wood stove smoking

caroline00 · #1 12/16/04, 05:50 PM

we have an indoor wood heater that is smoking inside the house this year. WE have used it for 3 years without a problem. this year it bellows smoke inside the house... It is a King stove.

our chimney is an 8" round chimney. It is clear and clean....

what is the problem? any ideas?
do we need a new stove?
thanks

moopups · #2 12/16/04, 06:12 PM

If it worked well in the past something has changed; is there any new installiations of windows or doors? Any trees growing close to the chimney? Any new building in the immediant area?Any change in the flue? Different type wood? Any chance rust has caused the flue to close?

OD · #3 12/16/04, 08:56 PM

One morning last week I started to build a fire, & smoke just started pouring into the house. I wasn't doing anything different than I had been doing before & it had been drawing fine. Dh checked the chimney & it was clear, & we couldn't think what could be wrong. Finally, I remembered that it had done the same thing last year & it was because of the bird blocker that we had put around the sides of the raincap. It had collected so much soot that the smoke couldn't get out. Dh climbed up & took it off & the problem was solved. Do you have something around yours' to keep birds out?

**Cabin Fever** · #4 12/17/04, 06:41 AM

Just some ideas:

Try opening a window, just a crack, near the stove.

Does it smoke when your furnance is running at the same time? The furnance may be using indoor air for combustion causing air to be drawn down the chimney.

Does your stove have a catalytic converter...if so, it might be plugged.

Does the stove smoke all the time, or just when the fire is burning slowly? SOme chimneys need to "warm up" before they draft properly. A too cool fire may not have enough heat to allow the smoke to rise in a cool chimney. Always start out with a blazing fire to warm up the chimney.

caroline00 · #5 12/17/04, 04:41 PM

thank you! our wood has changed. WE are using oak slabs from the post mill... before that was mixed wood from our woods.

We have had the heater running while trying to start the fire. WE'll try with it off.

chimney cap... somewhere it blew off so we got another one and put it up there...no change in smoke... no bird block around it.

our chimney is an 8in well casing pipe... from almost the ground to well above the roof, open at both ends . Our stove chimney comes out the wall and is welded into the side of the casing (we have had this set up for 5 years)
it sits on cinder blocks that are removable to clean it out...one block is missing now(broken)... would that make a difference?

comfortablynumb · #6 12/17/04, 05:57 PM

I dont know the configuration of ytuor stove but heres a few ideas...

if you have a stove that draws the air up the chimney from the BOTTOM or near the bottom of the firebox, it may be plugged inside the stoves wall channel.
no?
mmmmm a furnace running will SUCK air from the room and make a negitive air pressure as was said... but i would think you woulda had that problem before now... if you open the winod and it helps theres the road to go down.
the bottom of the chiment pipe outsde being open will do it of you have had a shift in the wind. plug the bottom up so the only opening is ths stove outlet and the top of the stack.

a plugged cat con will do that as was already said...

if the stove is like some types of vermot castings stoves, non-cat type but built to be a gassifyer, it will have all kind of channels in and around the firebox.... there SHOULD be a plate on the bottom of the stove to acesss those and clean it all out.

caroline00 · #7 12/18/04, 08:29 AM

thank you all so much. WE changed our wood last night and had no smoking at all. It is be nice to be warm again

Lrose · #8 12/18/04, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caroline00

thank you all so much. WE changed our wood last night and had no smoking at all. It is be nice to be warm again

When our kitchen wood stove is out all night and the chimney is cold the stove would smoke abit until the chimney warmed. Now I open the drafts all the way and burn a piece of news paper before building a fire. After building a fire I Leave the drafts open until the fire takes off ;then close them partway.now the stove doesn't smoke. Burning green wood will also create smoke.

BrushBuster · #9 12/18/04, 01:48 PM

our chimney is an 8in well casing pipe... from almost the ground to well above the roof, open at both ends . Our stove chimney comes out the wall and is welded into the side of the casing (we have had this set up for 5 years)
it sits on cinder blocks that are removable to clean it out...one block is missing now(broken)... would that make a difference?

yes, it can make a difference. if the bottom of the pipe is sealed, then all the air it draws is forced to come through the stove. if it is able to pull air from the bottom of the pipe there will be less of a suction through the stove and as stated above a warm flue will draw better and the air being sucked through the bottom will be cold and could possibly lower the temperature inside the flew to some degree. normally if there is no obstruction between the fire and where the smoke escapes from the top of the flew and all the air it can draw has to come through the stove,and it still smokes, then the height of the flew needs to be increased. be sure to check your damper also. if its the kind in the stove pipe, the handle could be turning but the shutoff inside the pipe could be remaining closed. if its the kind on the stove itself make sure the air passage way isn't clogged. it needs to be able to pull air through the stove in order to suck smoke up the chimney. a change in wood will effect how the fire burns and the heat it produces,cleanliness of flew and such but if it makes a difference between smoking and not smoking. it points to a problem with the flew somewhere. whether it be in some possible causes described here or an outside change you're not aware of that has caused a change in the air currents that pass by the top of your flew. in which case an increase in height will usaully correct the problem.