Smoke Backing Up Into House

[carlo]

Just had my Hampton 300 wood burning stove installed by installers. They ran piping up to roof, but couldn't go high enough to adhere to code because of snow on the roof. They told me the stove can be used and they will come back when the snow melts to add another 4 feet of piping to adhere to code.

I've been using the stove for a week and everything's been fine. Burning nice fires. But today the installers came and finished the piping to code and tonite I started a fire and the smoke backed up into the house. Obviously there;s a blockage. What the heck did these guys do by adding 4 feet of piping ?

 

[begreen]

That's an odd one. Once the stove was going and burning hot, did the smoke spillage stop? Or were you completely unable to run the stove?

BTW, is there a now a support brace on the exterior flue pipe?

 

[DAKSY]

Hey, carlo
...tonite I started a fire and the smoke backed up into the house. Obviously there;s a blockage.

Maybe not...

What the heck did these guys do by adding 4 feet of piping ?

What they did is add 4' of really cold steel to your chimney system...
That extra cold stuff will inhibit the draft from starting...
It's gonna take more time to get the extra 4' warm...
Did you prime the flue before you lit the fuel in the firebox?

 

[Highbeam]

When the men first left, had they put the chimney cap on? Now they added four feet and put the cap on.

The extra four feet should make everything better. It should suck hard enough to overcome the coldness.

I am going to blame this on just getting used to your stove and non-cat EPAs in general. The newer stoves have more restrictions in the firebox than the old ones. What stove experience did you have prior to this Hampton?

 

[oconnor]

Questions - what do you mean by "piping"? Is the flue a steel lined brick flue or a stainless double wall flue? I assume the piping up to the ceiling is smoke pipe, but is it double wall or single wall?

Chinese proverb says that "The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names”. so hopefully you can help us help you.

 

[carlo]

I'm new to wood burning stoves. The piping I guess is the flue. I have no chiminy. The stove sits by an exterior wall. The flue is triple wall flue while inside the house (about 4 feet) and then when it goes outside the house I believe it's double wall flue. When outside the stainless double flue runs about 20 feet up to the roof where it ends.

Actually .... installers just arrived. I let you know.

 

[Highbeam]

The evil outside chimney. The coldest of all and the hardest to get warm. Be glad that it is not masonry or BG would be very upset.

 

[carlo]

Well ...... of course the installers asked me to light a fire and I did and everything worked fine. They said the extra 4' was probably so cold it probably pushed back the smoke. I don't know ? I see the heat and smoke coming from the peak of the stainless steel flue outdoors now, so I guess everything is venting fine. Also no smoke backing into the house.

And yes ..... they put support brackets to hold the extra 4' in place as it has to have a certain clearance from any roof structure according to code. Why would brackets have anything to do with the draft ?

What really scared me was that last nite when the smoke was backing into the house it just wasn't a small amount that I experienced when I just got the stove 9 days ago. The amount of smoke that backed in to the house was definetely all the smoke from the start up (about 5 minutes worth using kindling).

I'm brand new to wood burning and appreciate all the comments ..... I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions in the future.

 

[carlo]

That's an odd one. Once the stove was going and burning hot, did the smoke spillage stop? Or were you completely unable to run the stove?

BTW, is there a now a support brace on the exterior flue pipe?

The fire never got going. The kindling got going nice and then all of a sudden died out when I closed the door. The only way to keep the kindling fire going was to open the door, but the smoke coming out was ridiculous.

 

[oconnor]

http://cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/enefcosa/upload/wood_heating_EN_W.pdf

Carlo - give the book linked above a read - it will give you a good overview of what in your house can also change how your stove works. It is ideal for new wood burners, and good for reminding others about the basic principles behind stoves, heat, and houses.

It sounds like your flue is not maintaining a draft, and not getting the fire hot enough can do that. As well, if that steel flue gets cold, it can reverse the flow in the flue, or at least slow it down, and in the end, your house becomes a better exit plan for the smoke than the chimney, because of the cold air trying to hold the smoke back.

Temperature will be your friend in overcoming the draft issue - if you don't already, get a thermometer that can measure your flue temp. You will likely see that you get more smoke into the room when the flue is colder.

Also, avoiding the tendancy to open the door often will keep smoke out of the house - start the stove with lots of small splits in it, and reload it when they are burnt down to coals. There is a link in my signature on how I build a fire in my insert - same ideas apply to your stove, the temps may vary - I think your Hampton will run colder than my insert.

The linked book also covers ways to kick start the cold flue (quick paper fire etc) Also, here is a link to a video on starting a fire in your stove - http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videos/Woodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv

Keep the updates coming.

 

[snowtime]

To help it get started bunch up a couple of newspaper sheets and put them on top of everything your starting the fire with. The extra sheets will start your draft. Light these sheets first and make sure they will light the other firestarter you have in there. Close the door to 1" open. When you see the draft going good close door. Be sure air is open all the way. If you close door to soon it will probably back draft. Do not ever leave stove with door open!!

 

[JotulOwner]

The fire never got going. The kindling got going nice and then all of a sudden died out when I closed the door. The only way to keep the kindling fire going was to open the door, but the smoke coming out was ridiculous.[/quote]


I have an outside SS chimney and have that problem at times . Did you feel a strong reverse draft (cold air blowing down) when you opened the stove door before lighting the fire?

 

[carlo]

The fire never got going. The kindling got going nice and then all of a sudden died out when I closed the door. The only way to keep the kindling fire going was to open the door, but the smoke coming out was ridiculous.

I have an outside SS chimney and have that problem at times . Did you feel a strong reverse draft (cold air blowing down) when you opened the stove door before lighting the fire?[/quote]


No .... no return draft, but when I opened the stove the air in the stove was cold. I left it open for 10 minutes to let warmer in to the flue and then lit fire, which backed up on me. I've been burning all nite and have been getting a great fire. I'm lowering the air intake and the fire is burning long and clean. So far so good after that one moment.

Thanks again everyone ..... that reading material and video were awesomne. I learnt so much from them. I love burning and splitting wood..... it's like a hobby ...lol