i have only been burning for 5-6 days now, so i am still very new at this. i have a quadrafire 3100 steptop w/ acc. installed west end of house. this a.m. i reload with small wood - 3-4 inch, smoke billowed from the air control door and the acc door. nice bed of coals in stove. i tried opening stove door to create better draft, no help. ended up taking both logs out and throwing them outside. also was very windy 20-30 mph from the west. it has been windy all weekend and no trouble with smoke. should i have used smaller wood to relight?, i have been reading some of the posts on this site and i am wondering about chimney height. i have 5-1/2 ft double wall and 7 ft class A. still blowing like mad now, a bit scared to try a relight. thanks for the help / advice.
smoke in house
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bassJAM
Feeling the Heat
Was the stove and chimney cold when you re-lit? Sometimes it can be hard to get a decent draft started when everything is cool. Holding a piece of lit newspaper up to the flu to prewarm it may help a little.
According to your install manual you are in the range specified that the 3100 step top was tested at. Ideally, you should be at 14 - 16 feet from the floor the stove sits on. You are at 15.25 ft, but due to prevailing winds, the pitch of your roof & the proximity of tall trees, you may be too low. Also, did you rake the coals towards the doghouse & load the wood behind them? I'd try to reload with something about 2 - 3" diameter to see if that helps..
i scooped some coals out, they were a bit high. set the wood on top of them. the stove was hot to the touch but i could hold my hand on the chimney. there is nothing to block the wind from the west. it is a 12-4 pitch with another taller steep pitch 16 ft away
Quad says to add the height of the stove to the equation. It's around 33" for a leg mounted unit.
From the install manual:
Chimney Height / Rise and Run
This product was designed for and tested on a 6 inch (152mm) chimney, 14 to 16 feet (420-480cm) high, (includes stove height) measured from the base of the appliance.
Is that taller roof to the west? Does the prevailing wind come over the top of it & down onto your Class A?
KindredSpiritzz
Minister of Fire
since you're "new" to this did you open your damper or air control before you opened the door? Maybe it doesnt matter on your unit but thats the only thing that stood out to me besides to short a chimney
this is straight up. i had the whole setup spect. by a local chimney guy. the book says 14-16 ft measured from the base of the appliance. seems a bit short to me, looking at the other chimneys in the area.
i did open the air control and the acc. for 2-3 mins. before reloading. i am trying to go by the owners manual as much as i can.
the chimney is on the west end, nothing blocking the wind. still blowing like mad and my chimney seems to be whistling, like blowing across an empty bottle.
Daksy is correct, the chimney is within spec according to the manual, but it may be getting a downwind push. Is this a single story section of the house with a 2nd story next to it?
http://www.woodheat.org/wind-chimney.html
![[Hearth.com] smoke in house](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/125/125527-c78158ca34051730468ae725d471dfd6.jpg?hash=x4FYyjQFFz "[Hearth.com] smoke in house")
http://www.woodheat.org/wind-chimney.html
i tried to get an outside pic. dropped camera an d smashed it. not having a good day yet. picture a ranch with a second story 15 ft from the end. it is a salt box style home all open inside. very steep pitch on that section 12-4 on stove room. it has been windy while burning but not as bad as this a.m. i did notice a wood burning smell during a gust or two the other night. i thought it was coming from the soffit vents and leaking through recessed lights. the wind was from the north and it curls the snow off the back of roof. the chimney is 13 ft from the peak and 2 ft taller. a good 15-16 ft from other roof and also taller for the first 6-8 ft.
Kosmik
Member
When it's down to coals, does it look like someone is billowing the coals... I get that sometimes when it's windy.
I think the turbulence by steep roof is big. Mine must be 45deg angle for my obstructing roof. Think that combined with marginal wood is giving me a lot of problems getting going from a cold start. I'll get a fire going with the door open no problem, close the door with air control full on, still going good, then trying to step it down I can hear the crosswinds sitting in front of the stove.
My situation is fairly ghetto, I think some of the 'scaffolding' holding the pipe up, combined with it being too short mine probably needs to be above the roofline... Just did a body measurement inside (thanks Michelangelo), 9' from side of pipe to centerline. Needs at least an extra three feet on top and the removal of kaput antenna, already has a wind cap on it (two rings)... To make minimums in my case.
Being that this is my last winter in this house, I may just be dealing with it and using that chimney brush. Hard to justify anymore time/money in the rental.
That would help explain why it seems to be a lot more finicky on windy days (and I got a lot of them), and when it's cold, not windy and hot in the stove, I find myself having to foil up some of the air inlets.
I'm not getting backpuffing, but I do get smoke if there is any flaring, no matter how slowly I open the door, unless it is in the very back of the firebox for me.
I think the turbulence by steep roof is big. Mine must be 45deg angle for my obstructing roof. Think that combined with marginal wood is giving me a lot of problems getting going from a cold start. I'll get a fire going with the door open no problem, close the door with air control full on, still going good, then trying to step it down I can hear the crosswinds sitting in front of the stove.
My situation is fairly ghetto, I think some of the 'scaffolding' holding the pipe up, combined with it being too short mine probably needs to be above the roofline... Just did a body measurement inside (thanks Michelangelo), 9' from side of pipe to centerline. Needs at least an extra three feet on top and the removal of kaput antenna, already has a wind cap on it (two rings)... To make minimums in my case.
Being that this is my last winter in this house, I may just be dealing with it and using that chimney brush. Hard to justify anymore time/money in the rental.
That would help explain why it seems to be a lot more finicky on windy days (and I got a lot of them), and when it's cold, not windy and hot in the stove, I find myself having to foil up some of the air inlets.
I'm not getting backpuffing, but I do get smoke if there is any flaring, no matter how slowly I open the door, unless it is in the very back of the firebox for me.
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