Is my chimney vent causing my downdraft problems?

[begreen]

Begreen, is siphoning when the attic flue (the one on the left in the pic) sucks in smoke from the stove flue (on the right)? Our house has two separate chimneys, which are far apart. The other wood stove is on a lower floor on the other side of the house, and it draws well- but now I wonder if it is causing negative pressure on the difficult chimney.

I need a clearer picture of where the chimney's are and what floor they service. Also needed is the house layout itself. Is it all 2 story or is there a 1 story addition with a fireplace that is joined to a 2 story house?

 

[bigealta]

Is your other stove running when you are getting the downdraft?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I did that years ago when trying to start up the masonry fireplace after the furnace konked out at my then girlfriends house...made the whole house stink like burnt newspaper (I tried more than once too) never did take off for me...I gave up, defeated.
Years later it occurred to me that I never made sure the damper was open probably wasn't...I still feel like a dork even admitting it, all these years later

Playing with fire has a learning curve! Lol

 

[stoveliker]

The beauty of a propane torch is that if the draft doesn't reverse into the correct direction, you don't have newspaper smoke in your room.
It's clean. No smoke.
The alcohol gel will be similarly clean, though it's a bit slower.

 

[newatthis]

I used to pack the stove with crumpled newspaper when I had a marginal draft. It’d heat up the flue and start the draft quick! And it only cost a match.

Yes, I remember how effective using newspaper was to reverse draft when it was a fireplace. But the instructions say not to use newspaper in a wood stove. Is it really ok?

 

[vatmark]

How exactly do you use the torch? We have a T connection at the back of the Oslo. When we have used the electric heater to reverse the downdraft, we put it inside the stove, but it takes awhile for the heat to transfer from the stove baffles horizontally to the back and up the pipe.

I just keep it inside the stove toward the front of my Oslo. I hold it there for a while.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Yes, I remember how effective using newspaper was to reverse draft when it was a fireplace. But the instructions say not to use newspaper in a wood stove. Is it really ok?

Well, the fire in the woodstove isn’t going to be problematic. They are designed for much bigger fires than a bit of newspaper. What could cause issues is probably pieces of burning paper flying up the chimney. If you have creosote on the walls, it is possible that it could set it on fire. But proper burning wouldn’t have creosote on the walls. Then it’s possible that a chunk of burning paper could fly out of the chimney and light something on fire. If your cap has a screen on it, this should stop this. The last way I can see an issue from this is if you burnt colored ads in a cat stove. The offgassed chemicals may not agree with a cat.

I have a clean chimney with a screened cap, and no cat. I burn paper and don’t fret about it.

 

[stoveliker]

I think there's a difference between a whole fat NYT and a crumpled up ball of one or two pages in between kindling.
The former can give flakes up the flue. The latter rarely does in my experience.
Newspaper as fire starter is fine imo. Newspaper as fuel is not.

I use chainsaw noodles tho, now. If I don't have a crotch or even normal round to noodle, and I'm out of noodles, then i sacrifice a split.

 

[brenndatomu]

I use chainsaw noodles tho, now. If I don't have a crotch or even normal round to noodle, and I'm out of noodles, then i sacrifice a split.

Same here...and pine noodles are awesome!

 

[begreen]

These are treatments for the symptoms. It would be good to understand the root of the problem.

Can you post some sketches of the floor plans and maybe include some pictures of the house so that the layout is clearer.