Everytime I burn, a smell of smoke gets into the house. I have an open fireplece and I know it is terribly inefficient but it will have to do for now. I close the doors, I leave them open, doesn't matter, I still have a smoke smell in the house. What am I doing wrong or is this a drawback to an open fireplace? PLus the dumb thing doesn't heat worth a darn and the burn time is less than 2 hours. I am having a blower installed and hopes it helps but will it blow more smoke into the room. I also set up a fan in the hallway blowing air into the room to create more of a loop of air but it just sends the smoke smell to more of the house. AAAAAHHHHHHH I am so frustrated. First time burner and was mislead because I was uneducated and I found this site after I made the purchase.....son of a &%4#@. Probably gonna save up and purchase a high efficient firebox but for now I'm stuck. Any ideas?
I can't get over the smoke smell
- Thread starter woodslinger
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Describe the flue system connected to this fireplace in detail. That may give us a clue about why it's smoking.
If the goal is to heat, I'm not too sure it's worth putting a blower on it. It will never be a reasonably efficient heat source. FWIW, you were right all along. There is more to it than just a nice visual for the wife.
If the goal is to heat, I'm not too sure it's worth putting a blower on it. It will never be a reasonably efficient heat source. FWIW, you were right all along. There is more to it than just a nice visual for the wife.
With a rope I'd drop a balled up chain down the chimney cause it sounds to me like a plugged chimney or cap.
I agree that it sounds like a flue issue. Fireplaces heat so poorly in large part because heated air from the house goes up the chimney so quickly since there is no way of controling air flow to the fire. This rapid air flow normally also causes great smoke uptake. Dumb question but is the damper open?
Chimney system is a double wall sysytem. Damper is open but I can't control how much. It is either open or closed. The installers have to come back and place the mantle and final piece of marble on. I will ask them these questions and ask them to inspect. It sure will look pretty though. Happy wife=happy life....so it is not all bad.
There are standards to fireplace firebox dimensions that are critical to proper draft.
For example; for a rumford fireplace -
-the width of the firebox must equal the depth
-the area of the the fireplace opening can not exceed 10x the the flue opening area
-the width of the fireplace opening and it's height should be 2-3x the depth of firebox
-the opening height should not be larger then the width
-the throat is no less than 3" and no more than 4"
-the smoke shelf is 4" wide
-the lintel width is no less than 4", no more than 5"
-vertical distance from lintel to throat must be 12" minimum.
For a standard fireplace you can refer to tables that provide varying dimensions and their relationships and flue size.
If conventional or rumford dimensions aren't followed you'll most certainly get smoke drafting out into the room. Sometimes your fix can be as simple as lowering the lintel - installing at block off at that point.
I've seen plenty of beautifully constructed fireplaces that were inoperable because the mason winged it and missed with dimensions. In fact, more than a few years back at Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, NY a new complex was built with several fireplaces included in the dining hall that were inoperable because of improper dimensions. Many thousands of dollars!
If there's not a raccoon stuck in you flue you can refer to dimensions to troubleshoot. Fireplaces generally don't build up a whole lot of creosote since most of the heat from the fire is heading up the flue.
For example; for a rumford fireplace -
-the width of the firebox must equal the depth
-the area of the the fireplace opening can not exceed 10x the the flue opening area
-the width of the fireplace opening and it's height should be 2-3x the depth of firebox
-the opening height should not be larger then the width
-the throat is no less than 3" and no more than 4"
-the smoke shelf is 4" wide
-the lintel width is no less than 4", no more than 5"
-vertical distance from lintel to throat must be 12" minimum.
For a standard fireplace you can refer to tables that provide varying dimensions and their relationships and flue size.
If conventional or rumford dimensions aren't followed you'll most certainly get smoke drafting out into the room. Sometimes your fix can be as simple as lowering the lintel - installing at block off at that point.
I've seen plenty of beautifully constructed fireplaces that were inoperable because the mason winged it and missed with dimensions. In fact, more than a few years back at Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, NY a new complex was built with several fireplaces included in the dining hall that were inoperable because of improper dimensions. Many thousands of dollars!
If there's not a raccoon stuck in you flue you can refer to dimensions to troubleshoot. Fireplaces generally don't build up a whole lot of creosote since most of the heat from the fire is heading up the flue.
Just my 2 cents, but is your firewood seasoned? I used an open fireplace for quite a few years before installing an insert, and dry wood made all the difference with smoke. I would be able to throw some "green" pieces on the fire once there was a good coal bed, but for the most part, unseasoned wood made the smoky fireplace experience pretty bad.
Top three reasons an open fireplace smokes back into the house (I would say this covers about 98% of issues)
1) Poor wood quality. Creates lower temp flue gasses due to the energy of the fire being wasted on boiling water and then you get a lot of steam in the exhaust. Lower flue gas temps means it doesn't really want to go up the chimney as much as it should. You also get MORE smoke with poor wood. These two things combined creates a backup of smoke and some will leak into the house.
2) Negative pressure in the house. Easy test, open a lower level window and window across the room before using the fireplace. LEAVE the window OPEN. If you get no smoke leaking out of the unit then you have found the problem. Now... fixing it is an entirely other issue.
3) Plugged Cap. Less likely with open fireplaces than with the EPA units since there is so much air going up the flue. I can't recall any cases where I have found this as the problem but I do see it a lot on EPA sealed units.
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Oh I forgot to mention, trying to use that fireplace as a heat source is futile. I would give up on that now and just use it for aesthetics. Only way you have a chance is if its one of those mid-way units with the gasketed doors and some heat tubes in it. Those work a lot better than a plain old open fireplace but nothing like an EPA approved unit.
1) Poor wood quality. Creates lower temp flue gasses due to the energy of the fire being wasted on boiling water and then you get a lot of steam in the exhaust. Lower flue gas temps means it doesn't really want to go up the chimney as much as it should. You also get MORE smoke with poor wood. These two things combined creates a backup of smoke and some will leak into the house.
2) Negative pressure in the house. Easy test, open a lower level window and window across the room before using the fireplace. LEAVE the window OPEN. If you get no smoke leaking out of the unit then you have found the problem. Now... fixing it is an entirely other issue.
3) Plugged Cap. Less likely with open fireplaces than with the EPA units since there is so much air going up the flue. I can't recall any cases where I have found this as the problem but I do see it a lot on EPA sealed units.
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Oh I forgot to mention, trying to use that fireplace as a heat source is futile. I would give up on that now and just use it for aesthetics. Only way you have a chance is if its one of those mid-way units with the gasketed doors and some heat tubes in it. Those work a lot better than a plain old open fireplace but nothing like an EPA approved unit.
I'm betting the chimney isn't passing the 10-2 rule. I had the same phenomenon with my prefab fireplace before increasing the height 3 feet.
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