BeGreen said:Are there any competing appliances in the house? Check to see if the problem is being compounded by a kitchen or bathroom fan running, dryer, or furnace. Even an open window on the top floor can cause a problem. If so, try waiting until they are off to start the fire. Also, try opening a nearby window on the same floor about an inch until the fire is going well to see if that helps.
bogydave said:May want to get the chimney checked out too.
Has it been cleaned lately?
Beetle-Kill said:Barb, do you know anyone connected to a roofing company? Just think- old cedar shake shingles.
jtb51b said:Do yourself a favor and order some super cedar firestarters. Light one under your kindling and forgo the newspaper.. The super cedars don't smoke and until they get the wood lit there will be no smoke, just heat.. They are cheap and very effective. You could even light a small piece of one with no kindling to "preheat" you chimney if need be..
Jason
woodgeek said:A hair dryer blowing up the flue has worked for others....
ControlFreak said:Hi Boozie,
Considering that you reported that your only problem is only when you're lighting a cold stove, you may have the same problem I do. My chimney is on the north side of the house, and if it has not been running for a couple days I will get a very strong downdraft in the chimney. Early on when I first got my stove (~14 years ago), I went through many smokey start-ups. My downdraft can be so strong that even with a big pile of loose newspaper, the downdraft will still push the smoke out into the room. I've heard of some people using a propane torch to blow hot air up the chimney. I've tried that with decent success. I've tried using a candle and that's no good. What works for me every time is to put a handful of sawdust into a ziplock baggy and then pour in about a 1/3 cup of Coleman lantern fuel. It lights rapidly, cleanly, and is not explosive like gasoline would be. Place that within your pile of kindling in your COLD stove and light the bottom corner of the ziploc. You get a quick, clean fire that has enough heat to push the cold air up the chimney within a second or two. There are other solvents that can be used, but I've found that they are either dangerous to use, or start up too slow. The Coleman fuel is safe but effective. That's why they use it in the lanterns.
Most people say I'm crazy for doing this, but then they have never tried it. I expect to get flamed every time I mention this, I'm accustomed to that, so bring it on. If you find this approach too radical, then try the propane torch for about 2 minutes.
Dan
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.