insert back drafting smoke into house

[adamc]

Hi all,

I have had my Fireplace Extrodinaire Elite 33 for several years and have never had a problem.

Now, all of the sudden, this year when I open the doors to reload, I am getting a large amount of smoke belching out into the house even with the bypass damper open. The insert was installed with a 6" insulated liner and I have swept it each year. It seems to be drawing normally during normal operation.

The only thing I can think of is that I am burning a lot more locust and it is smokier and stinkier, so I guess it might just seem worse, but I really think something else must have changed.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Adam

 

[husky455rancher]

ive had to take my insert out and clean the it really well once before. what i mean theres a thick metal plate across the top of the forebox. ive had to shake it around and get all the fine ash that built up ontop of the plate out of there. i also vacuumed out as much as i could out of the 6" hole.

a couple years ago i had a carbon minoxide scare because of this. after this happened i ripped the stove apart cleaned everything and it seemed to heat better too after i was done. i was actually thinking of doing this again really soon to see if it aids in heat output.

im not sayig its your problem but if youve never really cleaned it out good its worth a try imo.

 

[adamc]

husky455rancher,

Funny you should mention that... I just did all of that this year and made the same observations.... there was quite a bit of fine ash accumulated on top of the top plate and at least initially, it seemed to burn a bit cleaner.

Thanks for the input.

Adam

 

[husky455rancher]

to hear it wasnt make believe then lol. i like to think my efforts made some sort of difference anyway.

 

[CrappieKeith]

to hear it wasnt make believe then lol. i like to think my efforts made some sort of difference anyway.

A dirty furnace will not exchange heats like a clean furnace or stove for that matter.
Keep em maintained boys!

As to the back drafting...nothing has changed in the installation or operation....wetter wood.
It my guess....

 

[esshup]

Check the chimney to make sure you aren't getting a build-up of cresote, especially the very top of the chimney. The fire is sucking in more air than the chimney can get rid of. Something is blocking the way be it at the insert itself or the chimney. I was told that if I were to burn wood that wasn't 100% seasoned, that I'd need to clean the chimney 2x a year.

 

[adamc]

esshup got it right. It was also addressed in another thread... It turns out that there was really bad creosote accumulation on the screen in my cap. I reached out second story window with a broom handle and gave it a few taps and got a nice pile of creosote in the fire box.

I didn't suspect this at first because in the past, I have gotten very little creosote out of the chimney or even on the screen, and I always have burned dry, well seasoned wood.

Thanks all for the input and to anyone else reading this... keep those chimneys/liners and especially the cap screens clean!

Adam

 

[cowroy]

Have you tried cracking a door when you start your fire? I know a fellow that has to do this every time he starts a fire or it will fill his basement full of smoke, but as long as he cracks a door none at all comes back in the house.

 

[greengiant]

adamc,
I have the exact insert you have. Glad you figured it out.

I also took the whole inside apart this fall, baffle, secondary tubues, etc. After 5 years of use, there was a lot of buildup of fine ash there. I will now be doing this sooner, as it seems to be giving me more heat. THere are also other factors, like the new 6" liner I added, removed 'draft blocker' (which I think just kept the old liner colder inside the large clay chimney), added a cap on top, and about 12" more liner in lenght. Add that to my new, insulated front entry (replacing the old double, 32" 1960 solid wood front door and 22"x64" single pane window above), and I'm finally able to heat the place entirely with wood when it's minus 10 like Monday morning.

I will plan to get up and check out the cap screen asap. This is the first year with it, and really better check it out.

If I try to burn locust in my elite 33, it needs to be really, really seasoned before it will burn hot without smoking.

adamc-have you replaced the door and glass gaskets yet? I haven't, but plan to soon. Not sure if it will make a difference.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Chimney caps with spark arrestor screens are the worst product for blocking flues.
Pull the screens or the cap.
You only really need the cap in the warm months to keep the rain out....or birds.

 

[100 Watt]

I've an xtrordinair as well. At the end of burning season I pull the converter out and put the shop vac to it. It doesn't take much to fill up the honey combs and produce alot of smoke. Good Luck

 

[saxman]

I had problem the first year with my new insert because of the screen on the cap plugging up. I opened it up with wire cutters to BIG openings, but it will still keep a bird out.

Steve