Unfortunately this is going to be a long post so below is the quick summary.
I opened the door as slowly as possible and smoke still escaped. It usually happens when the door is cracked open 2". Prior to that I can see smoke rolling on itself at the top of the firebox near where the baffle is. I'm surprised by how small the opening is in front of the baffle; there is maybe 1.5" clearance for the smoke to escape.
During the summer I had a floor AC unit (one that pushes hot air out through the window) on the main floor of the house and it was causing air to be pulled down the oil burner chimney and I was getting an "oil" smell in the basement if I didn't leave a window in the basement open. So I've been leaving a basement window open to mitigate the "smoke" smell from the wood stove chimney and it has remedied the problem as long as the window is open enough (needs roughly 2-3" opening).
The house was built in 1987, the 2 chimneys are on opposite sides of the house. The oil burner chimney runs from the basement to the second floor, the wood stove chimney runs from the basement level to above the first floor (wood stove is in a room with vaulted ceilings). I believe the insulation and windows have been replaced since new, and that the house is pretty tight based on the above experiences.
However, I don't know if the sole issue is negative pressure in the house. The plan is to install an OAK for the oil burner and the wood stove. Will that most likely solve my problems? As I stated above, the previous stove (old smoke dragon VC vigilant) never had any problems with smoke escaping with the doors open. I ran it as a fireplace with doors fully open from time to time. The only problem I have with that stove was that it would backpuff every once in awhile most often when it was windy outside or during an overnight burn. But I'm wondering if this behavior was also caused by negative pressure starving the stove of oxygen and causing back puffing.
Thanks for any input and sorry if I left out any important information.
TL;DR - New EPA stove installed with 6" SS liner. I get smoke escaping from the stove when I open the door, and when not in use there is a "smoke" smell in the room with the stove. Previous Vermont Castings Vigilant in same chimney without a liner never exhibited the smoke escaping from the stove with the door open issue, and the "smoke" smell with that stove was minimal. I don't know if this is solely a negative pressure issue or if I have poor draft.
I had a new Hearthstone Shelburne (EPA/Cat) stove installed on the main floor of my house and with it a 6" SS liner (non-insulated). It was installed in an already existing exterior masonry chimney with a rear flue exit. The previous stove was a 1977 Vermont Castings Vigilant that was venting directly into the masonry chimney via a rear exit. Chimney height about the flue is 15+ feet. I've only had 2 burn in fires to force the moisture out of the stove, but with each fire I've experienced smoke escaping from the firebox when I open the door. Additionally, when not in use I am getting a strong "smoke" smell from the stove/flue pipe. With the previous stove I got a slight "smoke" smell when not in use. Outdoor temps were probably in the low 40's/50's the 2 times I attempted the fires, and the oil burner was firing or had been firing and I also believe the clothes dryer was in use.
I opened the door as slowly as possible and smoke still escaped. It usually happens when the door is cracked open 2". Prior to that I can see smoke rolling on itself at the top of the firebox near where the baffle is. I'm surprised by how small the opening is in front of the baffle; there is maybe 1.5" clearance for the smoke to escape.
During the summer I had a floor AC unit (one that pushes hot air out through the window) on the main floor of the house and it was causing air to be pulled down the oil burner chimney and I was getting an "oil" smell in the basement if I didn't leave a window in the basement open. So I've been leaving a basement window open to mitigate the "smoke" smell from the wood stove chimney and it has remedied the problem as long as the window is open enough (needs roughly 2-3" opening).
The house was built in 1987, the 2 chimneys are on opposite sides of the house. The oil burner chimney runs from the basement to the second floor, the wood stove chimney runs from the basement level to above the first floor (wood stove is in a room with vaulted ceilings). I believe the insulation and windows have been replaced since new, and that the house is pretty tight based on the above experiences.
However, I don't know if the sole issue is negative pressure in the house. The plan is to install an OAK for the oil burner and the wood stove. Will that most likely solve my problems? As I stated above, the previous stove (old smoke dragon VC vigilant) never had any problems with smoke escaping with the doors open. I ran it as a fireplace with doors fully open from time to time. The only problem I have with that stove was that it would backpuff every once in awhile most often when it was windy outside or during an overnight burn. But I'm wondering if this behavior was also caused by negative pressure starving the stove of oxygen and causing back puffing.
Thanks for any input and sorry if I left out any important information.
![[Hearth.com] Poor draft or negative pressure issues?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/285/285785-17542802db723f5c2a67dbc25f73b0ea.jpg?hash=GEbzS9qbcO "[Hearth.com] Poor draft or negative pressure issues?")
![[Hearth.com] Poor draft or negative pressure issues?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/285/285787-0213210a8bb45d074f0a23ff7658d09e.jpg?hash=4P0az8XVzQ "[Hearth.com] Poor draft or negative pressure issues?")
