Vacation trouble!

[RandyG]

Been a member for a while but dont post to often due to my short burn season and my Fireview is a dream to operate, dont really have any issues at home. So here I'm on vacation in Tennessee and the cabin were in has a woodstove so Im really excited about firing it up, but I'm getting alot of smoke intrusion in the cabin with this setup, I've adjusted the dampers trying to correct this with no success. Im beginning to think its just a poor install. I've posted some pics to see what you guys think,thanks.

 

[RandyG]

Sorry for the sideways pic, new tablet and still learning, thanks..

 

[razerface]

A lot of turns in the pipe not helping. More outside?

 

[RandyG]

A lot of turns in the pipe not helping. More outside?

One more turn, then strait up a rock chimney. The owner says he has no issues, how tough can this stove be to operate? ?

 

[Corey]

I'd think all those bends would be a good place to start. With that same amount of pipe, it looks like you could come straight up, make a gentle bend and to directly into the chimney instead of the up, over, up, over way it is now. One gentle bend is way better than 3 90º bends.

Beyond that, is there excess creosote in the chimney, plugged cap, dead critters, is the thimble sealed tight and any clean-outs or other openings into the chimney need to be sealed, too.

 

[mellow]

Inadequate draft or something is plugging the chimney. It is probably vented into the terracotta chimney which is probably on the short side and takes a while to warm up to establish a proper draft.

 

[Grisu]

What a poor setup. 4 bends in a chimney and the question is if it is even lined up to the top. Alas, not much you can change about that.

So, when does it smoke? At the startup or when you open the door later? I would try starting a fire with lots of kindling and newspaper before adding a few splits. Leave the air fully open and crack the door a bit at the beginning. Once everything is warmed up you can try to close the air control a bit but I suspect you have to run this contraption like an old smokedragon. What kind of wood do you have?

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I run that exact stove in my cabin too. My chimney goes straight up, no bends and it drafts great with only 12 ft of chimney. To bad you cant get on the roof and check for blockage, i'd suspect something built a nest.

 

[SteveKG]

Depends on how much vacation time you are willing to spend on this. But first, those appear to be adjustable elbows, and if they are, you can remove them all, reposition them to have 2-45 degree elbows. Throw one out. Then you'd have a 45 at the stove, a 45 at the chimney, and a piece of straight pipe between them. Might have to cut the straight piece to length, or just move the stove back and forth to find the right spot that you don't have to cut the pipe. Then reseal that 45 at the chimney and you're done. Two 45s is much better on draft than three 90s. Much.

That leaves whether the chimney is clear. But you could redo that pipe in an hour. Probably. Knowing myself, I would try it and my wife would be disgusted that I'm spending my time doing so. It's a guy thing.

If those are not adjustable elbows, forget the above.

 

[smokedragon]

Do you have any smoke coming through the seams in the stove (cooktop, etc). My brother in law had one of those little POS stoves in his shop for a few years. Every time he lit it, it would smoke in the room until it got hot (and his pipe went straight up).

If you have no obstruction in the chimney, then it is either the draft or the stove.

 

[Boiler74]

As you are on vacation, you aren't going to want to be taking things apart. Does this place have vaulted ceilings? Could this be a negative pressure issue? Have you opened a window close to it, or even on a lower level to try and lower the neutral pressure plane in the house? A leaky, vaulted ceiling may be sucking air up and out, pulling air out of the stove. If you could supply the leaks with air from a different source, the stove's draft may improve. Just a thought.

 

[WiscWoody]

Rebuild the whole works, and check the other cabin stoves too!! My dream vacation!!

 

[razerface]

Rebuild the whole works, and check the other cabin stoves too!! My dream vacation!!

 

[webby3650]

That is a total crap setup! I can't imagine putting that stove in a house at all. They suck air from all over, and if there is poor draft they pour smoke from all over. I wouldn't fool with it, it's not really safe anyway. It should have more hearth protection in the floor. It needs pretty substantial R-value under it, or solid masonry.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

I also noticed that the pipe is installed backwards, crimped end should run into the stove, not that it will help with the smoking issue just something to add to the list.

 

[begreen]

Been a member for a while but dont post to often due to my short burn season and my Fireview is a dream to operate, dont really have any issues at home. So here I'm on vacation in Tennessee and the cabin were in has a woodstove so Im really excited about firing it up, but I'm getting alot of smoke intrusion in the cabin with this setup, I've adjusted the dampers trying to correct this with no success. Im beginning to think its just a poor install. I've posted some pics to see what you guys think,thanks.

View attachment 130498

It's a lousy install. You are going to have to work to get the flue warmed up and drafting. Go get a Sunday paper, a package of Super Cedars or pull out the wife's hairdryer.

 

[RandyG]

Hote="RandyG, post: 1700669, member: 16384"]Been a member for a while but dont post to often due to my short burn season and my Fireview is a dream to operate, dont really have any issues at home. So here I'm on vacation in Tennessee and the cabin were in has a woodstove so Im really excited about firing it up, but I'm getting alot of smoke intrusion in the cabin with this setup, I've adjusted the dampers trying to correct this with no success. Im beginning to think its just a poor install. I've posted some pics to see what you guys think,thanks.

View attachment 130498[/quote]

Thanks everyone, boy do I feel stupid, the owner came up and wouldn't draft with him either, we ended up taking the pipe apart only to discover the upper damper was stuck in the closed position, the spindle shaft would just spin not effecting the damper. He just ended up removing it all together. Drafts strong now,stove throws good heat, but only for a few hrs. I tell ya,this stove really makes me appreciate mine even more.

 

[webby3650]

Did you happen to mention to him that its unsafe without proper hearth protection? That stove needs more than most any other stove on the market!

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

My stove like that has sat on a plywood floor for the past 20 yrs and i never had problems.

 

[WiscWoody]

My stove like that has sat on a plywood floor for the past 20 yrs and i never had problems.

You might be the exception.

 

[peakbagger]

Not sure where in Tennessee but my observations while visiting down in Eastern TN while hiking in the area is that building codes are not followed or enforced. I think the attitude is if you are stupid enough to burn your house down you deserve it as you pissed off a higher power.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

Not sure where in Tennessee but my observations while visiting down in Eastern TN while hiking in the area is that building codes are not followed or enforced. I think the attitude is if you are stupid enough to burn your house down you deserve it as you pissed off a higher power.

There are building codes but I noticed while down there that sometimes money was the higher power. I actually built some of the cabins down there and some of the resorts were throwing them up so fast there was no way they were going by the book, and really no way that any inspector could keep up and catch everything. I seen quite a few chalets/cabins burn to the ground.

 

[RandyG]

Not sure where in Tennessee but my observations while visiting down in Eastern TN while hiking in the area is that building codes are not followed or enforced. I think the attitude is if you are stupid enough to burn your house down you deserve it as you pissed off a higher power.

Im in chuckey,tn. And suprisingly this stove does not hardly smoke at all now. This cabin has a really high chimney, two stories, the draft now is like a blow torch. I agree, I would never have a setup like this, holes in the pipes, joints just stuck together, low hearth protection, but the owner is from this area so he's probably got quite a bit more burning experience than me, I don't think he's going to be taking advice on woodstove setups from a Fl boy.LOL!!Hey he even uses kerosene to start the thing.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

Im in chuckey,tn. And suprisingly this stove does not hardly smoke at all now. This cabin has a really high chimney, two stories, the draft now is like a blow torch. I agree, I would never have a setup like this, holes in the pipes, joints just stuck together, low hearth protection, but the owner is from this area so he's probably got quite a bit more burning experience than me, I don't think he's going to be taking advice on woodstove setups from a Fl boy.LOL!!Hey he even uses kerosene to start the thing.

LOL...kinda funny you mention using Kerosene to start it, there's actually another thread that was started this morning regarding the topic-->https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-bounty-paper-towel-as-a-fire-starter.126615/

 

[begreen]

There's a lot of fools in the world. Many of them Darwin Award candidates.