I did a search and couldn't find anything so I thought i'd ask the experts here. I just bought a Country Hearth stove recently. my first wood burner! I was pumped about having a fire for warmth instead of this darn electric heater and built my first fire last weekend to try it out. I didn't caulk the joints on the stove pipe and got a good amount of smoke in the house. when I got back home from working out of town earlier today I caulked the joints with the black furnace caulking and let dry. I built a fire this evening and though not nearly as much smoke in the house I still had a little. is this normal? or should I be concerned. it has a 6" single wall telescoping stove pipe to the ceiling box where it increases to an 8x12 triple wall chimney pipe thru the ceiling space and up almost 3 feet above the peak of the roof 7-8 feet away. please advise. thanks in advance!
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No. Your problem is not normal. Your stove or pipe should not leak smoke with or without the pipe seams sealed.
A few items to check/statements below:
1 - Make sure the stove, including the pipe, is installed correctly per the manual.
2 - Make sure your wood has a moisture content below 20%.
3 - If is a old pipe/ceiling support box installation don't assume it's installed correctly.
4 - Check the cap to make sure it's not clogged.
5 - It sounds like you are having a draft issue. If everything is installed correctly, are you starting your fires properly? Perhaps you need to "kick-start" the draft by lighting loose paper in the flue.
6 - To permanently solve the draft issue you may need to extend your chimney.
I am sure someone else may come along and proved more suggestions.
A few items to check/statements below:
1 - Make sure the stove, including the pipe, is installed correctly per the manual.
2 - Make sure your wood has a moisture content below 20%.
3 - If is a old pipe/ceiling support box installation don't assume it's installed correctly.
4 - Check the cap to make sure it's not clogged.
5 - It sounds like you are having a draft issue. If everything is installed correctly, are you starting your fires properly? Perhaps you need to "kick-start" the draft by lighting loose paper in the flue.
6 - To permanently solve the draft issue you may need to extend your chimney.
I am sure someone else may come along and proved more suggestions.
Charles1981
Minister of Fire
1. everything is installed correctly
2. i'm not sure about the moisture content. I bought a couple bundles from Home Depot while I await a delivery today
3. while reroofing my house a couple weeks ago I pulled the triple wall out of the roof. I was able to inspect the ceiling box installation at this time and all looked good with plenty of clearance all the way thru the ceiling space. this pipe originally was slightly above the lower roof ridgeline 7 feet away but below the taller ridgeline 7 feet away perpendicular to the lower roof so I extended the triple wall above the highest ridgeline about 3 feet.
4. the cap and triple wall is clean and free of obstructions
5. it appears to be drafting very good. not sure how to tell if I have adequate drafting but it pulls great and the damper works well.
6. I suppose I could extend the pipe if necessary
burnt03
Feeling the Heat
Did you actually see smoke coming from the stove joints? Are you seeing smoke floating around in the house or are you just smelling it?
Depending on temperature, if I'm doing a cold startup on my stove I can get some smoke coming back on me and it'll make the basement smell for an hour or so. Also, if I've got a window open at the back of the house on startup, the smoke drifts down and comes back in as the stove draws combustion air
Depending on temperature, if I'm doing a cold startup on my stove I can get some smoke coming back on me and it'll make the basement smell for an hour or so. Also, if I've got a window open at the back of the house on startup, the smoke drifts down and comes back in as the stove draws combustion air
no I did not see smoke coming out but the gaps around the joints were noticeable compared to where the screws are so I sealed all the joints and it cut down on the smoke escaping a bunch. I notice the smoke at night when I open my front door you can see the smoke escaping past the porch light. not a lot but some. i'm not seeing smoke float around in my house this weekend. last weekend before I sealed the joints it was quite noticeable. now not noticeable at all
Nick Mystic
Minister of Fire
Something is definitely not working correctly. If you can see smoke inside your house you have a real problem. I would inspect (or get someone with the knowledge to inspect it if you aren't sure what you'd be looking for) the flue connections starting at the stove and following it all the way up to the chimney cap. You said you just your stove, but you didn't mention who did your installation. Did you do the install yourself? Regardless, is it possible that the installer used different sections of pipe from different companies? I've read here many times that you can't mix and match stovepipe. You say you have 6" telescoping pipe to the 8"x12" triple wall pipe. Why did you go from 6" to 8"? I don't know if this would contribute to your leaking smoke problem, but I'm just curious why you would do this.
I wouldn't let this problem fall into the category of "just getting used to it" and live with it. If you truly are leaking smoke into your house then you could also be leaking carbon monoxide once the fire starts to die down and smolder. And that could end up being deadly. Good like with finding the problem and getting a fix. Also, if you could add some photos maybe it would help someone spot a problem.
I wouldn't let this problem fall into the category of "just getting used to it" and live with it. If you truly are leaking smoke into your house then you could also be leaking carbon monoxide once the fire starts to die down and smolder. And that could end up being deadly. Good like with finding the problem and getting a fix. Also, if you could add some photos maybe it would help someone spot a problem.
Prof
Minister of Fire
Did you do break-in fires to cure the paint on the stove? Usually it takes a couple fires at different temps to cure the paint--I know this filled my house with a smoke, of sorts, during the first couple burns. Just throwing this out as another possibility.
BTW--it is almost impossible to buy wood in bulk that is properly seasoned (i.e. less than 20% moisture content). The stuff at lowes and home depot usually looks seasoned to me, but I've never used it, so I have no direct experience in this regard.
BTW--it is almost impossible to buy wood in bulk that is properly seasoned (i.e. less than 20% moisture content). The stuff at lowes and home depot usually looks seasoned to me, but I've never used it, so I have no direct experience in this regard.
Is this a flat or shallow pitched roof? What is the total amount of flue on this stove from stove top to the chimney cap?
the 8x12 chimney pipe going thru the ceiling space and out the roof was existing from the previous home owner. that is why I used it. I bought a 6-8 increaser and attached it to the ceiling box inside the house coming down.
I was wondering about that if there was a "cure" or "break-in" period. the smell is not a wood smell and I thought it might be the paint on the stove emitting the odor. last night was only my second fire and I just started another one. it draws really well. I can have the door open and no smoke comes out the door. I did notice that around the door a piece of the rope around the door partially pulled away and stuck to the fire box just a tad but seems to be intact on the door. I wonder if this broke the seal it's supposed to have?
The paint needs to be baked in by getting the stove to 500F or above. It is going to smoke so plan on having a couple windows open. This should only happen for the first few hot burns.
my roof is pitched. about a 5-12 on the lower part and an 8-12 on the high part. from top of stove to ceiling box is about 6' with about 3' thru the ceiling space, and another 7' on top of that extending 2 feet above the tallest peak 7 feet away.
OK, sounds like you have enough chimney to draw properly. Plan on 2-3 more 500F+ bake in fires with the windows cracked open. After that the smell should be gone unless you get the stove much hotter. (Stay under 700F for stove longevity.)
the fan blows right across the top and it's amazing how it heats this place up and keeps the heat relatively at a moderate temp on the stove top itself
well after burning most of the day today I think it was the new finish burning off and causing the smoke last night. no smoke at all tonight and this makes me "happy happy happy" 
I appreciate all the great feedback and realize that there is a lot more to know about woodburning stoves than just sticking a piece of wood in it and lighting a fire. great forum here! I think i'll hang around and learn. you guys are great! thanks again for the feedback!
I appreciate all the great feedback and realize that there is a lot more to know about woodburning stoves than just sticking a piece of wood in it and lighting a fire. great forum here! I think i'll hang around and learn. you guys are great! thanks again for the feedback!
Update; well I was still getting some smoke in the house. not much but a little. one evening while enjoying a fire I was leaning back on the recliner about eye level with the top of the stove and noticed I saw flames thru a small gap where the collar meats the top of the stove so I caulked it with some furnace cement and since then I haven't had any smoke in the house whatsoever. all is good and what a great stove!
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