smoke in house

[joshua mason]

newbie here, not new to site but new to heating with a wood stove. had my stove going off and on for a week now and suddenly the single wall pipe is leaking at the joints. been searching through alot of stuff and all i can come up with is a bad draft. smoke rolls out the door when it is opened to reload also. all the black single wall pipe and the chimney pipe is brand new and installed a week ago. 6" flue on back of stove, 90s up from there and a straight shot up. about 18 or 19' in totall height. right now im burning shagbark hickory that was cut 1 year ago. stove is an older sierra. any ideas on what could be going on or how to fix it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Wife'nHubby]

multiple 45's are better than 90's - 90's decrease draft.

Also, horizontal pipe should NOT be level - there should be a slight upward pitch.

Shari

 

[joshua mason]

there is no horizontal, just a 90 attached to stove and straight up from there.

 

[ziggo_2]

You used furnace cement, right?

Dont be afraid to use alot.

 

[blades]

Unless you are real lucky 1 year old cut and split Hickory, in 4"-6" splits likely is not dry enough internally. I have had 6" hickory splits still retaining more than 20% moisture internally after sitting for 3 years.

 

[blackdogon57]

Get it looked at by a certified professional. If it leaks smoke it could also leak carbon monoxide.

 

[iowawoodcutter]

newbie here, not new to site but new to heating with a wood stove. had my stove going off and on for a week now and suddenly the single wall pipe is leaking at the joints. been searching through alot of stuff and all i can come up with is a bad draft. smoke rolls out the door when it is opened to reload also. all the black single wall pipe and the chimney pipe is brand new and installed a week ago. 6" flue on back of stove, 90s up from there and a straight shot up. about 18 or 19' in totall height. right now im burning shagbark hickory that was cut 1 year ago. stove is an older sierra. any ideas on what could be going on or how to fix it would be greatly appreciated.

Some smoke will roll out the door if you open it quickly, but if the draft is good, then not much should and the draft should reestablish real quick. Do you have a real hot fire going or is it just a smoldering fire? When the fire is going, are you seeing a lot smoke out of the chimney/pipe from the roof or just heat waves?

 

[Fyrebug]

Get yourself a cheap moisture meter at Lowe's. Wood should be below 20% humidity.

Also what is the vertical rise right above the stove before you elbow out. You should have 18" to 24" minimum. Pics would help.

 

[cedarman]

another thing.......................

make sure your male end of the pipe is always facing down

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Open the door just a few inches and hold it there for about 5 seconds, then open it slowly. Don't whip it open like a refrigirator or car door. And make sure that your damper is wide open when you open the door if you have one. This should help with smoke rolling out when the door is open.

Your local stoveshop should have thin rope gasket that you can cut to size and put in any gaps in the stovepipe; I've been doing that for years and it works great.

How is your draft? If the draft is not very strong especially in warmer weather you could have downdraft. See if the problem continues when you get colder weather and a stronger draft.

And yes, dry wood is best obviously. Good luck with your problem.

 

[joshua mason]

thanks for all the replys. i took my stove pipe apart at the stove. seems to have good draft. im guessing the hickory i have may not be seasoned yet. seemed to be more creosote then what should be there for a week of burning off and on. guess ill be on the hunt for some more firewood this coming weekend providing i dont have to work. hopefully my new to me jonsered 2165 will arrive before then. :smile2: this has been a very busy year for me and i am way behind on firewood so im hoping working weekends will come to an end soon. thanks again to all of you.

 

[logbutcher]

Forget furnace cement on pipe joints: if you've got good draft it'll make no difference to have some air entering pipe joints. From what you described the flue is fine. You could have blockage at the cap which is common ( colder, condensation of creosote gases up top ).

Sounds like you're not getting a hot enough fire. Crack the door to get semi-seasoned or wet wood fired up to coals....THEN load more. Try the "top down" starting technique ( search here and hearthnet for instructions--it works ). JMNSHO: moisture meters are a male T__ for firewood.:msp_unsure: Get the sticks to coals, then load. Use plenty of kindling. Don't damp or lower air until there's ignition.

Bill is in the mail or: Laphroaig.

 

[Somewood_guy]

Good, dry, seasoned wood won't give you much smoke. I'd start there. It also could not be hot enough, or drafting issues, but start with a trying some different wood.

If it is a new chimney the creosote will eventually 'cure' and seal up those gaps.

 

[loadthestove]

My freestanding in my family room will door exactly as you descrided,BUT,, it only does it when the stove and pipes are cold.once I get everything hot the problem cures itself.

you mentioned on/off burning so this may be you problem.does it do this after you have been burning for a few hours.cold chimneys will not produce a good draft like a warm one will

 

[unclemoustache]

I'd first check the cap - maybe a squirrel built a nest up there, or something is clogging it since it was installed.
Second, see if the pipe is high enough. I have a big draft problem because my pipe is on the upwind side of my house, and not quite high enough. I really ought to add another 4' section, but I'm not going to. I overcome the draft problem with a hair dryer - I lay my newspaper, kindling and wood in the stove, then close the doors. Then I open the top feeder door, stick the hair dryer in and point it up the pipe and turn it on. Let it run for a bit, check the air around with my hand to see if the air is only blowing back on my hand or has started up the pipe. Then start lighting the paper and kindling with a mapp gas torch. I shut the hair dryer off soon after I light, and close the top door.

Usually works fine, but every once in a while the downdraft gets a little crazy and pushes it all back down again. Then the doors open, the fans go on, and we freeze our butts off until the smoke is fairly well cleared out!

 

[CrappieKeith]

thanks for all the replys. i took my stove pipe apart at the stove. seems to have good draft. im guessing the hickory i have may not be seasoned yet. seemed to be more creosote then what should be there for a week of burning off and on. guess ill be on the hunt for some more firewood this coming weekend providing i dont have to work. hopefully my new to me jonsered 2165 will arrive before then. :smile2: this has been a very busy year for me and i am way behind on firewood so im hoping working weekends will come to an end soon. thanks again to all of you.

So what you are saying is that you'll be buying dry wood for this year and cutting for next year...right???

 

[joshua mason]

So what you are saying is that you'll be buying dry wood for this year and cutting for next year...right???

pretty much. that is what i will be doing. i have some that is ready but not enough to last all winter. new house so that is why i am not ready. next year i will be good to go. plenty of people sale firewood around here.

 

[logbutcher]

I'd first check the cap - maybe a squirrel built a nest up there, or something is clogging it since it was installed.
Second, see if the pipe is high enough. I have a big draft problem because my pipe is on the upwind side of my house, and not quite high enough. I really ought to add another 4' section, but I'm not going to. I overcome the draft problem with a hair dryer - I lay my newspaper, kindling and wood in the stove, then close the doors. Then I open the top feeder door, stick the hair dryer in and point it up the pipe and turn it on. Let it run for a bit, check the air around with my hand to see if the air is only blowing back on my hand or has started up the pipe. Then start lighting the paper and kindling with a mapp gas torch. I shut the hair dryer off soon after I light, and close the top door.

Usually works fine, but every once in a while the downdraft gets a little crazy and pushes it all back down again. Then the doors open, the fans go on, and we freeze our butts off until the smoke is fairly well cleared out!

Man Mr. M. I have now heard it all: hair dryer ignition ! What an operation. You got some frizzies problem ?

Hey, time for a Flue Police check: get that 4' extension on....now. An order. :bang: Then no more frizzies or MAP. Besides M., simple crumpled paper ( Wall Street Journal is good quality :cool2: ) shoved into the pipe and lit ( simple "strike anywhere" wooden match will do ) , WILL get that flue drawing.

BTW: you using your wife's hair dryer ?

Time to extend the flue......serious.

 

[cat10ken]

It could be your new house is too air tight. If your wife has the kitchen exhaust fan running and the bathroom fan is on, the only place they can pull air in a tight house is down your chimney. You might have to crack open a window to get your chimney to draw right.

 

[Coldfront]

When I had that problem in my basement I did what was mentioned above. I opened the damper wide open also the bottom vent on the stove, and cracked open a window near the stove to equalize room pressure, then just crack the stove door open a inch or 2 and wait about 30 seconds then open the stove door real slow, a little smoke would still come out sometimes but not much to worry about. If the fire is real smokey, open the damper wide open and get it burning good and hot before you open. If you open a smokey smoldering stove smoke will come out no matter what you do.