smoke smell with no fire

[virvis]

Well, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one but need a little verification. I put up a new 25' exterior masonry chimney last year. burnt an old Baker stove last winter (still waiting on parts for VC Encore if anyone has info. or can get an upper fireback for a 1986 model, let me know), used lots of wood but the thing just isn't big enough to heat the house.

In any case, I haven't had a fire going for about 3 weeks here in central PA and I'm getting a smoke odor in the basement. I suspect the chimney is backdrafting. I guess I'll knock the cap off and add a few more courses of block and another section or 2 of flue. My quesstion is, how tall is tall enough. If I add 2 more sections of flue, I'll be just shy of 30'.

Any thoughts on this?

thanks,
Jim

 

[BrotherBart]

Got a furnace down there? Got a clothes dryer or a gas or oil water heater down there? If so the intake air for them is pulling air back down the chimney. It could be fifty feet high and it would still happen under those circumstances.

 

[stanleyjohn]

I had a problem like yours when i just had the fireplace. When i was burning in the fireplace i would get some smoke in the basement.I think what was happening is my home is well insulated and air tight causing the smoke to exit my chimney flume and enter the furnace flume and sucked down exiting into the basement.Since i had the wood insert installed i haven't had smoke in the basement yet.

 

[Carl]

I tend to agree with BrotherBart. Something is causing a negative pressure in the house which is causing the stove to be used as a relief valve for the negative pressure. Chimney height would have nothing to do with that unless it was very low to the roof, then you could get a backdraft caused by strong wind from certain directions.

 

[jtp10181]

Get the chimney cleaned out good, and fix the make-up air in the house so it stops pulling air down the chimney.

 

[webbie]

I concur that height will not help - in fact, taller chimneys tend to reverse stronger!

Cleaning everything as well as possible is the first step - then tightening up stove pipe, gaskets, etc. so that reversing air from the chimney cannot get to the room - then, the final solution, is a bottle of deodorant - it works!

(broken link removed)

Rutland brand works good also.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

I have been battling a fire odor for a couple of years. In my case it was a simple fireplace insert in a large masonry fireplace, damper removed and the insert had an attempted insulation "seal" to the brick face. It was fine for about 15 years, so can't complain much, but it became a problem. I took steps to keep the house presure equalized, open a window near the laundry room when the dry was on and the like. Didn't help, I tried sprays, including something form Home Depot called "ZEP mokw odor eliminator, didn't help, smelled worse for a while because of the spray. I had the chimney swept, of course, but it still had a good (bad) bit of glazed creosote in the smoke chamber in chimney. I washed the fireplace fire area with a masonry cleaner, looks great, still some smell. I also had a Lock-top damper installed at the top of the chimney, that really seals off the chimney, but it leaves the chimney itself "inside" the house, and the smell does make its way in. My subject chimney is 31' which may also add to the problem, a rather tall/long/high chimney.

I am having the fireplace and chimney "roto-cleaned" tomorrow, and hope that will help. I will likely install a new insert with 6" stainless chimney liner and try to seal the masonry chimney at the original damper location.

Our situation is different, but I share what I've done and plan to do just in case it helps others reading this thread. I'm sure if you can block the air flow, should be easy if you have an airtight arrangement for connecting your stove, the odor should not make its way in.

If anyone has a spray that works, I'd welcome input, or maybe that's ther Rutland brand note above, I'll check on that too....use the link provided...have done, anyone have experience with the "Home Saver" deodorant?