Kevin's Watch

We have a problem with smoke filling our home each time we open the door to feed it wood.
I have a horrible cough and laryngitis now because of it, and we are probably getting poisoning from the carbon monoxide.
I sweep the flue out and clean the cap regularly.
I even cut the metal on the cap to make the vents twice as large.
Within 1 day of burning it is smokey again.
I burn seasoned pine, juniper, and cedar.
When the flue is cold it is bad, but even when it's hot it's a little smokey.
What can I do?

It's been forever, but the only thing I can think of that you haven't already mentioned is to make sure all the ash is cleaned out of the bottom and the wood sits high enough on the grate. Check the chimney from the roof to make sure no birds/branches have obstructed it.

Maybe this will help? I don't know...

LZ...either your chimney isn't high enough..that is, make it longer in length,,add another section on the exterior portion...you are not getting enough up draft..or the temp different isn't enough to create a up draft..that is..its too warm outside. I suspect chimney length AND..stop burning pine and cedar...yes both will soot up a fire place real fast..Juniper pine mmmmm maybe okay but still..burn harder wood or hotter wood..Its all in the up draft and you ain't got enough of it...imho..I think 15 ft is minimum suggested chimney length..and is chimney away from gab;es and eves etc enough to get a good updraft flow? Also..6 inch or 8 inch pipe?..maybe you need a bigger diameter pipe..updraft updraft updraft.

I only burn wood for heat. and have been doing it for years

Its an air flow problem. It can be caused by a dirty chimney, or your fireroom having low air pressure, this is normally worse if its in the basement (where mine is) or a combination of both

First thing is get your chimney cleaned professionally. Not just the flue, the whole chimney.

A good chimney cleaner, will not only clean your chimney, but also check everything out, and make sure it is put together properly. The last time I had my chimney cleaned, he repaired my heat guard against the wall and part of the stove pipe. He only charged my his set rate for the visit.

If its all clean, there are a few tricks to stop the smoke for blowing back out of the stove.

One,is to open a window a few minutes before you light the stove (obviously, a window close o the stove) This supposedly helps regulate the air pressure in the room. Also, the good outside air seems to get the fire to start better.
Another little trick, is to heat up the chimney before you light the fire.
You can do this by just burning a few sheets of paper in the fire box before you put any wood in there, or even make up a little torch out of bundled up paper, light it, and hold it right up inside the stove.

But it sounds to ME that you need the chimney cleaned.

Softwood burns dirty; and it doesn`t burn hot enough to clean itself out of the chimney. You can buy Climney cleaning logs too, they burn really hot, and burn all the crap out of the chimney.


Conclusion.
Call a chimney cleaner,get them to clean and inspect your stove, stove pipe and chimney.
Open a window before lighting.
burn some paper without wood beofre lighting.
Use a chimney cleaning log once a month, or switch to hardwood.

how much money do you think I have?
I can't hire Dick Van Dyke!
Good advise! So far, I've been keeping the house warm with no smoke.
I think this is mainly because I have punched several holes in the chimney cap with a sword.
Laryngitis sucks, though. I can't even remember what my own voice sounds like!

lurch wrote:LZ...either your chimney isn't high enough..that is, make it longer in length,,add another section on the exterior portion...you are not getting enough up draft..or the temp different isn't enough to create a up draft..that is..its too warm outside. I suspect chimney length AND..stop burning pine and cedar...yes both will soot up a fire place real fast..Juniper pine mmmmm maybe okay but still..burn harder wood or hotter wood..Its all in the up draft and you ain't got enough of it...imho..I think 15 ft is minimum suggested chimney length..and is chimney away from gab;es and eves etc enough to get a good updraft flow? Also..6 inch or 8 inch pipe?..maybe you need a bigger diameter pipe..updraft updraft updraft.

I got ten inch pipes and there is nothing but pine and the like to burn.
Also a friend told me how to create suction in the flue. I don't think I even need a damper. I've been doing good!
Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

A chimney cleaning will be less than a hundred dollars.