Need Help With Smoke Leaking Into Home

[bholler]

Not unless it was so plugged as to affect draft. Damp wood would be a more likely culprit.

yeah but damp wood would not cause smoke in the house if there was adequate draft. The smoke out the top yes i agree with you completely

 

[begreen]

That's all I was referring to.

 

[bholler]

That's all I was referring to.

ok sorry i was referring to the original problem

 

[Parallax]

At this point I'm not burning damp wood. The pressed logs are super dry.

 

[begreen]

How many pressed logs at once are being loaded?

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Do those pressed logs make your glass that dirty? How long did it take for the glass to get that black? I don't have an opinion of what's going on here but that glass condition is a big red flag......

 

[maple1]

That looks like a real tough spot to get a good draft, with all those high trees so close.

I would definitely get the chimney cleaned, and the cat checked out as mentioned above (never used one, but if someone said they can plug up, I would for sure check it), and the draft checked with a manometer. Need to rule out the basics first. I would also get my own manometer so you can check it yourself whenever you want (or permanently mounted if that wouldn't be an objectionable look) - info a page or two back.

 

[Parallax]

How many pressed logs at once are being loaded?

Probably about ten at a time. They're small. The stove could hold a lot more.

 

[Poindexter]

I am going out on a bit of a limb, but another symptom of your underlying problem is all that crud on the glass after an overnight burn on "2" out of three. I can't get that much smudging running 24 hours on 1/3. It isn't the problem, but another indicator that inadequate draft is at the root of your problem.

Those tall trees aren't helping, the one closest to the house is probably good for a full cord, just saying.

I would be tempted to disconnect the OAK next, but that is really up to your local dealer.

 

[rdust]

That looks like a real tough spot to get a good draft, with all those high trees so close.

x2, looks like they'd make some nice firewood.

 

[Parallax]

Would a vacu-stack (at around $100) address a draft problem adequately? Or does one need an electrical motor up there, artificially inducing a draft effect? I hear the latter exists but gets quite expensive.

 

[Parallax]

x2, looks like they'd make some nice firewood.

I'd be a dead man. When we were in our last house, a neighbor cut down a single tree and my wife cried.

 

[ailanthus]

I'd be a dead man. When we were in our last house, a neighbor cut down a single tree and my wife cried.

You'd better put some foil over your stove glass - wouldn't want her to see what's happening in there and have a breakdown

 

[Poindexter]

Another clue (or maybe not). When I open the t-stat all the way, there's more air available for the fire than when it's turned down. But when I leave the door of the stove open just a crack, there's way, way more air for the fire (and it's not even close). When the stove was brand new, I'm not sure there was as much of a difference. Was still, of course, more air when the door was open. But maybe not to this extent. I've been wondering if the OAK could be clogged.

Nope, this is normal, scads and stacks more air avaialble with the loading door cracked than with the Tstat on wide open.

 

[bholler]

Would a vacu-stack (at around $100) address a draft problem adequately? Or does one need an electrical motor up there, artificially inducing a draft effect? I hear the latter exists but gets quite expensive.

It might but you need to get a pro out there to figure out what is going on first A vacu-stack might do nothing at all it depends what is going on. And i would stay away from fans they are very expensive loud and take allot of maintenance.

 

[rdust]

<gulp>If it turns out to be a draft issue due to the tree's and "lay of the land" a non cat stove which is less sensitive to draft may work better. PE and Jotul make some nice cast stoves.

 

[bholler]

<gulp>If it turns out to be a draft issue due to the tree's and "lay of the land" a non cat stove which is less sensitive to draft may work better. PE and Jotul make some nice cast stoves.

I agree but i dont think we are at that point yet

 

[NHcpa]

The first of the three pages of posts in the thread I closed last night. Just what would anybody suggest other than the title it had for this? Nothing about a stove problem.

"My wife and I are new to wood burning. We have an infant. He was born last summer and this is our first winter with the stove. We've done our best to shield him from smoke, but the stove has produced some smoke in the house. Many of the articles I've read online indicate the burning wood is more dangerous than smoking cigarettes, that 70% of the pollution that's vented outside the home gets back in, and that there are many long-term risks (such as cancer) to which young children are most vulnerable.

I'm wondering what the experts around here think. Clearly, people have been burning wood for millennia. But then again, the average lifespan until quite recently was probably around 40."

It's true this website is a great resource for technical and other questions relative to fire burning appliances. I also believe this website to be a social network of sorts in that, you have an audience with a mutual interest and conversations can meander a bit from the original posted content. In respect to getting technical info, I also very much like this site for its social appeal. I now check daily Hearth.com like I do FB and text my away from home kids. There are personalities on this site (BB, Bholler, Begreen) that although I do not have a tech question in mind, I do enjoy the narrative content of the posters. As I recall, this thread was closed when the discussion got to Daniel Boone... OK, so what...?

 

[bholler]

I have to ask you do have carbon monoxide detectors dont you? If not go get them that is way more dangerous than some smoke leakage

 

[BrotherBart]

There are personalities on this site (BB, Bholler, Begreen) that although I do not have a tech question in mind, I do enjoy the narrative content of the posters. As I recall, this thread was closed when the discussion got to Daniel Boone... OK, so what...?

Exactly why we created The Inglenook years ago. A place to sit around the fire and talk about general things. Or things that apply to wood burning not matter what the wood burning appliance. Without clogging up the forum rooms where many people, members and lurkers alike, look for answers specific issues that can be resolved.

 

[NHcpa]

Exactly why we created The Inglenook years ago. A place to sit around the fire and talk about general things. Or things that apply to wood burning not matter what the wood burning appliance. Without clogging up the forum rooms where many people, members and lurkers alike, look for answers specific issues that can be resolved.

You missed your calling, you should have been an auditor. Still like ya.

 

[begreen]

Probably about ten at a time. They're small. The stove could hold a lot more.

That could be an issue. IIRC Highbeam had excess smoke by loading a lot more logs than recommended. Perhaps they are outgassing rapidly and overwhelming the cat?

 

[Poindexter]

Any guess on the length of your OAK?

I had some pork out on the smoker this afternoon. That got me to thinking about when I used to live in North Carolina. That somehow got me thinking about my favorite scuba dive on the Carolina coast, which happens to be U-352 in about 100 feet of water maybe 50 miles off shore. That got me thinking about how the Germans ran snorkels on some of the Uboats so they could submerge the conning tower but still see with the periscope, while sucking fresh air through the snorkel so they could run diesel instead of on batteries.

Then I looked up and noticed the smoke plume of my "that guy" neighbor, and that got me to wondering about how long your OAK piping is. It looks to me like you got good diameter, but if it is long enough you are going to have laminar flow in that OAK tubing, and friction - and your stove is going to have to do 'some' work to get fresh air...

 

[Parallax]

So much information to sort out. Just heard from BKVP. He was talking about having the stove transported to Walla Walla for inspection. I'd hate to do all that and then discover the problem was with stove pipe, OAK or just my inexperience running the stove. What a mess!

 

[Parallax]

Any guess on the length of your OAK?

I had some pork out on the smoker this afternoon. That got me to thinking about when I used to live in North Carolina. That somehow got me thinking about my favorite scuba dive on the Carolina coast, which happens to be U-352 in about 100 feet of water maybe 50 miles off shore. That got me thinking about how the Germans ran snorkels on some of the Uboats so they could submerge the conning tower but still see with the periscope, while sucking fresh air through the snorkel so they could run diesel instead of on batteries.

Then I looked up and noticed the smoke plume of my "that guy" neighbor, and that got me to wondering about how long your OAK piping is. It looks to me like you got good diameter, but if it is long enough you are going to have laminar flow in that OAK tubing, and friction - and your stove is going to have to do 'some' work to get fresh air...

I can measure it tonight. Having seen photos on this site of pipes running several feet, I didn't think the few inches from my stove to the wall would create much of a problem. But I'm willing to explore all possibilities.