My Napoleon 1900 smokes constantly. No matter how good the wood, every time i open the door smoke pours out.From the pipe from the stove all the way up to the chimney has been thoroughly cleaned.Is there somewhere in the box that is blocked ? The wood burns very well with the door closed, it's strange.
smoked
- Thread starter obsessed penguin
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
What kind of burn temps are you running at? If you "batch" burn, there is no need to open the door till you are well into the coaling stage where there is very little smoke to begin with.
Is this in reference to smoke out of the loading door, or out the stack (or maybe both?). Smoke at startup is totally normal. Smoke out the stack in the middle of a good burn is not normal (out the door, maybe). Just for clarification, which are we talking about?
What chimney/liner do you have? Length of the chimney? Any bands/elbows? Outside versus inside house temperatures? How airtight is your home? Does cracking a window near the stove help?
Judging from several threads here, Napoleon stoves seem to suffer from restricted draft. An extension of the chimney may be required.
Judging from several threads here, Napoleon stoves seem to suffer from restricted draft. An extension of the chimney may be required.
It comes out the front door as soon as it is opened. I have had this stove for 10 years. there are 2 elbows, I've tried opening windows, chimney is 15 feet.
Is there perhaps an area in the box that I haven't cleaned properly or missed ?
Is there perhaps an area in the box that I haven't cleaned properly or missed ?
The box is pretty simple. Burn area and tubes/baffle/smoke shelf area and out.
I have to ask...why are you opening the door when smoke is present? If you batch burn, there is no need. You only open the door during a cold stove light up or during the coaling stage which has very little smoke present.
It really isn't all that uncommon for a stove to spill smoke if you open the door while it is smokey inside. MY IR will do that but I mitigate the opportunity by not opening it during that stage of the burn.
I have to ask...why are you opening the door when smoke is present? If you batch burn, there is no need. You only open the door during a cold stove light up or during the coaling stage which has very little smoke present.
It really isn't all that uncommon for a stove to spill smoke if you open the door while it is smokey inside. MY IR will do that but I mitigate the opportunity by not opening it during that stage of the burn.
mepellet
Minister of Fire
Is that a recent phenomenon or was the stove always prone to smoking? I think a chimney of 15 ft is about the minimum for your stove and with two elbows (90 degrees?) it certainly will not draft that well. I would think of adding some more pipe. Plus, are you opening the air control before opening the door?
What's a baffle ? I always have to keep the pipe damper and air control wide open to get adequate heat. The fire box gets hot but never turns red. Even when there is no apparent smoke in the box it pours out when the door is opened. I don't have a thermometer for the pipe but will get one. I doubt it will be too hot
smokedragon
Minister of Fire
Assuming your baffles are positioned correctly, it may be your chimney height......15 feet is the min for most installs, if all else fails you could add a section of pipe to the chimney.
Before you go that far, obviously you want to check your baffles.
+1 to that.
I open the air control and wait a minute or two, that prevents smoke spillage for me.
Some stoves just smoke if they are at the right stage of the burn. If all else fails, you have to change your habits on when you open the door.
If all else fails, you could add a little piece of sheet metal along the top of the door opening (a smoke deflector). Some newer stoves come with these, you could try and add something like that.
In this video you will see his smoke deflector come down (it's hinged). You could attach a piece of sheet metal at the top of the door (unhinged) and that would help if all else fails.
You should not need a pipe damper at all unless you have excessive draft which is certainly not your problem. If you need to have the air control all the way open to keep a good fire going you most likely have not dry, seasoned wood. How long has it been split and stacked in a sunny and windy location? Have you ever split a few pieces and tested the moisture content with a moisture meter?
As a side note...if you mess with the baffle be very careful. Depending on material type they can be very fragile.
These are pretty tough, about 1 1/4" thick. I know from experience, this stove will smoke out like crazy if those aren't slid all the way back. They seem to have no tolerance at all. They some how make their way forward over time.
mepellet
Minister of Fire
Mine don't move at all but even if they did, it's just a quick 2 second check and fix even while the stove is hot. Just throw your glove on and slightly lift and push back.
jatoxico
Minister of Fire
I don't know the Napolean but don't the baffles have to come out during cleaning? If the OP is unsure what the burn tubes and baffles are there's a good chance they have not come down and there may be a ton of build up on top.
Even if the sweep vacuums out the box there could still be ash/creosote left, no?
Even if the sweep vacuums out the box there could still be ash/creosote left, no?
If you have always has to run the stove with the air open something is fundamentally wrong. The stove is not being run right. Assuming the wood is dry, baffles are correctly in place, the chimney height is the next suspect. Get a 4 ft length of cheap 6" galvanized duct pipe for a test. On a calm day, remove the cap and cram in the pipe crimp down to make a temporary extension. Fire up the stove and see if you can now turn the air control down once the fire is going well. You should be able to run the stove and get excellent heat out of it with the air control 1/2 to 3/4s closed if the draft and wood are good.
Last edited:
- Status
Similar threads
