence is to use a moisture meter, about $20, on it. You split open some pieces and apply the meter to the fresh split. They're pretty good. 20% is the magic number.

Tall is good as far as draft is concerned, within reason. It can be too good a draft sometimes, which is why some flues have dampers. I would concentrate on the wood and maybe the offsets. I'm not your flue expert, though.

You may be able to get away without hiring that other installer by getting a hold of some known dry wood, even pallet wood, or buy some commercial fire logs and try those. If that solves the problem then maybe the flue issue is okay. Be a little careful with the commercial pressed logs or "biobricks", though, they are so dry and burn so hot that you can overdo it when using them by themselves if you put too many in at once. Given your bad experience, you might want to have the install checked out anyway for general peace of mind

We may have doubled. Dryness of wood is really critical with any EPA stove; maybe more so than a lot of people realize. The only way to really know with any confidence is to use a moisture meter, about $20, on it. You split open some pieces and apply the meter to the fresh split. They're pretty good. 20% is the magic number.

Tall is good as far as draft is concerned, within reason. It can be too good a draft sometimes, which is why some flues have dampers. I would concentrate on the wood and maybe the offsets. I'm not your flue expert, though.

You may be able to get away without hiring that other installer by getting a hold of some known dry wood, even pallet wood, or buy some commercial fire logs and try those. If that solves the problem then maybe the flue issue is okay. Be a little careful with the commercial pressed logs or "biobricks", though, they are so dry and burn so hot that you can overdo it when using them by themselves if you put too many in at once. Given your bad experience, you might want to have the install checked out anyway for general peace of mind

Thank you for your help. I just ordered a wood moisture meter from Amazon. If the wood is around 20 percent, we'll know it's another problem.

 

[Sprinter]

Thank you for your help. I just ordered a wood moisture meter from Amazon. If the wood is around 20 percent, we'll know it's another problem.

Hope we helped . Let us know how things turn out!

BTW, if you want some more forum action, post a new thread about burning pine ... In fact, ask about burning green red pine!

 

[mszina]

Hope we helped . Let us know how things turn out!

BTW, if you want some more forum action, post a new thread about burning pine ... In fact, ask about burning green red pine!

LOL. Red pine and tamarack are the best of the wood options we have in Idaho. At least we're not burning white pine or spruce! As for having green wood, this is our first year of having a wood fireplace, so we only had about three months to dry our wood. Hopefully, we will have some of this year's wood available next winter so it will be sufficiently dry by then. I ordered that wood meter via Amazon prime, so it will show up on Wednesday.

Thanks again,
Vicki

 

[clemsonfor]

From your description i bet its your wood. My guess is that your wood is At least 35% even if standing dead unless its been deasd years. Your fire is prolly not hot enough either, your probly not burning long enough with the air control open before you shut it down so you end up with a low smoldering fire the whole burn.

Get some of those $5 gas station wood bundles that are dry, or either get some scrap (untreated) 2x4's or go to lowes and just buy 2 of those cheap wall studs for like $3/apeice and have them cut or you cut them into 16" pieces and use those. There kild dried and i bet there 9-12%MC.

 

[Sprinter]

LOL. Red pine and tamarack are the best of the wood options we have in Idaho. At least we're not burning white pine or spruce! As for having green wood, this is our first year of having a wood fireplace, so we only had about three months to dry our wood. Hopefully, we will have some of this year's wood available next winter so it will be sufficiently dry by then. I ordered that wood meter via Amazon prime, so it will show up on Wednesday.

Thanks again,
Vicki

The pine thing was because apparently a lot of people are under the impression that it's dangerous or something to burn pine for some reason, so sometimes that will come up here which often results in a pretty fun discussion. Having grown up in Spokane, pine is pretty much a given there, too...