9163 scared of my wood burning stove!

Hi all
I had just typed this query and it suddenly vanished from the screen so hopefully it won't pop elsewhere - apologies now if it does.

We got a wood burning stove to put in our kitchen fireplace cos the open fire was smoking us out. Its just a little Junior Nordica to heat the kitchen. We got 1 meter of straght flue and 2 metres of flexible as there is a bar in the chimney we needed to get round. Does it have to be a minimum height? our chimney rises two stories so i don't know if we have to have a longer flue for safety. When we first lit the stove it was fine but after a few hours the hoouse was full of the smell of smoke and very hazy yet e couldn't SEE the smoke coming out of the fireplace as before with the open fire. We asked around in the village and people seemed to keep saying it was very dangerous! When we bought it the shop, a hardware and builders merchants who sell fireplaces etc too, delivered it but said they would not install it. We were told it was easy to do and we could do it ourselves (i think). We thought maybe the flexible tube was bent against the chimney wall causing the smoke to come back down so we removed it. We now only have 1 meter of straight flue and it seems much better. However I am worried it needed to be installed by a professional - is it like having a Corgi qualified person to do gas etc? My other half is in the building trade but is not a qualified stove installer and although he insists i trust him i am paranoid we are going to be poisoned by Carbon monoxide fumes or something horrific!! I read on a stove website that wood that doesn't burn completely produces carbon monoxide - what is incompletely burned wood? Charred wood? Smouldering wood? We are using old dry wood so we know that wasn't the problem with the smoke. Please put my mind at rest and tell me it will be fine - but don't lie!! If I do need to get a professional what am i looking for? :eeeek:

Category

Building/Renovation

if people here reply that you will be fine, would it really set your mind at rest? If you are worried best to get it checked out by a professional.

Also you could install a smoke alarm and a CO alarm for extra peace of mind.

Meanwhile this link may provide some useful information

[url=http://www.farmers.com/FarmComm/WebSite/html/home/WoodBuringStoveSafety.html]Farmers.com - Homeowners - Keeping you and your family safe[/url]

I can only go on my experience Tessa, and I am sure there are peope out there who are more qualified than I to answer.
This has been the 2nd winter with our small woodburner stove. It was installed in about 10mins by our builder, has a short flue but then our chimney is sealed so it didnt need to be that long (sorry not technical here!). We did have the chimney swept before it was put in, it has never smoked or discharged smoke into any of the upper rooms, our house is also on 3 floors.

I would be worried if there was smoke in the upper rooms, which would indicate that might be some cracking in the chimney itself?. I think it was Geo that wrote on another thread re chimney fires ,so hopefully he has some good advice for you.
But I think you are right to be cautious, Sorry cannot help more.
A

When we moved in we had some filthy old wood burner which my Dad diligently took apart, cleaned and put back together, we lit it and got same as your experience.

Not really liking the old burner and suspecting broken firebricks and seals we went out and bought a small Nordica from our ferramenta and in installing it they had the brilliant idea of checking the chimney, flue and draw which turned out to be blocked with dead pigeons and pigeon waste. A good clean through and through (plus closing our eyes when the whole lot came down the pipe) and we can see light at the end of the hole in the ceiling that the flex tube connects to and all is now well. Then persuaded father in law to climb on the roof and put mesh around the chimney to stop more kamikaze birds flying in.

It's a long story to say our ferramenta came and cleaned the chimney and checked the draw with some little smoke tablets and also came armed with the stuff to dissolve some of the residue. We hated our old wood burner so would have thrown it out anyway but maybe a good chimney clean (since your fire was smoky too) may be a place to start - it's unlikely to hurt. Ask your neighbours for some chimney sweep contacts.

Hi Tessa.
If you were getting smoke in from the original fire, then it is possible that there is a blockage somewhere near the top of the chimney. Also when you connected the fixed and flexible pipes, did you use sealant on all the joints? Was the flexible pipe crushed when you took it out, therefore causing a restriction?
As Brownie says, can you see light when you look up the chimney, or actually get onto the roof to check. Another idea is to get some smoke tablets and check if the amount of smoke emitted from the chimney is similar to the volume created.
Sorry that i can't be more specific.

[quote=tessa myers;86202]We got 1 meter of straght flue and 2 metres of flexible as there is a bar in the chimney we needed to get round. Does it have to be a minimum height? our chimney rises two stories so i don't know if we have to have a longer flue for safety.[/quote]
Our woodburning stove is on the top floor of our house, so the chimney is a lot shorter than yours. We do occasionally get a bit of smoke blowback when we open the door if we've forgetten (yet again) to fully open the damper first or if the wind is from the wrong direction ("wrong" in the sense that the chimney is below the highest point of the roof and the draw seems reduced if the chimney is in the "shadow" of the roof as far as the wind is concerned), but normally the draw is fine, so I'm pretty sure that length of flue is not the cause of your problem.

I have asked several people in the village if they can recommend a chimney sweep but nobody knows one - will have to consult yellow pages maybe. Everyone has suggested making some sort of canopy or hood at the entrance to the fire place. With regards devices to monitor carbon monoxide issues where would i buy one? Would i need to go to Castorama or somewhere big or should i be able to get in smaller shops? Thanks for all advice x

For a carbon monoxide detector, try the ferrementa first, otherwise it will be one of the larger outlets.
With yellow pages, search for chimney cleaning, as chimney sweep is not recognised

If the flue gases cool down too much they won't go up the chimney.

It sounds like your chimney never worked well. Open fire put smoke into the room. Stove puts smoke into the room.

How did you build the fire? In back or in front? My chimney works fine if the fire is in the back. But that just heats the chimney. Pull the fire forward and it can get a little smokey but the vast majority of the smoke still goes up.

To me it sounds like you need somebody to figure out why your chminey isn't drawing right.

I'm worried about what you said. Smoke only after the fire has been going for a while?

Either this means your fire has cooled down some.

Or the worrying bit. you managed to set the chimney on fire. I doubt this happened and I"m more likely to believe things cooled down. But I'd still say have it checked.

Does the setup work well with the stove running at full blast?

Castorama probably has them but in case you can't find one easily here is a website where you can order a CO monitor.

[url=http://www.safelincs.it/section.php?xSec=42&jssCart=63937facf43617b23fe87cead050a414]Safelincs > Rilevatori di monossido di carbonio[/url]

Look in pagine gialle for a Spazza Camino, we had both our chimneys swept last year for a total of €100 and they left the place nice and clean too.

Hi just a thought did the smoke smell like wood smoke? Normally if there is a problem with draughting it would have smoked imediately when the flue was cold. Seeing as the smoke on appeared after the fire had been burning for a while the smoke could well have been coming from the new flue which would have had some slight oily coating to stop it from oxydising whilst in storage. Hope that helps ciao chris

I didn't like to suggest this Tessa, because I haven't lit a new Nordica, but some new stoves as well as new steel chimneys, will smoke a little (an hour or so) as the protective coat of oil burns off. Of course you must investigate until you've found the cause, but don't be 'afraid' of exploring and using plain old common sense. As a very approximate guide, an average stove should only need somewhere between a 150 - 200mm flue (your Nordica will tell you the exact dimension), the point being that your chimney doesn't have to have a vast cross section to function well. Try and avoid bends of more than 45 degrees unless the bend is at the stove outlet and avoid more than two bends in the flue. Your stove needs an air supply, of course. Is it in a super insulated, hermetically sealed room? I doubt it! However, if this is the case, you need to create some ventilation to supply your stove with air. With a door open (so that you don't choke) light another fire and try and trace where the smoke is coming from. stand to the side of the stove, rather than straight in front and look carefully: is the smoke coming from the stove itself, the junction between stove and flue pipe, or another part of the room? If it's not from the stove then you may need to repair or line the chimney, as well as unblock it. I'm sure a chimney cleaner will help you diagnose. One final thought: a repair to your chimneys could be quite cheap and simple but, equally, it could be tricky and costly. You could consider re positioning your stove and simply providing it with it's own, new, steel flue. I often think a freestanding stove with it's own tall flue pipe can look really stunning.
Good luck and let us know how things go.
Lupo

Just a couple of queries and comments.
1. to largely prevent smoking of a camino-style open hearth, build your fire wigwam style at far back left, works well for us.

2. I would have thought that the metal flue thing would have to be put in virtually for the full height of your chimney for max efficiency (?) Would be interested in experiences on this one as I am contemplating installing a modest stove in the camino space. - Sick of watching the heat going up the chimney!

Hi Tessa, We have a nordica but have an external flue. From looking at woodburning sites if you have a normal chimney you only need a metre pipe rather than a long flexible flue. I suspect as others have said, the chimney is blocked. Perhaps Nico at the comune (or Emilio) could suggest a chimney sweep. Alternatively if you go into Villa Santa Maria there is a builders merchants on the left just by the petrol station which sell wood burners and the guy there may be able to suggest someone who can help.

Castorama/Obi sell smoke cones which you can light to see if the flue is clear but if you are really worried we have two stick on carbon monoxide detectors in our place (one next to the cooker and one in the sitting room) feel free to peel one or both off and attach - you know where the key is!!

Regards

Jackie

[quote=tessa myers;86202]Hi all
I had just typed this query and it suddenly vanished from the screen so hopefully it won't pop elsewhere - apologies now if it does.

I got laughed at in the bar last night when i told them i was afraid of getting poisoned by my stove and opened the windows when it was lit! :reallyembarrassed:I am starting to think it is blocked as most of you suggested! Looks like I'll have to hunt down a spazzacamino. Thanks jackie - i may borrow your carbon monoxide thingy if i can find your house!! Still not figured out which one it is! Wish the weather was nicer and then i wouldn't be worried about lighting the stove but i suppose its better to discover these problems with heating before the cold winter months. Thanks once again everyone.

9163 scared of my wood burning stove!

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