Very bad chimney draft

[Samoyed]

Installed new Oslo during summer and started the break-in during the weekend since it was cool enough to have small fires and keep the windows open. From cold, the whole thing is a mess. If I open the side or the front door, it is like I don't have a chimney. The room fills with smoke even though multiple house windows were open on all floors and the air intake was fully opened. From a "warm start" (from 150 degrees), it is still a mess with a lot of smoke going into the room. Even at 400 degrees surface temp, I still get a lot of smoke in the room when I open the front or side door. The second floor VC stove works perfectly, no complaints. I called a Sweep to have the whole thing inspected but in the mean time, I would not mind seeing if you guys have any suggestions. Here is the set up.

- Log home: 3 floors;
- Main floor: Jotul Oslo
- Second floor: VC Dutchwest (medium size)
- Chimney: Massive masonery chimney (stone) inside the house.
- From both stoves, steel liners go straight up (no elbows) and end up side by side (same height) on top of the chimney with each their own cap (same design).
- Chimney is higher than the roof and the only thing higher than the chimney would be trees. We are in the middle of a forest.
- Wood and kindling comes from maple that had been seasoned for 3 years. It is dry enough and works beautifully in the VC stove.
- No damper anywhere.

Thoughts?

I hope I do not have to buy an Exhausto ... looks cool but kind of expensive.

 

[begreen]

Is the cap screen clear? Also, you'll want to have the terminations of the two flues at 4"-12" different heights.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

woodheatstoves.com/smoking-chimneys-draft-troubleshooting-p-12038.html

 

[Todd]

Take the cap off and see if it improves. Sometimes these EPA stoves can really be finicky with draft.

 

[BrotherBart]

If it is happening at a 400 degree surface temp then it ain't a slow heating liner issue. My first bet is that you have an air leak in that chimney system somewhere letting cold air in somewhere past the stove and wrecking the draft.

Hold something smokey, of course I would do it with a Marlboro, around the seal where the top of the stove meets the stove body and look for air being sucked in.

 

[vvvv]

Installed new Oslo during summer and started the break-in during the weekend since it was cool enough to have small fires and keep the windows open. From cold, the whole thing is a mess. If I open the side or the front door, it is like I don't have a chimney. The room fills with smoke even though multiple house windows were open on all floors and the air intake was fully opened. From a "warm start" (from 150 degrees), it is still a mess with a lot of smoke going into the room. Even at 400 degrees surface temp, I still get a lot of smoke in the room when I open the front or side door. The second floor VC stove works perfectly, no complaints. I called a Sweep to have the whole thing inspected but in the mean time, I would not mind seeing if you guys have any suggestions. Here is the set up.

- Log home: 3 floors;
- Main floor: Jotul Oslo
- Second floor: VC Dutchwest (medium size)
- Chimney: Massive masonery chimney (stone) inside the house.
- From both stoves, steel liners go straight up (no elbows) and end up side by side (same height) on top of the chimney with each their own cap (same design).
- Chimney is higher than the roof and the only thing higher than the chimney would be trees. We are in the middle of a forest.
- Wood and kindling comes from maple that had been seasoned for 3 years. It is dry enough and works beautifully in the VC stove.
- No damper anywhere.

Thoughts?

I hope I do not have to buy an Exhausto ... looks cool but kind of expensive.

http://www.woodheat.org/chimneys/wind.htm

 

[ROBERT F]

So the v.c worked great on the same day the oslo was not doing so hot? or the v.c. worked great last time, but the oslo not so much this time. I'm thinking its due to poor temperature differentials, or a plugged air path in the stove itself.

 

[grommal]

Installed new Oslo during summer and started the break-in during the weekend since it was cool enough to have small fires and keep the windows open. From cold, the whole thing is a mess. If I open the side or the front door, it is like I don't have a chimney. The room fills with smoke even though multiple house windows were open on all floors and the air intake was fully opened. From a "warm start" (from 150 degrees), it is still a mess with a lot of smoke going into the room. Even at 400 degrees surface temp, I still get a lot of smoke in the room when I open the front or side door. The second floor VC stove works perfectly, no complaints. I called a Sweep to have the whole thing inspected but in the mean time, I would not mind seeing if you guys have any suggestions. Here is the set up.

- Log home: 3 floors;
- Main floor: Jotul Oslo
- Second floor: VC Dutchwest (medium size)
- Chimney: Massive masonery chimney (stone) inside the house.
- From both stoves, steel liners go straight up (no elbows) and end up side by side (same height) on top of the chimney with each their own cap (same design).
- Chimney is higher than the roof and the only thing higher than the chimney would be trees. We are in the middle of a forest.
- Wood and kindling comes from maple that had been seasoned for 3 years. It is dry enough and works beautifully in the VC stove.
- No damper anywhere.

Thoughts?

I hope I do not have to buy an Exhausto ... looks cool but kind of expensive.

If you had windows open on a floor above where the stove is, you could have created the draft problem by making your house a better chimney than your chimney is. How does it behave if you don't open any doors or windows of the house? How about if you open only one door/window on the same level as the stove and on the upwind side?

 

[Skier76]

x2. Try shutting all the windows. My setup is a bit tempermental in the fall with regards to open windows. It drafts better if everything is shut, exept a window near the stove.

 

[Dexter]

I had poor drafting and back puffing problems with a newly installed Firelight. We used much of a chimney hookup from another stove we removed when we bought the house. The problem was so bad that Jotul sent a guy out to look. He recommended shortening the horizontal run. We had clearance enough to shorten it by 13". 'Cured the problem. Absolutely cured it.

Dexter