Help! the woodstove is smoking!

[heather]

Since it's turned so cold our woodstove has started smoking when we open the door - poofs of smoke & it's also smoking at one of the smokestack joints when we open the door.

Is it because it's so cold, it's having a harder time drafting?
OR?

we've had the stove since mid-Dec. & this is the first time it's done this

it's -12 today

[MullersLaneFarm]

How windy is it??

We had to extend the chimney length with our cookstove to get a better draft. It wasn't a problem with the parlor stove.

[Jack_IA]

Usually with mine it is time for a cleaning as it plugs up and open the door and the smoke it arises.

[APPway]

Have to agree with the above 2 posters
Ours did the same thing and that fixed it.
even tho yours has not been in that long damp or green wood can cause alot of build up and that is what was causing our problem.
Now with our -30 temps it burns all the time and I make sure I burn a real hot fire to start with.

Hope it is a easy fix for you also.


APPway

[Cabin Fever]

Is your chimney mostly indoors (where is will stay warm) or is it mostly outdoors (where is can get very cool)? Creosote will build up faster in an outdoor chimney and it could be that it is reducing the draft as the other posters have said.

It could also be that your house is under negative pressure, perhaps due to running a furnance in addition to the woodstove. Next time, before you open your woodstove door, crack a window open in the same room as the woodstove. If the woodstove doesn't smoke when you open your door, then you'll know the house has a slight negative pressure (or suction) that pulls smoke into the room.

The only other thing I can think of is that perhaps your fire is too cool and is not creating enough draft. Does this happen when you have a roaring fire in the woodstove or just a smouldering fire or just coals?

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by heather

Since it's turned so cold our woodstove has started smoking when we open the door - poofs of smoke & it's also smoking at one of the smokestack joints when we open the door.

Is it because it's so cold, it's having a harder time drafting?
OR?

we've had the stove since mid-Dec. & this is the first time it's done this

it's -12 today

You've got a problem and you better check your chimney now. You might have a very clogged chimney which can lead to a flue fire so that is what I would check first. All of the other advice is on the money also but checking the chimey and cleaning it should be first.

[Wolf mom]

Listen to Cabin Fever! Open a wondow or door a smidge & the smoke goes back up the chimney. Seems to create a draft up the stovepipe when the room is too warm when I start a fire.

[dragonfly1113]

Clean the chimney, all of it, inside the house and outside too. Ours does that from time to time. it is from slow burns at night. Also make sure your chimney is up far enough to draw good. If you are burning green wood that will also cause build up in the stove pipes.

[dhodges]

After 20 plus years of using the same most wonderful wood heating stove we made some changes this past summer including 14 feet of 8 inch single wall smoke pipe all out side AND a new cabin exposing us to the prevailing south winds common with our mid to late winter storm fronts. Two weeks ago we had the same problem, first time in 20 years. First of all , listen to all the previous posters, I can tell they have been there and done that, and especially Cabin Fever. Our theory is that it is a combination of low air pressure/cold temps (-23 when ours smoked) which would cool the outgoing flu gasses faster and lessen draft. Our fix was to build smaller hotter fires when it smoked on us and draw straws or take turns babysitting all night, also open a window which worked most of the time but not dependable enough to go back to bed. For a permanent fix we will do insulated pipe outside OR bite the bullet and go straight up inside with triple wall pipe, chopping a hole through our high dollar new metal roofing and eliminate the two elbows I needed to go out the wall and up. (likely part of the problem too!!) Also for the south winds, we borrowed a design from a Sun Mar composting toilet vent and attached a two foot joint of pipe 2 inches larger in diameter than our pipe to the top, lapped about 3-4 inches down and secured with screws. Now instead of the wind blowing down the pipe it blows UP through the space between the pipes and actually increases the draft. (Adjust drafts and damper accordingly !!!!!!!!) Good luck, Dave

[RedneckPete]

That's a bad sign. Usually the colder the outside temperature the better the draft. Check your chimney cap and see if it's frozen up. I've had two foot long icicles on mine before when it gets cold enough outside.

Pete