Poor draft issue

[KG19]

I’m pretty new to using a wood stove. Had it cleaned in January of last year after buying our house and only used the stove for about 6 weeks in March-April. Burned maybe 1/3 cord during that time. I’ve started using it again this fall as the temps go down.

I’ve noticed what seems to be very bad draft and it worries me. When starting up, smoke will sometimes pour into the room right away before I even get the door closed, and when I try to open to reload, smoke will also come into the room.

Do you think this might mean my chimney is blocked with creosote ? I couldn’t get a cleaning scheduled until December so I’m worried that I should stop using it until then… was hoping to use it as primary heat this year.

The model is a woodpro 2000. The wood I’m burning right now is dead standing pine that measures between 10-15% on my moisture meter.

Any help or advice is much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[bholler]

I’m pretty new to using a wood stove. Had it cleaned in January of last year after buying our house and only used the stove for about 6 weeks in March-April. Burned maybe 1/3 cord during that time. I’ve started using it again this fall as the temps go down.

I’ve noticed what seems to be very bad draft and it worries me. When starting up, smoke will sometimes pour into the room right away before I even get the door closed, and when I try to open to reload, smoke will also come into the room.

Do you think this might mean my chimney is blocked with creosote ? I couldn’t get a cleaning scheduled until December so I’m worried that I should stop using it until then… was hoping to use it as primary heat this year.

The model is a woodpro 2000. The wood I’m burning right now is dead standing pine that measures between 10-15% on my moisture meter.

Any help or advice is much appreciated. Thank you!

What is your chimney setup and what is your procedure for measuring moisture content

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Might be something besides creosote blocking the chimney too.

 

[kborndale]

If your wood is truly 10-15% then creosote is not your problem. Was this checked on a piece you had just resplit?

 

[begreen]

We need more particulars on the setup. Did the stove draft well last March? The issue could be from a number of factors, including a bee or bird nest. If this problem is new this fall then it must be sorted out before burning.

 

[bholler]

If your wood is truly 10-15% then creosote is not your problem. Was this checked on a piece you had just resplit?

You can absolutely still get creosote build up even with dry wood if temps are not maintained

 

[kborndale]

You can absolutely still get creosote build up even with dry wood if temps are not maintained

He has burnt 1/3 a cord of 10-15% wood. Creosote is not his problem if the moisture content is correct.

 

[bholler]

He has burnt 1/3 a cord of 10-15% wood. Creosote is not his problem if the moisture content is correct.

It probably isn't. But you can't say it isn't if the stove was never brought up to proper temp it's absolutely possible to make allot of creosote in a short period of time even with dry wood. Especially near the top or the cap screen

 

[KG19]

Here is a moisture reading on a fresh split that was sitting inside at room temperature. The meter could be inaccurate? But it’s from standing dead white pine trees so I assumed it was pretty accurate. The 1/3 cord of wood I burned last March was hardwood left by the previous owner, that measured around 20%, some of it slightly over 20% but it’s all I had at the time. Maybe that was a mistake.

In terms of the chimney setup, I’m a total newbie there. It’s an old masonry chimney with a pipe leading into it from the wood stove. Had it inspected after moving in but I wasn’t home at the time and my wife didn’t ask any questions about the setup (and I probably wouldn’t have known to ask either). The chimney was re tuck pointed this summer. It’s at the top of a two story house with an attic also so I don’t really have a safe way of getting all the way up there at this point to check it out for birds nests, etc.

I have noticed that in the past few days, once I get the stove up and running after I initially start a fire and get a reload, on the next reload there really isn’t any smoke coming in. It just puffed a lot of smoke in this morning on initial start up and when I tried reloading and it freaked me out a bit. Maybe I need to heat up the flue a bit on a cold start first, or I’m not the fire up to temp quick enough?

I appreciate the replies! Sorry I’m not much help with the chimney setup description

 

[KG19]

View attachment 300158
Here is a moisture reading on a fresh split that was sitting inside at room temperature. The meter could be inaccurate? But it’s from standing dead white pine trees so I assumed it was pretty accurate. The 1/3 cord of wood I burned last March was hardwood left by the previous owner, that measured around 20%, some of it slightly over 20% but it’s all I had at the time. Maybe that was a mistake.

In terms of the chimney setup, I’m a total newbie there. It’s an old masonry chimney with a pipe leading into it from the wood stove. Had it inspected after moving in but I wasn’t home at the time and my wife didn’t ask any questions about the setup (and I probably wouldn’t have known to ask either). The chimney was re tuck pointed this summer. It’s at the top of a two story house with an attic also so I don’t really have a safe way of getting all the way up there at this point to check it out for birds nests, etc.

I have noticed that in the past few days, once I get the stove up and running after I initially start a fire and get a reload, on the next reload there really isn’t any smoke coming in. It just puffed a lot of smoke in this morning on initial start up and when I tried reloading and it freaked me out a bit. Maybe I need to heat up the flue a bit on a cold start first, or I’m not the fire up to temp quick enough?

I appreciate the replies! Sorry I’m not much help with the chimney setup description

Should also mention, I noticed maybe a slight bit of smoke coming back in last year in March when burning, but I would say probably not as much as now

 

[stoveliker]

Can you post a pic of the set up? Inside and outside?

One thing I'm concerned about is a(n excessive) horizontal run?

 

[kennyp2339]

Is the stove located in the basement? Could be negative draft from a cold chimney, try opening an outside door or window in the same room as the stove before lighting, perhaps better air flow will help pop the thermo bubble you might have in the cold masonry, also if you like burning you may want to invest into a proper insulated liner to help things warm up quicker inside the flue, also if you getting tail end smoke, invest in a co alarm for that room just incase coals burning leak co back into the living space.

 

[begreen]

Try top-down starting, especially in milder weather. And get a pro to look at the chimney setup as soon as possible.

 

[KG19]

Thanks for all the replies. After a bit of trial and error it seems that I mainly have this issue when I do a cold start in the morning. Once it’s up and running it seems to not blow smoke in much at all on reloads. I’ve done a couple of top down fires where I close and latch the door immediately after lighting it and it seems to burn through it pretty well (I used to always keep the door cracked for a few minutes which was letting smoke in). I attached a picture of the inside and outside setup since I don’t know much at all about the chimney configuration. I’ll also mention that we have an electric heat pump on our second floor where the bedrooms are and we run that at night, so could there be an issue with the chimney being warmer further up and colder down on the first floor where the stove is that could cause draft issues in the morning?

My other issue/worry is smoke from the chimney. I’m not sure what is “normal” in terms of smoke when starting up and reloading. I’ll typically get 30-45 mins of fairly light smoking from the chimney when starting and anywhere between 15-30 minutes on reloading, occasionally more if I don’t have a great coal bed for reloading. Is this too much?

 

[begreen]

The fire looks good. This could just be outside temps. Once it gets about 10º colder draft will be stronger. For cold starts, try top down lighting. It gets the flue warm quickly, and with less smoke.

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[stoveliker]

Chimney height and horizontal run seems fine. I concur that this may be an outside temperature issue; warmer temps decrease draft.

You could use a propane torch aiming it into the flue for a minute to create some draft, after which you use it to light the fire.

 

[kborndale]

I've always just held a lit piece or two of newspaper up by the flu to warm it up before cold starts.