New home owner wood insert questions

[tryingthelearningcurve]

Hi Everyone,

New user here, new home owner and a bit nervous. I am sorry if this has been explained, I just couldn't find answers that lined up with my wood insert and how it was installed/functioning. My wife and I just purchased a house and were excited to try the wood insert that came with the house, I used newspaper to start the flue and there was plenty of draw where it put out the flames from the paper. I put together some kindling and started the fire...once I opened the door (it is a single door) smoke started coming out the front. I kept it closed and let it heat up, even when I have the insert running hot, I cannot open the door all the way to rake the coals or to reload wood without smoke coming out the front. This is tough because I only have about 30% of an opening to work with if I need to move a log or put in more wood. I took off the flashing, removed the insulation and looked up the chimney, it seems like the pipe only goes up about 6-10 feet and the rest of it is masonry chimney. I have an external chimney and it is pretty tall. Its a drafty house so even when I opened a window, it did not correct the smoke spillage. Can anyone tell me if there is anything I can do to stop the smoke from coming in?

Thanks for reading,
Chris

 

[bholler]

Hi Everyone,

New user here, new home owner and a bit nervous. I am sorry if this has been explained, I just couldn't find answers that lined up with my wood insert and how it was installed/functioning. My wife and I just purchased a house and were excited to try the wood insert that came with the house, I used newspaper to start the flue and there was plenty of draw where it put out the flames from the paper. I put together some kindling and started the fire...once I opened the door (it is a single door) smoke started coming out the front. I kept it closed and let it heat up, even when I have the insert running hot, I cannot open the door all the way to rake the coals or to reload wood without smoke coming out the front. This is tough because I only have about 30% of an opening to work with if I need to move a log or put in more wood. I took off the flashing, removed the insulation and looked up the chimney, it seems like the pipe only goes up about 6-10 feet and the rest of it is masonry chimney. I have an external chimney and it is pretty tall. Its a drafty house so even when I opened a window, it did not correct the smoke spillage. Can anyone tell me if there is anything I can do to stop the smoke from coming in?

Thanks for reading,
Chris

First what insert do you have pics would help. What moisture content is your wood at?

A full insulated liner may fix the problem but it may not be the only issue

 

[begreen]

It sounds like this may be a direct connect and if there is no block-off plate at the damper area then it is improperly done. The insert should have a full liner to the top of the chimney for best performance. What is the make and model of the insert?

 

[tryingthelearningcurve]

I am not sure what type of insert it is, there is no name and it looks super old. Here is a pic


Edit: sorry forgot to mention, there is no damper it is a direct connect, it has kind of like a long S connection from the stove to the stove pipe which goes up the chimney flue.

 

[begreen]

Have a good chimney sweep come out and get a quote for cleaning the chimney and installing a full, insulated liner. That should cure the problem.

 

[tryingthelearningcurve]

The wood moisture content is kind of dry, there is a slight hiss when I put some logs in, I'm getting smoke even if I light newspaper in there.

Ok, thank you so much for your quick responses.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like the wood is not fully seasoned. That will just make things worse. Dry wood makes a big difference for cleaner burning and more heat.

 

[kennyp2339]

Get the setup inspected / cleaned first, see what you have going on there. I've seen older homes that ran black pipe up the chimney as a liner, when we pulled the black pipe out it was all rotted.
Dry wood is key, since you live generally in my climate, and have an older less efficient stove, start splitting wood now, you'll need 5 or 6 cords if burning full time, stay away from oak wood since that takes about 2 years to get it minimally dry enough to burn, look for ash and maple now.
Burning in the spring is a little tougher since its relatively damp but only marginally cool, drafts tend to be sluggish at first this time of year.
Be prepared if you have a direct connection or less then adequate liner to re-line the chimney, stainless steel insulated liner is the way to go, especially if your existing masonry chimney doesn't have the necessary clearances to combustibles (your home).