Know anything about chimneys? Do tell!

Yep they stick up above the roof

 

I've had wood stoves in the past---and just built our house here on the farm with one-----ummmm---theres not much you can do with "back smoke" really except just let it "back smoke"---especially on windy days with varable winds---back smoke is especially noticeable when outside temps are warmer---yet still chilly enough to have a fire inside---especially when inside temps are about equal to outside----say its 60 outside and you want to have a fire to break the inside chill--so you build one and then the inside temp rises but so does the outside temp--the outside temp rises to 70 say---and your fire is still going and then the inside temp is also 70 (happens a lot here in the south)--and the smoke stack "draw" gets all messed up

Hopes this helps a little
Your buddy,
Blackbird

 

Hint-------leave the damper OPEN between the hours of 11pm and 12:30 am Christmas Eve and early Christmas day!!!!

 

The chimney probably needs to be higher. For information on Minimum Chimney Heights go to:

http://www.fireplacesnow.com/smchinfo.asp

 

Make sure you burn only seasoned HARDWOOD---no pine, fur--or junk wood

Make sure your wood is stacked in dry place

Do not burn "Green" wood

You cut tree this year to burn next year

This reduces smoke while burning

 

I was going to put something wise here...but I would only be blowing smoke.

 

Have you had it cleaned out recently? Sometimes the birds and squirrels build nests up there and that can cause the back smoke.

Ditto what Blackbird said. Make sure your wood is seasoned and not "junk" wood. We never burned pine, newspaper, or anything damp.

 

The fact that you are opening a window and your chimney functions better shows that your stove is not getting enough air.

Your chimney should rise four feet above roof and two feet above anything within 6 feet of it. The chimney should be the same size as the stove, or at least within 1 inch larger or smaller. The cap only prevents rain from coming down the chimney. It does not affect the draft.

Always open your stove draft fully before opening door, and then open it one inch at at time, slowly.

Cold air drops down the outer side of chimney and rises in centre as the heat rises from the stove. It forms a suction as it rises and takes the smoke with it.

Green wood is 80% moisture and wood must be at least 20% or less moisture when burning. The difference in burning soft wood or hard wood is the length of the burn and BTU's. Many of us in Canada do not have access to hardwoods and yet temperatures drop to -40 and -50 in winter.

The stove pipe temperature should be around 100-400f to keep the chimney functioning properly.

The worst woodburning stove can heat properly on the best chimney. Whereas the best stove will function poorly on a bad chimney. This fact should be an indicator.

It is hard to offer sound advice without seeing the setup.

Cheers,

Jim

PS. We heat 2000 sq ft house, two-floors with one woodburner. No other heat source for 32 years now.

 

My mother's house had a similar problem. It was a combination of the chimney not being high enough, and not being capped. The problem was remedied by capping the chimney with a cap that also extended the height. It didnt' cost much, IIRC.

 

Jim is right----hardwood has a better BTU "burn" than soft wood---but I've noticed big differences in different types of hardwood--even with Oak(which is majority of what I use)---White and Red Oak burn nicely---Pin Oak is ok as well as Water Oak---but Live Oak doesn't put out heat worth a flip

Sometimes though---I can build a fire and the heat will run you out of the house---sometimes, too---it seems I can't put enough wood in to get the house warm

Only difference between where I live and where Jim lives---is where I live--Winter temps rarely drop below the teens in the dead of Winter--and that for just a couple of times and then it warms back up to 50

 

We never capped chimneys in England, but they were round, built inside the house to keep them warm, and they functioned very well.

The size and height is the most important factor. There is a lot of false teaching about caps. They are rain caps! Some have tried to put moving caps on chimneys because they falsely build the chimney.

We burn mostly hard maple, elm and bitternut. The trees are cut in winter. It is split and stacked in spring and taken under cover in September, to be used that winter. Oak will often need two years to dry out for burning.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Is this an open fireplace? You would use at least 2/3rds less wood with an EPA certified insert. Washington State has an extra severe standard.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/indoor_woodsmoke/wood_smoke_page.htm

I heat the house with a wood stove and burn most everything except glossy paper, plywood and chip board - the glue burns well but stinks.

 

Thalt shalt not attempt burgalry via a chimney....you can get stuck and then die ......this has happened as the folks were away for a few days....what an awful death that would have been