Secret to not smoking out house when starting your stove

[JeffersonKey]

Have had my stove for 3 years. It’s an enviro Boston 1700. I keep it going just about 24/7 once temps go below 45. I have found it impossible to set a draft and overcome that cold air wedge in my flue pipe when it’s even moderately cold. I’m talking at 45 degrees it’s got a nice wind coming down the pipe. I have a standard bi-level and i think my chimney is 25 feet tall. I’ve tried the quick hot fire and everything else. What works for me and what I thought I’d share here is my hidden secret. I slide a baffle board to the side and put a Webber Fire Starting Cube on the air tube right below the flue. It produces very minimal smoke and burns quick to set the draft. Usually takes less then a minute. In the coldest of days if my stove has been off and the flue is ice cold, I’ll give it some help my putting my propane torch up there for about 5-10 seconds. I know there’s people who will say not to burn petro stuff in your stove but in my opinion it’s better then smoking out my entire house.l and its such a minimal amount/ very sporadic.

 

[guylavoie]

I have an outside door just 8 feet away, so I open it wide for about 5 seconds to let the inside/outside pressures equalize, then close it, leaving about an inch gap to a full close. Then I light up the stove and let the kindling stabilize (a few minutes), and then close the outside door completely. Works great, and no smoke at all in the house.

 

[Enplater]

I used to have reverse draft with a cold chimney in my old basement install. To initially start a fire I would open the garage door and the door that goes from the basement where the stove was. I’d also close the door leading to the main floor. Once the garage door was opened it would start naturally drafting.
Doing this worked but sometimes the co detector would go off when the stove got cold, so the draft would reverse again and the remaining coals would produce co and pump it into the house. This didn’t happen every time but usually a few times every winter. Not safe and definitely a hassle to deal with.
Now the new stove is on the main floor and it always naturally drafts, unless the dryer is going and the bathroom fan is on.

 

[Newbie78]

I just blast the propane torch right in there. For as long as I feel like it. I have a worn out tip that flows like a mini tiger torch. Lights fires dandy too.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

I just blast the propane torch right in there. For as long as I feel like it. I have a worn out tip that flows like a mini tiger torch. Lights fires dandy too.

I do the exact same thing. All of my camping size canisters of propane get fully used this way. If it's a cold start on a cold day, ceramic baffle board slides to the side, propane torch gets lit, let that blast up the flue for 5-10 minutes and we're in business.

 

[30WCF]

Top Down and leave the door just cracked until you get to 350-400f then shut the door.

Edit:
I thought you were asking for advise, but I see you have it solved.

 

[Wildflush]

I have the stack effect on many mornings if I have not used the stove the night before and the flue is cold. I can feel the cool air if I put my hand in the top of the stove in front of my flue pipe.

If I try to light it smoke will back puff in my home. My easy fix. First crack window. Next run hairdryer inside front of stove pointed toward the flue on high for 2 minutes. Next top down fire to establish draft quickly. Crack door for a few minutes. No need to wait until STT 300-400. Much too long. Works every time.

 

[30WCF]

I close when the Auber in the pipe reads 3-400 depending on how the flames look. Yeah. STT would be crazy.

 

[Caw]

I don't get reverse draft often but it's very clear when it's happening before I light a fire. I can feel the breeze on my hands loading the wood. A few minutes of the propane torch up the flue fixes it right up.

 

[EBFIRE]

Opening a window near stove seems to be the easiest and quickest for my setup to reverse the draft. I smoked myself out at least twice pretty bad before reading up here.

 

[JeffersonKey]

I have the stack effect on many mornings if I have not used the stove the night before and the flue is cold. I can feel the cool air if I put my hand in the top of the stove in front of my flue pipe.

If I try to light it smoke will back puff in my home. My easy fix. First crack window. Next run hairdryer inside front of stove pointed toward the flue on high for 2 minutes. Next top down fire to establish draft quickly. Crack door for a few minutes. No need to wait until STT 300-400. Much too long. Works every time.

What’s STT

 

[30WCF]

Stove Top Temperature