Smoke escaping from Voyager grand

[plane fixer]

Hi,
I'm new to wood inserts
I have had about 30 fires so far
my question is 3 different times when I go to start the fire
the fire place fills with smoke it is right at the beginning
I use news paper scrap lumber and a fire starter brick this happens in the first min or 2
the smoke starts coming out from both control levers the ACC and burn rate control lever
and fill the room with smoke.
any ideas what would cause this?
should I call the installers and have it checked out?

 

[pen]

Sounds like you are having a tough time overcoming a downdraft in the chimney.

I have this problem if I am starting the stove from stone cold.

I've had good luck overcoming this by starting fires using the top-down method

Here's a link to a popular video on how it works

 

[pen]

also, I forgot to add. When starting the stove, make sure items that suck air from the house and send it outside (dryer, bath / kitchen fans) aren't running. They'll amplify the problem.

 

[plane fixer]

Pen
Thanks for the tips this video was very informative hopefully this will stop it I've never tried top down fire starting

 

[cmarc]

Hi,

How do you like your Quad? I also have a Voyageur Grand and had the exact problem recently but I know my 28ft chimney can down draft quite heavily when conditions are right.

Before I got the insert, my house would frequently get that smoky smell during damp winter nights, and I'd have to turn on my gas log lighter for about 15 min in the morning.

When I light up the insert on moist nights I make sure I put a few pieces of poorly crumpled newspaper in first and crack the door. This will burn hot and fast and counter the down draft. Then I do a top down burn as Pen noted above. I haven't hands problem since I started using this method.