Smoke Leaks Through Rotary Damper Control

[SnakeEast]

Had a fire in my fireplace a couple of weeks ago and noticed a smokey smell in the house. It seemed to get worse as the fire burned longer. I decided to take a closer look to see if any smoke was coming out. I didn't notice any smoke coming from the fireplace opening, however I did see a few little wisps coming from the opening where my rotary damper control comes through the front of the fireplace (just above the main fireplace opening). If you look at the pictures you can actually see a small amount of smoke/soot stained on the tile. My question is this: Is there any way that I can seal off this opening through which the damper control protrudes so that no smoke can get through? I slid the pieces out (they were already loose, no cement/sealant) to get a better look (see the attached pictures), but I didn't actually look at anything inside the firebox. Let me know if additional pictures from there would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

[jtp10181]

If you were getting good draft it would be pulling room air through there and up the chimney.

How tall is the chimney?
What size is it?
When was it last cleaned / inspected?
How long has your wood been seasoning?
What kind of wood are you burning?

 

[SnakeEast]

If you were getting good draft it would be pulling room air through there and up the chimney.

1. How tall is the chimney?
2. What size is it?
3. When was it last cleaned / inspected?
4. How long has your wood been seasoning?
5 .What kind of wood are you burning?

1. Not sure exactly how tall the chimney is, but I'd say 25 - 30 feet. It's a two-story house with an attic on top.
2. When you say size, I assume you are asking how large is the flue opening inside the chimney (i.e. diameter)? I'm not sure the exact measurements, but I would assume it is something pretty standard. It has rectangular tiles that are rounded on the corners. If I had to guess I would say at least 8" x 12", I could probably fit my head in there.
3. The house is 11 years old. I purchased it in the spring of 2006. Last fall (2006) I had a sweep come out to inspect everything and remove the gas log that had been in the fireplace since the house was built. They told me the chimney did not need cleaning and I didn't notice much creosote build up (which I assume it to be expected for a fireplace that had a gas log which probably was rarely used). We had maybe 6 - 8 fires last winter. We don't use it for heating, but for the atmosphere of the real fire. The house seemed to get a little smokey smell from the fires last winter, but it didn't seem to be as bad as it was for that first fire this year (when I noticed the smoke coming out of the damper control opening). I suspect that my fireplace doesn't have the greatest draft as we will occasionally get a smokey smell even when we aren't burning a fire. That seems to happen during certain atmospheric conditions such as when it rains outside. It could be just that my house (being a newer build) is "tight" and that doesn't allow for a very good draft going up the chimney.
4 & 5. I'm burning wood from a wild cherry tree. I had a couple of them which were about 40 - 50 feet high in the backyard. One fell down in a windstorm last October and the other one didn't make it through the winter, so I cut it down in April/May. So, depending on which tree the wood came from it had been seasoning for at least 6 months if not over a year.

So, I judge from your response that these types of damper controls (that come through the front of the fireplace) don't need to be sealed. It just seems like a potential problem to me that there is a hole through the front of the fireplace that runs into the flue/firebox. Don't most fireplaces have a damper which operates with a handle inside the firebox?

I appreciate your response on this.

 

[backpack09]

Have you tried cracking a window in the room while you burn? If you have a "tight" house, you may not be getting enough air into the house for your chimney to draft properly.

Also, have you noticed this problem every time you burn? or say when you have you stove/oven on, your range vent on, your dryer on, and your bathroom fan on? All of these compete for the air that is inside a tight house... and often down the chimney is the easiest way to get it.

 

[SnakeEast]

Have you tried cracking a window in the room while you burn? If you have a "tight" house, you may not be getting enough air into the house for your chimney to draft properly.

Also, have you noticed this problem every time you burn? or say when you have you stove/oven on, your range vent on, your dryer on, and your bathroom fan on? All of these compete for the air that is inside a tight house... and often down the chimney is the easiest way to get it.

Yeah, I have tried cracking a window and that does help. However, it gets cold pretty quickly with a window open in the middle of winter. Maybe I "cracked" the window a little too much...

So, you guys don't think that the fact that this damper control opening is not sealed is a problem? If that's the case, I'll work more on the draft situation next time we have a fire. I'll pay more attention to what appliances, fans, etc. are also running.

 

[Metal]

If your chimney is pulling draft as it should be it should be pulling air from the house, not depositing it into the house. Either the smoke can't go up the chimney because it is blocked, or you have negative pressure in your house that is pulling smoke out of your chimney (both are bad). Since you believe your chimney is not at fault (hard to tell from over the internet) I suggest you look into balancing the pressure in your house (outside air kit, open a window, etc.).

 

[SnakeEast]

If your chimney is pulling draft as it should be it should be pulling air from the house, not depositing it into the house. Either the smoke can't go up the chimney because it is blocked, or you have negative pressure in your house that is pulling smoke out of your chimney (both are bad). Since you believe your chimney is not at fault (hard to tell from over the internet) I suggest you look into balancing the pressure in your house (outside air kit, open a window, etc.).

I don't have reason to believe the chimney is at fault. It most certainly is not blocked. It's more likely that I'm getting a negative pressure because the house is so tight. I'll keep a closer eye on appliances, fans, etc. the next time I have a fire and see if I can't get a strong draft heading up the chimney.

Thanks for the responses everyone.

 

[jtp10181]

When was your wood split and stacked to season? I have seen open fireplaces smoke from unseasoned wood because the flue gas temp never gets high enough to create a strong draft.

 

[SnakeEast]

When was your wood split and stacked to season? I have seen open fireplaces smoke from unseasoned wood because the flue gas temp never gets high enough to create a strong draft.

From my post above:

4 & 5. I’m burning wood from a wild cherry tree. I had a couple of them which were about 40 - 50 feet high in the backyard. One fell down in a windstorm last October and the other one didn’t make it through the winter, so I cut it down in April/May. So, depending on which tree the wood came from it had been seasoning for at least 6 months if not over a year.

 

[jtp10181]

And... you never mentioned how long it was split and stacked? Just because you cut the tree down doesn't mean it is now "seasoning". Not much gets done until it is split up and stacked for air to blow through it.

I have my money on the wood... its always the wood.

 

[SnakeEast]

And... you never mentioned how long it was split and stacked? Just because you cut the tree down doesn't mean it is now "seasoning". Not much gets done until it is split up and stacked for air to blow through it.

I have my money on the wood... its always the wood.

The wood was split and stacked at the same time the trees were cut down.

I think you might be right about the wood. One thing that I didn't mention is that one of those two trees had a carpenter ant infestation. They were pretty much living throughout the whole tree. I think a lot of the wood in that tree had been dead for some time, it could be too old/rotted. Because of that, I was mainly burning wood from the other tree, which happened to be the one I cut down this spring (the more recent one). That wood only had about 6 - 8 months to season. I think I might have to go out and get some better wood...